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Jan 27, 2019 · 5 min read · Listen
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How to Structure a Pitch
Deck for Investors
Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash
Your pitch deck is supposed to be short and
sweet…while also including enough
information to convince investors to give you
money
To make matters worse, everyone has their
own opinion about what to include in a pitch
deck. Some, like Guy Kawasaki, argue that a
pitch deck should be 10 slides MAXIMUM,
while others put this figure at around 20
slides.
Slidebean put together a graphic that visually
shows how opinions vary between different
venture capital firms and successful start-ups
— it seems like we just can’t agree on what
makes a pitch deck ‘good’.
Whatshouldbeonyour
slidebean.
pitchdeck?
accordingtoVC'sandsuccesfulstartups
Airbnb
500 Guy SequoiaNextView Crowd
Pitch
StartupsKawasaki Capital Ventures funder
Deck
Slides 11 10 11 15+ 12 13
Executive
Summary
Problem
Solution/Value
Proposition
MarketValidation/
WhyNow?
Product
MarketSize
BusinessModel
UnderlyingMagic
Competition
Competitive
Advantage
MarketingPlan/
Go-toMarket
FoundingTeam .
Board/Advisors
Traction/
Milestones
Press/User
Testimonials
Fundraising
Financial/Useof
Funds
“Complete Guide to Pitch Deck Presentation” from
Slidebean
f you’re struggling to figure out what to put in
your pitch deck, the good news is that you’re
not alone.
When you’re thinking about your pitch, try
thinking about it in the framework of telling a
good story.
First, you draw your audience into the story.
Then, slowly build up your story until you
reach the climax, and finally send everyone
off with a happy conclusion.
What does this look like in the context of a
pitch deck?
Part 1: Introduction
Make investors sit straight in their chairs and
start paying attention.
Title Page
Summarize your business in 10 words or less,
and include your business name and logo.
This is exactly what Airbnb did in their
original pitch deck from 2008 — from the very
first page, it gets investors thinking (Book
rooms with locals? How can that be?)
AirBnB Pitch Deck from Malcolm Lewis
Problem
What is the problem you’re going to solve?
How big is the problem, and why should
investors care?
Airbnb also does a fantastic job laying out the
problem in the hotel and travel space, and
connects with investors on their level. At this
point, investors are thinking: Yes, price is an
important factor. Yes, hotels are full of
tourists and you don’t get the ‘local’
experience. Please, tell me more.
AirBnB Pitch Deck from Malcolm Lewis
Part 2: Story Development
Show them what you’ve got
How is your product going to solve the
problem? Make sure you clearly lay out the
benefits of your solution. If you can, include
three benefits that get the message across
loud and clear.
Show them who wants it
What is your target market? How big is the
market? The more stats and data you can
accumulate, the better.
If you have any fans raving about you on
social media, now would be a good time to
pull that out.
The point of this slide is to show investors
that there is a large, untapped market for
your product — and hundreds of people
excited about your product and posting about
you on social media is pretty solid proof that
your product has a market.
WeWork clearly shows this in their pitch
deck, looking at the rise of freelancing as a
profession and the growing demand for
flexible work spaces.
WeWork pitch deck from Alexander Jarvis
Business Model
This is an absolutely essential part of your
presentation. How are you going to make
money?
Investors want to be assured that they’re
going to be able to make their money back,
which means they are going to want to know
exactly how you’re planning to earn revenue
(and why this means investors are looking at
getting a good return)
Spend extra time on this slide, making sure it
is clear and informative.
Talk about the competition
Who are you going to go head-to-head with in
the market? For Airbnb, it was hotels. For
Uber, it was cabs.
Although many assume that talking about the
competition would reflect negatively on you
(because it draws attention to the businesses
that are doing something similar to what you
want to do) this couldn’t be further from the
truth.
First of all, competition can prove that a
market exists for your product. Second,
talking about the competition shows investors
that you’re thinking seriously about the state
of the industry, and how your start-up fits
into the landscape.
Talk about why you’re better than the
competition
In other words, what makes you special?
Maybe this is where you talk about your
proprietary technology. Or where you talk
about how your product fills a gap that
competitors aren’t filling.
Go-To Market Plan
How are you going to get customers? And
how are you going to rake in millions of dollar
of revenue and make your investors happy?
Talk about your amazing team
To build a successful business, you need a
good idea and a capable team — investors
know this better than anyone, which is why
the ‘our team’ slide is the second most-viewed
page in a pitch deck.
Who is your team? What are they good at?
And why are they going to help lead your
business to success?
Blow them away with some impressive
stats
You’ve lead investors up to this point — they
know the why, they know the how, and they
know that you’re going to do it better than
anyone else. Now is the time to finish off the
presentation with some impressive stats that
are going to send the message home.
Part 3: Epilogue
Bring it back
End with your business name, logo, and the
sentence that sums up your company in 10
words or less.
Give investors a moment to marinate on how
awesome you are, and then leave ample time
for questions.
For more tips about how to create a pitch deck,
read our other article “9 Tips for Making a
Pitch Deck that Blows Investors Away”, or
explore our website to find more resources for
starting a business.
Originally published at www.intellicore.press.
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