Our Ultimate Pitch Deck Playbook is a step-by-step guide to building a pitch deck that maximizes impact and delivery.
Crafting a compelling pitch deck is the key to transitioning from a crowded inbox to securing face-to-face investor meetings. However, designing a pitch deck that can captivate the interest of a busy investor and stand out in a sea of prospects is a challenging undertaking that requires a strategic approach and a clear, engaging narrative.
Before building your deck
Ensure Your Viability for VC Funding
Before creating your pitch deck, ensure your business aligns with venture capital (VC) funding criteria. Not every company is suitable for VC investment, so it is important to evaluate your readiness. We recommend taking our investment readiness test and obtaining your venture score to assess your suitability for VC funding.
To be considered VC-fundable, you should possess:
A scalable, capital-efficient business model
Access to a sizable and addressable market
A legally sound and appropriate business entity
A well-structured and attractive capitalization table
Sufficient ownership of intellectual property, if applicable
Positive signals such as a solid track record, substantial traction, and more
Let’s push ahead if your business is fundable and ready to move forward! Now, transitioning to the next step, consider selecting the ideal slide editor based on your preferences:
Your pitch deck (“deck”) is an important tool for communicating your business vision, strengths, and goals to investors, partners, and stakeholders. It’s a crucial element of the fundraising process and is the first communication tool founders use to reach potential investors. Unfortunately, some founders tend to rush the creation of the pitch deck.
Investors usually only spend 1-2 minutes looking at your presentation at first. So, grab their attention with impressive opening pages to get a meeting! Sending a short "teaser" in a one-page email is often more effective than giving them the entire presentation the first time.
There are three fundamental principles to consider:
Pitch decks demand original thinking. Refrain from thinking of them as a design challenge. It is a thinking challenge. The time you invest in getting the thinking right will pay dividends by helping secure investment and sharpening your business’s cutting edge.
Pitch decks must be investor-centric. Understand why investors want to see them and what they expect to see on each slide.
Every deck should be distinctive. Use the slides to support and enhance your story. It should reflect your personality and vision.
The deck should cover the key points of your business plan, the products and services offered, high-level financial projections, and funding needs. The aim is to capture the attention of stakeholders, build confidence in the plan, and determine whether the company has enough potential to be attractive to venture capital.
The pitch deck will have slightly different content depending on your venture stage. If you are just beginning and seeking pre-seed or seed funding, focus on the team, its vision, and specific milestones for reaching Product-Market fit (PMF).
A successful pitch should provide investors with clear insights into the following key aspects of your startup:
Captivating the Business Idea and Its Unique Appeal
Explain “Why Now” and “Why Us”!
Market Size & Unique Positioning
Future Goals & Vision, and Roadmap to Success
Current Traction Demonstrated Through Key Performance Metrics
Capital Needed for the Next 18-24 months
Your deck should depict your business as a high-potential investment, emphasizing market growth opportunities and why you are the right founder(s) to bet on. The goal is to prompt further discussions and negotiations with investors.
What to include in your pitch deck depending on growth stage
You want to create a clear, concise pitch deck that tells a story investors can understand within 20-30 seconds. It should combine important facts, clean design, accurate market and competitor analysis, realistic growth projections, and an investment offer that reflects the risk/return balance.
The deck should contain 15-20 supportive slides to cover additional financial details, customer references, market research, and technology descriptions if needed.
The table below breaks down important topics to focus on in your pitch deck. It highlights which areas are critical during different funding stages - from the initial pre-Seed/Seed round to the bigger Series A & B rounds.
What should each slide in the deck include?
Let's revisit the slides from chapter one. Remember, while the sequence matters, captivating your audience within the first 20-30 seconds, maintaining a captivating narrative, and concluding with a strong finish are even more crucial.
