A pitch deck is usually a 10-12 slide presentation created to provide a concise summary of your company, your business model, growth plans, and the vision.
There are different types of pitch decks that serve different purposes, from one for an investor meeting, to one for business development. Every pitch deck has a few slides that are the same for all like your company details, your business model, and your vision. But every pitch deck has to be tailored for the end-user - whether it is an investment you are pitching to a fund, or a business development meeting with a prospective client.
Presentations should be simple, concise, informative, but not loaded on text.
Here are some of the building blocks that we prefer on a pitch deck that provide context to the meeting:
Problem statement & the customer
Even before we open the deck, we have these questions in mind - who is the customer, what problem are they looking to be solved? We expect the entrepreneur to tell us a short story that we can relate to, as this is the logical place to begin. If an entrepreneur can not articulate who the customer is, or what precise problem are they solving, and what insight do they have to solve the problem, then it is difficult to continue
Market
What is the market size? Is the problem large enough to be solved? Is the market fragmented, ripe for disruption, is it growing, does it have tailwinds, does it have large dominant players? We want to know what makes it interesting enough for the entrepreneur to operate in this space
Solution
We want to know how your solution is better. We want you to focus on the pain relief rather than the product. Because that is how we understand how entrenched are you in the minds of the customer. You have to explain what is the solution, not the features of the product.
Product
Now you come to the product. But not just say we have made a product with the following features! Given enough money, anyone can replicate it. What makes your product unique that it can not be replicated easily, and is economically viable?
Plan
How are you going to take your solution to the customer, and solve their problem? What is your strategy and what can be the challenges?
Go to market
Dive a little deeper into your plan. What are your sales channels? How will you specifically reach certain customers? What will it cost to reach the customers?
Team
You have elaborate plans, but do you have the team to execute? Share a bio of the team along with what skills do they bring on board
Growth
Where are you right now, where do you see yourself in the future? How will you reach there? How long will it take? Is it a realistic plan? Do you have or can get the resources to logically reach your destination?
Finances
What does your revenue, expenditure look like right now, how will it evolve over time? What margins do you make? How are you going to grow? How much capital do you need?
Exit options
What happens when your company is 100x? Will you buy back the shares? Will someone else buy your company? Who is that, and why are you so attractive for them to do so? Can you share any similar transactions in your industry/
CTA
Start the dialogue by providing the details of your capital raise, what terms do you want to raise the capital on, and whom should the investor contact?
The idea is to provide a brief snapshot, tell a story, and elucidate interest.
Here are some examples that will help you better