A pitch is typically a 30-60 second summary of an idea or product. The goal of pitching is to get the attention of potential investors, customers, or partners – not to bore them to the point that they switch off. Hence, you have to craft a short but engaging visual aid to help your presentation – and that is what we call a pitch deck.
What do you need to include in a pitch deck?
- A clearly defined problem (what makes it interesting, and why we should care)
- Your solution (elevator pitch – what is the benefit – how does it work – why will this scale – who benefits most from your idea?)
You can achieve these points with only ten slides which are adequate for structuring company pitches and the like. And if you are not an artsy person, there is no need to worry. Venngage infographics are readily available for your needs. You may check their website for excellent business pitch deck examples.
The Problem Slide
This slide succinctly defines the problem with supporting data to back up the factors that impact the market. It should be clear about what is broken or not working properly.
How this slide helps your presentation deck
This slide summarises how to work around the problem. With an example of a customer or company beneficiary, you can make a great point.
If you are looking for business customers, this slide gives them confidence in an ROI on their investment (time and money). If it is for consumers, this shows them the benefit they receive by using your product/service.
The Market Size Slide
More than conveying numbers, this slide helps give people context around the size of your market opportunity. You can put it into real terms which relate to their experience, be that clients they work with or consumers they buy from.
Bringing more information to your investor pitch deck
This slide is essential in getting you to think about the scale of opportunities available in the market. When used correctly, it has the potential to strengthen your pitch to the investors. It would make an investor feel confident that you have looked at information from competing businesses.
The Solution Slide
This slide describes how your solution works, detailing the process/features/differentiators which give customers value through solving their problem. Compare with competitors for both what is good and bad to help build confidence with your innovative offering.
This is where you detail your competitive advantage, showing why it is better than others on the market. Do not just state the competitors’ names when asked. If problems are broken down into smaller tasks then list these alongside key benefits for each task (how do I address problem X ? – we solve that by doing Y).
This slide should help an investor understand your solution and the scope of the opportunity across various markets. It also shows you have thought through how it will be deployed/marketed/distributed to your audience, thereby increasing your chances of success. If you are pitching for funding, this should show why it is scalable – which is easier if there is evidence of success already.
The Customer Segments Slide
List your customer segments in order from those with the most potential to the least. Also, offer a brief explanation about what they gain from using your product or service as differentiated from competitors. You can then use it as part of the feature set slide when discussing differentiators.
For example, you may list two groups as those with the most potential to those who have less potential. It is pivotal not to leave out the less obvious customer segments; they may come back and bite you if they are key segments that you failed to mention initially.
This slide helps an investor see where markets may be fragmented and thus, opportunities exist for competitors, new entrants, or even your business to expand into further segments in the future.
The Funding Slide
This slide is only necessary if you are pitching for capital, and therefore need to give investors some idea of how much money they need and what its use will be.
Adding credibility to your investor deck
The funding slide is helpful because many customers will not deal with start-ups unless the team has records of previous success. Examples include either financial or operational breakthroughs, such as having raised funding previously. When investors see how the group will manage the funds, they are more likely to say yes.
The Team Slide
This slide provides an overview of the team members and their skills/backgrounds that will help convince investors that your team can build the product or service you are pitching. It also shows how experienced key people are (e.g., the CTO has built infrastructure like Facebook).
This helps convey credibility in your business plan, but more importantly, to you as a founder or co-founder. If no one on the team has raised funding before, it is unlikely they will take you seriously when raising money yourself!
This slide should give some idea of why investors would want to invest in the business. Perhaps it is because you have experience scaling up startups already. Or maybe your group has industry experience relevant to your proposal and will bring in customers through their existing network.
The Competition Slide
This slide is beneficial if you are pitching for capital money and therefore need to give investors some idea of how much money they need and how you will allocate them.
If you want to know how a typical competition slide looks, you may check out the Venngage website. There are a handful of examples there that you may use as a basis for your design.
The Finances Slide
This slide gives a forecast of future income/expenses based on current figures and assumptions over a given period (typically a month). This helps show investors what sort of growth they can expect from repeatable activity on an ongoing basis. It also helps validate opportunity and traction with customers by showing that initial costs are relatively low and that scaling up to generate significant income can be done without needing extra money.
Highlighting Finances in Pitch Presentations
Some start-up pitchers may be unsure about what they should include in this slide. As a rule of thumb, just highlight the salient figures. Look for numbers that may pique the interest of your potential investors, and emphasize them.
Note: it is fine if you do not have every single figure available off the top of your head. Just do the best you can and update things later when more information is known.
The Product Slide
This is a simple slide that gives a visual representation of how your product or service works from a functional perspective for the user. It is typically beneficial to include intended new features on this slide as well so that investors can see how their money will be used to develop the product further.
The Call to Action Slide
After presenting your information to your target audience, that last step is to deliver a convincing imperative. Craft a call to action that will get them on their feet and help you forward your vision.
The call to action slide, despite being the last slide, should be the one that is most carefully done because it will leave a lasting impression. Use strong verbs, include compelling pictures, and state facts that will make your investors remember you.
Create the Best Pitch Decks
Whether you are an experienced digital designer or a neophyte, having tools would greatly help you create the best pitch decks. If you are looking for more pitch deck examples, please check out Venngage! This website has a wide array of pitch deck templates that you can easily customize for all your pitching needs.
