If you’re a start-up, then you probably already heard the term pitch deck presentation. A pitch deck presentation is a presentation and it’s intended to showcase your company’s product, opportunity, team to potential investors.
Pitch decks are your company’s elevator pitch in a presentation. You are often used to help convince investors to raise capital. This is why it’s so crucial that your company pitch deck clearly articulates your product, the problem you solve, and the opportunity for potential investors.
In this article, we’ll break down how to create a pitch deck built to help you close your next deal. We’ll provide you with key content you’ll want to include in your slides along with extra tips to help you go the extra mile.
Table of Content
- What is a Pitch Deck?
- What is the purpose of a pitch deck?
- What is the difference between a pitch deck and a business plan?
- The 11 Key Slides For Creating A Winning Investor Pitch Deck
- Slide 1 – What’s The Problem You Solve?
- Slide 2 – Why You Have The Best Solution To This Problem (Your Product)
- Slide 3 – Traction, Signs of Growth & Metrics That Validate Your Solution
- Slide 4 – Showcase Your Product (Demo Time)
- The Transition From Getting Their Interest To Convincing Them
- Slide 5 – What Is The Actual Market Size? TAM, SAM, SOM
- Slide 6 – Your Competitive Edge & Analysis
- Slide 7 – How & Why Your Business Model Works
- Slide 8 – Your Go To Market Strategy (How You Plan To Capture The Market)
- Slide 9 – Ask For The Investment & Show Why You Need It
- Slide 10 – The Human Capital Behind The Product (The Team)
- Slide 11 – The Why – The Company Vision
- 5 Successful Best Pitch Deck Examples
- Pitch Deck Best Practices
- Pitch Deck Things To Avoid
- Summarizing Your Pitch Deck Into A Powerful Story
- Common Startup Pitch Deck Questions
What is a Pitch Deck?
A pitch deck is a presentation used primarily in the early stages of a business, showcasing a company’s product, technology, and team to potential investors. It plays a critical role in raising funds for start-ups or businesses seeking expansion. The term deck originates from the concept of a slide deck, referring to a stack of individual slides put together to form a cohesive presentation.
A pitch deck is more than a simple presentation; it’s a communication tool that conveys your business’s value proposition in a clear, compelling, and digestible format. Its primary goal is to tell your company’s story, outline your business model, and convince potential investors that your business opportunity is worth their investment. An investment pitch deck distills complex ideas into accessible information, highlighting the market problem you’re addressing, your innovative solution, the size of the market, and the competitive landscape. Through a well-structured investment pitch deck, you can showcase your financial projections, growth strategy, and the potential return on investment that you offer to those considering investing in your venture. This comprehensive presentation not only illustrates the current state and future potential of your business but also establishes your credibility and expertise in the industry.
What is the purpose of a pitch deck?
The purpose of a pitch deck is to succinctly and persuasively communicate the essence of a business idea or startup to potential investors, partners, and stakeholders. This condensed presentation serves as a dynamic tool to capture attention, convey the business’s value proposition, and create interest in a brief amount of time.
A well-crafted pitch deck is designed to highlight key aspects such as the problem the business aims to solve, the innovative solution being offered, the market opportunity, and the competitive landscape. It’s a vehicle for showcasing the uniqueness of the product or service, outlining the market size and potential growth, and demonstrating the traction and milestones achieved so far.
Furthermore, a pitch deck provides insights into the founding team’s expertise, underscoring their capabilities to execute the vision. It presents a compelling story that encapsulates the business concept, target audience, and revenue model. Ultimately, the goal of a pitch deck is to prompt further engagement, whether it’s a follow-up meeting, more detailed discussions, or potential investment.
In a competitive entrepreneurial landscape, the pitch deck serves as a critical first step in establishing credibility, generating interest, and setting the stage for deeper exploration of the business opportunity.
What is the difference between a pitch deck and a business plan?
A pitch deck and a business plan are both essential tools in the arsenal of any entrepreneur or startup seeking to secure funding, communicate their business idea, and chart their path to success. While they serve distinct purposes, they complement each other to provide a comprehensive overview of a business venture. Let’s delve into the key differences between a pitch deck and a business plan:
Purpose and Audience:
Pitch Deck: A pitch deck is a concise and visually engaging presentation designed to captivate the attention of potential investors, partners, and stakeholders within a short span of time. Its primary goal is to spark interest and prompt further discussions, making it a powerful tool for initial introductions and presentations.
Business Plan: A business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines a detailed roadmap for the entire business venture. It is typically intended for internal use, providing a comprehensive view of the business’s goals, strategies, operational plans, financial projections, and market analysis. Business plans are often used for strategic planning, securing loans, and guiding day-to-day operations.
Length and Format:
Pitch Deck: A pitch deck is succinct, usually consisting of 10 to 20 slides. It relies heavily on visuals, concise bullet points, and impactful images to convey the key aspects of the business. The goal is to capture attention and deliver a compelling narrative.
Business Plan: A business plan is more extensive and detailed, often spanning multiple pages. It follows a structured format and includes sections such as an executive summary, company overview, market analysis, product/service description, marketing and sales strategies, operational plans, financial projections, and more.
Content Focus:
Pitch Deck: A pitch deck emphasizes the business’s unique value proposition, problem-solving capability, target market, competitive advantage, and high-level financial projections. It highlights the most compelling aspects of the business to generate interest and excitement.
Business Plan: A business plan delves deeper into each aspect of the business, providing a comprehensive analysis of the market, industry trends, competitive landscape, customer demographics, marketing strategies, and operational details. It also includes detailed financial forecasts and projections.
Presentation Style:
Pitch Deck: A pitch deck is designed to be presented orally, with the presenter elaborating on each slide’s content. It relies on concise talking points and storytelling to convey the business’s vision and potential.
Business Plan: A business plan is a written document meant to be read and analyzed independently. It provides detailed information and serves as a reference for stakeholders to understand the business’s intricacies.
Stage of Engagement:
Pitch Deck: A pitch deck is often used during initial meetings with potential investors, partners, and accelerator programs. It’s the first step in garnering interest and obtaining follow-up discussions.
Business Plan: A business plan is typically requested in later stages of due diligence when potential investors or lenders are considering making a commitment. It provides in-depth information to assess the viability and sustainability of the business.
The 11 Key Slides For Creating A Winning Investor Pitch Deck
According to a study by DocSend in partnership with Harvard Business professor, Tom Eisenmann, that’s how much time your average investors spend looking at a pitch deck. So with such limited time, what slides should you present? And more importantly, what should you put on those slides?
After analyzing over 20 of the best pitch deck presentations, and scouring through dozens of articles by leading experts, we’ve identified 11 key slides that every successful start-up has included in their pitch deck.
Slide 1: What’s The Problem You Solve?
The most important slide in your pitch deck presentation is the problem you solve slide. People only buy products for pleasure or to move away from pain. For investors to understand your solution (your product), they first need to understand the problem it solves.
In this problem slide, you’ll want to address the following questions as simple and succinct as possible.
- What is the specific problem you are solving?
- How have you validated this problem? Can you cite your own research or possible 3rd party research and stats to back this up?
- For whom are you solving this problem?
The goal of the slide is to paint the problem, the bigger the pain, the better.
Example:
AirBnB.com Pitch Deck, source: https://www.slideshare.net/PitchDeckCoach/airbnb-first-pitch-deck-editable
Slide 2: Why You Have The Best Solution To This Problem (Your Product)
Now that you’ve communicated the problem, you can present the solution and how your product solves this problem. In this part, you want to describe how you will solve this problem.
The fundamental questions to answer in this slide are the following:
- What current alternative solutions are people using today to deal with this problem? Why is this solution not ideal? what gaps does this solution have?
- What is your solution to this problem?
- What makes your solution better than the current alternatives?
- Do you have anything proprietary and unique?
The goal of this slide is to answer the following question “How does your product solve this problem effectively?”. Make sure to highlight how your solution brings value to the customer.
Example:
Dwolla.com Pitch Deck Example – https://www.slideshare.net/webjoe/dwolla
Slide 3: Traction Slide, Signs of Growth & Metrics That Validate Your Solution
Once you’ve clearly demonstrated the problem and how your solution effectively solves it, they’ll want to see if your company is an excellent and sound investment.
The best way to do this is by showing them traction and signs of growth and validation. Don’t make the mistake of boring them with the nitty-gritty details.
In a traction slide, you’ll want to answer the following questions.
- Do you currently have paying customers? If so, how many?
- How much revenue are you generating currently, or how much revenue do you plan to generate (monthly/annually)?
- What does your current and projected growth look like?
Example:
MixPanel Pitch Deck https://www.slideshare.net/metrics1/mixpanel-our-pitch-deck-that-we-used-to-raise-65m
Slide 4: Showcase Your Product (Demo Time)
At this point, you’ve already been educated on the solution and all the great benefits your product offers.
Now it’s time to give your investors something more tangible and do a quick demo of your product. You can use a video or a simple slide highlighting key features and product experience.
Answer the following key questions in your slide:
- How does your product work?
- How does it bring value to your customers?
Example:
The Transition From Getting Their Interest To Convincing Them
Slides 1-4 are what is known as the “hook,” where the primary goal of these slides is to get investors interested.
The rest of the slides in your pitch are designed to help convince them that there is real market potential and that your start-up is a sound and solid investment.
Check Our Pitch Deck Templates From SlideModel.com Below
Slide 5: What Is The Actual Market Size? TAM, SAM, SOM
Don’t make the rookie mistake of simply generalizing the market size. Investors will want to know you have carefully planned for growth and the best way to showcase this is to show more than just general market size.
It helps to display the following analysis when it comes to market size:
- Total Available Market (TAM) – The total market demand for a particular product or service.
- Serviceable Available Market (SAM) – The segment of the TAM targeted by your start-up that is within your geographical reach.
- Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) – The portion of the SAM you can plan to capture.
In this slide, you’ll want to provide a bottom-up market analysis that shows the market potential of your startup. You’ll want to answer the following questions:
- What is the size of your TAM, SAM, and SOM? It’s OK if your market is niche and small. If that’s the case be sure to talk about how you plan on becoming a big player in that niche (big fish in a small pond)
- What does your ideal customer avatar look like and who are your early adopters?
- What is your cost per acquisition and lifetime value of a customer?
Example:
Slide 6: Your Competitor Analysis Slide
This is where you show your due diligence in your competitor research and how you stack up against them in the market.
In this slide, you’ll want to answer these significant questions:
- How do you position yourself in the market?
- How do you defend your market against your competitors?
- What is unique to your product that your competitors don’t have or don’t do?
Example:
To go more in depth about competitor slide, read our article about competitive landscape slide and learn how to do a competitor analysis pitch deck.
Slide 7: How & Why Your Business Model Works
In this slide, you want to show how your business model works and how it has been validated or how you plan to validate with your early adopters.
You’ll want to answer these key questions:
- How do you make money?
- How has this business model been validated through experiments or case studies?
Example:
Slide 8: Your Go-To-Market Strategy (How You Plan To Capture The Market)
This is the slide where you clearly detail your plans for growth both concerning channels and partners. If investors were to give you the funding you are going to request, what is your plan of action for growing your customer base and product?
Here you want to answer:
- How are you going to grow your customer base and get your product in their hands?
- Which marketing channels are you going to use to grow?
- Have you validated these channels? If so, which ones are the most effective?
Example:
MapMe Pitch Deck – Go to Market Slide https://www.slideshare.net/benmaxime/mapme-deck
Mapme Raised 1MM with their bullets slide.
Imagine how much could you raise with a Visually Appealing “Go To Market Strategy”
Slide 9: Ask for the investment & show why you need it
This is what the entire pitch deck presentation has been building up to, the part where you ask for the funding. The ask slide.
In this slide, you’ll want to articulate why investors should invest with you, how much investment you are seeking, and what you plan on using this investment.
Here are some of the questions you’ll want to answer in this slide:
- How much capital are you requesting in order to get your product to the next level?
- What is the breakdown of how you are planning to use this capital? (What are you going to spend it on?)
- Why is this a good investment for your potential investors?
Example:
Square Pitch Deck, https://www.slideshare.net/vishaltx/square-pitch-deck-23990068
Slide 10: The Human Capital Behind The Product (The Team)
This is where you want to introduce your team to investors. In this slide, be sure to highlight everyone’s role, past experience, and how it’s relevant to this pitch deck. Your goal here is to show investors that your team is the best choice for executing this idea.
Answer the following questions such as:
- Who does your team consist of and what previous roles and companies have they worked at?
- Do you have advisors, if so who are they?
- Do you have previous funding? (Be sure to highlight this to serve as social proof)
Example:
Buffer.com Pitch Deck Example – Team Slide: https://www.slideshare.net/AlexanderJarvis/buffer-pitch-deck
Slide 11: The Why, The Company Vision
The company vision is typically included in the cover slide of your pitch deck in the form of a tagline. What is your conviction to making this work; what is the driving force and vision for this product and its growth?
Investors are looking to see if you are the right person to solve the problem and a well-thought-out vision helps communicate to them that you are.
Example Company Vision Slide – Company Vision PowerPoint Template
In a Company Vision slide, you’ll want to answer the following questions:
- What is the mission statement for the company?
- What drives the company and you to achieve this vision?
Examples:
- Facebook: Our mission is to make the world more open and connected. We do this by giving people the power to share whatever they want and be connected to whoever they want, no matter where they are.
- Stripe: Stripe is the best way to accept payments online and in mobile apps. We handle billions of dollars every year for forward-thinking businesses around the world.
- Uber: Transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere for everyone
- Spotify: All the music you’ll ever need is right here. Your favorite artists, albums, and readymade playlists for every moment
- Pinterest: Help people discover things they love and inspire them to do those things in real life.
5 Successful Best Pitch Deck Examples
Surely if you got here is because you are interested in creating your own Pitch Deck and achieving your business goals. All companies and Startups went through what you are currently going through, to generate a successful pitch deck to get funding and scale the project. In this section, we aim to provide you with inspiration so you can create an outstanding example of a pitch deck and generate a high level of engagement with your audience.
Let’s take a look at some excellent pitch deck presentation examples:
1. Uber Pitch Deck
Uber is a success story known worldwide. Since its launch, only after a year of operation (October 15, 2010), they were able to reach their first round of capital, which was around $1.3M. Later on, they received new rounds of investments from different companies and renowned investment funds such as Baidu, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, SoftBank Investment Advisers, and PayPal, among others.
2. Tinder Pitch Deck
Tinder’s Pitch Deck is a clear example of how to work the problem and the solution in a creative, sophisticated, and professional way. Since its inception in 2012, Tinder has been a controversial and innovative startup, especially in its marketing efforts by organizing a launch party and making sure everyone downloaded the app. In 2021 Tinder reached a turnover of USD 1650 million, 22% more than the previous year.
3. Mint Pitch Deck
Mint is a free application that seeks to be the right hand in personal finance. Thanks to the advanced integrations it manages to gather everything in one place: bank accounts, credit cards, bills, and investments so that the user knows his financial situation perfectly. Mint was founded in 2006 with $750,000 from angel investors, but at the end of August, it was bought by Intuit for $170 million.
4. Coinbase Pitch Deck
Coinbase Inc. founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong, is a platform that offers exchange services between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies. Today it is one of the largest companies in the world to offer these services and is already diversifying its areas of operation, offering small and medium-sized companies the ability to receive payments with cryptocurrencies. Throughout its ten years of life, Coinbase has received through different investment rounds more than 500 million dollars.
5. Airbnb Pitch Deck
Airbnb is an application that has a business model very similar to Uber, it seeks to be the link between accommodation owners and tourists who want to live a different experience than the conventional one offered by hotels. Airbnb has become one of the great successes of the collaborative economy. Throughout its history, Airbnb received more than 4.4 billion dollars in funding from different companies and investment funds.
Pitch Deck Best Practices
- Make sure to include this to your pitch deck cover: “Confidential and Proprietary. Copyright (c) by [Name of Company]. All Rights Reserved.” Place this at the bottom left corner of the slide.
- Show proof of the huge market opportunity to help convince investors to raise capital
- Beat your audience’s boredom with simple yet amazing graphic designs and photos
- It’s always professional to send your pitch deck to prospects in a PDF format. Don’t let them get it from online services such as Google Docs and Dropbox. Remember that you should please them. So make your presentation convenient to them.
- If you can, have a product demo. It will help your audience know that you know what you are offering.
- A brief and substantial yet remarkable story that reflects your passion for your business will help you capture your prospect’s interests.
- Prove them that you get your ideas done. Show them you’re making progress growth-wise on your products, leads, and partners.
- Having a soundbite is smart. The audience can easily remember who you are and what you offer like a famous brand.
- Be consistent with your text sizes, colors, and headers from the start to the end of your pitch deck. It’s one of the many ways to present professionally.
Pitch Deck Things To Avoid
- Some recommend only 10 slides, but you may be needing a broader space for other highlights of your business. Feel free to add, but your pitch deck should be no more than 15-20 slides long.
- You don’t want to give a dull atmosphere. Your slides shouldn’t be wordy.
- Financial details are usually overwhelming. Don’t show your audience too much of it. You can always show it in a follow-up report.
- Only highlight the most important details of your business that you think your investors need to know. Don’t present everything in your pitch deck.
- Don’t use any high-functioning words or too many acronyms and jargon. It will never make you smart in the eyes of the investors.
- Let the investors know that you are aware of the stiff competition. Don’t underestimate your competitors but don’t drag your business as well.
- If you have a plan to reuse your pitch deck on some other dates, make sure you are industrious enough to modify old details like “dates” in the cover and metrics. If not, don’t include it. It won’t give you a good impression when clients see your outdated pitch deck.
- Sometimes it’s better to present with plain text than with poor layout and graphic designs. However, it’s your time to shine so don’t be slothful. Be resourceful and give your best effort.
Summarizing Your Pitch Deck Into A Powerful Story
Now that you have all the essential pieces to a great investor deck, the last and final piece of the puzzle is being able to convey it an easy narrative that anyone can understand. And the best way to do this is to create a story around your pitch.
NOTE: The whole point of your presentation and pitch deck is to easily and quickly convey the story of your product. When presenting your pitch deck, however, make sure to use your slides to help tell your story, and don’t read off of them. Your pitch deck is a visual supplement as you help paint your product’s story narrative.
Common Startup Pitch Deck Questions (Q&A)
As much time as needed, your pitch deck should constantly evolve as your company does — it should be a direct reflection of your company business model and pitch. Remember this is what you’re going to be used to help raise funding, so you don’t want to rush it.
Very important. What usually makes a break a start-up besides their great idea, is the execution. The execution is reliant on the team, and investors will want to see that you have a team that can execute and bring experience. Ideas are just mere ideas until they’re fully put into action by your team who are hungry for success.
Definitely, a pitch deck isn’t the only way to get funding, but it can easily help you convey your pitch without having to repeat yourself. Also, when approaching a more seasoned firm, they usually expect you to have one. However, keep in mind that when Facebook first launched, it used a media kit to raise funding although not a pitch deck, it served the same purpose.
Remember to focus on the story you are telling. Make the pitch deck about the value you bring to the market — how your solution is unique and ultimately what the benefit to investors is. Don’t make your pitch deck all about you and how much you love your product. Focus on delivering the message and the story you’re telling and be sure to practice it a few times with someone whom you can trust to give you reliable feedback.
Have a question you would like answered? Let us know in the comments below!
Ready To Create A Powerful Pitch Deck? Check Out Our Library Of Over 20,000+ Beautiful Pre-Designed Powerpoint Templates
Pitch Deck Templates for PowerPoint and Google Slides
1. Business Proposal PowerPoint Template
The Business Proposal PowerPoint Template is a presentation deck with a minimalistic and professional design. In its slides, you will be able to show relevant information for your audience, as well as a presentation about your product, competitive advantages, strategy, and a calendar of important events.
2. Executive Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template
The Executive Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template is a very complete presentation when generating a professional Pitch Deck. It contains slides that will allow you to present your team, your services, what are your differentials, the opportunity in the market you are looking to attack, a roadmap of work, the analysis of your competition, among other important slides.
3. Stigma PowerPoint Template
The Stigma PowerPoint template is a sequence of well-structured slides to present any business profile. Its slides are presented with a color palette that seeks to work the unconscious of the audience, provoking hunger and desire. This presentation is compatible with PowerPoint and Google Slides, it is also 100% editable in order to optimize time and effort.
4. Pegasus Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template
The Pegasus concept represents a Startup in its pre-unicorn stage. This PowerPoint presentation, also available for Google Slides, provides the user with all the tools to generate a successful pitch deck and achieve their goals. Each of its slides is strategically designed to impact the audience and reach a new round of investment.
5. Creative Elevator Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template
The Creative Elevator Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template is another example of a presentation made for Startups and companies looking to reach new investors through a well-designed Pitch Deck. This presentation contains everything you need to provide a successful Pitch Deck, from the presentation of the opportunity, the problem and solution to work on, the team working on the project, to a closing slide to be clear and concise with the message you want to provide to the audience.
6. Startup Business Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template
The Startup Business Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template is a presentation with a sophisticated and attractive design, made for Startups looking to achieve success in their Pitch Deck. Like the previous cases, this presentation provides many graphical resources when presenting a Pitch Deck, however, it differs from the others because it adds new elements of the study of the Startup, such as a Venn Diagram, Pyramid Model, Timeline Slide and Global Opportunities.
