presentation deck background

Presentation templates

Deliver your next deck faster with our free presentation templates. They’re fully customizable, professionally designed, and delightfully easy to use.

Slidesgo.net is an independent website that offers free powerpoint templates and is not part of Freepik/any particular brand. Read the privacy policies

Free Google Slides themes and Powerpoint templates

Discover the best Google Slides themes and PowerPoint templates you can use in your presentations - 100% Free for any use.

Popular searches

112+ templates

86 templates

158 templates

58 templates

97+ templates

Recent published templates

Monthly or quarterly investor update, general template, new hire onboarding, business review, our weekly updates, business plan template, new hire resources, our mission and goals, sprowt veg deli, how technology transformed education, face the crowd with confidence, tech at work, how technology is changing education.

100% free for personal or commercial use, both for Powerpoint and Google Slides.

Ready to use and customizable . High quality and professional design.

Good design makes information clearer . Blow your audience away with attractive visuals.

Slidesgo categories

• Abstract 13 templates
• Agency 15 templates
• All Diagrams 1331 templates
• Brand Guidelines 3 templates
• Business 195 templates
• Computer 66 templates
• Education 97 templates
• Finance 54 templates
• Food 57 templates
• Formal 60 templates
• Fun 6 templates
• Industry 91 templates
• Lesson 67 templates
• Marketing 57 templates
• Marketing Plan 19 templates
• Medical 71 templates
• Military 21 templates
• Nature 119 templates
• Newsletter 5 templates
• Real Estate 46 templates
• Recreation 53 templates
• Religion 30 templates
• School 557 templates
• Simple 5 templates
• Social Media 8 templates
• Sports 46 templates
• Travel 26 templates
• Workshop 4 templates

Slidesgo templates have all the elements you need to effectively communicate your message and impress your audience.

Suitable for PowerPoint and Google Slides

Download your presentation as a PowerPoint template or use it online as a Google Slides theme. 100% free, no registration or download limits.

Want to know more?

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Google Slides Help
• PowerPoint help
• Who makes Slidesgo?

From Ideas to Impactful Presentations

Free Templates & Infographics for PowerPoint and Google Slides

Hexagon Hierarchy Tree

Google Slides , PPTX

Full-Width Yearly Gantt Chart

Minimalist Gantt Chart

Corporate Blue Certificate Template

Google Slides , POTX

Pastel Organic Certificate Template

Geometric Excellence Certificate Template

Trending templates.

Popular searches:

Ideas & Resources

Uncover a world of innovative ideas, creative insights, and design tips to enhance your PowerPoint and Google Slides presentations.

Mastering Text Emphasis in Your Presentation: Tips and Techniques

2023 Presentation Design Trends

How to Ace Your Sales Presentation in 10 Steps

How To Install Color Theme XML Files in PowerPoint

Presentationgo – 2,476 free google slides themes and powerpoint templates.

Comprehensive Collection

Explore 2,476 free templates and graphics for captivating presentations, with new content added daily.

Premium-Quality Designs

Expertly crafted graphics by designers and fine-tuned by seasoned presenters for maximum impact.

Effortless Customization

Fully editable graphics for seamless modification, tailored to your specific needs.

Absolutely Free

Experience hassle-free, 100% free downloads without the need for registration – access through a direct link instantly.

PresentationGO is your go-to source for an extensive and ever-expanding library of free templates tailored for PowerPoint and Google Slides . Our collection is rich in diversity, covering a wide spectrum of graphics specifically designed for presentations across various domains, ensuring you find exactly what you need for your next project.

Crafted with premium quality by skilled designers, our unique and exclusive designs are meticulously optimized for slide formats, guaranteeing to elevate the effectiveness of your presentations. With over 2,476 high-quality templates , PresentationGO offers a vast selection that includes themes and backgrounds, charts and diagrams, text and tables, timelines and planning, as well as graphics and metaphors and maps.

Our fully editable graphics and themes are designed for effortless customization , allowing you to tailor each template to meet your unique needs. Available in both standard and widescreen formats and optimized for light and dark backgrounds , our templates ensure your presentations are visually appealing and professional, without the need for additional adjustments.

In conclusion, PresentationGO provides an all-inclusive resource for Google Slides themes and PowerPoint templates , encompassing everything required to create an engaging, visually stunning presentation. Embark on exploring our remarkable collection today to discover the perfect elements that will make your presentation stand out.

Love our templates? Show your support with a coffee!

Thank you for fueling our creativity.

Charts & Diagrams

Text & Tables

Graphics & Metaphors

Timelines & Planning

Best-Ofs & Tips

Terms and Conditions

Privacy Statement

Cookie Policy

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Policy

© Copyright 2024  Ofeex  | PRESENTATIONGO® is a registered trademark | All rights reserved.

To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by using the toggles on the Cookie Policy, or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen.

Thank you for downloading this template!

Remember, you can use it for free but you have to attribute PresentationGO . For example, you can use the following text:

If you really like our free templates and want to thank/help us, you can:

Thank you for your support

How to Make an Engaging Slide Deck (+ Example & Templates)

Learn how to create a slide deck step-by-step. Get tips, examples, and templates to make a slide deck presentation that stands out beyond any PowerPoint.

Dominika Krukowska

7 minute read

Short answer

How to make a slide deck in 7 easy steps?

The main steps for creating a slide deck are:

• Define your slide deck goals
• Research your target audience
• Research your topic
• Prioritize what you want to say
• Write your slide deck narrative
• Create or collect visuals that support your narrative
• Use a template to set up your slide deck design
• Bonus: Use an AI slide deck generator to do it all for you

Most slide decks bore the audience because they fail to tell a story

Imagine standing in front of an audience, only to watch their attention fade as you click through slide after slide. It's a disheartening experience, and it's more common than you might think.

The truth is, a slide deck without a clear narrative will bore your audience and leave your message unheard.

Worse than that, a storyless slide deck may leave people disappointed and feeling like they wasted their time. And you probably wouldn’t want such feelings to reflect on you.

But a good story makes your slide deck memorable, enjoyable, and perceived as more valuable by your audience. This is the power of a good story, and this is what this post will teach you to harness.

Let me show you the techniques to turn your presentations into compelling narratives . Learn the process, get insights, and tips, and grab a slide deck template to get you started.

Let's dive in!

Common mistakes to avoid when creating a slide deck

Here's a rundown of common mistakes to avoid when creating a slide deck as shared by Dan Zedek , a professor of journalism and media innovation at Northwestern University:

Overloading with visuals: Feeling insecure about visual talent often leads to overloading slides with too many photos, irrelevant images, colors, or typefaces. Simplicity adds clarity.

Long slide duration: A slide that stays up for 5 or 6 minutes can cause the audience's mind to wander. Aim for 30 seconds to a minute per slide to keep engagement high.

Irrelevant animations and colors: Using animations and colors that don't serve the content can be distracting. Use them sparingly and consistently to highlight important concepts.

Ignoring the audience: Understanding who's in the audience and what they expect from your presentation is key. Tailor the contents of your presentation to resonate with them.

Reading from the slide: This is considered one of the worst sins in slide presentations. Your slides should complement your speech, not repeat it.

Lack of pacing: Research shows that people's patience lasts about 6 or 7 minutes. Pacing your presentation and breaking down big ideas into smaller pieces can keep the audience engaged throughout.

Failure to inject personality: You're not just presenting facts; you're telling a story. Let your personality shine through, whether it's your authority, humor, or passion for the subject.

How to prepare for creating a slide deck?

The difference between a forgettable slide deck and a memorable one lies in the groundwork you do before you sit down to build the slide deck.

In the words of Nancy Duarte , the author of the book “slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations”: “Audience interest is directly proportionate to the presenter's preparation. You better spend time and energy on any presentations where the stakes are high.

An audience can tell how much energy you spent on your presentation, which is a reflection of how much you valued their time.

If they gave you an hour of their time, you need to make it worth it to them by treating their time as a valuable asset by making the content valuable to them.”

Here's a guide to laying that foundation for a slide deck that not only informs but engages:

1. Define your slide deck goals

What's the aim of your presentation? Are you looking to educate, convince, engage, or motivate? Pinpointing your goal is like setting your GPS; it guides everything that follows.

2. Research your target audience

Understanding your audience's needs, expectations, and pain points allows you to tailor your message. Speak their language, address their concerns, and you'll capture their attention from the first slide.

3. Research your topic extensively

Dive into your subject with the curiosity of a child and the diligence of a detective. This depth of understanding will shine through in your presentation, building credibility and allowing you to address questions and objections with confidence.

4. Choose the right delivery format

Most slide decks are delivered using the PowerPoint slide format, a common 9:16 ratio that we all know. This includes presentations made with tools like Google Slides and Canva. You may even think this is the ONLY way.

But the ppt slide format is a bad format for engagement. It’s static, limited in space, and prone to all the common slide deck mistakes .

On the one hand, a static slide deck is the most common and recognized format, which makes it “safe”. But the fact it’s recognizable also makes it indistinguishable and boring.

On the other hand, an interactive slide deck invites your audience to explore with you, turning the presentation into a conversation.

Which deck would be more likely to get your attention, the static or the interactive one?

How to organize the contents of your slide deck?

A slide deck's effectiveness isn't just about the content; it's about how that content is organized.

The way you structure your slide deck can mean the difference between your audience walking away with valuable insights or leaving halfway into your presentation.

Here’s how to organize the contents of your deck for maximum impact:

1. Prioritize what you want to say

The reality is that people forget 90% of what you present after 48 hours , and the 10% they do remember is often random.

So, how can you control that crucial 10%? By prioritizing your content, focusing on the key messages that align with your goals, and crafting your content to ensure that the right bits of information become part of that vital 10% that sticks.

2. Build anticipation

Engage your audience's natural curiosity by leveraging information gap theory . Create intentional gaps in your narrative, pose questions, and hint at answers to come.

It's like leaving breadcrumbs along the path, guiding your audience through your narrative and keeping them hungry for more.

3. Create a slide deck narrative

Humans think in stories; we relate to them, and we remember them. The secret to an engaging slide deck is using a storytelling structure.

If it's a business presentation, follow with an execution plan, and close with clear next steps. The storytelling framework helps your audience flow through your slide deck like a good book.

Here’s our recommended storyline structure:

How to design your slide deck for engagement

If you want to design your slide deck for engagement, think beyond text.

Create original visuals that breathe life into data. Complement your words with multimedia elements like images and videos. Incorporate interactivity and narrated design to transform a monologue into a conversation.

5 magical steps to create your best-ever slide deck

Creating a slide deck that stands out might seem like a complex task, but with AI as your creative companion and a clear roadmap to follow, it turns into a seamless and magical experience.

Here's how you can breathe life into your ideas and make a captivating slide deck with a few easy steps:

1. Tell our AI about your presentation goals

Begin by telling our AI assistant about the slide deck you wish to create. This first step sets the tone, allowing the AI to align with your goals and craft the perfect content structure.

2. Introduce yourself and your brand

Briefly share details about yourself, your company, and the topic of your presentation. This personal touch helps the AI fine-tune the content, making your slide deck resonate with your audience.

3. Select your slide deck design and style

Choose a design that reflects your brand. Our AI assistant will take it from there, crafting a deck that's visually cohesive and appealing.

4. Customize your slide deck

Add your text and design touches, and let the AI adapt the design to your content. You can also use it to enhance your copy, brainstorm ideas, or even generate original visuals.

5. Review and refine your slide deck

Take a final look and make any last-minute changes. If any tweaks are needed after sending, no worries—you can still make them. Your deck lives online, so you're in control of the version your audience sees, always.

How to personalize your slide deck

In the world of presentations, personalization is the magic ingredient that turns a standard slide deck into an engaging dialogue.

It's the subtle art of making each viewer feel like you're speaking directly to them, understanding their unique needs and interests.

But how can you achieve this level of personal connection? Here’s how you can do it with Storydoc -

3 steps for easy slide deck personalization:

Add information about your prospect: Add names and company details with a simple click. Your audience will receive a deck that feels crafted just for them, enhancing engagement.

Add dynamic variables: Using dynamic variables, you can address your reader by name throughout the presentation, turning it into a personalized conversation.

Advanced: Integrate Storydoc with your CRM: Storydoc seamlessly integrates with your CRM, allowing you to pull information directly into your decks. It's personalization at scale.

How to measure the effectiveness of your slide deck

Measuring the success of a slide deck goes beyond numbers; it's also about understanding the connection you've made with your audience. It's about knowing what resonates, what inspires, and what lingers in the minds of those you've reached.

Every slide deck created with Storydoc comes with an analytics panel that provides real-time insights -

Are viewers spending time on the slides that contain your key points? Who are they sharing your presentation with? Are they taking the next step, like visiting your website to learn more or looking through your portfolio?

By understanding how your audience interacts with your content, you can turn a standard presentation into a powerful tool for connection and influence.

Here’s a quick video showing how it works:

Slide deck templates

While following best practices is essential, standing out requires something more. It requires going from static to interactive, and from fact-led to story-led slide decks.

But interactive storytelling slide deck templates are hard to come by. Or at least they used to be.

Below you have designed templates that will make your next presentation something to remember.

Hi, I'm Dominika, Content Specialist at Storydoc. As a creative professional with experience in fashion, I'm here to show you how to amplify your brand message through the power of storytelling and eye-catching visuals.

Found this post useful?

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Get notified as more awesome content goes live.

(No spam, no ads, opt-out whenever)

You've just joined an elite group of people that make the top performing 1% of sales and marketing collateral.

Create your best slide deck to date

Try Storydoc interactive slide deck maker for 14 days free (keep any slide deck you make forever!)

Got any suggestions?

We want to hear from you! Send us a message and help improve Slidesgo

Top searches

Trending searches

infertility

30 templates

16 templates

49 templates

27 templates

frida kahlo

56 templates

el salvador

32 templates

The best Google Slides and Powerpoint presentation templates

Here's a selection of the best free & premium google slides themes and powerpoint presentation templates from the previous month. these designs were the most popular among our users, so download them now, the best presentations from april.

Premium template

Unlock this template and gain unlimited access

World Environment Day

We know that taking care of the environment is of a paramount importance, and it is the perfect time of the year to encourage awareness and action for the protection of nature. Let’s teach our kids about the necessity of preserving nature with this cool template!

Minimalist Business Slides

Minimalism is an art style that frees the canvas and that lets the content stand out for itself. It’s a way of conveying modernism, simplicity and elegance and can be your best ally in your next presentation. With this new design from Slidesgo, your business presentations will be as professional...

Minimal Charm

Are you looking for a monochromatic theme that is interesting at the same time? How about using a simple and clean theme, along with black-and-white pictures, to convey business or corporate content in a professional way?

Minimalist Korean Aesthetic Pitch Deck

Templates based on a minimalist style are usually very useful in business presentations, as they make the audience focus on the content and not on the ornaments of the design. This minimalist style template that we propose here is perfect for a pitch deck to present your product or your...

Research Project Proposal

Before embarking yourself on a new project, especially if it’s about research, you need to set out a proposal to explain its viability. Here at Slidesgo we’re offering this theme that you can actually use for any kind of project, regardless of the topic.

Papyrus History Lesson

History lessons tend to be boring for students, since they need to remember dates and a bunch of information. Make it entertaining by editing our free presentation template, whose backgrounds based on ancient papyrus rolls take it to the next level.

Generation of '27

Generation of '27 is a group of avant-garde poets and artists who began to publish their work in the 20s of the 20th century. To help you explain this interesting part of Spanish literature to your students, we propose you this old-style brown template, with different illustrations of books, pens,...

World Mother Earth Day

It’s World Mother Earth Day, and everyone’s invited! If you’re in need of a template for this occasion, we have good news for you. This one right here is as good as it gets: with its design filled with shades of green and illustrations of vegetation, it’s super environmentally-conscious, and...

Notebook Lesson

These are the last days before the Summer break! We know that there are some pending lessons that you need to prepare for your students. As they may be thinking about their friends and their holidays, catch their attention with this cool template!

Futuristic Background

When you need to impress everybody and stay relevant, you must look ahead and aim to be the first. Take a peek into the future with this new template Slidesgo has just designed. It’s free and perfect for techie topics or just for giving your presentation a futuristic vibe!

Spring Background

Flowers! That can only mean one thing! Yes, of course, allergies! Well spring is not a good time for everyone... What we agree on is the beautiful floral landscapes that are created thanks to the arrival of spring. We have transported those landscapes to this presentation, to decorate the blue...

Watercolor Spring Forest

Aaah, it’s spring! Express your love for this beautiful season by downloading this template, whose design is based on, as the name says, spring plants and flowers painted in soft, arty watercolors. The slides are a joy to look at and just as much of a joy to customize; it’s...

Chalkboard Background

There’s an object that comes to mind when you think of a classroom. What’s in there, other than the students, the teacher and the desks? A chalkboard! The design of our new template focuses on this! Since today is Teachers’ Day in Spain, we’re sure you’re going to love it!

Elegant Bachelor Thesis

Present your Bachelor Thesis in style with this elegant presentation template. It's simple, minimalist design makes it perfect for any kind of academic presentation. With an array of features such as section dividers, images, infographics and more, you can easily create a professional and creative presentation that stands out from...

AI Tech Agency

It’s amazing how robots and computers are able to perform tasks that we thought only humans could do. If your agency is specialized in artificial intelligence, this free marketing presentation template can help you get your points across easily!

School Assignments

Design some school assignments for your students so they can learn while they are having fun. Download this cool template now and make use of its resources. It looks like a sheet of a notebook and we have added drawings of stationery. Get your pencil!

Reconstruction Era and the Gilded Age - History - 11th Grade

In the United States, the Reconstruction Era followed the Civil War and sought to unite the nation and grant civil rights. The Gilded Age brought industrial growth, but also inequality and corruption. Both eras shared the struggle for civil rights and equity. So these are two periods loaded with historical...

Elegant Black & White Thesis Defense

Present your research findings with grace and assertiveness through this template. Available for Google Slides and PowerPoint, this design set offers minimalistic charm with its simple, gray scale elegance. The template not only provides a polished platform to showcase your thesis but also ensures seamless and efficient delivery of your...

• Page 1 of 1231

Register for free and start editing online

10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea, from TED’s in-house expert

When your slides rock, your whole presentation pops to life. At TED2014, David Epstein created a clean, informative slide deck to support his talk on the changing bodies of athletes . Photo: James Duncan Davidson/TED

Aaron Weyenberg is the master of slide decks. Our UX Lead creates Keynote presentations that are both slick and charming—the kind that pull you in and keep you captivated, but in an understated way that helps you focus on what’s actually being said. He does this for his own presentations and for lots of other folks in the office. Yes, his coworkers ask him to design their slides, because he’s just that good.

We asked Aaron to bottle his Keynote mojo so that others could benefit from it. Here, 10 tips for making an effective slide deck, split into two parts: the big, overarching goals, and the little tips and tricks that make your presentation sing.

Aaron used this image of a New Zealand disaster to kick off a slide deck from TED’s tech team — all about how they prepares for worst-case scenarios. He asked for permission to use the image, and credited the photographer, Blair Harkness. View the whole slidedeck from this presentation.

The big picture…

• Think about your slides last . Building your slides should be the tail end of developing your presentation. Think about your main message, structure its supporting points, practice it and time it—and then start thinking about your slides. The presentation needs to stand on its own; the slides are just something you layer over it to enhance the listener experience. Too often, I see slide decks that feel more like presenter notes, but I think it’s far more effective when the slides are for the audience to give them a visual experience that adds to the words. .
• Create a consistent look and feel . In a good slide deck, each slide feels like part of the same story. That means using the same or related typography, colors and imagery across all your slides. Using pre-built master slides can be a good way to do that, but it can feel restrictive and lead to me-too decks. I like to create a few slides to hold sample graphic elements and type, then copy what I need from those slides as I go. .
• Think about topic transitions . It can be easy to go too far in the direction of consistency, though. You don’t want each slide to look exactly the same. I like to create one style for the slides that are the meat of what I’m saying, and then another style for the transitions between topics. For example, if my general slides have a dark background with light text, I’ll try transition slides that have a light background with dark text. That way they feel like part of the same family, but the presentation has texture—and the audience gets a visual cue that we’re moving onto a new topic. .
• With text, less is almost always more . One thing to avoid—slides with a lot of text, especially if it’s a repeat of what you’re saying out loud. It’s like if you give a paper handout in a meeting—everyone’s head goes down and they read, rather than staying heads-up and listening. If there are a lot of words on your slide, you’re asking your audience to split their attention between what they’re reading and what they’re hearing. That’s really hard for a brain to do, and it compromises the effectiveness of both your slide text and your spoken words. If you can’t avoid having text-y slides, try to progressively reveal text (like unveiling bullet points one by one) as you need it. .
• Use photos that enhance meaning . I love using simple, punchy photos in presentations, because they help what you’re saying resonate in your audience’s mind without pulling their attention from your spoken words. Look for photos that (1) speak strongly to the concept you’re talking about and (2) aren’t compositionally complex. Your photo could be a metaphor or something more literal, but it should be clear why the audience is looking at it, and why it’s paired with what you’re saying. For example, I recently used the image above—a photo of a container ship about to tip over (it eventually sank)—to lead off a co-worker’s deck about failure preparation. And below is another example of a photo I used in a deck to talk about the launch of the new TED.com . The point I was making was that a launch isn’t the end of a project—it’s the beginning of something new. We’ll learn, adapt, change and grow.

Here, a lovely image from a slidedeck Aaron created about the redesign of TED.com . View the whole deck from this presentation .

And now some tactical tips…

• Go easy on the effects and transitions . Keynote and Powerpoint come with a lot of effects and transitions. In my opinion, most of these don’t do much to enhance the audience experience. At worst, they subtly suggest that the content of your slides is so uninteresting that a page flip or droplet transition will snap the audience out of their lethargy. If you must use them, use the most subtle ones, and keep it consistent. .

• Try panning large images . Often, I want to show screen shot of an entire web page in my presentations. There’s a great Chrome extension to capture these—but these images are oftentimes much longer than the canvas size of the presentation. Rather than scaling the image to an illegible size, or cropping it, you can pan it vertically as you talk about it. In Keynote, this is done with a Move effect, which you can apply from an object’s action panel. .
• For video, don’t use autoplay . It’s super easy to insert video in Keynote and Powerpoint—you just drag a Quicktime file onto the slide. And when you advance the deck to the slide with the video that autoplays, sometimes it can take a moment for the machine to actually start playing it. So often I’ve seen presenters click again in an attempt to start the video during this delay, causing the deck to go to the next slide. Instead, set the video to click to play. That way you have more predictable control over the video start time, and even select a poster frame to show before starting. .

Lastly, I’d love to leave you with a couple book recommendations. The first is Resonate , by Nancy Duarte. It’s not so much about slides, but about public speaking in general – which is the foundation for any presentation, regardless of how great your slides are. In it, she breaks down the anatomy of what makes a great presentation, how to establish a central message and structure your talk, and more. (One of her case studies comes from Benjamin Zander’s charming TED Talk about classical music, a talk that captivated the audience from start to finish.) Think of this as prerequisite reading for my second recommendation, also by Duarte: Slide:ology . This is more focused on presentation visuals and slides.

Happy slide-making.

• Subscribe to TED Blog by email

Comments (57)

We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

Manage Cookies

Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how you’re using our website. Some of them are essential, and without them you wouldn’t be able to use Venngage. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are always on, as they’re essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. Without these cookies, services you’ve asked for can’t be provided.

Show cookie providers

• Google Login

Functionality Cookies

These cookies help us provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, and remember your settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers.

Performance Cookies

These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. If you opt out of these cookies, we can’t get feedback to make Venngage better for you and all our users.

• Google Analytics

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are set by our advertising partners to track your activity and show you relevant Venngage ads on other sites as you browse the internet.

• Google Tag Manager
• Infographics
• Daily Infographics
• Graphic Design
• Graphs and Charts
• Data Visualization
• Human Resources
• Training and Development
• Beginner Guides

Blog Graphic Design

30+ Best Pitch Deck Examples, Tips & Templates

By Ryan McCready , Jul 04, 2023

A startup is, by definition, a fast-growing company. And to grow you need funding.

Enter the pitch deck.

Haven’t created a winning pitch deck before? No worries. You’ll find a ton of pre-made pitch deck templates and designs inspired by the examples throughout.

Then, use Venngage’s Presentation Maker to easily edit the templates — no technical expertise required.

A well-designed pitch deck is vital to convincing investors that your company has massive growth potential, so you can get the resources you need to scale.

In this post, we’ll look at the best startup pitch deck examples from heavy-hitters such as Guy Kawasaki, Airbnb, Uber and Facebook. We’ll also uncover the secrets of their successful startup pitch decks, and how you can leverage them to attract investor dollars, bring on new business partners and win new client contracts.

 Table of contents (click to jump ahead):

• What is a pitch deck?

What is the purpose of a pitch deck?

What makes a good pitch deck, best pitch deck examples & sample pitch deck templates, what is the difference between a pitch deck vs business plan, pitch deck faq, create a pitch deck in 4 easy steps, what is a pitch deck .

A pitch deck is a presentation created to raise venture capital for your business. In order to gain buy-in and drum up financial support from potential investors, these presentations outline everything from why your business exists, to your business model, progress or milestones , your team, and a call-to-action.

The best startup pitch decks can help you:

• Prove the value of your business
• Simplify complex ideas so your audience can understand them (and get on board)
• Differentiate your business from competitors
• Tell the story behind your company to your target audience (and make that story exciting)

What is a pitch deck presentation?

A pitch deck presentation is a slideshow that introduces a business idea, product, or service to investors. Typically consisting of 10–20 slides, a pitch deck is used to persuade potential investors to provide funding for a business. It serves as a comprehensive overview of your company, outlining your business model, the problem you solve, the market opportunity you address, your key team members, and your financial projections.

The purpose of a pitch deck presentation can be to generate interest, secure funding, form partnerships or gain clients. A well-crafted pitch deck can greatly support a pitch deck presentation by effectively conveying the key messages, engaging the audience , and enhancing the overall impact of the presentation.

Great. Now let’s take a look at the elements of a good pitch deck.

To summarize, some of my favorite pitch deck design tips include:

• Adding icon headers to your most important insights
• Use similar charts and graphs for easy comparisons across slides
• For longer pitch decks, switch up the slide layouts
• Pick a consistent theme for your presentation background images
• Don’t just list your ideal users, create visual personas
• Use a timeline to show how your company has grown
• Always do the math for your audience

Now let’s take a look at some of the best startup pitch deck examples out there. 

1.  Sequoia capital pitch deck

How much did they raise? Sequoia Capital is actually a Venture Capital firm. According to TechCrunch , they’ve raised almost $1B for later-stage U.S. investments.

Key takeaway : “If you can’t tell the story of the company in five minutes, then you’re either overthinking it or you haven’t simplified it down enough.” – Mike Vernal, Sequoia Capital

VC firm Sequoia Capital has its own  10-slide pitch deck format to rival Guy Kawasaki’s famous example that we’ll take a look at a little later on. Its highly-curated, clarified format shines a spotlight on innovative ideas.

As the video above suggests, effectively communicating your mission, not just listing features, is key. Below is our take on the Sequoia Capital pitch deck example; you’ll find it clean, clear and easy to create.

Design tip : Click the blue background and select a new color from our color wheel (or one of your own brand colors via My Brand Kit, available with Venngage for Business ) to create a pitch deck with your branding.

Related:  How to Make Successful Financial Pitch Decks For Startups

Blue and pink iconics pitch deck

Ready to try it for yourself? Add a pop of color to your version of the Sequoia pitch deck template with this pink and blue slide deck. The contrasting colors will make your information stand out.

2. Airbnb pitch deck

How much did they raise?  $20k at three months and $600k at eight months (seed), according to Vator .

Key takeaway: A large marketplace, impressive rate of traction and a market ready for a new competitor are the factors which made Airbnb stand out early on, says Fast Company. The organization’s slide deck clearly demonstrates these points.

Your pitch deck should explain the core information in your business plan in a simple and straightforward way. Few startups have done this as well as Airbnb.

We’ve re-designed Airbnb’s famous deck as two light and airy sample pitch deck templates. The focus here is on engaging visuals, with minimal text used.

Airbnb fundraising slide deck

This type of deck is also called a demo day presentation .  Since its going to be viewed from a distance by investors while you present, you don’t need lots of text to get your message across. The point is to complement your speech, not distract from it.

Another great thing about Airbnb’s fundraising slide deck format is that every slide has a maximum of three sections of information:

As one of the most popular presentation layouts , the rule of three design principle has been drilled into my head. And for good reason!

Here’s one of the slides that demonstrates why this pitch deck design tip works:

VIDEO TUTORIAL:  Learn how to customize this pitch deck template by watching this quick 8-minute video.

Minimalist Airbnb pitch deck template

This simple sample pitch deck template is clean and incredibly easy to customize, making it perfect for presentation newbies.

Don’t forget to insert your own tagline instead of the famous “Book rooms with locals, rather than hotels” slogan. Hint: your tagline should similarly convey what your business offers. Airbnb’s pitch deck offers up tantalizing benefits: cost savings, an insider’s perspective on a location and new possibilities.

Design tip : Click the text boxes in our online editor and add your own words to the pitch decks. Duplicate slides you like, or delete the ones you don’t.

Related:  How to Create an Effective Pitch Deck Design [+Examples]

3. Uber pitch deck

How much did they raise? $1.57M in seed funding in 2010, reports Business Insider .

Key takeaway : Successful pitch decks clearly highlight the key pain point (the inefficiency of cabs) and a tantalizing solution (fast, convenient 1-click ordering).

Uber co-founder Garrett Camp shared the company’s very first pitch deck from 2008 via a  Medium post .

While there’s a surprising amount of text, it still manages to hit on every major part of their business plan succinctly — including key differentiators, use cases and best/worst-case scenarios.

Want something similar? We’ve updated the classic Uber pitch deck template with a sharp layout:

Uber investor deck

Many of the best pitch deck presentations out there are rather brief, only covering a few main points across a handful of slides. But sometimes your deck needs to provide more information.

There’s nothing wrong with having a longer investor pitch deck, as long as you switch up the slide layouts throughout — no one wants to see basically the same slide (just with different metrics or points) 25 times over.

This sample pitch deck template we created based on the infamous Uber deck has 20 or more slides and a diversity of layout options:

Design tip : Replace the photos with your own or browse our in-editor library with thousands of free professional stock images. To do so, double click any image to open our “replace” feature. Then, search for photos by keyword.

Blue Uber slide deck

In this navy version of the Uber pitch deck template, we’ve added bright colors and creative layouts.

Again, it’s easy to swap out the icons in our online editor. Choose from thousands of free icons in our in-editor library to make it your own.

Related : 9 Tips for Improving Your Presentation Skills For Your Next Meeting

4. Guy Kawasaki pitch deck

How much did they raise?  Guy Kawasaki’s Garage Capital raised more than $315 million dollars for its clients, according to one estimate .

Key takeaway : Avoid in-depth technical discussions in your pitch deck. Focus on the pain point you’re solving, how you’ll solve it, how you’ll make money and how you’ll reach custvomers.

Guy Kawasaki’s 10 slide outline is famous for its laser focus. He’s renowned for coining the 10/20/30 rule : 10 slides, 20 minutes and no fonts smaller than 30 point.

While you may be tempted to include as much of your business plan as possible in your pitch deck, his outline forces you to tease out your most important content and engage investors or clients within a short time span.

We’re recreated his famous outline in two winning templates you can adapt and make your own:

Gradient Guy Kawasaki pitch deck

This clean pitch deck template has all the sections you need and nothing you don’t.

Kawasaki’s format steers you towards what venture capitalists really care about : problem/solution, technology, competition, marketing plan, your team, financial projections and timeline.

Read our blog post on persuasive presentations for more design and speaking tips.

Design tip : Quickly add in charts and graphs with our in-editor chart maker. You can even import data from Excel or Google sheets.

Blue Guy Kawasaki pitch deck

This more conservative pitch deck template design keeps all the focus on the core information.

Remember: opt for a 30-point font or larger. This will force you to stick to your key points and explain them clearly. Anything smaller, and you’ll risk losing your audience — especially if they’re busy reading while tuning out what you’re actually saying.

5. Buffer pitch deck

How much did they raise?  $500k, according to Buffer’s co-founder Leo Widrich .

Key takeaway : The traction slide was key for Buffer: it showed they had a great product/market fit. If you have great traction, it’s much easier to raise funding.

What’s interesting about Buffer’s pitching process was the issue of competition, as that’s where many talks stalled. Investors became confused, since the social media landscape looked crowded and no one was sure how Buffer differed.

Eventually, they created this slide to clear the air:

To be frank, I’m still confused by this addition to the Buffer pitch deck, but perhaps their presentation would have cleared things up.

In any case, we’ve recreated Buffer’s pitch deck with its own traction, timeline and competitor slides, plus a clean new layout and some easy-to-customize icons:

Design tip : don’t forget to add a contact slide at the end of your pitch deck, like in the business pitch example below.

Because sometimes you’re going to pitch to a small room of investors. Other times, it will be to an auditorium full of random people in your industry. And I can guarantee that not everyone is going to know your brand off the top of their head.

You should make it extremely easy for people to find out more info or contact your team with any questions. I would recommend adding this to the last slide, as shown below.

Alternatively, you could add it to the slide that will be seen the longest in your pitch deck, like the title slide. This will help anyone interested write down your information as event organizers get things ready.

Related:  Creating a Pitch Deck? 5 Ways to Design a Winner

6. Facebook pitch deck

How much did they raise? $500K in angel funding from venture capitalist Peter Thiel (first round).

Key takeaway : If you don’t have revenue traction yet, lean heavily on other metrics , like customer base, user engagement and growth.  Use a timeline to tell a story about your company.

The best pitch decks tell the real story about your company or brand. You should not only want to sell the audience on your product but also on the hard work you’ve done building it from the ground up.

Design tip: Try data visualizations to relay a company or product timeline . Since people are familiar with the format and know how to read them quickly, you can convey the information impactfully and save room while you’re at it.

Here, Facebook’s classic pitch deck shows the incredible schools that’ve already signed on and describe when future launches will happen.

The sample pitch deck template featured below shows another example of a company or product timeline . This would have been a great fit in the Facebook pitch deck, don’t you think?

Plus you can summarize a ton of information about your brand on a single slide. Check out how well the timeline fits into this pitch deck template below:

If the designer wouldn’t have used a timeline, the same information could have been spread over five or six extra slides! Luckily, Venngage’s timeline maker can help you visualize progress across a period of time without any design experience required.

7. TikTok Pitch Deck

How much did they raise? $150.4M in funding in 2014 (back when TikTok was called Musical.ly), says Crunchbase .

Key takeaway : Use icons as visual anchors for written information.

(The full slide deck is available to Digiday subscribers , though you can view some of the key slides in this Medium post . Keep in mind: this TikTok pitch deck was created for potential advertisers, not investors. No other TikTok pitch decks are publicly available.)

What TikTok does really well in the above example is use icons as visual anchors for their stats. (I could write a whole article about using icons in your presentations correctly. There are so many ways you can use them to upgrade your slides.)

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, just look at the slide deck template below.

Each of the main points has an icon that gives instant visual context about what the stat is about to the audience. These icons draw the eye immediately to these important facts and figures as well.

Design tip: Remember to use icons that have a similar style and color palette. Otherwise, you run the risk of them becoming a distraction.

8. Y Combinator pitch deck

How much did they raise? This startup accelerator has invested in over 3,500 startups to date, according to the company website . They state their combined valuation nears $1 trillion.

Key takeaway : Create clear, concise pitch deck slides that tell a story investors can understand in seconds.

The classic Y Combinator pitch deck is incredibly simple, and for good reason. Seed stage companies can’t provide much detail, so they should focus on telling a story about their company.

That means your slides should tell a story investors can immediately understand in a glance.

Note that one of Y Combinator’s key components is the problem (above) and solution (below) slides.

Explaining how your startup is going to solve a pain point is a vital part of any slide deck. According to Y Combinator , startups should use the problem slide to show the problem your business solves, and how this problem currently affects businesses and/or people. Additionally, if you’re starting a new startup, forming an LLC could be a great choice to launch your business in the right direction.

Without that information, investors are going to be left with more questions than answers.

The solution slide should show the real-world benefits of your product/service. I recommend using data visualization to show traction, like the chart above, with a couple of notes for context.

To ensure your problem and solutions slides are easily understood, use a similar layout for both, as shown below.

This will help the audience quickly recall the main problem you want to solve, and connect it to your solution (even if the slides are separated by a few other points or ideas).

9. Front pitch deck

How much did they raise ? $10M in Series A funding

Key takeaway : Use a simple flowchart to visualize a problem your product/service solves.

Not everyone is going to be able to explain their problem and solution as succinctly as the previous examples. Some will need to take a unique approach to get their point across.

That’s why I want to highlight how Front masterfully communicated the problem to be solved. They likely realized it would be a lot easier (and cleaner) to create a flow chart that visualizes the problem instead of text. (Did I mention you can make your own flowcharts with Venngage?)

Also, I really like how they distilled each down to a single phrase. That approach, combined with the visuals, will help it stick in investors’ minds as one of the best pitch decks.

Here’s another example pitch deck that uses a chart to convey their problem/solution:

It splits the competition slide right down the middle to illustrate the differences. It also shows exactly how the processes differ between the two entities using mini flowcharts.

Helping the audience make the right conclusions about your company should be an important part of your pitch deck strategy. Without saying a word, the visual choices you make can greatly impact your message.

10. Crema pitch deck

How much did they raise? $175K in seed funding .

Key takeaway : Choose background images carefully — making sure they have a similar color palette.

The best pitch decks keep things consistent, mainly because there are so many moving parts in any presentation. You want each of your slides to feel like they’re connected by a singular feeling or theme. An out-of-place presentation background image can throw that off.

Keeping things consistent when you use a solid background color or pattern isn’t hard. But things can get tricky if you want to use different photos for your backgrounds.

However, if you pick presentation background images that have a similar color palette, you’ll be fine. Check out the images Crema used in their startup pitch deck below:

If you’re struggling to find exactly the same colored photos, you can use a color filter to make things more uniform.

11. WeWork pitch deck

How much did they raise? $6.9M in seed funding in 2011, says Crunchbase .

Key takeaway : Put your metrics on display.

The behemoths at WeWork still have one of the best software pitch decks, despite recent troubles (layoffs, and a valuation that dropped from $47 billion to $2.9 billion).

In fact, this investor pitch deck actually helped them raise money at a $5 billion valuation.

My favorite thing from this is how their key metrics are on the second slide. They waste no time getting down to business!

A lot of the time brands hide these metrics at the end of their presentation, but WeWork made sure to put it front and center in their slide deck.

This approach puts the audience in a positive state of mind, helping them be more receptive to the pitch.

12. Crew (Dribble) pitch deck

How much did they raise? $2M in seed funding

Key takeaway : Start your presentation with a simple statement to set the tone.

Sometimes you have to set the mood of the room before you jump into your slide deck. A simple way to do this is by adding a powerful statement or famous quote at the beginning of your slides.

This may sound cliche, but the creatives over at Crew (now Dribbble ) used this approach well in their pitch presentation.

By claiming that every business is an online business, they instantly change the way that people think about the business sector.

Additionally, the designers used this straightforward statement to set up the rest of the presentation. In the next few slides, the potential market is explained. Without the statement, I don’t think these numbers would be as impactful.

Let’s take a look at the graphs and charts the Dribble team used in their slide deck. In the below business pitch example, you can see that the line charts use the same color palette, size, and typography.

One of my favorite tips from my presentation ideas roundup article states you should never make the audience do the math.

You can also use this mantra when you’re adding data visualizations to your slides. Make each slide extra easy to consume, as well as, easy to compare to other visualizations.

Below the pie charts use the exact same color palette, size, and typography as well:

If the designers would have used a different example, the audience would be distracted trying to decipher the information.

But consistent design across multiple visualizations will ensure your audience can make comparisons that lead to the right conclusions.

Pro Tip: You can use a comparison infographic to summarize key points you’re comparing.

13. Aspire Food Group pitch deck

How much did they raise? $1M from the Hult Prize in 2013 to scale their project.

Key takeaway : Simple graphics clearly illustrate the problem (food security), the size of the market and Aspire’s unique farming project (spoiler alert: it’s insects).

Nonprofits pitching donors or social enterprises pitching for funding have a slightly different challenge than other organizations. They need to present a unique solution and  make an emotional connection to their audience.

Aspire’s simple pitch deck graphics allow investors to grasp their unique business idea at a glance. Plus, by introducing the audience to one of their customers and describing how insect farming has impacted her food budget, the concept is made relatable to many.

Another simple design hack is to choose a unique background for your nonprofit or social enterprise pick deck. Take this sample pitch deck template:

There are millions of stock photos out there for you to pick from, so finding one that will work shouldn’t be too hard.

However, when you’re picking your presentation background images , it’s important to make sure it matches your message or brand.

In the above example, the pitch deck’s slightly crumpled paper background fits an eco-friendly startup well.   Especially because eco-friendly living and minimalism share similar tenants.

Another great example is this sponsorship pitch deck above. It elevates the message by opting for a simplistic background choice.

With a beautiful yet minimalistic slide deck like this, who wouldn’t want to donate?

Most of the time your pitch deck background images are supposed to be used in a supporting role. However, you can also design your presentation around the background images to create some of the best pitch decks out there.

As you can see in this pitch deck template, we added written content to the white space in each of the stock photos:

Plus no one can really copy your pitch deck layout, so you will instantly stand out from other companies.

Be sure to pick photos that share the same color palette and theme. Otherwise, the benefits of using these presentation backgrounds will be lost.

14. Mattermark pitch deck

How much did they raise? A total of $17.2M so far, says Crunchbase .

Key takeaway : Use screenshots in your pitch deck to show the problem you’re solving.

Highlighting digital problems is tough when you have limited space and time…like when you’re pitching your new digital product to a room full of investors.

That’s why some of the best pitch decks include screenshots of the problem being solved.

As you can see above, the people from Mattermark used screenshots to show how unorganized SAAS reporting was. At that time it was spread over a ton of different sites, with different reporting standards and values.

It would be difficult to sell an investor on their product just by talking about the market. Mainly because not a lot of people have experience in that specific niche.

But with a handful of screenshots, they were able to highlight the product potential almost instantly.

In terms of design, the team at Mattermark stuck to the rule of three (see slide below). This rule will help you keep your team from overwhelming the audience with a flood of stats or figures.

They also decided to make these figures easier to consume by highlighting them in different colors

Compared to a boring list of figures, it’s a lot easier to remember three distinct colored numbers. Plus because the background colors darken as they go, it naturally guides the reader’s eyes down the slide.

15. Dwolla pitch deck

How much did they raise? $12M in funding as of 2018.

Key takeaway : Give the reason your company was founded in one quick sentence.

In many of our own presentations, we talk about how Venngage started from humble beginnings before undergoing tremendous growth in just a few years.

That’s because people love origin stories — they help your audience connect with your brand and appreciate all the work put into it.

Take a look at the pitch deck slide from Dwolla above. In a single sentence, they outline their reason for doing business, and what they hope to solve.

Just be sure to talk about your company founding in the first few slides of your pitch. Otherwise, it won’t have the same impact.

On another note, as a design company, we always love to see people create great visualizations in their pitch decks — particularly when these visuals communicate key information well….like when it comes to your ideal users!

I have seen a lot of brands just talk about their users, but I recommend creating visual user personas instead. Our persona guides can help you with this!

As you can see above, Dwolla visualized their user personas for each use case.

These visual user personas allow audiences to put a “real” face to your user base. And if you have many ideal users (like Dwolla), it helps keep each group organized.

16. Kickfolio (App.io) pitch deck 

How much did they raise? $1M in seed funding.

Key takeaway : Go for huge graphs! The bigger, the better.

Be proud of your brand’s growth and metrics in your slide deck.

You worked hard to grow a company from nothing, and that’s a big achievement! So why would you want to make that growth hard to see?

However, I’ve seen a lot of people inadvertently hide their key metrics by using small graphs or charts.

The only solution to this problem is…get bigger with your graphs! And I mean huge, like the ones App.io deployed in the pitch deck above. Their graph is so large and imposing, every audience member could see it clearly.

Venngage’s  graph maker can help you do this for your own pitch decks too.

17. Yalochat pitch deck

How much did they raise? $15M in Series B funding, says TechCrunch.

Key takeaway : Use icons as illustrations to add instant context.

Icons have been making a comeback in the design world over the past few years. According to recent reports on graphic design trends , they’ll continue to be popular.

This presentation from Yalochat is one of the best examples of how to use illustrated icons correctly.

Each icon perfectly illustrates the point being made on each slide, giving instant context. They will definitely catch the eyes of any audience member.

Just remember to follow their lead and  use consistently designed icons !

18. Brex pitch deck

How much did they raise? $1.5 billion to date.

Key takeaway : Include a single slide about your team and highlight what makes them truly exceptional.

Another important part of your story is the people who helped you build your company. These people are the lifeblood of your brand, and what helps it stand out from the competitors.

Corporate card startup Brex does this well by using team member photos, and including their titles and company affiliations to build credibility. You can download the Brex slides for free, thanks to Business Insider .

Let’s tale a look at a sample pitch deck that employs a similar philosophy.

I’m guessing you already planned on adding something similar to your pitch deck. Again, I would recommend using only a single team slide like they did.

You can use a team photo if you want to talk about the whole team, or add an organizational chart instead. Alternatively, like Brex, you can highlight the most important individuals, like this business pitch example:

Whatever you choose to do, don’t forget to talk about your team on a team slide, and highlight the people who make your company truly great.

Read More:  12+ Organizational Chart Examples and Templates

19. Purple Go pitch deck

How much did they raise? Undisclosed.

Key takeaway : Use a contrasting hue to draw your audience’s attention to key information.

Color isn’t just about making your designs look good — it can also draw your audience’s attention to important information.

For example, take a look at this simple pitch deck from Purple Go . They contrast deep purple with white to help certain sentences pop.

This is a simple way to make your slides have a lot of impact; pick colors that contrast boldly with each other.

20. Mint pitch deck

How much did they raise? $31M to date, according to Mint.

Key takeaway : Add visual cues, such as illustrations and icons, to help explain your brand to investors.

I’m guessing your pitch deck is already going to touch on how you stand out from the competition. But just listing a few things that set you apart may not be enough on your slide deck!

You may need to add some visual cues to help the audience out.

We decided to redesign Mint’s original deck for a contemporary take on this.

In this minimalist pitch deck template, our designers used visuals to make the main company stand out even more. And best of all, it doesn’t distract from the minimalist theme.

This simple addition to your slides will help your information jump off the page, providing a rewarding visual break from related companies.

21. Park Evergreen (Plot) pitch deck

How much did they raise? $400k in seed funding.

Key takeaway : Give each metric its own slide.

Generally, slide decks are full of important metrics that you’re supposed to remember. But not all of those numbers are presented in a way that would make them easy to.

Some are hidden in long paragraphs, while others are smashed together with less important findings.

That’s why I’m a huge fan of how Park Evergreen (now called Plot ) included important numbers in this slide deck. As you can see below, each metric is given its own slide:

With this approach, the audience members place their full attention on that number. And they’ll be able to recall the information a lot quicker.

It may look overly simple to some, but the best pitch decks use this tactic a lot.

22. Hampton Creek (Eat Just) pitch deck

How much did they raise? $1.5M in Series A.

Key takeaway : Create a minimalist title slide to build anticipation for your presentation.

You probably know that presentations don’t always run as smoothly as planned. With long breaks and technical problems, the time between presentations can end up running rather long.

Translation: you might spend more time looking at the title slide than the actual presentation itself.

So if you really want to build some anticipation for your pitch, create a minimalist (some might even say, mysterious) title slide. As you can see, the team at Eat Just (once known as Hampton Creek) did just that.

The lack of information makes spectators want to learn more about your brand, effortlessly engaging them.

The only negative is that no one is going to know the name of your company — yet.

23. Sickweather pitch deck

How much did they raise? $2.6M to date, according to Crunchbase.

Key takeaway : Pull out the main metrics from your graphs and charts to make your slide a snap to understand.

Remember when I said: “Don’t make your audience do the math”?

Yeah. That’s because people hate doing math — so you never want to make investors try to calculate your data themselves. Especially when dealing with millions of dollars, tiny percent changes or other complicated numbers.

Out of all the tips in this article, this one might be the most important. Mainly because forgetting this idea all but guarantees your failure.

That’s why I recommend you “do the math” on every slide where you include a graph or chart — like how Sickweather did above.

By pulling out the main growth metrics from the graph, they made this slide a lot more consumable, and showed the audience exactly what they should pay attention to.

24. Dutchie pitch deck

How much did they raise? $35M in 2020, according to TechCrunch .

Key takeaway : Set the tone by putting your most impressive stat(s) in the introduction.

Dutchie, an all-in-one technology platform for eCommerce, POS and payments, wastes no time coming out the gates with one impressive insight: “10% of all legal cannabis in the world” is purchased through their product.

Now I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty tantalizing.

So it makes perfect sense they would pull it out from their market share figures and feature it in their introduction. By doing so, investors get an idea how successful and established Dutchie is right off the bat.

25. Studysmarter pitch deck

How much did they raise?  $15M according to TechCrunch .

Key takeaway : Illustrate your vision over several slides.

Rather than dedicate one slide to their vision for the company, digital learning company Studysmarter continuously brings up how their product will be understood in the future — as “the world’s central hub” for “lifelong” learning, becoming the “largest learning platform in Europe” by 2021.

While this visionary sentiment is not new to the pitch deck industry, it makes sense Studysmarter would want to focus much of their presentation slide deck on this idea: the idea of an unlimited target market and use cases.

Design wise, their illustrations are consistent, using visuals to illustrate their message and various target demographics.

These graphics build off the sleek, modern interface Studysmarter’s brand image invokes. It also illustrates what they want investors to envision for the future of the brand.

26. Clearbanc (Clearco) Pitch Deck

How much did they raise? $70M in series A funding, according to TechCrunch.

Key takeaway : Use flow charts to communicate complicated processes.

As a company that offers startups “growth capital for the new economy” through non-dilutive revenue-share agreements, Clearco (previously known as Clearbanc) wins big by communicating how the process works in less than a slide’s time.

That’s right: the company uses a flowchart .

For complicated business processes that would normally take several slides of text to communicate, a flowchart is a smart way to visualize a process while saving space and keeping your audience engaged.

Particularly for a company like Clearco, this is key for getting investors up to speed. Then you can move on to the other facts and figures they’ll surely want to hear.

27. Foursquare Pitch Deck

Key takeaway : Show how the end-product looks in your presentation.

Okay look, I get it. This slide deck from 2009 is certainly behind on times when it comes to design tips in this current day and age…

BUT take it back to more than a decade ago, and you’ll see why Foursquare’s pitch deck won big with investors.

As one of the first businesses to employ gamification, the company lets this selling proposition shine by using an iPhone graphic to show how the app’s points and badges look to the end-user. These visuals communicate the appeal by showcasing exactly how consumers will interact with, and understand, the product.

In essence, it takes the guesswork out of their pitch.

So while the text-heavy aspect of this sample pitch deck isn’t exactly ideal, their use of visuals can teach us a lesson.

28. TalentBase pitch deck

How much did they raise?   $330K to date.

Key takeaway : Let the numbers do the talking.

Rather than take up a ton of slide space in this pitch deck example, TalentBase, an affordable payroll solution , focused their real estate on the real deal-closers: the numbers.

While this won’t work for every business, as you may need to add more slides to truly explain the environment your organization exists in and your processes, TalentBase uses their positioning to drive forward a captivating narrative.

And this narrative utilizes only numbers to connect the dots in the mind of potential investors about the value TalentBase offers, in terms of market capture.

29. Peloton pitch deck

Key takeaway : Discuss both the tangible and intangible benefits your product offers.

In 2018, back before the real pandemic hey-day of this tech unicorn, Peloton dazzled in a funding round and managed to capture in $550M funding.

Part of this can be attributed to Peloton’s emphasis on the benefits it brings customers.

Across multiple slides, the exercise equipment and media company highlights how customers’ lives are improved in various emotional and functional ways. Since this connection lays the groundwork for long-term B2C relationships, investors can immediately identify the value encompassed by this modern fitness tool.

Looking to try something similar? Check out the below Peloton sample pitch deck, reimagined by our Venngage design team.

EDIT THIS PITCH DECK

30. Ledgy pitch deck

How much did they raise? $ 10M in September 2021.

Key takeaway : Cut down on space with text and graphics that follow a clear logical narrative.

In just seven slides, the equity management and investor relations platform, Ledgy, was able to convince their audience that their product was worth investing in.

By putting their mission first, and following it up with engaging visuals, the company tells a story despite using minimal text.

Yoko Spirig, CEO and co-founder of Ledgy, echoed this sentiment in an interview : “Starting with the ‘why’ lets you build the business case for the product, and create a logical narrative that investors can follow.”

That’s why, design-wise, this is one of the cleanest pitch deck examples in the bunch. It’s one of the shortest too.

I also appreciate how their brand colors are used in conjunction with white to keep everything consistent (something that Venngage’s automated branding feature My Brand Kit can help you out with).

A pitch deck and a business plan serve different purposes in the world of entrepreneurship, each playing a crucial role in showcasing and strategizing a business venture. The main distinction lies in their format, level of detail and intended audience.

Pitch decks typically consists of a series of carefully crafted slides, highlighting key aspects of the business such as the value proposition, target market, revenue model, competitive advantage and team expertise.

The goal is to pique interest, generate excitement and secure further engagement or funding opportunities. A pitch deck emphasizes storytelling, persuasive visuals, and concise messaging to create an impactful impression.

On the other hand, a business plan is a comprehensive and detailed document that provides an in-depth roadmap for the entire business venture. It outlines the company’s mission, vision, goals, market analysis, marketing strategies, operational details, financial projections and risk assessment.

A business plan serves as a strategic blueprint, guiding the entrepreneur and internal stakeholders in executing the business idea effectively. It tends to be more exhaustive, often spanning several pages or even chapters, and is typically presented in a written format.

What should a pitch deck contain?

A well-crafted pitch deck should contain key information that effectively communicates your business concept, value proposition, and growth potential. While the specific content may vary depending on your industry and target audience, here are the essential elements that a pitch deck should typically include:

• Problem statement
• Market opportunity
• Business model
• Competitive analysis
• Marketing and sales strategy
• Team members
• Financial projections
• Milestones and timeline
• Investment opportunity

Not a graphic designer? No sweat — creating your own pitch deck is a breeze using Venngage’s Presentation Maker . (We’ll go over the basics here; for a more in-depth look, check out this article .)

Step 1: Sign up on Venngage for free using your email, Gmail or Facebook account. If you already have an account, log in to access the platform.

Step 2: Browse through our selection of professionally designed pitch deck templates and select one that suits your needs and preferences.

Step 3: Once you’ve selected a template, start customizing it to match your branding and content. Venngage’s drag-and-drop editor allows you to easily modify every aspect of the template, including colors, fonts, images and layout. Replace the placeholder text with your own content, such as your company information, product or service details, market analysis and financial projections.

Note: there are hundreds of templates available that you can design and share for free. If you want to access certain designs, take advantage of in-editor features like My Brand Kit/Team collaboration .

Step 4: Once you’re satisfied with your design, you can download it in various formats such as PDF or PNG. Alternatively, you can use also Venngage’s sharing options to present your pitch deck directly from the platform or share it with others via a generated link.

To leave a lasting impression on your audience, consider transforming your slides into an interactive presentation. Here are 15  interactive presentation ideas  to enhance interactivity and engagement.

Now that you know how to create the best pitch decks to communicate your ideas, present your startup or raise venture capital, take action and start designing your own pitch deck today!

And if you want to learn more, there are a ton of other presentation design resources you can take a look at next:

• 20+ Business Pitch Deck Templates and Design Best Practices
• 120+ Best Presentation Ideas, Design Tips & Examples
• 15 Presentation Design Statistics to Know For 2019
• 7 Tips for Designing a Persuasive Presentation [Presentation Design Guide + Templates]
• 20+ Consulting Proposal Templates