The Perfect
Pitch Deck
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
A template for desperate founders that don’t know where to start.
Valentina Metez, CEO & founder | valentina@basicpitch.vc
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Who’s basic pitch?
We’re a fundraising studio, helping startups* get investment ready and raise VC/angel funds. → read more on our website
*I love this definition of a startup: “A startup is a temporary organization used to search for a repeatable and scalable business model, which answers an unsolved (or poorly solved) problem, and that can be considered the first step from an idea to an early-stage business.”
That’s me on the photo. Pretty chill for a person that used to dread public speaking, right?
Pitching can be scary. But it doesn’t have to be. I hope this template helps you deal with what to put on the deck, so that you can spend more time on running your business and getting ready for the pitches.
I’ve put together this template because I REALLY wished I’d have something like this when I was raising funds for my startup. Sure, there are a bunch of templates online, but between you and me, most of them are just not very useful.
This one is a mix of my own experience and 12 months I’ve spent on my deck, everything I learned along the way, and the latest reports on the industry.
Valentina Metez, founder of BasicPitch,ex-VC backed startup founder, tennis player (although not a very good one)
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Let me start by admitting that I lied to you.
There is no such thing as the perfect pitch deck template.
I know, you wanted to take a shortcut. As a startup founder, you’re just too busy keeping your company alive, and if you’re raising for the first time, you have no idea what to put on those slides.
That’s fine.
Well, there is no perfect pitch deck template, because pitching is basically telling a story.
Each startup has a different story to tell and there is no one-fits-all template.
What templates like this one are good for is telling you what piece of info to present.
Using this template you will show investors at least 80% of the things they need to know about you. Those are the standard data points.
The other 20% are on you. Metrics that matter for you only. Slide order* that fits your story.
There is no template that would do that for you magically, but adding those last 20% can make it or break it for you.
You can start with this template, but if you’re serious about raising funds and need some help, send me an email, and we’ll work on your perfect deck together. ��PS: This template is not meant to be pretty. If you need a graphics designer, I can recommend you a couple of partners for different budgets.
Or just don’t worry about the design. As long as it looks clean nobody really cares about the design of your deck. �
*I arranged the slides in the exact order that worked well for most of the successful pitch decks in 2023
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Some basic tips before you start:
-Less is more. Don’t make it look complicated. Simplify. Say less, use less words.
- One point per slide is perfect (when pitching).
- Don’t do titles like “The Problem”. Use simple sentences to tell the story.
- Don’t use cringy, cheesy stock photos.
- Make sure your numbers are consistent.
- Have additional slides ready for Q&A session.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
How to use this template:
You can edit it directly. Follow instructions on the slide and use slide notes to understand what to put on the slide and why is it important.
Delete the slide notes before presenting!
Some sections include two slides - you can use either my template, or the real deck example. Those are anonymised, redacted or even edited, so feel free to use them.
After you finish working on this template and want to increase your chance of raising funds, book a meeting with me. We’ll find the narrative that will stand out when pitching to investors, and get you in front of the right investors.
Enjoy editing this!
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Final thought…
Investors will spend less than 3 minutes on your investor deck.
Dumb it down.
Complicated, wordy decks don’t do well.
Your Brand
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Oneliner
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Slide notes: Intro slide
Your one-liner should be very descriptive and clear (“We help X do Y by doing Z better than our competitors”). That helps investors understand what you do and retain more information during the pitch.
Don’t forget to include your contact information (email and Whatsapp number). If this is forwarded to someone, they need to know how to reach you.
Set the tone by including information about your fundraise. That should be at least name of the round and the year, if you’re bold also the amount you’re raising and what for.
Remember, this slide stays on the screen the longest. While you’re switching places with the previous startup, during technical setup, during small talk. Make good use of it.
If you want, include a QR code that people can scan to get on your website/demo video/signup form.
If your startup is registered in the UK and you’re S/EIS eligible, make sure you mention that on the slide as well.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Explain your company purpose/vision here. Focus on making people FEEL SOMETHING.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Slide notes: Company purpose slide
Use this slide to set the tone for your entire pitch.
Your deck should be focused on “short” term features and plans, but your company’s purpose explains to investors what you envision this company to become, and the impact on the customers and the world it will have once it reaches maturity.
Do yourself a favour and stay away from the cliches like “We’re changing the world one XYZ at a time”.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
[Why Now] The main “why now” / big shift in the market
One or two sentences about why your solution speaks to a pressing business need, and why it’s poised to succeed in today’s social and economic landscape.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Slide notes: Why Now
This slide used to be “optional”. Not a lot of pitch decks included it. But as investors are getting (or staying) more risk averse, and the rounds take more time to raise than a couple of years ago, this slide is getting much more important.
In fact so important it should be on the very beginning of your deck. Before the problem/solution slides.
Show investors why they should want to invest/commit RIGHT NOW. Not in a couple of months. Not in your next round.
Why missing this train would be a horrible thing to do.
It’s basically a FOMO slide, driven by the market need. (You can also support that market need info by giving them a sneak peek of your traction)
For data nerds: Investors spent 65% more time on this section in 2023 than in 2022.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
[Problem] A big statement about the main problem you’re solving.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Slide notes: The Problem
Don’t expect investors to know a lot about your industry. Most investors you’ll pitch to are generalists.
Explain even the obvious problems. They might be obvious to you, but not to everyone.
Know who you’re pitching to. If you don’t know, assume that they don’t know ANYTHING.
There will be a lot of time for in depth questions later in the Q&A session.
Make sure EVERYONE understands the scope of the problem.
If you’ve experienced it first-hand, tell people that. Investors love founders that built products for their own needs.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
[Solution] How your team believes this problem can be solved.
A strategic, high-level idea of a solution for the problem you’ve mentioned - describe it as simply as you can.
There can be more than one way to implement this solution. Don’t focus on technical details here at all.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
[Product] Describe what your team is currently building to solve the problem.
You can put more technical details on this slide, but still keep it simple. Explain how it works and what stage it’s currently in.
Use screenshots of your app/photos of product if you have them.
Don’t spend too much time going into too many details, nobody really cares about the product as much as you think.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Slide notes: The Solution/Product
The solution slide describes a high-level idea of a product/service that solves the problem.
It has more than one ways of implementation.
The Product slide includes ONE way of implementing that solution to solve the problem.
The difference is, startups can pivot their product idea many times. They rarely pivot the solution.
For data nerds: Investors spent 10% less time on product slides in 2023 than in 2022.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
[Team] You’re betting on an experienced team, working together for XY years.
Founder 1, Area of expertise
Relevant past experience, interesting fact, time commitment
Founder 2, Area of expertise
Relevant past experience, interesting fact, time commitment
Founder 3, Area of expertise
Relevant past experience, interesting fact, time commitment
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Slide notes: The Team
Make sure you nail this slide.
Investors want to understand why you are the right team to build the solution/deliver on your vision.
What they really care about:
THIS IS NOT YOUR LINKEDIN CONNECTIONS PAGE. LEAVE ADVISORS/WEALTHY DAD’S FRIENDS OFF OF THIS SLIDE.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
[Business Model] A simple one-liner about how
you are/will be making money.
Pick 1-max 3 revenue streams, even if you know you can have more. Don’t show lack of focus, guide their attention to the most important streams.
Show unit economics now and when you’ll scale (do they change?)
DESIGN: depends on the business model.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Slide notes: The Business Model
If investors can’t figure out how you’ll make money, they won’t give you any.
If it’s complex, simplify it as much as you can, plenty of time explain additional layers later.
Best way to explain the business model is giving it context - use a real life example.
Explain:
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
[Traction] Show the proof that you’re on the right track/that the market wants what you’re building.
Pick 1-2 key metrics (like user retention, key feature activation, sales,...) and show that the progress you made is repeatable and sustainable.
Avoid vanity metrics.
See example on the next slide.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Real Deck Example: GMV growing 30% month/month (avg last 12 months)
GMV
AOV
Active buyers
Churn
[INDUSTRY] is very seasonal.
We were growing with one salesperson in [Market 1] until November, then expanded to [Market 2.]
Projecting > €2M
monthly GMV by EOY.
No advertising. Working with early adopters to improve the UX of the app.
We are continuously expanding our Share of Wallet.
22-Q1: 46%
22-Q3: 4.5%
Q4: new market (18%)
We retained all of our active buyers on both markets in February.
We’re actively working on minimizing churn.
Our buyers more than doubled their average order value from 277€ to 803€.
An active buyer makes avg. 16 orders monthly.
Disclaimer: Anonymised and adapted.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Slide notes: The Traction
There is always some traction to show. If not, you’ll have a really hard time raising funds (meaning almost impossible, except if you’re a second-time or an exited founder).
If you are pre-product/pre-revenue, traction can also be anything that shows you’re making progress into the right direction (locking in key team members, waitlist, LOIs,...)
Don’t hide behind the pretty numbers. If you have high churn/low retention, address it and explain how you’ll solve this. Don’t just show high signup growth if you know you’re not activating a high % of those signups.
Give investors the full context, with explanations.
Show charts if possible.
For data nerds: Investors spent 33% more time on traction slides in 2023 than in 2022.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
[Competition] One sentence about your unfair advantage or key differentiator.
| | | | |
Feature 1 (most important) | Fully working | Yes, but missing XYZ | | |
Feature 2 | Fully enabled | XYZ only | Fully enabled | XYZ only |
Feature 3 | | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
Feature 4 | 1 day | 12 days | 3 weeks | 7 days |
Feature 5 (least important) | Web + App | App only | App only | Web only |
✅
❌
❌
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Slide notes: The Competition
Show you know your competition well.
You should make it as easy as possible for investors to understand your value proposition in relation to your competitors.
Avoid saying you have no competitors, it makes you sound like a fool. Everyone has one - be it the old way of doing things (Excel or pen&paper), free time, non-startups…
I like showing the competition analysis in a matrix. It’s visual and it allows me to add additional information.
“The compass” is highly subjective and leaves no room for text.
For data nerds: Investors spent 88% more time on competition slides in 2023 than in 2022.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
202x-12
202x/2x avg.
Take rate = 1.37%
Gross Margin = 82.12%
202x-12
202x - milestone 1
202x - Milestone 2
Projections are based on our [project feature] revenues, revenue share of 3rd party solutions is not included.
Some examples of complementary solutions we can add (revshare) or acquire to increase take rate and secure bigger market share:
Disclaimer: Anonymised and adapted.
[Financials - Real Deck Example] We’ll hit $XM of [metric] by 20XX
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Slide notes: The Financials
This slide is important because it shows if YOU can be the fund returner for the fund. (Can you cover the losses of all the other startups that won’t make it?)
You need to know who you’re pitching to. The example on the previous slide can’t be a fund returner for a large VC fund, but it could be for a smaller one.
Design: show a chart with assumptions driving that projection. Add important milestones. Ideally also the breakeven point, markets, etc.
Some startups choose to copy-paste their Excel spreadsheets P&L in here. That’s fine too, but less common in early stages. ��Just make sure your numbers are consistent and that you can defend any sudden jumps in revenue.
If you need help with your financials, book a meeting. This slide can either get you a next meeting or get your deck archived.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
[Market size] One sentence about the size of the market/opportunity.
Usually presented with TAM, SAM, SOM circles, but you can check a bit different real deck example on the next slide.
Here are the circles, if you love the classics.
[Describe the market a bit in this section]
TAM: $XXB [the total market size]
SAM: $XXB [the attainable market size]
SOM: $XXM [what you can realistically achieve]
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
*Total [INDUSTRY] market globally
CAGR = 9%
Expected 2032 = >€20B
TAM, SAM, SOM =2024
Disclaimer: Anonymised and adapted.
€8.5B
SAM for [INDUSTRY > PRODUCTS] in key geographical markets
It’s a €8.5B* market, and it’s growing extremely fast.
€1.2M
€450M
Our SOM is [NICHE DOWN] segment of the market.
Total [INDUSTRY] market globally.
[Market size] Real Deck Example:
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Slide notes: Market size
Don’t use the top-down market approach; don’t say you’ll “conquer 1% of the TAM”. Investors hate that. It’s lazy and it’s making predictions without any proof.
Do a bottoms-up approach instead, show how you’ll acquire customers step by step, and back it up with data.
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
[The Ask] We’re raising $XM to do Y in Z months.
Equity or SAFE
Min. ticket size: $XXXk
65% already committed
Lead investor secured
Round closing in [Month]
With those funds we’ll achieve:
How we’ll use the funds
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Slide notes: The Ask
Be clear on how you’ll use the funds and how far that will get you.
Show basic round info. Don’t commit to a closing date if you’re not sure you can reach that!
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Thank you, questions?
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
basicpitch.vc | helping awesome founders raise vc
Slide notes: The Last One
Great, you’ve finished your pitch, now it’s time for the Q&A session.
Use this slide well. Have your contact info up there, a QR code, ideally even the oneliner.
Have additional slides prepared to jump to when asked more in-depth questions.
OK, I need to raise, where do I start?
Free & slower:
Pay peanuts & do it faster (great for small budgets):
�Pay a bit more & get ready super fast:
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