PITCH DECK TEMPLATE
PURPOSE
Open investors minds to your vision - get them excited to know more!
The story you craft in your Deck gets them engaged to start filling in the blanks for themselves
Give enough information to grab their interest, but not too much as to overwhelm them or have your story lose clarity and focus
Your Deck should be able to stand on its own, without your presentation.
Compelling decks are concise, tell a story, are visual, 14-15 slides.
COMMON DECK MISTAKES
Too many slides and too much information
“Wordy slides” - avoid with Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule of Power Point for slide design. 10 slides / 20 minutes to present the slides / 30 point font or greater
Too many product details (remember your company is the product!)
Belittling competitors or denying they exist
False/silly assumptions you can’t back up or don’t have data on
False confidence or arrogance
PITCH DECK CONTENTS
6. Route to Market
7. Current Status
8. Competition
9. Team
10. Financials
11. The Ask:
INTRODUCTION/ELEVATOR PITCH
A quick one-liner summary that combines your vision/product and the mission of your company
Keep it short and memorable
Try: making it relatable… as in “We are X for Y”
(“We are AirBNB for Event Spaces”)
(“We are the Starbucks of Frozen Yogurt”)
PROBLEM
Define the real problem/need you’re solving, and for who.
Avoid vague, catch-all, language and demonstrate market demand using any stats/evidence relevant to your proposition.
SOLUTION
Introduce your product
Tell the story of your customer and how customers use/value your product or service - is it a priority for them?
Images and visuals are better than lots of text - show don’t tell!
MARKET
Define Your Market: What business/sector are you in? What is your niche?
Market Size: How large is you Total Addressable Market (TAM) and 2-3% of that market (Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM))?
Customers: Clearly define exactly who you serve - does your product/service solve a key pain point for them?
Macro Trends and insights
REVENUE MODEL
Who is your primary customer/beachhead market?
How do you make money - remember: unless you’re a not for profit, you need to sustain yourself/make money!
What is the pricing structure/model - include price per unit and margins here
Revenue and number of customers to date
Show basic math on revenues and conversion rates
Demonstrate the life-time value of an average customer - how many months, how much money?
TRACTION
Growth metrics are key at early stage - show growth rates, number of current customers/forecast customers
Show your timeline and milestones to date
Customer success stories and/or testimonials
Highlight press, partnerships, accolades
MARKETING STRATEGY/
ROUTE TO MARKET
Where are your customers looking today and finding help - how will you reach them?
How will you achieve your target growth rates?
What are the most important and unique channels and methods you will use to find and win customers?
How are you doing it differently than others in the space?
How much will it cost to acquire a customer?
CURRENT STATUS
Where are you on your development/growth roadmap?
How many customers or users do you have - are they paying?
Are you revenue-generating?
Have you reached breakeven?
TEAM
Highlight key team members and their prior positions, successes, domain expertise (bullet points preferable)
Demonstrate relevant experience - don’t need a CV!
Remember: An investor invests in the team to deliver what they say they will.
“Rather invest in an A Team with a B Plan, than a B Team with an A Plan.”
Christopher Mirabile, Founder Launchpad Ventures
FINANCIALS
Include 3-5 years of financial projections
Mention key and critical assumptions in your model of expenses, customer conversion, market penetration (%)
Highlight each of these yearly for at least 3 years:
COMPETITION
Where do you exist in the larger overall Market Space?
What are your Advantages?
How is your place in the market unique to you, and the right one for your company growth and customers?
Who are the competitors, why have they succeeded, and how do you truly differentiate from them?
Note: If you say you have no competitors at all, you have either beaten the odds or you haven’t found them yet - a red flag to an investor.
INVESTMENT ASK
State how much Capital you are raising, and with what general Terms: Equity, Debt, Convertible Note
What is the timing of your Capital raise?
Who are your existing and notable investors (if any)?
What are your key Use of Proceeds (as % of total raise) - what is the investment breakdown?
PITCH DECK:
DOS & DON’TS
Delegate design
✔️
Practise
Make up the figures
❌
🗣💬💡🤩 Say it with graphics
✔️
✔️
Fall for false traction
❌
Get defensive
❌
Evidence customer priorities
✔️
Justify your ask
✔️
Use poor quality graphics
❌
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