A pitch deck is a vital piece of an entrepreneur’s toolkit. Any business owner or startup founder looking for an investor to fund them will need one.
If you’re looking for an investment, you won’t just need a pitch deck — you’ll need a great one. Investors you pitch to may be considering dozens of other companies to invest in. Your pitch deck is what helps them quickly understand your idea, and gets them excited about potentially funding it instead of others.
The goal of a pitch deck isn’t to raise money. It’s to give investors just enough information to want to meet with you again. If you play your cards right, there will always be that next meeting to provide more details.
That means you want to keep your pitch simple and straightforward. But you also want to capture your audience’s attention by telling a story about how your idea solves a problem in your customers’ lives.
All of that can be done by capturing the essence of your business in these nine pitch deck slides.
1. Value proposition
When pitching to investors, you want to make a strong first impression. So you should start with a short and clear statement that describes what makes your business valuable to customers.
The value proposition is essentially your main sales pitch. Imagine if you were starting a jewelry business and advertising your company on a billboard on a major freeway: What would you put on it? Likely something short and impactful enough to drive home what your business is about, who it’s for, and why it matters to anyone reading it.
2. Problem statement
Describe the specific problem your product or service addresses. This is where you want to get in your customer’s state of mind. What pain points or challenges are they facing in their lives?
You need to convince investors that there’s an unmet need in the market for your product or service, if they’re going to invest their money in your solution. Dedicating a slide to discussing the problems your target customers are facing plants the seed for you to position your offering as the solution.
3. Target market
Dedicate a slide to clearly defining who your ideal customer is, and quantify how many of these customers exist. Take time to gather as much data as you can on your market size and your company’s position within it. Specifics like how much consumers spend on products or services like yours also help illustrate how much potential exists in the market you’re focused on.
Be realistic when you describe your opportunity. Investors prefer details and factual statements supported by data over grand claims about untapped markets or supposedly amazing opportunities. You should always opt for specifics over style.
4. Solution statement
Now that you’ve articulated the problem and market opportunity, introduce your product or service as the answer. Explain how your solution works in simple, easy-to-understand terms. Use visuals, or even a brief demonstration if you have a prototype or minimum viable product (MVP).
The slide should emphasize why your approach to the problem is unique, and how it provides value to your customers. Try to be concise but compelling — don’t just tell investors that your solution is viable, show them it is. You can achieve this by demonstrating any traction you’ve gained in the market if your product already exists, or by showing that you’ve validated a need for it by talking to potential customers.
5. Business model
You’ve explained what your product or service is and why it’s needed. Next, describe how your business will make money. This is crucial to lay out in detail, since any investor will want to see evidence that you have a plan to be profitable — and maximize their return on investment.
Are you positioning yourself as a premium option, or a budget alternative? Do you collect revenue at the time of purchase, or do you have large accounts receivable, meaning sales you’ve recorded without collecting full payment? If you don’t complete sales right away, how long does it take? This slide should give investors a clear picture of who pays for your product or service, and how you generate revenue.
6. Marketing and sales strategy
You can’t run a profitable business without attracting customers. Outline your plan for capturing their attention and converting them into sales.
Outline the key channels and tactics you’ll use to reach your target market and guide them through your sales process. You want to show that you’ve taken time to build a strategy for finding and nurturing customers. If you’re doing anything unique to market your business compared to competitors, mention it in this slide.
7. Team
Why are you the right person to turn this idea into a successful business? The team section is for highlighting the relevant knowledge, skills and experience you and any key team members have.
List any experience you have that others might not, including what you’ve done in past roles, your educational background and skills you’ve developed or certifications you’ve received. You can also list key positions you plan to fill if you’re seeking an investment to grow your team.
8. Financials
You can’t present a credible pitch deck without including details about your business’s financials. At a minimum, most investors will expect to see three years of sales forecasts, income statements, and cash flow projections.
When adding forecasts to your pitch deck, use simple charts or graphs rather than detailed spreadsheets. And be prepared to discuss the assumptions behind your projections and your main cost drivers. This will almost certainly come up as a follow-up question to your presentation.
Make sure to aim for realistic, justifiable forecasts. If your forecasts are showing dramatic growth, you’ll need to be ready to explain how you’ll achieve those lofty goals. Remember, this slide is more about giving investors a high-level view of your financial outlook than all the details. You can expect to be asked for more information about your financials later if your initial pitch is received well.
- Investment and use of funds
Remember why you’re pitching in the first place — you need money! Once you’ve explained why your business is worth investing in, lay out your request.
Clearly state how much money you’re seeking, and provide a specific breakdown of how you’ll use these funds. Make sure that you’ve justified the amount of your request by demonstrating how the investment will help you meet your goals and generate returns for the investor.