When it comes to raising money, entrepreneurs must nail their pitch decks. And at this point pitch decks are more than just presentations. They are opportunities to tell the story of your startup, communicate the value it brings, and persuade investors it’s worth investing in. This article will help you structure your presentation in a way that will make it successful.
Make a Great First Impression
Start with a slide that immediately catches attention. This could be a bold statement about your market or a statistic that shocks everyone in the room. Follow this with a slide with the name of your company, your logo, and one line of what you do that anyone could understand.
First slide of a presentation for a software company. The team opened the pitch with a shocking statistic about e-waste expected in the next 6 years.
Identify the Pain Point
Clearly define what problem you are solving. Be specific about who has this problem and why it matters. This is setting up for why the solution you are going to propose matters, so make this very specific using real examples.
In this slide from the Airbnb pitch deck, we see the problems travelers face every day. Clear and short points should be explained and discussed during the pitching.
Present Your Product or Service
Now is the time to reveal your solution. Describe how your product or service solves the problem as described on the previous slides. Also, outline what are the factors that make your solution stand out as unique and better than existing alternatives. Demonstrate your solution through visuals: pictures, diagrams, short videos.
These two slides describe the product idea and main features the company is pitching.
The Market Opportunity
One of the top things investors will be looking for is that your startup is targeting a large or fast-growing market. Support the point with data on what this opportunity is and how much of it your startup is going to capture, so it becomes the point to justify the scalability of your business.
A good example of showing a growing number of potential clients through graphics. Understanding that the business they invest in is likely to be successful is crucial for investors.
Explain How You’ll Make Money
Describe your revenue model in detail: How would you generate revenue — from direct sales, subscriptions, advertising, or some other source? Explain your pricing strategy and provide any proof points that you have to back up the model, such as early sales figures or pilot programs.
When Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim launched YouTube in 2005, they had no idea how they would make money from the video hosting platform. However, this is how their presentation might look for a potential investor today.
Prove Your Potential
Traction is proof that people are interested in your product. Share your traction to date, including anything from user growth to revenue milestones, partnerships, or press. This slide is your chance to show momentum and de-risk the investment for potential backers.
Here is another slide with graphics. At this point, don’t be afraid to overload your pitch with numbers, since data is the most important and powerful language for those interested in growing their money. This slide proves that the team has done their homework and paid close attention to the growth of their members.
Highlight Your Human Capital
Investors invest in people as much as they do in ideas. Present the core team, stressing their competence, experience, and exclusiveness for fulfillment with the business plan. If you have any prominent advisors or investors, you may mention some of them here.
Any service or product is made for people and by people. It will definitely be appreciated by your investors if you highlight the team’s accomplishments on a team slide, like this one.
Show Your Projections
At this part of your pitch you should present financial projections for the next 3-5 years. Highlight your projected revenues, expenses, and profitability. You should clearly show the assumptions of your projections, under which these are to be based, and be ready to defend them in case they are questioned.
“Foresight is not about predicting the future, it’s about minimizing surprise”(c) Karl Schroder
Be Specific About What You Want
Be clear about what you are asking for, indicating the amount of money you need in funding and the specific need that the money will meet. Do not forget to mention any other kind of assistance from the investors that you need, including know-how and connections.
This is an example of how the company was straightforward about the amount of money the team needs and why they need it. After this slide, you can provide investors with options for investing, such as monthly or quarterly contributions.
Once again: your pitch deck is not a presentation, it is really a story about the journey and potential of your company! Keep it short, engaging, and focus on things that are most important for investors. Don’t forget that you can always take your presentation to the next level by using Wonderslide — a tool that is designed to enhance your storytelling. Wonderslide will help you create a beautiful and interactive presentation that will grab the attention of potential investors.