How To Create The Perfect Pitch Deck For Investors - Your 10 Min Cheat Sheet

Hey there founders!  

I'm Christine Outram and I’ve spent the last ten years helping founders (like you!) create pitch decks that will close deals and raise a round of funding, fast. Here’s all my advice wrapped up into a ten-minute post so you can raise more and stress less.

What you’ll learn:

• What Is a Pitch Deck?

• When you should NOT use a pitch deck?

• The slides you must have in a pitch deck if you want to raise money (with visual examples)

• The Ultimate Fundraising Launch Checklist - swipe it for free here!

Ready to dive in? Of course you are!

What is a pitch deck?

First, the basics. What is a pitch deck, anyway?

To put it simply, it is a series of visual slides, usually created in PowerPoint, Keynote or Google Slides. It’s a presentation that is designed to help you tell the story of your business and why someone should give you money or buy your product/service.

If you are a startup founder or business owner, you will create a pitch deck for the following situations:

1. Raising money for your business from angel investors, VCs or equity crowdfunding
2. Pitching your product or service to a potential partner or customer
3. Taking part in a “pitch competition” or “demonstration day”

Each of the decks above have a slightly different format. In this post we’ll cover the most common pitch deck: the pitch deck for investors.

If you would like the format for pitching your product to customers or pitch competitions, you’ll find a high level overview here.

When you should NOT use a pitch deck to raise money for your business

Before we dive into the slides you’ll need to raise money, it is important to note that a pitch deck is not suitable in all fundraising situations.

✅ When to use a pitch deck:

• Create a pitch deck if you are a startup, raising money from professional angel investors or venture capitalists (VCs). 

❌ When not to use a pitch deck

• Don’t use a pitch deck if you are raising money from a bank, or another type of lending institution. If this is your goal, then a business plan is a much more appropriate and effective format.

✅ ✅ When to create both a pitch deck and a business plan

• If you are raising money from family or friends, it can be helpful to have both a pitch deck and a business plan on hand. People who don’t regularly invest in startups are more familiar with a business plan or business prospectus format and in fundraising it is the founder’s job to produce whatever material is necessary to make the investor comfortable.

Want to know the key differences between a pitch deck and a business plan? Check out this post: What are pitch decks (and why they are very different to business plans). 

The slides every founder must have in a pitch deck if they want to close a round of funding

OK! So you’ve decided that you’re interested in raising a round of funding from angels of VCs. What do you do next?

First off, it’s important to understand that a pitch deck is just one piece of the fundraising puzzle. You also need to make sure that: 

• Your business is incorporated;
• You have created your cap table and term sheet; 
• You have your legal counsel established; 
• You understand your traction levers; 
• And more…

If this sounds hard, don’t worry - I’m here to make it simple. 

If you haven’t already, swipe my free Fundraising Launch Checklist so you don’t miss any crucial tasks or leave money on the table.

Grabbed the freebie? Great! Now it’s time to discuss the essential slides in every investor pitch deck.

Below is the format I have used to raise over $2.1M for myself (and millions of dollars for other founders). 

1. Title slide:

   This slide should have your company’s name, contact details, a compelling image, and an enticing “tagline” for your business. You can find out the formula for how to write a compelling tagline for your business here.
   
   
   'Title Slide' example for an investor pitch deck.
   
   
   

2. Mission Slide: 

   This slide is not essential in an investor presentation, but it does help to show the investor that you can think big and that your goal is to make a significant change/dent in the world. 
   
   
   
   
   

3. The Problem/Situation Slide:

   This slide provides an overview of the societal/customer problem that your startup has set out to solve. Remember, at the end of the day, your business will not succeed unless people buy your product. With this slide you are showing the investor that you have identified a pressing problem for a real set of humans. (Also known as a “hair on fire” problem. If it is appropriate, you can also include data and statistics on this slide to support the need for your company’s product or service.
   
   
   Example of a "Problem/Situation" slide
   
   

4. Solution Slide:

   This slide describes how your company's product or service solves the problem described in the previous slide. It should include a clear and concise explanation of the product or service, as well as any competitive advantages it has.
   
   Example of a 'Solution' slide in an investor pitch presentation
   
   

5. How It Works Slide:

   This slide is your opportunity to show off the product and what makes it special. With complex business models it can also be used to walk the investor through how customers interact with your business and what they love about you. Typically this will also be a chance to show off your tech/product.
   
   
   Show off your product and the customer journey in your "How It Works" slide
   
   

6. The Results Slide/s: 

   If your startup has been proven to get people the results they are looking for (preferably through a study or trial) then this is important information to put in your deck. Investors want to know that what you are selling is not just an idea, but that it can successfully help someone solve their problems.
   
   
   

7. The Customer/Go-To-Market Slide:

   This slide provides an overview of your go-to-market strategy and target customer. The question that should be answered from this slide is: Who are you selling to and how do you reach them? The trick here is to show that you have a replicable, affordable customer acquisition strategy.
   
   
   Ideally your customer or go-to-market slide will show one acquisition process that is clearly working.
   
   

8. Market Demand Slide:

   This slide provides an overview of the market opportunity for the company's product or service. It is often called a TAM, SAM, SOM slide because it details the total addressable market, serviceable addressable market and serviceable obtainable market. The goal here is showing that there is a big enough market to address for this to be a billion dollar company.
   
   Also called a TAM/SAM/SOM slide, this shows that the market has enough demand for your startup to win.
   
   

9. Traction Slide/s:

   Arguably the most important slides in your deck for an early stage company looking to get investor funding. These slides provide evidence that your product or service is gaining traction in the market. There are many ways to do this and I go over how to gather the data in my free Fundraising Launch Guide. Traction examples include: information on customer acquisition, partnerships, testimonials, and any other metrics that demonstrate the company's progress.
   
   
   Example of a Traction Slide that shows the key impressive metrics of a business.
   
   
   
   
   The 'Customer Testimonial' slide is another type of traction slide. It is not as powerful as showing real numbers, but it does build trust - which is what an investor wants to see! 
   
   
   

10. Team Slide:

    This slide provides information on the company's management team, their backgrounds, and relevant experience. It can also (but doesn't have to) include advisors or any other key members of the team who will be instrumental to the company's success.
    
    
    The team slide doesn't have to be complex. Use visual indicators that investors will recognize to build trust.
    
    
    

11. The Competition:

    Every company has competition. This slide shows the key competitors and highlights how you are different from them. 
    
    
    Every startup has competition, the key is showing how you are different to the other players on the market and what gives you an edge over them.
    
    

12. Financial Projections:

    If your company is established and has found product/market fit, then I like to include a financial projection slide that provides revenue, expenses, profitability and projected growth trajectories. It can also include information on the company's funding needs and how the funds will be used. However, professional VCs and angels recognize that early stage companies often don’t have this information. While it is nice to put together a financial model (and can help you look smart) you won’t always need it for an early-stage pitch deck.
    
    
    
    

13. 'The Ask' Slide:

    This slide should clearly state the ask, which is the amount of funding or resources the company is seeking, and how the investors will benefit. I usually include my contact details on this page as well.
    
    
    'The Ask' clearly states how much money you are looking for and what your goals are. Some companies place a roadmap slide here to show when they will use the funds. Others keep the detailed slides for in-person meetings only.
    
    
    

14. Thank You and Contact Slide.

     Make sure you have an easy way for people to contact you and set a meeting.
    

Need a custom investor pitch deck designed for your business?

If you don't want to go it alone and are interested in having an expert (that's me!) design your fundraising pitch deck for you, reach out for your free consultation with me here.