what is a pitch deck presentation

What is a pitch deck?

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What is a pitch deck a quick guide.

A pitch deck is a presentation that provides an overview of a business, startup, or project to potential investors, partners, or stakeholders. It is typically a concise and visually engaging document that outlines key information — with the goal to communicate a compelling story about a project or new business and convince the audience of its viability and potential for success.

Pitch deck basics

A pitch deck, often considered the cornerstone of entrepreneur and investor communication, is a brief and visually compelling way to create a presentation that overviews your business. This invaluable tool provides a snapshot of your company's value proposition, market analysis, product details, and more. It's your golden ticket to securing the interest and backing of potential investors.

Understanding how a pitch deck works

Think of your pitch deck as your company's story condensed into a powerful narrative, the quintessence of your venture told through compelling visuals and concise text. This tool communicates the "what" and the "why" behind your business. It conveys your mission, vision, and strategy in an easily digestible format, ideally leaving investors intrigued and keen to know more.

What are the components of a typical pitch deck?

An effective pitch deck typically consists of the following elements:

Introduction : The essence of your company — what it is and what it does.

Team : Details about the skilled people driving your venture.

Problem : The issue your product or service aims to address.

Solution : Your unique value proposition.

Market analysis : Your target audience and market size.

Product : In-depth details about your product or service.

Business model : How you intend to make money.

Marketing and sales strategy : Your plan to attract and retain customers.

Financials : Current performance and future projections.

Ask : Your request from investors, whether it's funding, advice, or partnerships.

Advantages of making a pitch deck

The overall goal is to capture the audience's interest and generate enough enthusiasm for them to want to learn more or potentially invest in the business. A well-constructed pitch deck offers multiple benefits:

Clarity : By distilling your business into a pitch deck, you understand your venture more clearly, helping you articulate your vision effectively.

Investor attraction : An engaging pitch deck is a magnet for investors. It communicates critical details about your business and demonstrates your professionalism and commitment.

Guidance : A pitch deck provides a roadmap for investor presentations, guiding the flow of conversation and ensuring key points are addressed.

Successful pitch deck examples

To better understand how a good pitch deck should look, here are examples of 3 successful SaaS companies with great pitch decks:

Airbnb : Airbnb's original pitch deck succinctly outlined its unique value proposition, market analysis, and growth strategy. It effectively showcased their novel solution to a widespread problem, capturing investor interest.

Slack : Slack's pitch deck focused heavily on their product, using powerful visuals and simple explanations to communicate their platform's benefits. They underscored their unique selling points, clearly differentiating themselves from competitors.

Zendesk : Zendesk's pitch deck is a testament to the power of storytelling. They successfully used a narrative approach to guide potential investors through their customer service solution, making their proposition highly relatable.

How to make a pitch deck

Creating a compelling pitch deck involves thoughtful design, clear writing, and strategic storytelling. Here are some steps to guide you:

Understand your audience : Understand your potential investors' interests and concerns to tailor your pitch deck effectively.

Define your structure : Outline your deck using the key components mentioned earlier. This will serve as your pitch deck template .

Create your content : Keep your text succinct and impactful. Use data to support your statements and weave a compelling story around your business.

Design your slides : Use a clean, professional design. Leverage visuals and infographics to communicate complex information.

Refine and practice : Revise your deck, seek feedback, and practice your delivery. Remember, your pitch deck is not just a document — it's a presentation.

Tips and best practices when making a pitch deck

Less is more : Avoid cluttering your slides with text. Stick to key points and let your oral presentation fill in the details.

Consistency is key : Maintain a consistent design throughout your deck. This includes colors, fonts, visuals, and tone of voice.

Data-driven : Back your claims with relevant data. This demonstrates market understanding and adds credibility to your statements.

Tell a story : People connect with stories. Weave a narrative around your business journey, from the problem you're solving to the solution you're offering and your vision for the future.

Call to action : Make sure to include a clear 'ask'. Whether you're seeking funding, partnerships, or advice, be specific about what you want from your audience.

Creating a pitch deck might initially seem daunting, but with the right approach and tools, you can craft a compelling presentation that captures your audience's attention and leaves a lasting impression. Remember, your pitch deck reflects your business vision — it should not just inform but also inspire. Happy crafting!

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Learn how to create a winning pitch deck for investors, customers, and partners. Discover the key elements and common mistakes to avoid in a concise and engaging guide.

December 14, 2023

A pitch deck is a concise presentation that outlines the problem, the solution, and the company's path to success. This presentation can serve different purposes, and in this article, we will provide an overview of all of them.

To create an effective pitch deck, it is important to include key elements such as a brief introduction, a problem statement, a solution statement, a market analysis, a business model, a marketing plan, and financial projections. Each of these elements should be presented clearly and concisely, using persuasive language and compelling visuals to convey the company's unique value proposition.

By understanding what a pitch deck is and what it includes, entrepreneurs can create a pitch deck that captures the attention of relevant stakeholders and provides them with important information about the company's goals and potential for success.

The Importance of a Pitch Deck for Your Startup

Pitch decks are an essential tool for entrepreneurs looking to raise capital, attract partnerships, or communicate their business idea or plan to potential investors or customers. Simply put, a pitch deck is a visual presentation that summarizes the key aspects of a business idea or plan. But what is a pitch deck and why is it so important?

A pitch deck is a document that provides a clear and concise overview of a business idea or plan. It typically includes slides that cover key topics such as the problem/opportunity, solution, market, business model, team, and financial projections. The purpose of a pitch deck is to provide potential investors or partners with a quick and engaging way to understand a business and its potential.

But a pitch deck is more than just a summary of a business plan. It's an opportunity for entrepreneurs to tell a compelling story about their business and differentiate themselves from competitors. A well-crafted pitch deck can help entrepreneurs stand out in a crowded market, attract investment or partnerships, and refine their strategy and communication skills.

So why is a pitch deck important? Firstly, a pitch deck helps entrepreneurs communicate their business idea or plan quickly and effectively. In today's fast-paced business environment, it's important to be able to communicate your vision and value proposition in a clear and concise way. A pitch deck provides a structured and engaging way to do this.

Secondly, a pitch deck can help entrepreneurs attract investment or partnerships. Pitch decks are often used by entrepreneurs to pitch their business to potential investors or partners, with the aim of securing funding or forming strategic alliances. A well-crafted pitch deck can help entrepreneurs make a strong case for their business and build credibility with potential investors or partners.

Finally, a pitch deck can help entrepreneurs refine their business model and strategy. Creating a pitch deck requires entrepreneurs to focus on the most important aspects of their business and articulate them in a clear and concise way. This can help entrepreneurs identify gaps or weaknesses in their business, refine their strategy, and develop a compelling story that resonates with their audience.

In summary, a pitch deck is a visual presentation that summarizes the key aspects of a business idea or plan. It's an essential tool for entrepreneurs looking to communicate their vision, attract investment or partnerships, refine their strategy and communication skills, and seek guidance from business consultants .

Purpose of a Pitch Deck

A pitch deck is an essential tool for startups. Its purpose is to present the company's strengths and goals in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. A pitch deck can serve several purposes:

Raise Capital

A pitch deck is primarily used to persuade investors to invest in a startup's product or service. It presents the company's strengths, goals, business model, and value proposition in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. The deck should be visually appealing and compelling while highlighting the potential of the startup and how it can benefit from the investment. If you’d like to learn more about how to get your pitch deck in the hands of investors, take a look at How to send Pitch Decks to investors?

Attract New Customers, Partners, or Employees

A well-crafted pitch deck can also help a startup attract new customers, partners, or employees. By presenting the company's unique value proposition, it can gain the attention of potential customers or partners who may be interested in working with the startup. Additionally, the pitch deck can highlight the company's growth potential, which can attract talented employees who see the potential for career growth within the company.

Gain Media Attention

A pitch deck can be used to gain media attention and increase the startup's visibility. By presenting a comprehensive and well-crafted pitch deck, the startup can demonstrate its potential to the media, which can lead to press coverage, interviews, and other media opportunities. This can help the startup reach a wider audience and attract potential investors.

Validate Business Model and Value Proposition

A pitch deck can be used as validation for startups and for a value proposition. By presenting the deck to customers and partners, the startup can gather feedback and make adjustments to its strategy. This can help the startup refine its product or service and ensure that it meets the needs of its target market.

Internal Communication

Finally, a pitch deck can be a useful tool for internal communication. By creating a pitch deck, a startup can clarify its goals and priorities and ensure that everyone is aligned with the company's vision. The deck can be used to communicate the company's strategy, growth potential, and other important information to employees, which can help them stay motivated and work towards the company's goals.

Ultimately, a pitch deck is a versatile and essential tool for any startup. By creating a well-crafted pitch deck that effectively communicates the company's value proposition and potential, startups can achieve their business goals, gain new customers and partners, and attract investment.

Pitch Deck Outline

A pitch deck typically includes a combination of a presentation, slide show, and brochure that covers all aspects of the company. The components of a pitch deck that are necessary to convey the company's value proposition are as follows:

• Introduction : A brief introduction that provides an overview of the company, its history, and its mission.
• Problem statement : A clear and concise statement of the problem that the company is trying to solve.
• Solution statement: A description of the company's solution to the problem, highlighting the unique value proposition of the product.
• Market analysis : An analysis of the market opportunity for the company's solution, including size, growth potential, and competition.
• Business model : A description of the company's business model, including how it generates revenue, the cost structure, and the pricing strategy.
• Traction slide: A plan for how the company will reach its target audience, including the channels it will use, the cost per acquisition, and the ROI.
• Financial projections : Financial projections that demonstrate the potential for growth, including revenue, expenses, and profitability.
• Competition slide : A slide that analyzes the competition, highlighting the company's unique selling proposition and how it compares to other solutions in the market.
• Team slide : A slide that introduces the team, highlighting their experience, skills, and qualifications.
• Investment slide : The investment slide is used to outline the amount of capital needed, explain how it will be used, and highlight existing investors and their trust in the company.

A successful pitch deck should be visually appealing, using persuasive language and compelling visuals to convey the company's value proposition. It should be concise and engaging, allowing potential investors to understand how the product or service will benefit them or their company. By presenting a comprehensive and well-thought-out pitch deck, startups can demonstrate the potential of their company and how it can benefit from investment.

Ultimately, creating an effective pitch deck requires understanding the key elements that are necessary to convey the company's value proposition. By following the guidelines and including all the necessary components, startups can create a pitch deck that captures the attention of potential investors, engages them with the company's unique value proposition, and persuades them to invest in the company.

The aim of pitch deck creation is to convince investors to invest in the company by creating an emotional connection with the potential client through clear and concise content. By utilizing pitch training services , entrepreneurs can refine their pitch deck and improve their chances of success in securing investments.

The pitch deck needs to be able to answer the following questions:

When creating a pitch deck, it is important to not only answer the five key questions listed in the selection, but also to address any potential concerns or objections that investors may have. Here are some additional questions to consider:

• What is the total addressable market for your product/service?
• Who is your target customer?
• What are your key metrics for success?
• What are the risks associated with your business and how do you plan to mitigate them?
• What is your timeline for achieving key milestones?
• Who is on your team and what are their qualifications?
• What previous successes have you had in the industry?
• What is your exit strategy for investors?

Remember, the purpose of a pitch deck is to tell a compelling story about your business and differentiate yourself from competitors. Use persuasive language and compelling visuals to convey the unique value proposition of your company and address any potential concerns or objections that investors may have. Be concise, but also thorough in your presentation of the key aspects of your business. Following a pitch deck outline and structure guide can also help ensure that you cover all of the important topics in a clear and concise manner.

How to Tailor Your Pitch Deck for Different Audiences

Tailoring your pitch deck for different audiences can help you make a greater impact and increase your chances of success. Here are some tips for tailoring your pitch deck for different audiences:

Potential Investors

When pitching to potential investors, it's important to focus on the financials and the potential for return on investment. Make sure your pitch deck includes financial projections, market analysis, and a clear explanation of how the investment will be used to achieve your goals. Tailor your presentation to the specific interests and risk tolerance of the investors you are pitching to.

When pitching to potential customers, it's important to focus on the benefits and unique value proposition of your product or service, based on startup market research . Make sure your pitch deck includes a clear explanation of how your product or service solves a problem or meets a need that your customers have. Use visuals and real-world examples to demonstrate the benefits of your product or service.

When pitching to potential partners, it's important to focus on the potential for mutual benefit and how your partnership can help both parties achieve their goals. Make sure your pitch deck includes a clear explanation of how your partnership can help your partner reach their goals and how their partnership can help you reach yours. Use visuals and case studies to demonstrate the benefits of partnering with your company.

When pitching to potential employees, it's important to focus on the growth potential and unique culture of your company. Make sure your pitch deck includes a clear explanation of how your company is different from other companies in the industry and how you provide opportunities for career growth and development. Use visuals and testimonials from current employees to demonstrate the benefits of working for your company.

By tailoring your pitch deck to different audiences, you can increase your chances of success and make a greater impact with your presentation. Remember to focus on the specific interests and needs of each audience and use persuasive language and compelling visuals to convey your message.

Essential Elements of a Winning Pitch Deck

While the needs of every business are unique and specific to their goals, certain elements can help you achieve success. Our winning pitch deck elements will give you a clear idea of what your pitch deck should include. You can add more features, but including these elements will help you stand out.

1. Have a Catchy Business Vision

Your vision is the soul of your idea. Therefore, you need to make this statement as expressive as possible. Keep it short and simple; make it a one-line sentence to summarize your brand. For example:

• L'Oréal Paris: "Because You're Worth It."
• MasterCard: "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard."

Think of it as a short tweet to express your sudden thought. But you need to be creative and open-minded to design a catchy tagline that will reflect your vision in the best way. Just keep in mind that people should be able to remember this part even if they miss out on the presentation. 2. Highlight the Problem and its Intensity

The success of your idea or brand depends on the scale of the problem it promises to solve. Perhaps your product solves a pressing issue in society, or maybe you have a better solution than the already available products in the market. Therefore, you need to highlight the problem that consumers are facing, its intensity, and the dire need for its solution. This is where investors can see their money making more money.

Be specific about the problem and add recent statistics to paint a better picture for the investors.

3. Equip Your Solution with Graphical Presentation

Now is the time to introduce the star solution of the evening: your product. Talk about the benefits your idea or product can bring to consumers' lives. Develop your storyline by highlighting the major problem faced by a large population, and then explain how your product is the only solution for people.

It is advisable to add pictures and appealing graphics to attract the audience's attention because people tend to remember images more than long speeches.

4. Present Your Company's Business Model with Planned Strategies

This business model slide from deck will explain the capacity of your business to generate profit and benefit investors, owners, and consumers together. Here, you can highlight the advanced strategies that your business will employ to bring better and bigger profits. You can also explain the monthly growth since you first opened your doors to consumers.

The main goal is to show investors the huge opportunity that should not be ignored at any cost, along with the least possible risk scenario.

5. Highlight the Expertise of Your Team Members

Your team members are the driving force of your mission and vision. They are the key ingredient in your recipe, so don't just mention your team members; highlight why they are the right people for the job. You can briefly talk about their past experiences and their capabilities to achieve the set targets in this slide from deck .

6. Explain Planned Marketing Strategies

Customers are the lifeblood of any business, so it's important to explain how you plan to attract them. Describe your marketing and sales plan, highlighting key tactics that you have in store. You can also emphasize how your strategy will have a greater impact than your competitors. Explain your sales channels and methods to ensure that your brand gets the attention it deserves.

7. Strategy to Tackle Competition

Underestimating your competitors is the biggest mistake that many startups make. You don't have to directly target your competitors, but you should show how your product is different from existing solutions and how it changes the present scenario despite the intense competition. Explain your uniqueness and why customers would prefer your brand over others.

8. Talk about Investment Including Usage Schemes

The whole purpose of a pitch deck is to secure the investment you need to bring your vision to life. Explain how much capital you need and why, and describe how you plan to utilize the funded amount. You can also mention your existing investors and why they trust you, which can motivate others to trust you as well.

Now you know what a pitch deck is, its definition, and what elements should be included in it.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in a Pitch Deck

Creating a pitch deck can be a daunting task, especially if you are new to the process. However, it's important to avoid common mistakes that can detract from your message and undermine the effectiveness of your presentation. Here are some common mistakes to avoid when creating a pitch deck:

1. Lack of Clarity

One of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when creating a pitch deck is failing to communicate their message clearly. A pitch deck should be concise and easy to understand, with each slide highlighting a key point or idea. Avoid using jargon or technical language that may confuse or alienate your audience. Instead, use simple, easy-to-understand language and visuals to convey your message.

2. Failing to Address the Problem

The problem your startup solves is the foundation of your pitch deck. Failing to address the problem clearly and effectively can make it difficult for investors to understand the value of your product or service. Make sure that your pitch deck clearly defines the problem and highlights its impact on consumers or the market.

3. Ignoring the Competition

Ignoring the competition is a common mistake that can undermine the effectiveness of your pitch deck. Investors want to know that you have a clear understanding of the competitive landscape and have a plan to differentiate your product or service from others in the market. Make sure that your pitch deck includes a competitive analysis that highlights your unique value proposition and how it compares to other solutions in the market.

4. Overcomplicating Financial Projections

Financial projections are an important part of any pitch deck, but overcomplicating them can be a mistake. Avoid presenting financial projections that are too complex or difficult to understand. Instead, focus on presenting financial projections that are realistic and based on sound assumptions. Make sure to clearly explain your revenue model and how you plan to generate revenue.

5. Failing to Highlight the Team

Your team is a key part of your startup's success, and failing to highlight their expertise and experience can be a mistake. Make sure that your pitch deck includes a slide that introduces your team and highlights their qualifications and experience. This can help build credibility and establish trust with potential investors.

6. Neglecting to Tell a Compelling Story

A pitch deck is more than just a collection of slides; it's an opportunity to tell a compelling story about your startup and its potential for success. Failing to tell a compelling story can make it difficult for investors to connect with your message and see the value of your product or service. Make sure that your pitch deck tells a story that is engaging, persuasive, and memorable.

7. Using Poor Quality Visuals

Visuals are an important part of any pitch deck, but using poor quality visuals can detract from your message and undermine the effectiveness of your presentation. Make sure that your pitch deck includes high-quality visuals that are clear, easy to understand, and visually appealing. Use charts, graphs, and images to support your message and make it easier for investors to understand your key points.

8. Failing to Practice

Finally, failing to practice your pitch can be a mistake. Practice is essential for delivering a pitch that is confident, persuasive, and effective. Make sure to practice your pitch in front of colleagues, friends, or family members to get feedback and improve your delivery. This can help you refine your message and deliver a pitch that resonates with potential investors.

In summary, creating a pitch deck requires careful planning, attention to detail, and a clear understanding of your audience and message. Avoiding these common mistakes can help you create a pitch deck that is engaging, persuasive, and effective in securing the investment you need to grow your startup.

The Importance of Storytelling in a Pitch Deck

When it comes to pitching your business idea or plan, storytelling can be a powerful tool to capture the attention and imagination of potential investors or partners. Storytelling can help you connect with your audience on an emotional level and make your presentation more engaging and memorable.

Here are some reasons why storytelling is important in a pitch deck:

1. It Helps You Stand Out

There are likely many other startups or businesses vying for the attention of potential investors or partners. By telling a compelling story about your business, you can differentiate yourself from competitors and make a lasting impression on your audience.

2. It Makes Your Presentation More Memorable

Research has shown that people are more likely to remember stories than facts or statistics alone. By incorporating storytelling into your pitch deck, you can make your presentation more memorable and increase the likelihood that your audience will remember key aspects of your business.

3. It Can Help You Connect With Your Audience

Storytelling can be a powerful way to connect with your audience on an emotional level. By sharing personal anecdotes or stories that illustrate the impact of your business, you can help your audience see the human side of your company and build a connection with them.

4. It Helps You Communicate Your Unique Value Proposition

Storytelling can also help you communicate your unique value proposition in a clear and compelling way. By using storytelling techniques to illustrate the problem your business solves and the benefits it provides, you can help your audience understand why your business is different from others in the market.

When incorporating storytelling into your pitch deck, it's important to keep a few key tips in mind:

• Keep it simple: Your story should be easy to understand and follow.
• Be authentic: Share stories that are true and genuine.
• Keep it concise: Your story should be short and to the point, focusing on the key aspects of your business that you want to communicate.

By using storytelling techniques in your pitch deck, you can make your presentation more engaging, memorable, and effective at communicating your unique value proposition.

If anyone asks "what is a pitch deck" or about the definition of a pitch deck, you can easily answer. A pitch deck is an investor's first impression of your startup. It needs to be compelling enough to convince them that it is worth investing in your company.

This is why it's essential for founders to ensure that the deck they are presenting is impeccable and leaves no room for questions. The best way to do this is by making sure that the deck reflects the investor's interests and risk tolerance. This way, investors will know that their money will be safe with you and you will be able to successfully scale your startup.

Investors are a crucial part of the success of any startup. They not only provide monetary support, but they also have a wealth of knowledge and connections that can help build up your business. In return, investors want to see a return on their investment, which could come in the form of equity in your company or by taking interest from dividends from your company's profits.

Startups often find it challenging to scale. They want to reach more customers, but they struggle to convert enough leads into sales. This is where a pitch deck comes in. The pitch deck is your road map for how to achieve success and your key promotional and marketing tool.

To ensure you get the most out of your pitch deck, make sure it has impactful visuals and compelling copy to capture the attention of investors or potential customers at first glance.

Key Takeaways

A pitch deck is a versatile tool that can be used to communicate a startup's value proposition, potential, and goals to stakeholders such as investors, customers, and employees.

A well-crafted pitch deck should include key components such as an introduction, problem statement, solution statement, market analysis, business model, traction plan, financial projections, competition analysis, team introduction, and investment plan.

Tailoring a pitch deck to different audiences can increase its effectiveness. When pitching to investors, focus on financials and potential ROI. When pitching to customers, focus on the benefits and unique value proposition of the product. When pitching to partners, focus on mutual benefit. When pitching to employees, focus on the growth potential and unique culture of the company.

Common mistakes to avoid in a pitch deck include lack of clarity, ignoring the competition, overcomplicating financial projections, neglecting to tell a compelling story, and using poor quality visuals.

Storytelling can be a powerful tool in a pitch deck. It can help the audience connect with the startup on an emotional level, make the presentation more memorable, and communicate the unique value proposition in a clear and compelling way.

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Answers, To The Most Asked Questions

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What Is a Pitch Deck? (And How to Make One)

It’s a tool that every startup business or entrepreneur needs – a great pitch deck . A pitch deck is a presentation that you’ll use to help explain or showcase your product or service and potentially drives sales or investment. It needs to be polished and professional to do the job well.

Today, we’ll take a look at what a pitch deck is, how to make one, and how to establish a design that will wow people who come in contact with your new business.

We’ll also feature a few stunning pitch deck templates along the way, to help you get started fast.

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Startup pitch deck.

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What Is a Pitch Deck?

A pitch deck is a short presentation that startups or entrepreneurs put together to help explain a business concept or idea in hopes of getting funding from investors. A pitch deck needs to be simple and easy to understand, professionally designed and include a distinct action for users (potential investors) to take.

According to Forbes , the average pitch deck has just 19 slides (so there’s no need to overthink it) and include three keys: clear and simple, compelling and easy to act on.

Further, a pitch desk should explain why your startup is important. You should outline a problem and potential solution to investors. Then back it up with information about your product and market, how you will use funding, financial information for investors and a clear call to invest.

While you don’t have a lot of room in 19 slides to show everything about your company, think of this is a quick sales opportunity. You may or may not present the pitch deck in person. Remembering that users have limited attention spans, it is best to keep it short with just the most pertinent information.

5 Things Every Pitch Deck Needs

When it comes to creating the perfect pitch deck, where do you start? Great pitch decks have several things in common:

• Consistent and error-free design : Slides in the pitch deck must look like they belong together with a professional look and design that is free of errors. (Proofread it twice!)
• Something to hook the audience : Tell a story with words and visuals that engage people and make them want to be a part of your startup. You need to inspire them.
• Value proposition : What makes your company special, unique and valuable? What should investors expect as a return? Spell it out.
• Personality : A pitch deck should reflect your brand identity and personality.
• Template : Don’t reinvent the wheel every time you need to tweak or give your presentation to someone else. Create a template for your pitch deck (we have a few ideas below to help you get started and throughout this article) so that it’s quick and easy to prepare a presentation on the fly. You never know where the right opportunity might be waiting.

How to Create a Pitch Deck Design

When it comes to creating a pitch deck, the design rules are pretty simple and consistent with many of the design concepts you’re probably already familiar with:

• Pick a consistent set of elements to use throughout the design. This includes a color palette, two to three typography choices and an icon set. Set styles and hierarchies for slides so that headers are the same throughout as are body text, photo use and other design elements.
• Limit the number of slides and feature one thing on each slide. Think of a slide as a single idea with an image and small text element. That’s all.
• Pick a design that works where you will be presenting. Will it be on a screen in a dark room? Or on a computer monitor at a desk? Or on an iPad with just one person looking on? Ensure that the design works in the place where you will show it.
• Save slides in a universal format, such as PDF, that will look and open like you expect.

Slides Every Pitch Deck Needs

While every startup is different, there are a few slide types that almost every pitch deck needs to include. (Even if you aren’t using them all right now, it’s a good idea to plan for them as you grow and seek more funding.)

• Intro with company name/logo
• Vision and value proposition
• Problem that needs a solution
• How your company is that solution
• Target market and opportunities for growth
• Business model and roadmap
• Financials (with charts or graphs)
• Team members and bios
• Call for investment with how it will be used and benefits for investors

10 Pitch Deck Templates to Try

One of the quickest ways to do all of this – and create a stellar pitch deck – is with a template. Just pick a design that you like and customize it. Streamline the number of slides to just what you need and adjust colors, fonts and images to match your content.

A template can save you a lot of time, and there are so many professional and well-designed options out there, that there’s no reason not to try one. (Plus, the best pitch deck templates include slides for charts and graphs. Just fill in your data and share.)

Here are ten we like as inspiration for your pitch deck design.

Manola Presentation

BISC Keynote Template

Business Pitch Deck Keynote

Startup Pitch Deck Template

Corporate Business Plan

Union Keynote Template

Pitch Deck Google Slides

Secret: It’s Really Just a PowerPoint Template

If you haven’t figure it out yet, here’s the secret about pitch decks. They are really just PowerPoint (or Keynote) templates with a specific type of content included.

Need more inspiration? We have plenty more ideas for developing great presentations here .

What is a Pitch Deck & What Makes It Fundable (+Examples)

Learn about the definition of a pitch deck, what it includes, types of pitch decks. Get examples, templates, and tools to make a good winning pitch deck.

7 minute read

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Short answer

What is a pitch deck.

A pitch deck is a presentation showcasing your plan for a new business to investors or VC funds. Pitch decks are used fo r in-person presentations or as reading material. The purpose of a pitch deck is to convince investors to fund your endeavor.

A good pitch deck should include a clear definition of the problem you tackle, your unique solution, a compelling business model, and a go-to-market strategy.

What does a pitch deck look like?

There are many ways to put together a pitch deck, but most pitch decks will pretty much look the same - a 10-20 slides presentation with brand colors and visuals depicting atmosphere, a product or data.

Yet to stand out you have to do things differently.

Below is an example of what an outstanding deck looks like - a modern web story with multimedia and interactive content.

Why 99% of pitch decks fail

Pitch decks can feel intimidating because so much depends on this single document (especially if it's your first one).

Even if you’re not intimidated (good for you!) and you’re a true magician when pitching your business idea face-to-face, some investors nowadays ask for your deck by email as a preliminary step before they ever bring you into their office to meet them.

The challenge is making a self-sufficient deck that brings your idea and enthusiasm to life without your in-person help.

In this article, you’ll learn all there is to know about pitch decks, what they’re used for, who needs them, and how to make your own world-class deck as well as the effort and resources it will require.

By the end of this article, you’ll have critical information for success that 99% of your peers don’t have.

What is the purpose of using a pitch deck?

The main purpose of a pitch deck is to pique the interest of potential investors. The main challenge of a pitch deck is NOT getting investor buy-in , but rather avoiding being disqualified right then and there.

It’s a common mistake to think that a pitch deck is supposed to persuade investors to invest in your startup, project, or business idea, but in reality that’s still a ways away. You have to be considered for evaluation first.

Every investor or VC has their own investment criteria, and since investors are drowned by people asking for their money they are looking to disqualify you based on those criteria.

In the words of Gordon Miller , an entrepreneur and investor, “Investors aren’t looking to say “Yes”, they are looking to say “No.””

Who needs a pitch deck?

Pitch decks are used by startup founders or entrepreneurs to seek funding for their business ventures by showing high growth potential and a strategy for scaling their business (fast).

Who does NOT need a pitch deck?

1) You do not need a pitch deck if you don’t yet have any of the following planned out in detail:

A business model

Market analysis

Competitive analysis

Costs of building your business

A growth plan

A GTM (go-to-market) strategy

If you don’t have all of the above then no investor will take you, so don’t bother.

2) You don’t need a pitch deck if your business is too specific so that you have to hand-pick a handful of very particular investors. In that case, you should talk to them and prepare a document tailored to their specification.

3) You don’t need a pitch deck if you can fund your business on your own , whether through your own capital or because your business is already generating revenue (any money you take from investors will dilute your holdings in your company).

4) If you’re looking to close business deals and acquire new clients. Then you need a sales pitch deck or a product pitch deck, not to be confused with a pitch deck for investors.

What does a pitch deck include?

Some investors can be very particular about the pitch deck structure that they expect to see. Whenever possible, you should clarify the outline with potential investors and build your pitch deck accordingly.

That said, there are still some basic slides that are to be expected by most investors and VCs.

10 basic slides 99% of investors will require from you:

Introduction

The problem

Your solution

Market size and opportunity

Business and revenue model

Traction and validation

Marketing strategy

Team (authority, experience, and skills)

Investment and use of funds

For more information on this go read our post on the the nitty gritty details of what to include in a pitch deck .

Here's our recommended pitch deck storyline:

1) Unique Value Proposition

• What do you solve?
• What differentiates you?

2) Big idea (elevator pitch)

• What is the world like before your solution?
• What is the world like after your solution?
• Why are you uniquely positioned to succeed?
• What pain points are prospects experiencing?
• What are the financial and emotional costs?
• What shortcomings do the current solutions have?

4) Solution

• What do you usually do?
• How does your solution solve people's pain?
• What's uniquely valuable in your solution?
• What's the competitive landscape like?
• How do you intend to disrupt it?
• How is it all measured in numbers?

6) Business plan (hard numbers)

• How are you going to make money?
• How are you going to scale your business?
• How can you do it better with more money?

7) How much? Why you? Why now?

• How much funding do you need?
• Why is your team the only one for the job?
• Why is it the time to invest now (or never)?

8) Next step

• What (small) commitment do you ask for?
• How can the reader take action?
• What happens if they fail to act now?

What makes a good pitch deck?

A good pitch deck gets straight to the point. Be clear and upfront about what you bring to the table and why your investors should care.

You should back up any claims you make with hard data and wrap it all up in a captivating narrative .

An effective pitch deck should showcase deep knowledge of your industry and market, but deliver it in simple terms that any person with only basic knowledge of your industry will understand.

Michael Wolfe , a startup founder, entrepreneur, and investor says any good pitch deck should have a straightforward format to it. He says:

“The best pitch decks portray:

This is what we are doing.

This is how we are going to do it.

We can do it better if we get some money in.

This thing is going to happen with or without you.

Are you in or are you out?”

- Michael Wolfe, a startup founder, entrepreneur, and investor.

If you’re ready to start making your pitch deck you may want to visit our extensive guide on how to create a pitch deck

What makes a bad pitch deck?

A bad pitch deck is simply a pitch deck that gets rejected. It’s an unfortunate truth that 99% of pitch decks are therefore bad.

The main reason for failure is not successfully standing out , but other reasons can be unattractive design, confusing messaging, or being irrelevant to a particular investment program.

Reasons your current pitch deck is bad

(And you may not even know it)

Your deck looks like it was designed by your 1st-grade teacher (or you have no design)

Your pitch deck HAS a beautiful design but it looks like all the rest

Your deck is filled to the brim with text

Your deck does not have original graphics supporting your text

Your pitch deck content goes too deep into technical stuff that investors don’t care about

Your deck messaging has any of these faults: it’s too long, convoluted, complex, inconsistent, misleading, fantastical, antagonistic, overly emotional, or reveals ignorance

Your pitch deck is irrelevant to the target investors or not made according to their specifications

Your deck is dry as a biscuit and does not tell a compelling story

NOTE: Using PowerPoint to create your pitch deck means putting the fate of your business in the hands of 35-year-old technology that has barely evolved since its inception.

If you want to stand out in a sea of competitors, you should always use a dedicated pitch deck creator .

What types of pitch decks are there?

• Intro pitch deck: This is the initial deck you send to grab the interest of potential investors and secure a meeting.
• First meeting pitch deck: This is a detailed presentation for your first face-to-face with investors.
• Post-meeting pitch deck: This company overview deck includes in brief the main points covered in the meeting with investors with a focus on the interests and concerns investors voiced in the meeting.
• Subsequent meeting pitch decks: As discussions progress, your deck might need to evolve to address deeper questions and provide more detailed data. These pitch decks may include decks like Market research, Product roadmap, Marketing plan, Sales plan, and others.

You should know - there are many pitch deck types for different industries and use cases. You can find everything we have below.

Pitch deck sub-types (customizable templates)0

Seed pitch deck VS Series A/B/C pitch deck

The seed pitch deck is the deck you present to investors when you’re looking to secure your first-ever round of funding.

A seed pitch deck is typically short and focused on presenting your business's grand vision and big idea. It attempts to answer “why an investor should be interested in what you have to offer?”.

A Series A/B/C pitch deck needs to be more financially heavy than a seed pitch deck since at this point you have been running your business for over a year.

A series pitch deck should include your current financial results and proof of traction, and conclude with ambitious yet realistic financial projections and milestones.

If in doubt, you can always reach out to a startup coach to help guide you through the process.

Static vs. interactive pitch deck

The main difference between static and interactive decks is that static decks follow the traditional format of text-based slides accompanied by images, while interactive decks enable you to create engaging multimedia content.

Another difference is that you can only insert old-school links or image links in static decks, whereas interactive decks allow you to embed lead-gen tools, including calendars, to get readers to book that next meeting straight from the deck.

Airbnb's static deck vs an interactive remake of the same deck:

Is a pitch deck the same as an investor deck?

Pitch deck and investor deck are terms sometimes used interchangeably. The term “pitch deck” in this context is used to describe a brief document containing basic information about your company and introducing your vision to someone with no prior knowledge of it.

The term “investor deck” is used to describe a more detailed deck with an in-depth analysis of your unique value proposition, market opportunity, and go-to-market strategy.

When in doubt, it can be beneficial to ask potential investors what they expect to see at any stage of the investment process.

Is a pitch deck the same as a sales deck?

The main 2 differences between a pitch deck and a sales deck are their purpose and audience. The purpose of a pitch deck is to convince potential investors that your company is worth funding by promising them the desired return on their investment (ROI).

The purpose of a sales deck is to get prospects to become paying customers of your company by presenting how it’s going to change their lives for the better.

If you want to expand your knowledge you can read our posts on how to create a sales deck that makes you irresistible to buyers , or check out some Unique Sales Deck Examples that Outsell the Rest .

Is a pitch deck the same as a marketing deck?

A pitch deck is a document used to gain investor buy-in during a funding round, whereas a marketing deck is an umbrella term that can mean a host of different things depending on the context it’s used:

A marketing pitch deck is a presentation shown externally to potential investors by founders of marketing agencies in the hopes of getting the necessary funding.

A marketing sales deck is a presentation shown externally to prospective clients of marketing agencies in order to educate them about your offering and close deals.

An internal marketing deck can be shown internally to the general managers and business owners, or to stakeholders to demonstrate a company’s marketing or advertising efforts and present key metrics.

How do you build a pitch deck?

In order to build a successful pitch deck, the design of your presentation needs to be as important as its contents.

There are 4 best practices that can make all the difference between whether an investor gets all the way down or bounces after the first slide:

1) Don’t overload investors with information

I know this sounds like a total cliché, but less is genuinely more when it comes to pitch decks. If you need an entire wall of text to get your point across, perhaps it’s not as clear as you were hoping.

Narrow it down to a couple of bullet points and skip that 5th table to show investors that you value your time.

2) Always personalize your decks.

Investors can smell generic from a mile away. Even if it’s the 100th deck you’re sending out this week, they need to feel like you crafted it specifically for them. By including a personal note, you can get 68% more people to read your deck in full .

3) Stay consistent

When your deck looks like you just haphazardly threw together a bunch of slides from different presentations you had on your disc, it doesn’t bode well.

Certain presentation makers , such as Storydoc, will auto-extract your branding information and automatically apply it to all slides.

You can keep your slides consistent by ensuring that the color combination, brand logos , fonts, spacing, and more retain the same format throughout your pitch deck.

4) Visualize your data

If investors need to make sense of your data to decide whether or not your business is a good fit for them, they’re not going to bother reading.

Instead, make the decision process easier for them by visualizing hard data with the help of charts and graphs.

Can I design a pitch deck myself or do I need to hire a professional?

You can absolutely design a pitch deck yourself using pitch deck designer tool like Storydoc on the market. If you already have a designer in-house, you can also get them to design your pitch deck.

If, however, there’s even the slightest chance your pitch deck could end up looking like it was created for a high school project, you may be better off letting a professional handle it.

When investors see a poorly designed deck, they’re already predisposed to disliking your entire presentation. Your chances of shaking that bad first impression are close to none.

How much does it cost to make a pitch deck?

Creating a pitch deck on your own depends on the tool or set of tools you use to create it:

Google Slides is free

PowerPoint is free with a Microsoft Office license

Canva Pro subscription costs $12.99 per month; the Basic version is free.

Pitch.com subscription costs $8 per member per month when billed annually, the Starter plan is free.

Storydoc subscription costs $40 per seat per month

You may also need design tools like Adobe Photoshop or Figma, which also come at a price.

Hiring a professional designer to create your pitch deck would cost around $100 per hour. The number of hours depends on your needs and the number of iterations you’ll require, but could take anywhere from 3-8 hours.

What is the best software for creating a pitch deck?

There are 3 different types of tools available on the market for creating a pitch deck:

1) Legacy tools

Such as PowerPoint or Google Slides , that allow you to create traditional slideshow presentations. They have limited integration and customization options, and typically follow pre-designed patterns.

2) Mid-way tools

Such as Pitch , Canva , and Visme , which come with a wide variety of templates to choose from and customize.

These are more aesthetically pleasing than your average PPT, but don’t offer anything truly new in terms of features.

3) Dedicated pitch deck creators

Such as Storydoc , that provide next-gen interactive templates optimized for engagement, conversions, and performance.

They let you design on autopilot, as well as customize and personalize your decks at scale. You can also include smart CTAs to get investors to book that next meeting straight away.

For more information, check out our ultimate list of the best presentation software .

Where can I see examples of pitch decks?

You can find the best pitch deck examples in this post with all the pitch deck examples worth taking inspiration from . The best part is that you can simply take any example on the page and use it as a template for your own pitch deck.

Where can I find pitch deck templates?

If you have itchy hands and can’t wait to start creating your pitch deck, I highly advise that you visit Storydoc’s pitch deck templates gallery .

These templates go way beyond looking pretty—they have been optimized for engaging investors regardless of whether they view your deck on desktop or their phone in-between meetings.

Just pick a templates from the gallery below.

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What is a Pitch Deck Presentation? and how to create one

A beginner’s guide to the pitch deck meaning

This article will guide you through understanding what is a pitch deck presentation, and empower you to create a compelling one that aligns with your company goals.

What is pitch deck?

A pitch deck is a 10-20 slide business presentation designed to give a short summary of your company, your business model, your traction, and your startup vision. A pitch deck can be used for several purposes, from trying to get a meeting with an investor, to presenting in front of an audience during a demo day.

Different scenarios and time constraints allow adding more or less information, but the basic structure remains similar. The pitch deck definition can be summarized as the following: the story of a startup, its milestones, and its ability for exponential growth.

The story of a startup, its milestones, and its ability for exponential growth.

When do you need a pitch presentation?

A pitch deck is usually needed at several stages of a startup’s life. Most US accelerator programs will require you to submit a pitch deck of your company as part of the initial screening process. If you’re admitted to one of these programs, they will also have what is called “pitch practice” that basically consists of pitching sessions where the founders of each startup take turns and rehearse presenting their deck out loud. These sessions are meant to prepare founders for the accelerator demo day, where all companies from the batch present in front of an audience of stakeholders including investors and program managers.

The most common use of a presentation deck, however, is when companies decide to raise venture capital from investors. It has become an industry standard to use a pitch deck when having interactions with investors, whether as a send-out document that is shared prior to meeting in person or to go over your value proposition if you get an actual meeting with them. This deck presentation serves a dual purpose: it allows investors to quickly go over your business proposal in a way that’s easier for them to assess the investment opportunity, but it also forces you to think about the building blocks of your company and pen down key pieces of information about your startup.

What should be in a Pitch Deck Presentation?

A number of authors, venture capitalists, startup founders and evangelists have created different versions of what they consider required elements to successful pitching presentations. Most of them agree on the following:

Pitch Deck Structure:

• Product/Features
• Market Size
• Business Model
• Competition
• Go-To-Market
• Traction / Milestones
• Fundraising/Use of Funds‍

These core sections actually follow a deliberate structure that goes from general to specific, from providing the context for the business opportunity to explaining why this company can fill in a market gap.

If you’re looking for pitch deck examples you can check out our curated gallery of pitch deck templates here .

While this structure is pretty much a common denominator in the startup ecosystem, it is worth noting that companies at different stages will adapt their storytelling to better fit their strengths. Because they have little to no traction, early-stage startups usually rely more heavily on the problem-solution sections, the market opportunity, and being first-to-market. Later-stage companies on the other hand bet more aggressively on showcasing their revenue traction, their financials, and the ability to grow the business if more capital is injected into the business.

Regardless of the size of the company or the milestones to date, the ultimate goal of a pitch deck presentation is to provide a blueprint for how the startup works, its strengths, and future growth opportunities.

The ultimate goal of a pitch deck presentation is to provide a blueprint for how the startup works, its strengths, and future growth opportunities.

Are there different types of pitch decks?

More than different pitch decks per se, there are different types of pitching needs or scenarios, and so the basic narrative is adapted to fit different time constraints and content requirements. There’s no universal rulebook when it comes to pitch deck types, but here are some of the most common pitch deck types:

• Elevator pitch deck: a super summarized version of your pitch deck. As the name suggests, the idea is that this pitch should be delivered during an elevator ride with an investor. While this is obviously figuratively speaking, elevator pitches are usually covered in 2-3 minutes, they should leave out any granularity, and they should focus on the most essential pieces of information.
• Demo day pitch deck: typically a little longer than an elevator pitch, but similarly falling under the short-ish side of the spectrum. Demo days usually jam together entire batches of startups and thus constrain each founder to keep their presentation under 5 minutes or so. They are usually presented in large auditoriums so they should have as little text as possible and make things more visually appealing by means of photos/images.
• Full investor deck: This is what you would normally find when looking for whats a pitch deck. This is the archetypical pitch deck , and the most widely used. It is a full-length presentation that showcases your company for an investor to review and assess your fundability. This is a more in-depth look at all the aspects of your startup, from business model and go-to-market strategy to financial projections and fundraising needs. These decks usually range from 15-20 slides, and they provide a full picture of your business. These decks are sometimes shared so people can review them without a presenter, so they allow the addition of more information. They can also be used to guide an in-person meeting and help the founder highlight traction data that would otherwise be trickier to explain verbally. ‍
• Investor data room: An investor data room is a digital compilation of all the due diligence of a startup as the closing of an investment approaches It extends beyond the pitch deck and covers other important documents that validate your company’s credibility and support the information shared throughout the deck. When an enterprise wants to buy a company, this information helps investors ensure everything is in order. In the investor data room, investors check that everything you pitch is real: your legal structure, your contracts, stock vesting agreements, trademarks, and financial data. For more information on this topic, you can check this article .

What makes a good pitch deck?

A good pitch deck successfully combines these key ingredients:

• Good story structure - storytelling arch: When it comes to pitch decks, the order in which you present your information is almost as important as the actual information on the slides. The information should follow a sequence that makes sense to grasp the full scope of your business. Most, if not all of the storytelling best practices for public speaking apply to the context of telling business stories. ‍
• Easily understandable: Closely related to the previous point, the information on the slides should be easy to understand and follow. This means the information should be phrased in a way that even someone who’s not familiar with your industry can still understand the value proposition. A lot of tech companies fall into the trap of including technical jargon in order to sound more knowledgeable or gain credibility, but this usually backfires in making the information less accessible. Keep things simple and don’t overcomplicate your message. ‍
• Human-centered & relatable: It’s tempting to focus too much on the solution you created and give lengthy explanations of your product’s features and capabilities. The reality is that the best product is meaningless if it doesn’t solve a real human problem. Make things relatable by providing proof of the user pain points, and how your solution improves their lives. If your audience can’t relate to the problem, it’s going to be hard to convince them of your solution. ‍
• Compelling visual resources: While the content of the presentation is important, it is also critical to pair up this information with visually appealing imagery in order to make the slides more engaging. People get bored easily and a graphically rich presentation can help the viewers make a better connection with the information that is being delivered. We process images faster and easier than text, which is an abstract form of communication. Leverage this in your favor by making striking slides that elevate the content in them. ‍
• Traction-oriented slides: The best pitch decks bet on traction more heavily than any other content on the deck. This is because nothing provides more credibility to a business than showing the data of actual paying customers. ‍
• A healthy, exponentially growing business: The simplest (but hardest) truth about making a pitch deck is that the best ones usually depend on a company’s performance. A revenue-generating business, a low-churn product, a company with exponential growth and healthy engagement with its users… these are the things that spark investor interest. The hard truth about the startup world is that investors want to 10x their investment, and despite having a reputation for being risk-takers, their real expectation is to have returns on their investment.

A pitching presentation is a great tool for both founders and investors to evaluate business opportunities together. It forces you to tell the story of your company in a comprehensive way, and it allows potential investors to learn about your startup in a framework that they’re familiar with.

It lets you convey the market opportunities you’re business has found, and provides the medium to explain how your product and business model are the key to unlocking massive scale and ROI.

I hope this article has been able to answer what is a deck in business. Feel free to check out other articles in our blog that cover pitch deck basics.

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A pitch deck is the standard document used by startups to present their case to investors; it’s a brief deck of about 10 to 20 slides. See examples here.

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This is a functional model you can use to create your own formulas and project your potential business growth. Instructions on how to use it are on the front page.

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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, especially if you are focused on asset protection .

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

Google Slides

How to create a pitch deck (and the 10 slides you need)

Table of Contents

In the high-stakes world of startups, a pitch deck presentation is often the deciding factor for securing investment, whether in high-pressure situations like Shark Tank or pre-seed pitching rounds. With limited time to make a first impression, the quality of your pitch deck is crucial in leading to that all-important follow-up meeting with investors or VCs.

In this article, we’ll guide you through how to create a pitch deck and the ten essential slides you need. We’ll also explain what makes a good pitch deck (including examples), the 10/20/30 rule, and how to avoid common mistakes.

Success in entrepreneurship isn’t just about hard work, luck, and timing. It’s also about successfully convincing others to invest in your vision, whether you’re seeking funding, advice, mentorship, or partnerships. A great pitch deck will be your essential tool in persuading investors. Let’s get started!

What is a pitch deck?

A pitch deck is a slideshow presentation that succinctly conveys your business idea, market opportunity, and value proposition. Startup founders and entrepreneurs commonly use them to present their business ideas, products, or services, also known as a business or investor deck. It is necessary in securing funding, attracting partnerships, and closing deals.

With a concise format of 10 to 20 slides, this visual tool effectively conveys a business idea and its potential to help entrepreneurs connect with investors, clients, or partners. Suppose your pitch catches the interest of potential investors. In that case, there will likely be an in-depth next meeting (i.e., the start of the actual pitching process).

💡 The most common formats for pitch decks are PowerPoint slides, Google Slides, or Apple Keynote presentations.

Purpose of a pitch deck

The purpose of a pitch deck is to clearly and quickly communicate your business’s potential. Used in fundraising pitches, idea support, and forming strategic partnerships, it provides a visual snapshot of your business idea and its market viability.

Pitch decks are not only used by startups but also in a variety of other settings. The structure of your slides should enable potential investors to grasp your business idea’s potential quickly.

Types of pitch decks:

• Branding or marketing plan
• Fundraising
• Film & TV

The 10-20-30 rule for slideshows

The 10-20-30 rule, coined by venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki, offers a structured approach to creating effective PowerPoint pitch decks. This rule is a favorite among startups but applies to all types of presentations. It includes:

• Keeping to just 10 slides.
• Limiting the presentation to 20 minutes.
• Ensuring a font size of at least 30 points.

However, sticking to 10 slides isn’t always the optimal approach for everyone. As David from NextView VC reminds us, it’s crucial to present in a manner that feels authentic to you. Treat pitch deck templates as flexible starting points, and tailor them to highlight the uniqueness of your startup.

What should be in a pitch deck

A pitch deck should concisely outline your business idea, market, strategy, finances, team, and funding needs in an engaging story. You should use between 10 and 20 slides depending on your needs and audience.

In the next section, we’ll guide you through creating each slide.

The 10 most important slides in an investor deck:

• Business overview: A brief introduction to the business, including the mission and vision.
• Problem statement: Identify the problem or need in the market the business intends to solve.
• Solution slide: The product or service offered by the business as a solution to the identified problem.
• Market size and analysis: Information about the target market and industry, including size, growth potential, and customer demographics.
• Product and business model: How the business plans to make money, including the product and pricing strategy.
• Go-to-market plan: The approach to promoting the product or service and acquiring customers.
• Competitors: A look at the competitive landscape and how the business differentiates itself from competitors.
• Financials: Financial projections and current financial status.
• Team: Information about the key team members, their roles, and their experience.
• Ask: The specific funding request and how it will be used to grow the business.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, we’ll move on to how to create a pitch deck.

How to create a pitch deck

We’ll take a step-by-step approach to making the essential 10 slides in a pitch deck. It will cover the most critical aspects of your business idea and pitch presentation. You may add more slides as you go, but let’s start by looking at each of these 10 slides, their purpose, and what information should be included.

Slide 1: Business overview

The first slide of your pitch deck will set the tone for the rest of the presentation. The business overview (title slide) should briefly capture the core of your idea and stand out to investors.

• Include your logo.
• title slide
• Name of your idea, business, or startup.
• Summarize your concept into a catchy headline.

Slide 2: Problem

Use this slide to lay the groundwork of your pitch by focusing on the problems or pressing needs that your business addresses. Highlight the market gap and illustrate why it’s an important opportunity.

• Present the problem your business solves in the form of a problem statement.
• Emphasize its relevance to your audience.
• Back up your points with solid data like market statistics or instances of current inefficiencies.

Slide 3: Solution

The solution (or value proposition) slide should address each problem mentioned in the previous slide. There could be many ways to solve a problem, so clarify how your solution benefits your target segment.

• The value proposition of your product or service.
• What sets it apart from competitors.

Slide 4: Market size

This slide should provide a clear picture of the market analysis and landscape based on your research. Illustrate the scale of the market you’re targeting or part of, demonstrating growth prospects and business opportunities. Key points to include:

• Break down the market opportunity into TAM, SAM, and SOM.
• Note any important market trends.
• Use visual aids like charts or graphs to effectively depict market size and trends.

Slide 5: Product & business model

Summarize your product and business model in this slide to show how you will make money, scale, and be profitable.

• Highlight your product’s main features or services.
• Add visuals like screenshots or images for clarity.
• Detail your revenue streams, cost structure, and pricing strategy.

Be ready to explain any challenges within your business model and your solutions.

Slide 6: Go-to-market strategy

The go-to-market (GTM) slide outlines your strategy for entering the market and acquiring new customers. Explain how you will distribute your product or service and reach your target audience.

• Outline each phase of your GTM strategy.
• Define your ideal customer or buyer persona and how you provide value to them.
• Explain your sales and marketing approaches to reach customers.

Having a good idea or product isn’t enough to convince investors. They need to know if you have a viable, thought-out strategy to reach and serve the target market.

Slide 7: Competitive analysis

Demonstrate your understanding of the market and the competition in this slide by providing data and market research. Offer data-driven research to map out the competitive landscape, including:

• Identification of major competitors and alternatives.
• Specify your unique selling proposition (USP) and competitive advantage.
• Strategy and positioning against competitors.

Be straightforward in this slide and reassure investors that you are aware of your competition and have a plan to achieve and maintain a competitive edge. You could mention potential challenges, risks, or disruptors.

Slide 8: Team

Many investors often consider the team behind a startup as one of the most critical factors in their decision-making process. A study done on over 21,000 startup founders suggests that the founder’s personality – or the combined personalities of the founding team – is paramount to entrepreneurial success.

• Include all founders, management, and advisors.
• Roles and responsibilities.
• Highlight key skills and relevant experience.
• Mention any meaningful connections.

The team slide has to instill confidence in potential investors that this is the right team for the job, even if you are a solo founder.

Slide 9: Financials

This is a critical slide where investors may spend the most time reading to get a glimpse into the business idea’s financial feasibility and potential return. Describe how you plan to generate revenue and your pricing strategy. Each startup will show different financial figures based on their stage.

Basic financial data:

• Income statement
• Sales forecast
• Expenses and burn rate
• Profitability
• Market size (Total Addressable Market, Serviceable Available Market, Serviceable Obtainable Market)
• Projected revenue growth for at least three years.

Other KPIs you may include:

• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
• LTV/CAC ratio (indicates how sustainable the business model is)
• Customer growth

Coming up with these figures demonstrates your financial acumen and your understanding of the key metrics that drive business success.

Slide 10: Ask

The last slide should wrap up the pitch with a snapshot of your current standing, any accomplishments, a timeline, and the use of funds.

• The current state of affairs (growth, market share).
• State the amount of funding needed and how you plan to use it.

Investors want to know if your startup/idea is worth investing in, so show them evidence of progress, past successes, or the potential for future success.

What makes a good pitch deck?

A good pitch deck gets your point across to investors and captures their attention. Successful pitch decks are clear, focused, and persuasive. Many investor pitch decks follow a similar structure because they give investors a snapshot of a business’s investment potential.

These are traits of a good pitch deck:

✅ Concise and clear, without fluff or distracting details.

✅ Focused on telling the story of the startup/idea and its potential.

✅ Structured with a logical flow. Each slide supports the overall narrative.

✅ Persuasive , backed by data, research, and appropriate graphs and charts.

💡 Save time by using an AI pitch deck presentation maker like SlidesAI

Best pitch deck examples

Here are some of our favorite pitch deck presentations. The best pitch decks balance detailed information with simplicity. Take a look at these pitch deck examples across different stages of funding:

Airbnb pitch deck (Pre-seed)

LottieLab pitch deck (Seed)

Copy.AI pitch deck (Series A)

Wanderlist pitch deck (Series B)

Crunchbase pitch deck (Late stage)

💡 Check out more free pitch deck templates here .

Top 3 mistakes to avoid with your pitch deck

These common mistakes can diminish the impact of your presentation. Strive for a balance between thorough information and simplicity for maximum impact.

Mistake 1: Overemphasizing aesthetics

Overdesigning your slide deck can detract from your core message while pitching. In most cases, it is safe to leave out PowerPoint animations and excessive graphics. Use brand colors if possible; any image, graph, or chart you include should directly support your narrative.

💡 Pro tip: Maintain a consistent visual theme and leave out flashy design elements.

Mistake 2: Overloading information

It’s natural to want to share a lot of information on each slide, but doing so can make it harder for your audience to tell what’s important. VCs hear hundreds of pitches each year – you need more clarity in your pitch to catch their interest within your allocated time. Focus on the key information and overall structure of the pitch deck presentation.

💡 Pro tip: Prioritize clarity and conciseness to make a lasting impact.

Mistake 3: Lack of personalization

Pitch deck templates are a great starting point, but remember to tailor your pitch and content to your audience. Investors differ in their interests and priorities. Understanding what your audience value can significantly improve your pitch’s impact.

💡 Pro tip: Find out what resonates with your audience and include or address them in your deck.

A thoughtfully prepared pitch deck is essential for securing investment. View your pitch deck as a brief yet compelling introduction to your startup’s potential, aiming to secure further discussions and, ultimately, funding. By adhering to the 10-slide structure recommended in this article, you can effectively convey your business vision, introduce your team, emphasize your market edge, and outline your financial forecasts.

Organize your slides to ensure your business concept is easily understood. Be succinct and clear, and align your content with what investors typically seek. Steer clear of common pitfalls like cramming slides with information or not customizing your deck to align with investor interests. Wishing you success!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a pitch deck the same as a business plan.

A pitch deck and a business plan are not the same. While a pitch deck visually presents key aspects of your business idea, a business plan is a comprehensive written document that outlines all aspects of your business. A pitch deck can summarize your business plan but cannot replace it.

What happens after a successful first pitch?

Pitch deck guides often focus on the initial meeting with venture capitalists, but that’s just the start. Investment decisions involve multiple meetings, due diligence, negotiations, and paperwork. As NextView VC’s David Beisel puts it, “The purpose of all venture capital meetings is to get another meeting.” Read more about what to expect after a successful first pitch .

What about other slides, like the traction slide?

Traction slides are to showcase proof of any progress, achievements, and market acceptance. For early-stage startups, including pre-seed, traction might not necessarily mean revenue. It can be any evidence that validates your business idea and market demand, such as user sign-ups.

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January 25, 2024

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Pitch Deck Essentials: What is a Pitch Deck and How to Craft a Winning Investor Presentation

Craft a pitch deck that helps secure funding Discover essential elements for winning investor pitch decks!

What's Inside?

Starting a business startup isn't just about having a great idea; it's about sharing that idea convincingly. That's where a good pitch deck comes in handy. Whether you're new to entrepreneurship or a start-up pro, understanding the basics of pitch decks is crucial.

In this easy-to-follow guide, we'll break down the essentials of pitch decks, giving you simple steps to create a powerful presentation. Join us as we explore the key elements, dos and don'ts, and practical tips for mastering pitch decks. Let's make the process straightforward and empower you to confidently present your vision.

What is a Pitch Deck

A pitch deck is a brief presentation that entrepreneurs use to introduce their business idea to potential investors, partners, or stakeholders. It's a visual roadmap that highlights key aspects of the business, such as the problem it solves, the solution it offers, market opportunities, the business model, and the team behind it.

Typically consisting of a series of slides, a pitch deck is designed to convey information concisely and persuasively.

The goal of a pitch deck is to spark interest and secure support for the business. It serves as a tool for entrepreneurs to communicate their vision, showcase the potential for success, and demonstrate why their venture is worth investing in.

A well-crafted pitch deck can make a lasting impression and open doors to crucial opportunities for a start-up.

Importance of a Pitch Deck

Pitch deck contents: what to include.

Let's break down the elements that constitute an effective pitch deck, using visuals inspired by the Airbnb Pitch Deck Template from Decktopus .

1) Pitch Deck Introduction and One-Liner:

Start with a captivating introduction that sparks interest. Include a concise one-liner that encapsulates your business idea, addressing the fundamental value proposition. Make it memorable to capture the attention of your audience.

2) The Problem:

Provide a deeper understanding of the problem you are addressing. Use real-world examples, statistics, or anecdotes to illustrate the pain points that your target audience is currently facing. Make it relatable to your audience.

3) The Solution:

Elaborate on how your product or service uniquely solves the identified problem. Dive into the key features and functionalities that make your solution stand out. Use visuals, such as product demos or prototypes, to enhance clarity.

4) Market Validation:

Present any tangible evidence that validates the demand for your solution. This could include positive feedback from early users, successful pilot programs, or case studies showcasing positive outcomes. Highlight any awards or recognition received.

5) Market Size:

Provide a thorough analysis of the target market, including its size, growth potential, and key trends. Use data and market research to support your claims. Clearly articulate why your target market is attractive and how it aligns with your business goals.

6) How It Works:

Offer a detailed explanation of the functionality and user experience of your product or service. Break down complex concepts into digestible components using visuals and straightforward language. Allow your audience to envision the traction and the user journey.

7) Business Model:

Provide a comprehensive overview of your business model. Detail your revenue streams, pricing strategy, and customer acquisition tactics. If relevant, highlight any key partnerships or collaborations that contribute to your revenue model.

8) Target Events Monthly for Market Adoption:

Outline a roadmap of key events and milestones that your company aims to achieve on a monthly basis. This could include product launches, marketing campaigns, user acquisition targets, or expansion plans. Show a clear path to market adoption.

9) Partnerships:

Elaborate on existing or potential partnerships that can enhance your business. Explain how these partnerships contribute to the growth and success of your company. Highlight any strategic alliances that validate your market positioning.

10) Competitors:

Conduct a thorough analysis of your main competitors. Showcase your understanding of the competitive landscape, and explain how your product or service stands out. Identify opportunities and challenges in the market and position your company strategically

11) Competitive Advantages:

Emphasize and elaborate on the unique selling points that give your company a competitive edge. This could include proprietary technology, intellectual property, a strong brand presence, or any other factors that set you apart in the market.

Provide detailed profiles of key team members, highlighting their relevant skills, expertise, and previous successes. Showcase the collective strength of your team and their ability to execute the business plan successfully.

13) Media and User Testimonials:

Showcase positive media coverage, reviews, or user testimonials that reinforce the credibility and reliability of your product or service. Use compelling quotes or statistics to build trust and confidence in your offering.

14) Financial Ask:

Clearly articulate the amount of funding you are seeking and the allocation of funds. Break down the financial ask into key areas such as product development, marketing, sales, and operations. Provide a realistic and well-justified financial plan.

15) Contact Information:

Include comprehensive contact details with email and such information for key team members, making it easy for potential investors or partners to reach out. Invite questions and discussions, and express openness to further engagement.

Best Pitch Deck Examples and Sample Pitch Deck Templates For Pitching Deck with Successes

For a comprehensive showcase and curation of successful pitch decks and sample templates, visit our blog on pitch deck examples . Learn from these examples to craft a compelling pitch for your business

Do's and Don'ts of Pitch Decks:

Here we have highlight the key do's and don'ts to help you craft a compelling presentation that captures attention, drives your message home, and increases your chances of success. Let's dive in.

• Clearly Define the Problem and Solution: Open your pitch deck by explicitly defining the problem your product addresses. Present a compelling narrative that vividly illustrates the pain points your target audience faces. Subsequently, articulate your solution, emphasizing not only what you offer but also why it's a critical and effective response to the identified problem.
• Concise and Focused Content: Strike a balance between providing sufficient information and avoiding unnecessary details. Keep your pitch concise and focused, ensuring each slide contributes directly to the narrative. A well-structured and streamlined presentation enhances clarity, preventing information overload and maintaining engagement.
• Visual Appeal: Elevate your pitch deck's visual appeal with captivating elements like charts, graphs, and images. Visual aids enhance the presentation's aesthetic and effectively convey complex information. Leverage visuals to illustrate key points, showcase data trends, and provide a visually compelling representation of your product or service.
• Tell a Compelling Story: Craft a narrative that resonates with your audience. A compelling story makes your pitch memorable and impactful, fostering a deeper connection with potential investors or partners.
• Highlight Market Opportunities: Clearly demonstrate market opportunities and potential for growth. Showcase a thorough understanding of your target audience and emphasize how your product or service meets their needs.
• Practice and Rehearse: Thoroughly practice your pitch to ensure a smooth and confident delivery. Anticipate potential questions or concerns, demonstrating preparedness and professionalism.
• Financial Projections: Include realistic and well-researched financial projections. Provide a clear roadmap for future growth, giving investors confidence in the business's financial viability.
• Utilize Testimonials or Case Studies: If applicable, incorporate testimonials or case studies that highlight positive experiences or successful implementations of your product or service.
• End with a Clear Call to Action: Conclude your pitch deck with a clear call to action, specifying the next steps you want your audience to take. Whether it's scheduling a follow-up meeting or investing, guide them towards the desired action.
• Leverage Advanced Technology: Simplify your pitch deck creation with Decktopus AI . Choose from a range of smart templates for a professional and consistent look. Customize these templates easily to match your style and branding. With pre-designed options , Decktopus AI accelerates the pitch deck creation process, allowing you to concentrate on refining your content for an impactful presentation.

Don'ts

• Overwhelming Amount of Information: Avoid overwhelming your audience with excessive information. Focus on key points, maintaining a clear and concise presentation
• Neglecting Competition: Acknowledge and address the competition. Avoid downplaying competitors and clearly showcase what sets your solution apart in the market.
• Complex Jargon: Steer clear of overly technical jargon. Aim for clarity and simplicity in language to ensure everyone in your audience can understand your pitch.
• Lack of Passion: Avoid presenting without passion. Investors are not just investing in the idea; they are investing in the enthusiasm and commitment of the team behind it.
• Ignoring Design Aesthetics: Pay attention to design aesthetics. A cluttered or poorly designed pitch deck can create a negative impression.
• Inconsistencies in Data: Avoid inconsistencies in data or unrealistic projections. Ensure all information presented is accurate and supported by evidence.
• Excessive Slides: Keep the pitch deck concise, typically within the range of 10-15 slides. Avoid unnecessary slides that may dilute the main message.
• Ambiguous Ask: Clearly state what you are asking for – whether it's funding, partnership, or support. Avoid leaving the audience uncertain about your expectations.
• Neglecting Audience Engagement: Don't overlook audience engagement. Ensure that your pitch is not just informative but also captivating, keeping the audience interested throughout.

Technical Aspects of Pitch Decks

Choosing the right software for your pitch deck.

Creating a sucssesful pitch deck creation requires the right software, and Decktopus AI stands out as a top choice for streamlining this essential process. With a focus on user-friendly functionality and a rich array of smart templates, Decktopus empowers you to effortlessly craft a pitch deck that captivates your audience.

The platform's intuitive interface ensures a seamless experience as you explore and select templates tailored to your industry and presentation goals. Moreover, customization becomes a breeze, allowing you to adapt layouts, colors, and fonts with ease, ensuring a cohesive and professional visual identity that aligns with your brand.

Startup founders looking for a way to create an impactful pitch presentation should use Decktopus, which is perfect because it's easy and powerful. The template allows you input different types of content into slides that will impress investors- all without any complicated tools or tutorials! Looking to create an impactful pitch presentation?

Decktopus is the perfect tool for startup founders! With this powerful template, you'll be able to easily create slides that impress investors and get the interactions you need to take your business to the next level.

How to Easily Create a Pitch Deck - Step-by-Step Guide with Decktopus

Step 1: Create a Decktopus Account

Start by creating an account on decktopus.com . The account setup process is quick and straightforward.

Try Decktopus AI now!

Step 2: Launch a New Project

After logging in, select "Start a New Project." This step allows you to initiate a new pitch deck project.

Step 3: Choose a Template

Choose the most suitable template from Decktopus's rich collection, tailored to your industry and presentation needs. This makes the beginning of both design and content creation easy.

Step 4: Add Title and Basic Information

After selecting your template, add the title and basic information. This step helps viewers quickly grasp the main points of your project.

With the template in place, add your project's title and basic information. This step provides an initial structure for your pitch deck.

Step 5: AI-Enhanced Content Integration

Utilize Decktopus AI 's user-friendly interface to seamlessly integrate key points into each slide. Let the AI do the heavy lifting, ensuring your content flows cohesively.

Step 6: Design Customization

Personalize the design by adjusting colors and fonts to match your brand. Decktopus AI simplifies this process, allowing you to effortlessly achieve a professional and visually appealing look.

Step 7: Review and Edit

Review your pitch deck and make edits as needed. Collaborate with ease using Decktopus's real-time editing features.

Step 8: Share and Present

Share or download your created pitch deck via Decktopus. Additionally, with Decktopus's integration feature, you can instantly share your presentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

1) how long should a pitch deck typically be.

A pitch deck typically ranges from 10 to 20 slides, with the ideal length falling around 15 slides. The goal is to convey essential information concisely and maintain the audience's attention.

It's crucial to strike a balance between providing enough information to make a compelling case and keeping the presentation concise to avoid overwhelming your audience.

2) What is the difference between a pitch deck and an investor deck?

The terms "pitch deck" and "investor deck" are often used interchangeably, both referring to a presentation that outlines a business idea, its value proposition, and key details.

While there might not be a strict delineation, some may use "pitch deck" in a broader sense, encompassing presentations for various stakeholders, while "investor deck" specifically targets potential investors.

3) What is the best software for creating a pitch deck?

When it comes to creating a standout pitch deck, Decktopus AI emerges as a top-tier solution. This user-friendly AI-powered software not only streamlines the design process but also provides a range of professionally crafted templates.

With Decktopus, you can effortlessly transform your ideas into visually stunning presentations, ensuring your pitch captivates and persuades your audience.

4) What should you avoid in a pitch deck?

In a pitch deck, avoid overwhelming details, acknowledge your competition, use simple language, present with passion, and prioritize clean design. These key elements help ensure a focused, engaging, and impactful pitch presentation.

5) What is the purpose of using a pitch deck?

A pitch deck is like a captivating story told through slides, each one revealing a crucial aspect of a business idea. It's a tool to share the excitement, potential, and strategy behind a venture with potential investors or partners. The aim is to present a clear, compelling case that leaves the audience wanting to be a part of the journey.

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What is a Pitch Deck?

Pitch decks can be used by entrepreneurs to showcase their business to investors when seeking funding.

Entrepreneurs are likely familiar with an “elevator pitch” —a convincing and impressive speech about a business idea or goal that’s short enough to tell in an elevator ride. But what comes after the elevator pitch?

The answer is a pitch deck. A pitch deck picks up where the elevator pitch leaves off, with a little more polish: a slideshow or presentation made for potential investors to get a conversation going. Pitch decks are concise presentations that help investors and clients understand more about your business, including products, services, goals, and strategies. Pitch decks are a visual aid to help businesses attract investors and clients, and understanding the elements of a pitch deck can help you reach your business goals.

What is a pitch deck?

Pitch decks, also known as marketing decks, are primarily used by businesses trying to convince clients or investors to work with them. They’re short presentations to help someone else learn about your business quickly. The primary goal of a pitch deck isn’t to close a deal. Rather, it’s to convince a separate party, whether it’s an investor or a client, to continue the conversation with you about your business.

Pitch decks consist of slides that provide a short summary of your business, business plan , goals, and vision. However, it’s much more complicated than that. While you may have a lot to say about your business and reasons why someone else should work with you, your pitch decks need to be kept relatively short.

Pitch decks can be presented or sent to potential investors and clients via email. Presenting your pitch deck is typically the best way to ensure a potential partner has read through all the slides. It also gives you the opportunity to answer any immediate questions they have.

Two kinds of pitch decks

Often, entrepreneurs will make two kinds of pitch decks. The first is usually shared via email and reviewed by investors on their own. Because of that, it’s content is a little more text and information heavy.

The second is made for an in-person presentation. This version of the presentation will have more visual elements to keep investors focused and engaged, with more information being spoken out loud.

Early-stage investing in startups is important, and finding the right investors for your idea can take time. Your focus with the pitch deck shouldn’t be to close an investment, but to get the conversation going.

Elements of a pitch deck

Every pitch deck will be different, depending on your business and who is the intended audience. However, all pitch desks must have a few key elements to be successful. Here is what you should include in your next pitch deck.

Introduce your business

Every pitch deck must include an introduction about your business. The very first slide should tell your audience who you are and what the business does, and this is a great place to include your value proposition and any other messaging you believe is important for helping prospects learn more about your business, including:

• What your business does
• Competitor analysis and why you’re better
• Reasons to invest in your business

Pose yourself as a solution

Show a problem or gap in your industry that your company intends to solve or fulfill. Investors and potential clients must understand why your business exists. If you’re not solving your target market’s pain points, you can’t effectively demonstrate the need for your product or service. Give a brief layout of the industry landscape and where your company will be positioned within it and what will set your company apart from the competition. This may include the innovative nature of your product, the sustainable ways in which you can run your business, or your all-in-one marketing campaign that has the ability to reach niche customers.

To clearly demonstrate the problem and why you’re the solution, you can put the problem and solution on different slides to help your audience understand what your product addresses and why it exists. You must explain how your business solves specific problems and support your statements with data or visual elements to make the presentation more engaging.

Describe how you will market yourself

Marketing methods change as a business grows. By showing your marketing platforms and how they are purposefully built for a business that’s growing, you’ll show that you’re thinking ahead. Lay out your marketing plans and explain how you intend to market your product via email marketing , social media marketing , and other digital channels, noting that you are prepared to start marketing your business from day one. If possible, bring in supporting evidence using studies, reviews, or statistics. Explain your actionable marketing techniques and include your customer relationship management (CRM) plan.

Show your product in action

If you have them, show pictures of your product in action with product descriptions. This would be a good place to include any positive reviews you have too, but don’t worry if you’re not quite there yet. Consider showcasing your team and leadership—investors may want to know who is executing the mission and vision of your business.

Include numbers

Include your financial figures, your current investments, and your use of funds, especially if there is month-over-month growth or projections for the next 3 to 5 years. If your company has yet to start up and you don’t have that information, don’t worry about it. Either way, make sure to include your fundraising goals, shown in a range. (By creating a range, you might open up opportunities for more investors.)

Mention how to get in touch

Make sure not to leave your investor hanging and make clear what the next steps in a conversation would be. Include your contact information—your phone number, email, website, and digital or social media presence, as well as any professional references you may want to offer.

Your in-person pitch deck

Remember, your in-person presentation can be a modified or extended version of your emailed deck, just with less text and detail and more visually engaging. Though the emailed pitch got your foot in the door, the in-person pitch you will make is a true first-impression. Like the emailed deck, it should be well edited and organized.

Make it clear and simple

Think strategically about the information you present—provide enough details so your potential investors will want to know more. So your in-person presentation should be thorough without veering into fine details. This can be tricky.

Use a clean, visually engaging, and professional design. Make your slides simple and—where text is needed—easy to read. Keep in mind that if there’s too much text on your slides, your audience may be distracted from your pitch by having to read while listening.

Since much of the structure of your presentation will be the same, our following tips will focus on what will differentiate this in-person deck from your emailed deck. Be sure to leave time for your potential investors to ask questions at the end of your presentation.

It’s important to make a unique and impassioned pitch to encourage investors and to bring energy to your presentation. Show off the authenticity and originality of your work by incorporating elements of design and videos and pictures of your business at work.

Make the investor’s role easy

Make it easy for your potential investors to consider your ideas. Keep simplicity in mind. Make your slides easy to read—no blocks of text or tiny numbers—and keep your industry jargon to a minimum. For example, if you have an idea for creating an app, detailing the programming or technical aspects may not speak to your audience of investors. However, explaining how customers will use your app to relieve a pain point will.

Offer a detailed business plan

Your business plan should describe the major elements of your business operations, financial models, and goals. While discussing market size, opportunity, and your marketing plan is vital, the importance of your business plan is undeniable . It will show how you are going to achieve success through a viable strategy and exactly how your ideas, products, or services are going to generate income—which is what investors want to know.

Have credible projections

In the email deck you had more room to provide specific numbers. Here, focus on giving a solid—but brief—financial summary and history of the funding you’ve received so far, if any, as well as the investment range you are looking for. Discuss in detail how you plan to use the money and grow your business . The financial plan should summarize and explain the return on investment that the investors can anticipate. Display this information in a graph or easy-to-read imagery, so your investors don’t need to squint at small numbers on a spreadsheet.

Startup Pitch Deck Examples

Still feeling nervous about what your deck should look and feel like? It can be helpful to cross-reference successful decks. If you have a mentor or colleague who has gotten their idea off of the ground, it may be helpful to ask them to share both versions of their decks with you. To get you started, here are some example pitch decks from highly successful companies you may recognize.

• Facebook used clever graphics and quotes to capture attention and provide a quick understanding of the data they were presenting. The color scheme was minimal, and they used simple headings to make great impacts such as “Our Schools—The Expansion” and “Our Services—Online Marketing Services.”
• Airbnb’s design was clean and simple, making the deck easy to read and understand. Each slide contained minimal text but large amounts of information. Graphs and illustrative designs provided important context for the service’s ease of use and its financial summaries.
• Peloton’s 2018 pitch deck showcases how critical it is for a company to continue to look to the future as they grow. The company was originally funded by Kickstarter in 2012. This pitch deck is what the company used to get investors on-board for their Series-F, which made $550 million dollars in funding.

Use Mailchimp to showcase your business

Pitch decks are incredibly important sales tools. Without the right information and elements, you can easily lose out on funding or clients. Your pitch decks must be beautifully designed and concise, so you must focus on the design and copy of your deck to ensure clarity and brevity.

Mailchimp offers several design tools to help you create a winning marketing deck and align your branding across all marketing and sales efforts— from email marketing and social media content to sales decks and business cards. Sign up for Mailchimp to take advantage of our branding and design tools and take your pitch decks to the next level.

Related Topics

• Marketing Tools
• Product-Market Fit
• Business Inspiration
• Create Your Brand
• Launching a Business

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How to create a successful pitch presentation

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Anete Ezera December 18, 2023

When it comes to startups and entrepreneurs, getting that first big deal can be tricky. It can be hard to put your business idea forward in a way that’s going to convince potential investors or partners. This is where pitch deck presentations come in handy as they are often short and precise. The goal is to explain your idea in a way that gets straight to the point and is easy to understand. These quick, punchy presentations are critical for those looking to make a strong first impression and secure funding for their business venture. Let’s talk about what a pitch presentation is and how you can create one with the help of Prezi. 

What is a pitch presentation? 

To get a better understanding of what a pitch presentation really is, let’s look at some of the important elements that make one: 

Conciseness: It’s typically short, usually 10-20 slides. This fast pace enables the presenter to captivate the audience and maintain attention. 

Clarity: The aim is to keep the content clear and straightforward, avoiding complicated jargon so that the message is understood. 

Powerful storytelling: It will often tell an interesting story about the problem being solved, the solution offered, and the potential market opportunity. 

Key information: Because of its fast-paced nature, it will often be packed with vital information like the business model, financial projections, and the unique value proposition of the product or service being pitched. 

Appealing visuals: Like other styles of presentation, having visuals that can draw in the audience is a must. Pitch deck presentations will often use graphics and minimal text to convey information better. 

To get a visual understanding of what a pitch presentation is, explore the following pitch presentation:

The evolution of pitch presentations: a look back and ahead

Ever wondered how pitch presentations became such a big deal? They started as simple PowerPoint slides but have evolved into something much more dynamic. This journey reflects changes in business, technology, and what investors look for. In the early days, pitch decks were pretty straightforward – just a few slides outlining a business idea. But as technology advanced, so did the expectations. Now, we see pitch presentations with interactive elements, attractive visuals, and even storytelling elements. This evolution shows how we’ve learned to communicate complex ideas more effectively. Understanding this history helps us understand how pitch decks have evolved into what they are today. 

Is a pitch deck the right presentation style for me? 

A pitch deck is perfect if you’re looking to present a business idea, especially if you’re aiming to attract investors or partners. It’s designed to be concise yet impactful, focusing on the key aspects of your business or project. Think of it as showcasing your business- you’ve got a limited amount of time to make a strong impression. So, if you’re in the early stages of a startup, seeking funding, or trying to win over some stakeholders with a clear, compelling story about your business or idea, a pitch presentation could be just what you need.

People who might also benefit from pitch presentations 

Pitch presentations are a versatile tool that can greatly benefit a wide range of individuals and organizations. We’ve discussed the role of pitch decks for startups and entrepreneurs, so let’s look at some other instances where these presentations might be particularly useful: 

• Business executives: Established business owners can use pitch decks to propose new projects or strategies to stakeholders, boards, and investors. 
• Sales and marketing professionals: To pitch products or services to potential clients or partners, highlighting their unique selling points.
• Non-profit organizations: For presenting their mission, impact, and funding needs to donors, sponsors, or grant agencies.
• Researchers and academics: To secure funding or collaboration for research projects, especially when presenting to funding bodies or at academic conferences.
• Inventors and innovators: To attract investors, partners, or attention to their new inventions or innovations. 
• Freelancers and consultants: To pitch their services and unique value proposition to potential clients or agencies.

What makes a good pitch deck presentation?

When we talk about pitch presentations, it’s important to compare the differences between a great pitch deck and the ones that just don’t hit the mark. 

What a pitch deck should look like 

A successful pitch deck should have a clean, uncluttered design . This way your audience can take in the information without being distracted by over complicated slides. Any images used should be of high quality, and be relevant to the text. A pitch presentation should flow logically , so the information provided tells a story about what you’re aiming to achieve. 

The colors used should match that of your brand, often logos and fonts will correspond with the theme of the brand, organization, or company. This is a great way to reinforce who you are and what you stand for. A good pitch presentation will captivate the audience by using each slide to convey a single key point, this way, the message is concise and easily absorbed. 

Pitfalls to avoid 

Now, let’s talk about what a pitch presentation shouldn’t look like. If you want to entice your audience, don’t cram too much information onto your slides . This is going to overwhelm your audience and make their attention span drop. Don’t stray away from key points by including irrelevant information. You want your pitch deck to persuade people to take action and have faith in you and your product, so don’t go off on a tandem.

Use a language tone that’s relatable to everyone – don’t use overly technical terms or industry-specific jargon. This can be off-putting for potential investors who don’t work in your field. One of the biggest mistakes you could make is to be inconsistent with your theme, color, and fonts. Remember, the idea is to appear professional, and inconsistency screams amateur. 

Things to consider when preparing to create your pitch presentation

Although it might be appealing to dive straight into making your presentation, there are certain points you should consider to get the best out of your pitch. Here are some things to think about when planning: 

Know your audience

Consider who you’re presenting to and include criteria that are going to be appealing to them. For instance, what resonates with venture capitalists may be different from what appeals to potential partners or customers. 

Engaging storyline

You want to hold your audience’s attention throughout the whole presentation, so tell your story in a way that builds anticipation and makes them want more. 

Keep each slide simple. Your audience will respond better to clear, concise content that’s not too busy and complicated. Keep text easily readable and appropriate for all levels of knowledge. 

Key messages

Plan out the purpose of each slide beforehand, that way you can be sure the key messages come across well. 

You can include things like graphs or charts to simplify complex data, but do this in a way that doesn’t overcrowd the slides. Remember to stay consistent with colors and fonts to reinforce clarity. 

Data and validation

Do your research when preparing to make your pitch presentation. It’s crucial to back up your claims, such as market research, growth projections, or case studies. Using real-world examples is a good way to back up your credibility. 

Business model

Think about how you’re going to explain your business model in a way that comes across clearly. Always be honest about your revenue streams, pricing strategies, and your position in the market. 

Investors often invest in people as much as they do ideas, so think about how you can highlight the strengths of yourself and your team. 

You need to clearly state what you’re asking for. Whether it’s funding, support, or a partnership, make sure your audience knows what you need from them. 

Practice your pitch so that it flows well and fits with the time constraints. Rehearsals are great for realizing flaws, which means you can rectify where needed to ensure the best possible pitch on the day. Be prepared to answer questions and address potential concerns- you can do this by listing some possible queries and preparing an adequate answer. 

Beginning and ending

How can you draw the audience in from the minute you start speaking? A successful pitch presentation often starts with a bang, such as a powerful punch line, a vibrant image, or a brain teaser. When it comes to ending your pitch, summarize the main points and offer a chance for discussion. 

Discover other crucial and noteworthy tips on creating and delivering pitch presentations by watching the following video:

Presenting your pitch deck presentation

Your presenting skills must be just as effective as the pitch presentation you’ve created. Imagine spending all that time and effort on making each slide perfect, to go and blow your opportunity by poorly presenting it. Here are some tips to help you own the stage for your pitch: 

Body language

• Posture: Stand tall and proud. A good posture reflects confidence and keeps you physically engaged. 
• Gestures: Gestures should be natural and purposeful. For example, you might use hand gestures to emphasize important points. Avoid being overly dramatic with gestures as this can be distracting. 
•  Movement: Moving can add energy to your presentation, but be careful not to pace around the stage, as this can make you appear nervous. A simple step forward when you’re reaching the punchline of your story can elevate impact. Similarly, turning your body to face different sections of the audience can make everyone feel included. 

Facial expressions

• Eye contact: Make eye contact with your audience, and maintain it. Don’t just focus on one area, move your gaze around the room to add a personal element to your presentation. This is going to help you build a connection and keep them engaged. 
• Smiling: Smile where appropriate. This is going to make you seem approachable and passionate about your subject. However, you don’t want to unnerve your audience by wearing a forced smile throughout the whole presentation. 
• Expressiveness: Your facial expressions should match the tone of what you’re saying. They can be a powerful way of transporting emotions from the screen onto the audience. 

Voice control

• Volume: You want everyone in the room to hear you, so speak loudly, but avoid shouting. 
• Pace: Remember that your audience needs to clearly hear every word for maximum impact, you can do this by keeping a moderate pace throughout. Speaking too fast can be hard to keep up with, and talking too slowly can become boring. 
• Tone: Use a varied tone to maintain interest, as monotone speech can be disengaging. For instance, you could change the pitch and intensity of your tone when discussing something positive or exciting. 
• Duration: Stick to the allotted time for your pitch presentation. Running too long can lose your audience’s interest, while cutting it too short may not deliver enough information. 
• Pauses: Pauses are handy for creating suspense, or allowing key points to sink in. They can also be helpful for a smooth transformation from one topic to another. 

Dealing with nerves

• Practice: The more familiar you are with your content, the less nervous you’re going to be. Practice your body language cues, speaking clearly, and using the right facial expressions. 
• Visualization: Envision a successful pitch presentation. It’s when we worry about the things that could go wrong that causes anxiety to kick in. 
• Relaxation techniques: Before taking the stage, simple techniques can help with nerves, such as mindfulness practices and progressive muscle relaxation. 
• Deep breathing: Practice deep breathing to control nerves and keep a steady voice. This helps in delivering a calm and confident pitch. 

If you’re struggling with nerves, watch the following video on how to not be nervous for a presentation:

Audience interaction

• Question prompts: To make your pitch presentation more interactive, encourage audience participation and questions. 
• Read the room: Always be aware of the audience’s reactions and adjust accordingly. If they seem disinterested, you might need to change your approach or pace.

As a pitch deck presenter, your role is to deliver your content in a way that makes an impact. Mastery of body language, voice, and timing all play a crucial role in yielding the results you want. 

Prezi: Your tool for creating pitch presentation

If you’re aiming to create a pitch presentation that sets you apart from competitors, Prezi is the tool for you. Here’s why: 

Unique presentation style

Unlike traditional slide-by-slide presentations, Prezi allows you to create a more fluid and dynamic pitch deck. You can move freely around the canvas, zooming in on details and out to the bigger picture. This helps in structuring your pitch presentation in a way that best suits your story, making it more engaging for your audience.

Zooming user interface

This is one of Prezi’s signature features. You can zoom in to focus on specific details and zoom out to show the overall context of your idea. Since pitch presentations are all about emphasizing key points, this feature is essential. 

Visual storytelling

The best way to tell a story through your pitch presentation is to turn complicated information into digestible parts. With Prezi, you can use appealing visuals to simplify ideas and make data easier to interpret. Prezi supports images, visuals, graphics, and animations, so you can create a pitch that captivates your audience. 

Experience visual storytelling in action in a Prezi presentation:

Templates and customization 

Prezi offers a variety of templates , which can be a great starting point for your pitch presentation. These templates are fully customizable, meaning you can align the design with your brand’s look and feel. 

As an example, take a look at this product launch template by Prezi. This would be a solid choice for a pitch deck presentation, particularly if you’re about to launch a new product or service. It provides a structured layout that guides you through the essential elements of a pitch. If you’re hoping to make a good impression, the design of this template looks clean and professional while focusing on key points. It allows you to highlight what sets your product apart in a compelling way. 

Like most Prezi templates, it offers customization options. You can tweak colors, add your images, and moderate the content to align with your brand and product. These are all essential elements for creating a personalized and relevant pitch. 

Collaboration tools

Prezi’s collaboration features come in handy when you’re working with a team. Multiple people can work on the pitch presentation at the same time, offering valuable inputs and different ideas. This way, your pitch deck presentation can reach its full potential. If you like to delegate tasks and give each team member a role in the creation, this feature is great for coordinating efforts. 

Prezi Video

For remote pitching, Prezi Video is the perfect solution as it allows you to add a video of yourself presenting alongside your content. This enables you to make your pitch just as personal as it would be in person. 

To explore how Prezi Video works, watch the following video:

Path tool for story flow

To help create a natural flow for your story, Prezi lets you set paths to move between topics. This easily guides your audience through your presentation in a logical way, which is crucial when it comes to pitch decks. 

Prezi is keeping up with the AI revolution by bringing you a set of AI presentation tools: AI text editing and layout features. These features give you text and layout suggestions, so you don’t need to stress about finding the right words or structure. It can adjust to your writing style, keeping your pitch personal to you but with added clarity and relevance. Discover more about Prezi AI features here .

Successful business pitch presentation examples

Many well-known companies famously used pitch decks in their early stages to secure funding and partnerships. Here’s some you may know: 

Back in 2008, Airbnb was just starting out and needed funding, so they created a pitch deck. This wasn’t just any pitch deck—it was really clear and straightforward, showing off their business model and what they hoped to achieve. They ended up raising $600k from an angel investment round. Their pitch presentation was so successful that people still talk about it today. It’s a classic example of how a good pitch can really set a company on the path to success.

Did you know about Uber’s beginnings? On their ninth anniversary, Garrett Camp, one of the co-founders, shared their first pitch deck. It was a 25-slide presentation that they used way back when they were just starting out. This pitch presentation was a major part of their strategy and really helped in the company’s early growth and evolution. It’s pretty impressive to think how those early slides contributed to making Uber the giant it is today. 

We all know how significant Facebook is when it comes to social media platforms, but it’s all down to their original pitch presentation back in 2004 that propelled them into such success. The pitch deck contained mix-and-match slides for summarizing Facebook’s value proposition, key metrics, and audience demographics. Shortly after the launch of facebook.com, Eduardo Saverin, who was 21 at the time, took their presentation to New York. He was there to pitch Facebook’s Ad platform to potential clients. Now, fast forward to today, Facebook for Business has grown massively. It’s the second biggest digital advertising platform, just behind Google, and holds more than 25% of the market share.

These examples are not only inspirational but show just how important pitch presentations are. A strong pitch is critical for making a good first impression, forming business relations, and opening up opportunities for scaling your business. 

Final thoughts on pitch deck presentations

To wrap up, pitch decks are more than just presentations; they’re your chance to make an impact. They’re vital for anyone looking to get their idea off the ground, especially in the startup world. So when you’re putting one together, keep it straightforward, focus on your key points, and make sure it reflects what you and your business are all about. A well-crafted pitch presentation can open doors, attract investment, and set the stage for your future success. Remember, simplicity and clarity are your best tools. Good luck, and here’s to making your ideas shine!

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12 Startup Pitch Deck Examples [+ Template]

A great startup pitch deck is an integral part of launching a business. This deck is presented to prospective investors to convince them to invest and help you grow your startup . The trick to having the best pitch deck possible is to include enough information to explain your goals and methodology without losing your audience’s interest.

Pitch decks are usually in PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, or Google Slides to make them easier to present to potential investors. However, the deck can also have an alternative format like a Word document or even a video. For inspiration, let’s go through some successful startup pitch deck examples and discuss what they got right. 

Pitch Deck Basics

There are some overarching characteristics that make for a great pitch deck. While we’ll go through what a deck typically includes and some relevant business pitch examples, you can pick and choose certain elements as long as your startup pitch deck has the following basic qualities:

• Design-forward: Customers expect a better experience with your product and that’s achieved through better UX and graphic design. Show your team’s design chops with thoughtful deck design and mock-ups.
• Comprehensive: Be prepared to answer any questions from potential investors. Your slides should cover enough so if they check back for reminders after the presentation, they’ll find the most important information.
• Engaging: A startup pitch deck inevitably includes some boring elements. Your job is to keep it exciting and break up information-heavy slides with features like illustrations and block quotes.
• Straightforward: It’s easy to get caught up with sharing every detail, but it’s more important that your potential investors understand your pitch. For more complicated slides and ideas, pare down your pitch to make it easier to understand.

1. Problem Slide

Your pitch deck should open with a key problem — this is the whole justification for your business and why consumers will find it valuable. A common structure for this slide is to bullet pain points and create a story your potential investors can relate to.

The problem slide is the basis for your presentation. Creating a relatable story makes for an engaging presentation that’s easy to follow and understand.

Uber Example

Why it works : Although it’s not the most visually engaging, Uber’s business pitch example clearly explains how Uber solves key issues with traditional cabs. Uber’s deck is broken down into multiple slides to deliver all the necessary information without overwhelming the audience.

2. Solution slide

After presenting the problem, you should follow up directly with a solution. An effective solution slide structure covers current industry solutions and identifies the gaps your startup fills. This slide has a general overview of any proprietary technology, covers basic product features, and includes relevant interface mock-ups to show investors what your product will do for consumers.

Intercom Example

Why it works : Intercom’s solution slide is simple but effective. While some extra design could elevate this slide, the bullet points are easy to understand and effectively explain Intercom’s unique selling proposition (USP) in the SaaS market.

3. Market validation slide

Market validation is especially important to investors because it shows proof that there are people who will purchase your product. This slide should include any relevant statistics for current sales if your startup has launched or competitors’ sales if it hasn’t. Don’t forget to cover basic information about your target market, their purchasing power, and their habits in your industry. This slide is especially important if your prospective investors aren’t familiar with your product or industry.

LinkedIn Example

Why it work s: At 37 pages, LinkedIn’s pitch deck is longer than we’d recommend.  But what it lacks in brevity it makes up for with powerful market validation using clear data from top competitors. It also breaks down barriers to growth and revenue for these competitors and shows how LinkedIn would improve their models.

4. Market size slide

Market size goes hand in hand with market validation. Once you’ve confirmed your target market has enough purchasing power, you need to justify your product’s longevity.

Focus on continued sales. The two most common elements to ensure your startup brings in long-term revenue are:

• A very large market
• A business model built for continuous purchases (e.g., subscription models)

Facebook Example

Why it works: Facebook is the poster child for successful startups. Its market size slides effectively communicate how Facebook’s initial launches succeeded and justify further growth. The slides with market statistics about college students also explain clearly how Facebook will create revenue.

5. Product slide

The product slide is your chance to nail your pitch and sell your vision to investors. This slide should center your value proposition. A popular strategy for this section is to pose a few questions about your industry and show how your product is the answer. Take the time to craft this slide carefully, polishing it up from the copy to design details.

Dropbox Example

Why it works: Dropbox’s product slides are effective because they show how Dropbox truly innovates over other file sharing services. They justify why now is the time to launch and why consumers will choose Dropbox over competitors.

6. Business model slide

The business model slide covers how the startup will run and launch its product for sustainable growth. This section can compare your startup to other businesses or use internal data if the product has launched.

Moz Example

Why it works : While some of these slides can look busy, Moz’s business model was ahead of its time by calling out why organic marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) have untapped potential. This deck does a good job of explaining the business model to investors who might not be SEO savvy.

But wait...there's more!

7. market adoption slide.

It’s important to show some proof that your target market has interest in purchasing your product, especially if there are other competitors in the market. This is a lot easier if your product has already launched because you can include sales data. If your startup is pre-launch, showing potential market adoption can be tricky. In this case, you can use social proof from similar competitors. If you do this, it’s also important to note how your product differs from these competitors, especially if you can resolve a customer’s complaint. If possible, include case studies in the market adoption slide. These show proof that you can use investments to increase the reach of your startup.

Buffer Example

Why it works : Buffer’s market adoption slides show social proof through key statistics outlining Buffer’s success so far. With an extremely high profit margin and growth rate for their user base, Buffer shows off why their product will offer a larger ROI for potential investors.

8. Competition slide

Many investors look at your competition to help contextualize your startup. If an investor has little or no experience in your vertical, showing competitors they’re familiar with gives them real examples of success. This slide should cover the following topics related to your competition:

• Revenue data
• What competitors do well
• What competitors don’t do well
• How your startup bridges product gaps

Mint Example

Why it works : Mint’s competitor slides are effective because they show current competitors along with future projections for these competitors. This slide effectively shows how Mint creates more value for customers over time and uses competitors as inspiration in their defensive strategy.

9. Team slide

A team slide helps investors get to know the minds behind your startup. Include information about founders, leadership, and top existing investors to show why your team is qualified to launch this startup. Any evidence of past successes with your leadership, consultants, or investors is important to include, as it shows new investors that you have relevant experience to launch your startup. If there’s any relevant history about your startup, such as a higher ROI than expected for a former investor, be sure to include this in your pitch deck.

Contently Example

Why it works : While Contently’s team slide has a lot of information, it’s all relevant to potential investors. In addition to founders and investors, Contently includes top employees, proprietary technology, advisors, and the amount they’ve raised so far. This, along with their financial model slide, show potential investors that Contently will make good use of their investment and even make them some profit.

10. Press slide

The press section of your startup pitch deck is a great opportunity to show off any buzz and get your investors excited about your business. Focus on positive reviews or attention related to your product. Stay away from negative press unless you can show you’ve changed those negative opinions. Make sure to keep these slides focused and succinct. It’s easy to get caught up in showing off product buzz, but press slides should always demonstrate potential for a more widespread product adoption.

Snapchat example

Why it works : Snapchat was in a unique position at the time this deck was created, as its press slide has strong social proof. Snapchat calls out popular users, including press and media sources, that are already using the app. The wide variety of users, including household names like MTV, shows how Snapchat is a well-known social media platform.

11. Testimonial slide

Testimonials give investors insight into what existing customers really think about your product. Testimonials can also shed light on the public perception of your product, especially compared to competitors.

Seventy-two percent of consumers only take action after reading positive reviews. You can use this logic with your potential investors, too.

Positive testimonials show that your customers have brand loyalty and that users are satisfied with the product and customer service. This section of the startup pitch deck is only possible for startups that have launched their product.

AirBnB Example

Why it works : Not every pitch deck includes testimonials, especially if the startup hasn’t launched, but it makes sense to include feedback for Airbnb. Showcasing new users makes this slide simple yet effective. It could also benefit from including average Airbnb ratings for stronger evidence of positive reception.

12. Financial model slide

The financial model slide shows how your product creates revenue. For example, if your product is a subscription-based service, has premium features, or other horizontal integration, you’ll explain that model on these slides. Potential investors should walk away from your presentation knowing exactly how your startup creates revenue and understand any plans to ensure a steady stream of income.

Shopify Example

Why it works : Shopify offers a great pitch deck example of when breaking some pitch norms can work in your favor. Although it’s nearly 30 slides, the entire deck is informative and engaging. The financial model slides work well because they show how Shopify and its past investors turned a profit. Not only do they explain their current financial model, but Shopify also covers their plans for future growth to reassure investors they’ll make a profit, too.

What should you avoid putting in a startup pitch deck?

The best pitch deck is completely tailored to your startup. While there’s no hard-and-fast rule about what you shouldn’t include, make sure everything you’re presenting is relevant to potential investors. 

How do I present my startup pitch deck to investors?

It’s almost always better to present a pitch deck live to investors. Designate one member of your leadership team, ideally a founder, to present your deck to investors. 

Following a script can come across as disingenuous, but using notes is OK, so get lots of practice in before you present to investors.

What should a startup pitch deck include?

A typical startup pitch deck template includes the following slides:

• Market validation
• Market size
• Business model
• Market adoption
• Competition
• Testimonials
• Financial model

However, every pitch deck is different, so your final pitch might skip some of these topics or use multiple slides to expand on certain sections.

Built to scale with HubSpot for Startups

It takes some time to put together a startup pitch deck that works, but once you’ve nailed your presentation, you can reuse it for multiple pitches with just a few tweaks to update any data or statistics. HubSpot for Startups helps you track marketing and sales data to make this process easier. New investors can rest easy knowing you’ve got the support of HubSpot’s powerful CRM at your fingertips.

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Master the Pitch: Crafting the Ultimate Deck to Win Over Investors

D ocumentary support for a new project can be very voluminous and include graphs, tables, financial calculations, etc. The practice of pitch deck presentation allows investors to save effort and begin their acquaintance with start-up projects without delving into the mass of information, which may ultimately turn out to be unnecessary. A pitch deck is a very brief summary of your idea, outlining its essence, mission, time frame for the implementation of each stage, etc. The extent to which you interest investors with your short but succinct pitch will determine whether they will want to delve into more precise calculations and study your strategic plan for project implementation in more detail.

The Purpose of a Pitch Deck 

For startups, preparing a pitch deck solves many tasks simultaneously:

• Capturing and retaining investors' attention with an original idea presentation;
• Highlighting the most important thing in the project, which develops the skill of focusing on the main tasks;
• Instilling confidence in the investor that you have not just an idea but a vision of its implementation and finished results.

Essential Elements of a Pitch Deck 

• Problem Statement: Convince investors that your project is not intended to receive funding but to solve an important problem. Emphasize why alternative or competitive projects have not completely fixed it.
• Solution: Showcase how your product/service can solve the problem you stated. Also, try to convince investors that the solution you offer will be sufficient and that no additional products or services will be needed.
• Market Size: Show how many consumers will be interested in the product/service you offer. This is very important so that investors can evaluate potential profits .
• Business Model: Emphasize how the profit from this project will be generated. The monetization model affects the amount of money earned. Thus, preparing a pitch is a reason to think about alternative methods of monetization.
• Go-to-Market Strategy: Answer the question of how you are going to convince consumers and win your market share from your competitors.
• Traction: Provide key metrics that reflect the progress of your idea and also serve as indicators of the success of its implementation. Don’t forget that these metrics should be revealed dynamically , which will allow you to evaluate the progress of the project.
• Team: Present the team that you managed to assemble and prove that it will be enough to launch the project.
• Ask: Having described the key points and interested investors, indicate what kind of assistance is required from their side.

Design Tips for a Memorable Pitch Deck 

Consistency.

Your presentation should be in a uniform style. This will not only highlight your professionalism but will also make the content of your slides easier to understand for investors. To achieve consistency, develop a color scheme, fonts, and other design elements that are harmonious with your brand and idea. Find out more information on how to use visual elements of your presentation to make it more persuasive.

For the information on a slide to be easily understood, there should not be too much of it. Highlight the main and most catchy and interesting things. Even if you use complex formulas for calculating market share, profit, etc., you should not put it on the slides. Give results and keep them short, simple, and compelling.

Visuals 

If some information can be presented in the form of diagrams, graphs, or pictures, use this opportunity. The human brain instantly reads information from a visual image. This means you can convey the essence of your idea to investors directly, without using a lot of unnecessary words.

To emphasize that you have a brand identity , incorporate its visual components, such as logo, color palette, etc. This will show that you already have a marketing concept for promoting your product.

Content Tips to Engage the Audience 

Narrative flow.

To grab the attention of your audience and keep it until the very end, the pitch deck should unfold like an exciting movie. Good directors can keep the viewer involved in the story from the first episode to the last. Your task will be simpler — you only need to hold the attention of investors for 10-12 slides. But to do this, you must follow a competent plan for the unfolding of the plot — from an intriguing beginning through increasing involvement and peak and to the completion in the form of a request for help or an offer of cooperation.

If you use too much detail or stray away from your message, your audience's attention will be lost. If you suddenly start presenting complex things, the listener will need to think about them. This means your pace of presentation and their pace of understanding may diverge. To prevent this from happening, be brief and keep things simple.

Show that your ideas are not divorced from reality but can be supported by various data. Remember that this data must be from authoritative sources and not contradict each other.

Address Potential Concerns

When thinking through your pitch deck, try to get ahead of investor questions. This will show that you are prepared for any surprises and see issues deeply.

Common Mistakes to Avoid 

Overloading slides .

Remember that words tend to lead astray, giving rise to new meanings. Therefore, not to be distracted from the essence of the project, you try to use them optimally, without excess.

Being Too Vague 

Some presenters try to compensate for the lack of data with a lot of reasoning. You shouldn't do this because it may give your audience the impression that you want to confuse and deceive them.

Lack of Focus on Value Proposition 

Remember that no matter how ingenious, useful, altruistic, etc. your idea is, it is important for investors to emphasize its practical component. Show what income from its sale and in what time frame you hope to receive.

Ignoring Competition 

The successful implementation of business projects is also associated with the ability to defeat your competitors. Show that you have strategies to neutralize them in the process of winning the market share.

Helpful Tools and Resources for Creating a Pitch Deck 

To make it easier for you to create a professional-looking pitch deck, use available digital tools. These can be ready-made templates, libraries of illustrations, blanks for tables, etc. Employ well-known tools like PowerPoint, Keynote, Canva, etc., as well as numerous free services that simplify pitch creation.

Conclusion 

A well-crafted pitch deck signals to potential investors that you can translate your idea into words and images and be persuasive. This is an extremely important factor for the implementation of the project as a whole. So try revising your past presentations with the help of the tips suggested in this article. And if this is your first pitch, start creating it right away correctly and professionally. Perhaps then even your first startup will become convincing to investors and successful in the market.

How to pitch to investors when fundraising (and close the deal)

Any pitch is a high-stakes event, so how do you give yourself the best chance? Learn the secrets to successful pitching in this complete guide.

DocSend’s Startup Index reveals changing trends among venture capitalists. The data reveals investors now take just 3 minutes to think about your deck. And that’s if you’re successful. 

Simply put, if your pitch deck doesn’t immediately charm investors, chances are you’ve already missed your opportunity. So, what do investors want, and how do you give yourself an edge?

Join us, as we reveal all—and learn how to pitch to investors, with our complete guide to creating an unforgettable investment pitch.

Jump into a section for your next pitch

What do investors look for in a pitch?

• Give your elevator pitch
• Tell your story
• Show your market research
• Introduce and demonstrate your product or service
• Explain the revenue and business model
• Clarify how you will attract business
• Pitch your team
• Explain your financial projections
• Justify your fundraising needs
• Illustrate your exit strategy
• Common mistakes

What investors want is a simple, data-driven drill-down on the math of your business—with a clear overview of your ideas. Here are the main criteria that investors will expect:

• Your idea —no idea, no pitch, and another ‘no’ on your (probably) long list
• Your USP —unless you’ve invented something investors want to know how you’re different
• Financial projections —DocSend research says granular data is a common demand today
• A business plan —details on where the money is going, again the more granular the better
• A top-notch pitch deck —it’s crucial that this is easily digestible and concise

How to prepare before making a pitch

Identify potential investors 

You need to prepare yourself with a solid investor candidate search, which will depend on the type of business you have. 

The most important consideration in your search will be the type of investor, which is usually one of the following types:

• Venture capitalists —who provide private equity funding
• Angel investors —who are normally high-net-worth individuals
• Personal investors —who might include anyone within your company network

There are also peer-to-peer investors and, of course, banks.

Assess the current investing climate

After you decide on the investor, you need to look at the current investing landscape. DocSend data reveals the following insights:

• Investors are increasingly more selective
• There has been an economic downturn alongside an expansion of competition
• Investors are looking for niche underrepresented groups, such as the LGBTQ community

This means the landscape is tougher than ever. You’ll have to compete ever harder than ever for a shrinking pool of funds. 

And you’ll have less time to catch investors’ attention, the data shows that from 2021 to 2022 the time venture capitalists spend on a successful deck is lower from 3:30 to 2:45. Mere minutes! 

Every second counts. And an attention span drop of 20% is only going to add pressure to the situation. 

Get your story straight

Now that you know who the investors are and what to expect, the focus can turn to you.

During a pitch, investors will likely have a barrage of questions ready for you. Questions like:

• “Why this particular type of investment?”
• “What’s stopping you from going to a bank?”
• “Why come to me in particular as an investor?”

You’ll need good answers as to why you want their money specifically. Understand your circumstances, know if you are an early-stage or a growth-stage startup if you need pre-seed or seed fundraising—and prepare yourself for questions.

All of this gives you ammo for whatever type of investor you’re pitching. You’re not ready to pitch if you don’t know their priorities, your position—and ultimately how you can make money together.

Build your charisma and confidence

Ever wish you could get an objective view of yourself when you’re getting ready for a big presentation? With Dropbox Capture , you can practice your charisma and share your deck with your team, using the screen recorder to record your pitch and then play it back to critique yourself.

How to make a pitch to investors

It’s a lot of work to understand who you are pitching to and why. So, assuming you have that in mind, we can focus on how to pitch. Use the following tips for a better chance of success.

1. Deliver your elevator pitch

An elevator pitch is the condensed version of all the information you are about to present. Investors want a roadmap of where you are heading during the pitch in about 30 seconds.

Make sure your snappy, smooth but serious elevator pitch can hit the following points:

• The nature of your business, your company structure, founders, and other details
• Your product or service, anything relevant to what your company provides
• Your value proposition, the benefits that your product or service delivers

Above all else, be prepared—you have to be ready to deliver your pitch in any situation. You never know where you might need to explain your idea to a potential investor.

2. Tell your story

Try to share the desire and the dreams that inspired you to start pursuing the idea—and hopefully, when you’re done, they will be rooting for you and want to see you succeed.

Everything you say at this stage will require data to back up your claims. Information on audience segmentation, financial projections, and other numbers will help to sell your company story.

So, when planning the story slides of your deck, make sure you include the following:

• The consumer problem or market gap you see
• How your company and the investor's funding will solve this problem
• Your audience or customer base, who your business will help, and how
• Why your business needs funding at this point more than any other

3. Show your market research

Grounding your product in hard data will make it less of an idea and more of a plan. This part of the pitch can create a sense of urgency for the investor, who will see the plan is ready for action.

Make sure you cover the following in your market research slides for a successful deck:

• Competition, demonstrate how competitive your market is—investors don’t like too much saturation but too little may indicate your plan is unviable
• Industry status, including market history up to the pitch-and sector projections beyond
• Audience or target customers, who are they and what are their values, wants, or needs?
• Market growth potential
• How to avoid risks in the market, whether that is legal, regulatory, or other potential pitfalls

4. Introduce and demonstrate your product or service

While an investor will broadly understand the product at this stage, it’s time to get into some detail. The most important thing is some kind of demo, where the investor will see, try, or use the product or service.

A demo in a pitch for a digital service or physical product will require careful preparation and testing. For example, if you’re pitching an app, you’ll want to be absolutely certain that its core functions can be demoed flawlessly during the pitch.

You should iron out any kinks before you get to the pitch! An investor wants a real-time experience so you better check and re-check, right up until the moment of truth.

5. Explain the revenue and business model

If your pitch has investors sold on the idea, everything now rests on one factor—the business model. This is the slide that investors will care about more than any other in your deck.

So, aim to include the following details to show how your business will make them money:

• Price points for each product or service
• Fee structure, is it a per-item charge or a monthly/yearly subscription?
• Services or product classes and their pricing, such as a premium plan for business
• How the prices fit into your revenue goals, selling X number of products to achieve Y
• Projections for return on investment, including the amounts and when to expect it

This can be the clincher stage for many investments pay close attention here, as astute investors will be aware of irregularities and ask plenty of questions.

[ Try Dropbox Sign ]

6. Clarify how you will attract business

Investors don’t back projects without major audience demand.

You need to keep your approach to acquiring new business and key metrics as the focus of these slides. Make sure you include the following details on how you will attract new business.

• Marketing channels you will use, such as social media, direct sales, digital and traditional PR
• Growth metrics, like customer acquisition cost (CAC), customer retention rate (CRR), and conversion rate
• Sales process breakdown, what is the journey from a lead to a sale for the company?

Investors are looking for growth potential, so they will be very familiar with metrics and the different stages of the sales process. Prepare for questions and know the metrics inside out!

7. Pitch your team

Aside from the idea, state of the market, and financials, an investor wants to know that their money is in good hands. You need to sell the merits of your team so the investor can trust your abilities.

The DocSend data demonstrates that both seed and pre-seed decks are more successful when teams are introduced towards the beginning. The fact that decks with team slides toward the end are less successful indicates just how important a team is to investors! Consider moving it up in your deck to make sure you succeed.

Keep the following in mind for a better pitch result:

• Celebrate your team's skills, experience, and qualifications
• Don’t deny any shortcomings you may currently have-and explain how you will deal with them
• Chart the next steps, ambitions, and improvements of your team as part of the pitch

8. Explain your financial projections

You need to project your revenue goals over the next 3 to 5 years. Break down the revenue per product and be certain to carefully explain how and when the business will see these numbers.

A revenue projection slide should be concise. Make sure you don’t get swept up in numbers. Keep it simple.

9. Justify your fundraising needs

All investors will prefer to give you a lower level of funding if that’s what your idea requires. You have to make investors understand why you need the funding you are asking for.

Make sure you cover the following to justify what you ask for and to help close the deal.

• Current funding levels, how much you have to date, and where this came from
• Ownership levels, what stake will investors get and what is the current equity distribution?
• How much more investment do you need to achieve your goals?
• Where the money will go and what you will use it for
• The position of the business, once the funding runs out

This is a good point in the pitch to remind everyone how shrewd and trustworthy you will be with the investor's money. Make everyone in the room comfortable with what they are about to offer.

10. Illustrate your exit strategy

As fundraising progresses from the seed stages, you’ll find investors are eager to know what the exit strategy is for the business: a large company may acquire you, the management might want to buy out the stake—or maybe you will go public.

Whatever the exit plan looks like, explain to the investor why it makes sense for the company and what it means for their investment. Investors may not care about the method of exit, but they’ll want to know how they’ll get their money back 5 or 10 years down the line.

What are some common mistakes made when pitching to investors?

We want to give you a positive list of things to do to make your pitch great, but there are a few things to avoid too. Try to avoid the following common fundraising pitch pitfalls:

• Not understanding your audience or customer
• Not doing the market research
• Not being transparent with the data you have or your sources
• Not leaving enough time for questions during the meeting
• Not following up with people in the pitch after the meeting
• Not listening to investor feedback or refining your deck after an unsuccessful pitch

Pitching can be a lot of build-up with a whirlwind of activity that follows—or a fast “no”. Prepare for each stage as if it was the final step, which is stepping into the room and delivering.

How can Dropbox help me pitch to investors?

Dropbox makes it easy to share, collaborate and work on your deck. When your pitch lands the investment you need, DocSend can make sending files quick, simple, and safe. 

Try Dropbox Capture to record screens during your pitch meetings and preparation, or the pitch itself. You can also use Dropbox Sign to get legally-binding eSignatures, so whether you are preparing a pitch or have a winning agreement to send—you can rely on our tools at every stage.

Nail your next investment pitch

Our practical guide will give you the best chance of success in your pitch. Combine a strong pitch with our powerful products, and you’ll be ready for a “yes” in your funding journey.

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Pitch Deck Teardown: Geodesic.Life’s $500K pre-seed deck

Geodesic.Life, a Ukraine-based startup, is challenging the traditional notions of housing by introducing affordable, eco-friendly prefabricated dome homes. This concept addresses two pressing global concerns: the need for accessible housing and the urgency of environmental preservation. By normalizing sustainable living practices, Geodesic aims to make a positive impact on both individuals and the planet. The company just closed a small, $500,000 friends and family round to bring its vision to life.

The startup’s dome homes offer several advantages. They are significantly more affordable than conventional housing options, making them an attractive choice for individuals, families and communities with limited financial resources. The homes are also designed with sustainability in mind: They are constructed using eco-friendly materials, have a low carbon footprint and are energy-efficient. This not only reduces the environmental impact of housing but also aligns with the growing demand for sustainable living solutions.

The startup shared its 13-slide deck with TechCrunch, so let’s dive in and see what we can see.

We’re looking for more unique pitch decks to tear down, so if you want to submit your own, here’s how you can do that . 

Slides in this deck

While Geodesic’s deck impresses with its aesthetic design, featuring a tasteful color palette, appealing illustrations and a concise text, it does have some crucial shortcomings.

• Cover slide
• Problem slide 1
• Problem slide 2
• Product image slide
• Solution slide
• What Is Unique? slide
• Designed to Make an Impact slide (composition details)
• Business model slide
• Beachhead market slide
•  Competition slide
•  Competition slide 2
• ‘ New Age of Rurals’ image slide
•  Team slide

A couple of things to love about Geodesic’s pitch deck

Geodesic’s pitch deck was quite impressive, particularly in how it connected problems with solutions, showcasing the company’s innovative approach and commitment to sustainability with solid data.

A clear starting point

[Slide 9] A great, clearly defined beachhead market is a good way to get a toehold for your business. Image Credits : Geodesic.Life

This clear contextualization of the target market is essential because the specific focus on “turn-key prefab in the Stockholm area” is relatively modest in scope. However, the opportunity for growth is significant, which should appeal to investors.

Designed to make an impact

[Slide 7] Highlighting how the company is different is a helpful starting point for conversation. Image Credits : Geodesic.Life

Adding specific, measurable data about the environmental benefits of the building methods is also smart. These numbers really back up the claims about reducing carbon footprints and underline the company’s commitment to sustainability. This data-driven angle not only boosts Geodesic’s credibility but also highlights the dedication to making a real difference in the construction industry. It’s obvious that Geodesic isn’t just throwing around a cool idea — it’s putting forward a practical solution with solid environmental results to show for it.

Three things that Geodesic Life could have improved

The deck has several areas for improvement beyond a nearly duplicated competition slide. Additionally, it lacks slides requesting funding and detailing the go-to-market strategy. I would like to elaborate on the following points:

You say “affordable,” I say “show me the price tag”

The absence of pricing information on this deck hinders understanding of both the production costs and homebuyer purchase prices.

Including a pricing slide in your pitch deck is crucial for several reasons, especially when presenting to potential investors, because it touches so many parts of the narrative. Here’s why it matters:

• Building block for your business model : A pricing slide provides clear information about how your startup intends to make money. Investors want to understand your business model and how you plan to generate revenue. Pricing details help them assess the feasibility and profitability of your business.
• Value proposition : It helps validate your value proposition by showing that customers are willing to pay for your product or service at the prices you have set. This indicates market validation and potential for growth.
• Foundation for financial projections : Pricing is a key component of financial forecasts. It affects projections for revenue, which in turn influences profitability, cashflow and break-even analysis. Investors need this information to evaluate the financial viability of your startup.
• Positioning : Demonstrating how your pricing strategy compares to competitors can highlight competitive advantages or justify premium pricing due to better features, benefits or brand positioning.

In short, a pricing slide is not just about showing numbers but is a strategic element that communicates the viability and potential of your business model to investors. It’s an essential part of the story that convinces them why now is the right time to invest in your startup.

The business model comes up short

[Slide 8] This is a brainstorm, not a business model. Image Credits : Geodesic.Life

The business model slide is very light on details, and the details that are there are a little confusing. It is difficult to understand the exact idea behind the flow of money through this business. However, it appears that the idea is for developers to build communities of prefabricated constructions. That’s great, but it’s not clear who the customers are for these prefabricated communities. Municipalities may be customers, as they might be interested in building social or affordable housing together with community buildings. However, private developers could also be customers, and perhaps they’re interested in building these communities for sale or rent. Without more information, it is difficult to assess the feasibility of this business model.

Having a solid business model is key to winning over investors. It shows them you’ve got a clear plan for making money and keeping the business growing over the long haul. Investors are all about seeing a good return on their investment, and a sharp business model lays out exactly how your startup will bring in cash, keep costs down and scale up.

By detailing your strategy for getting customers, setting prices and staying ahead of the competition, you’re demonstrating a smart, strategic approach to building a thriving business. This kind of clarity also lowers the risk for investors, as they can see the specific steps you’ll take to hit financial goals.

Too many people and too little info

[Slide 13] Yeah, but who are these folks, and why should I invest in them? Image Credits : Geodesic Life

For Geodesic, several issues need to be addressed to enhance the effectiveness of the team slide. Including too many people on the slide can dilute the focus from key players who are pivotal to the startup’s success. Limit the slide to core team members — typically founders and key executives — who directly influence major business outcomes.

Also, listing names, photos and job titles does not provide enough context about why these individuals are uniquely qualified to succeed in this venture. Investors need to understand what each team member specifically brings to the table in terms of relevant expertise, past entrepreneurial successes or industry experience.

It’s vital to demonstrate a strong founder-market fit, showing clear reasons why your team, above others, is capable of addressing what the market needs and navigating the complexities of the industry. Include brief highlights of previous roles, startup experience and specific achievements that align directly with the goals and challenges of your current venture. This approach will offer a clearer and more compelling picture of your team’s capabilities, enhancing investor confidence in your company’s potential.

The full pitch deck

If you want your own pitch deck teardown featured on TechCrunch, here’s more information . Also, check out  all our Pitch Deck Teardowns  all collected in one handy place for you!

Check out the pitch deck productivity startup Read AI used to land $21 million to fuel its meeting-summary generator

• Read AI just raised a $21 million Series A funding round.
• The startup uses generative AI to create meeting summaries. 
• Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck the startup use to raise funding from Goodwater Capital. 

Generative AI continues to be a big draw for VC investors , and one startup just raised a significant funding round to use the tech for meeting summaries and other workplace tasks.

The startup, Read AI, closed a $21 million Series A funding round in April. Goodwater Capital led the round, with participation from existing investor Madrona Venture Group, which led the startup's $10 million seed round in 2021.

Founded in 2021, the Seattle-based startup uses generative AI to provide automated summaries, transcripts, playbacks, and highlights for video meetings on platforms including Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet.

With its new round of funding, Read AI rolled out new features for email and messaging, where the startup's tech provides AI-generated topic reports, called Readouts, that update throughout the day and alert users to project updates, summaries to email threads, key action items, and timelines.

David Shin, who co-founded Read AI alongside Robert Williams and Elliott Waldron, told Business Insider that the generative AI boom over the last year has supercharged what the startup can offer clients.

"The concept of 'connected intelligence' where each email, meeting, and message is an independent AI agent that can collaborate to eliminate busywork wasn't possible in the early days of Read," he said, adding that this is why the startup initially focused just on meetings.

"As AI and the infrastructure that supports it have advanced, so have the opportunities to apply our solution to a broader audience," he said.

Read AI offers multiple pricing plans, including a basic, free version for individual users as well as enterprise and enterprise plus accounts that cost $22.50 and $29.75 a month per user, respectively.

Since the launch of ChatGPT nearly a year and a half ago, AI has been having a big moment, with generative AI — which focuses on letting computers create brand-new outputs rather than just analyzing historical data — driving much of the hype. Some AI companies are showing signs of weakness , however, while leaders in the space are beginning to question if the industry has finally become over-hyped .

Even so, there are still opportunities for many AI startups to raise funding — sometimes at huge valuations, including AI search engine Perplexity, which just raised $63 million at a $1 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported.

At the early stage, legal-tech gen-AI startup Robin AI raised $26 million in January, while Superintelligent — which helps people learn how to use various AI tools — landed $2 million in pre-seed funding earlier this month.

Check out the 23-slide presentation Read AI used to raise $21 million in Series A funding.

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