Once you’ve picked the best pitch deck layout for your start-up, there are a few design elements to keep in mind to ensure that your pitch deck looks at its best when the time comes to present it to investors. Below are some tips to help you make your pitch deck stand out from the rest:
- 1. Only use images that are relevant to your presentation. Visuals — like charts, graphs, and videos — can be incredibly effective in demonstrating your product’s viability, but don’t put in any visual aids that don’t do anything except just take up valuable space in your deck.
- 2. Don’t make your pitch deck too long. Focus only on the most important aspects of your company and save the technical details for follow up questions. Remember, when it comes to presenting your company, it’s best to leave your audience wanting more.
- 3. Maintain a balance of text and images. Text is great at describing specific details about your product, but images are great at demonstrating how your product works. Ensure that the text and images complement one another for a more streamlined presentation.
- 4. Don’t use small fonts in your pitch deck. If your audience is constantly squinting to read what your pitch deck says, it will create a bad impression and decrease their engagement.
- 5. Clearly label each slide of your pitch deck. Give each slide a simple, memorable title that makes it easier for your audience to refer to when they ask follow-up questions.
- 6. Don’t use too many bullet points. If you pack each slide with nothing but text, your audience will be obligated to read everything and distract them from your overall presentation.
- 7. Tell a story with your pitch deck. Don’t be afraid to inject some emotion into your pitch, as it will engage your audience on a personal level and better convey the need for your product to exist.
Every investor has a philosophy that underlies their approach to investing. Some investors are strictly in it for the return. Others take a strategic approach, looking to support start-ups that will benefit their parent companies. For example, one investor might decide to focus only on start-ups that sell into Fortune 500 companies, because that is where there’s big money to be made. Another investor may focus on green technology or social enterprises.
An investor who specializes in a certain area — say green technologies — will come to know that area very well, and be able to understand the playing field, competitors, trends and buying behaviours. They may also want to invest in companies that have synergies with each other.
To conclude whether they’re in it strictly for the return, or whether they are doing it strategically, most good investors will have a thesis or area of interest, and if you are looking for their money, you need to know what their thesis is.
