How to Build a Pitch Deck to Secure Startup Success
Building a pitch deck that helps your startup land an investor and much-needed funding takes the must-have ingredients and best practices in this guide:
Are you in the process of building a pitch deck for your startup?
A stellar pitch deck has the potential to help your business secure the funding it needs to grow and thrive. But creating one from scratch can be a bit overwhelming and stressful.
That’s why we’re sharing everything you need to know to get this important task right in today’s guide.
We’ll start with the basics, discuss must-have pitch deck slides, and even go over a few best practices to keep in mind along the way.
By the time we’re done, you’ll have all the ingredients to impress your next potential investor and lure much-needed capital your way.
So let’s jump right in with step one: understanding the real purpose of a pitch deck for startups.
What is a Pitch Deck?
A pitch deck is a series of slides that you’ll use to present or pitch to investors who may be interested in funding your startup.
This presentation should highlight key points of your business to give investors a better idea of what it is and why it would be valuable for them to invest.
Because you’ll be presenting these slides, you’ll need to strike the right balance between giving investors enough information to pique their interest while saving the details for your actual presentation.
Remember, your pitch deck should generate excitement!
If you cram too much information in your slides, you may wind up with a lackluster presentation and bore everyone to death. That won’t entice investors or paint your startup in an attractive light.
So what does your pitch deck need to increase your odds of getting funded?
11 Key Slides to Include When Building a Pitch Deck
Pitch decks usually contain 15 to 20 slides. Once you hit on these 11 must-have slides, you and your team can add more slides that explain these specific points or come up with your own valuable intel you think investors need.
Just be sure to build these slides first:
1. Introduction Of Your Company
As you create your pitch deck, you need to think about why a potential investor would care about your brand. What would make them invest in your business?
Your company introduction not only introduces your brand, but sets the tone for what’s to come.
So this first slide should contain highlights such as:
- What your company is and does
- Why and when it was founded
- Your mission, core values, and company culture
You want your potential investors to buy into what your company stands for and believes in, not just what you’re offering. So make sure to share your brand story and what makes your startup unique here.
This first slide might include a bulleted list with brief points you can elaborate on during your presentation.
2. The Problem You’re Solving
What was the lightning strike that inspired you to create your business?
Use your next slide to dive into the problem your startup is hoping to solve. Add a few details about:
- What the problem is and why it exists
- How prevalent the problem is
- Who this problem affects
- Why you decided to solve this problem
- What makes your team capable of solving it
If your company is already in business and generating sales, you can talk about how you’re actually crushing this issue for your customers. But if you’re still in the conceptual phase, discuss how your company plans to solve this problem.
3. Your Target Market
From there, go into more detail about who your business helps, or your target market.
What are they struggling with? How are you addressing their needs with your business?
This is a fantastic place in your presentation to touch on the size of your target market. Investors will want to see the potential impact their investment could have.
If you already have existing customers — especially big, well-known companies — you can list these on your slide using their logos or even testimonials.
Make sure your investor gets a better feel for who you’re really targeting and helping here.
4. Your Product or Service
Now it’s time to dive into what makes your product or service offering special.
You’ve identified the problem and the target market, so here’s where you can chat about the solution (i.e., how your product or service solves the problem and meets the market need).
Discuss your company’s key features and why you created them to help your target buyer. If you have features you’re currently working on or testing, make sure to mention those on this slide too.
5. Intellectual Property
In explaining what makes your business stand out, always mention your exclusive intellectual property. Valuable assets such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, etc., are some of the best ways to entice potential investors to your team.
Save a separate slide for these vital pieces of intel so they stand out as an added bonus for investors.
6. Your Marketing and Sales Initiatives
Next, you’ll want to dive into your plan for how you’re going to market your product and generate sales.
This is another crucial piece of the puzzle for investors because this is how they’ll get their money back. Without a sales game plan, they’ll find it hard to imagine a return on their investment, which may make them hesitant to send funding your way.
So spend time explaining your marketing and sales strategies by mentioning points like:
- Your current and future marketing channels
- Where you’re currently selling
- Where you plan to sell
- Customer acquisition costs
- How you plan to upsell or cross-sell customers
- Whether you’re aiming for a subscription model
If you’re currently generating sales, talk about how you hit the ground running and where that money comes from. Was it via Instagram ads? Direct-to-consumer sales from your website?
If you don’t have customers yet, you may want to go over your business model here to show investors how you plan to earn them.
7. Traction, Stats, and Growth Metrics (If You Have Them)
Investors want startups that generate a buzz. So if your product or service hasn’t launched, add your social media stats to a separate slide to show that you at least have some interest in your company’s offering.
Now, if your startup has been steadily gaining customers and sales (kudos!), you’ll definitely want to share this news with potential investors. Create a standalone slide to show off your company’s:
- Sales to date
- Sales in the last month, quarter, six months, etc.
- Customers to date
- New customers in the last month, quarter, six months, etc.
- Unique website visits
- App downloads
- Email list signups
- … and anything else that signals your startup is gaining traction in your market
All these stats and metrics make your business more attractive to investors. It shows they may be getting in at just the right time (i.e., right before your business explodes).
8. Competitors
Investors need to know about other competitors in your industry/niche space. So hiding this critical factor will only hurt your chances of funding.
If they don’t see others attempting to solve the problem you built your business on, they may not consider it a big enough issue to invest in.
At the very least, successful competitors show there’s a real need for your product/service. Best case scenario? Your investor thinks your business is better than what’s already out there.
So it pays to do your homework here.
Present all the facts about what your competition is doing. Who are they? What are they doing well? What are you doing better?
Your investors will appreciate the transparency. And they may even enjoy the challenge of competing with others for market share.
9. Your Team
Investors should have an idea of who will be working in the trenches and surpassing your company’s goals. After all, many invest in impressive people and teams just as much as game-changing products.
So make sure to dedicate a slide or two to the incredible people on your crew. Share some information about their background, education, expertise, and experience.
Include pictures, titles, and highlights of their accomplishments under your wing.
Without them, your startup wouldn’t be where it is. And your potential investors will want to see that you have a capable team worth investing in.
10. Your Financials
Next, be sure to include information about your startup’s current financial situation.
Don’t hold back here; withholding this information is a recipe for disaster and breeds mistrust.
Instead, talk about what kind of funds you’ve raised so far and how much you have left. What did that money actually fund?
You’ll also want to discuss whether you’re generating a profit, and if you’re not, why that is. If you have recurring revenue, highlight that on this slide too. Include your future projections for three, five, and even 10 years out.
It’s also essential to mention your burn rate. Investors don’t want to get hit with surprises later on, like if you’ll need to close your doors in six months if the proper funding isn’t secured.
So mention your current and projected expenses. Is it possible to cut these, whether through scaling production or downsizing?
Outline your numbers in black and white, so investors know what to expect and feel more comfortable about handing over their cash.
11. What You’re Asking For
Finally, no pitch deck would be complete without an ask for the specific funding you’re looking for.
If you leave this slide out, your investors may not invest enough money to get the job done right. Or they may walk away thinking the investment is too large and out of their budget.
So it pays to be super clear about how much you’re asking for and what they’ll get in return.
You should also discuss how long this money will stretch. Again, be honest here. Your investors should know where this money will be going and that it will be put to good use.
Now that you know the main ingredients of a solid pitch deck, you’re ready to start building yours!
Best Practices for Building a Pitch Deck
When building a pitch deck, make sure to keep these best practices in mind:
1. Focus on storytelling. Investors need to buy into the ideas and passion that drive your startup to reach its goals. So share stories about what your team hopes to achieve as a business and for the greater good.
2. Don’t get bogged down in the details. Keep the information in your slides brief, easy to read, and straightforward. Skip the technical jargon. And save the meaty intel for your presentation.
3. Focus on visual appeal, which keeps investors engaged in your presentation. Call in your graphic designer so your slides look polished and professional. This will also reflect the competency and credibility of your team.
4. Perform multiple test runs to iron out any potential kinks in your presentation. Check for spelling and grammar errors, see if the flow makes sense, and get input from your team about what could be improved.
5. Share your pitch deck with investors before and after your presentation. Email a copy of your pitch deck as a PDF to investors before your meeting. This gives them time to think about your business and prepare questions.
If you’re doing an in-person presentation, you’ll also want to print out a physical copy investors can write notes on and take with them as they make their decision.
6. Always keep your pitch deck updated. There’s nothing worse than sharing outdated stats or irrelevant information. So keep your pitch deck up-to-date and ready to go at all times — you never know when you’ll need it!
7. Don’t be scared to look for inspiration and experiment. You can and should check out pitch decks from successful companies to see what they did right and gain inspiration. Keep running a quick Google search for ideas to ensure you’re always on the cutting edge.
Final Thoughts on Building Your Startup Pitch Deck
By following everything we laid out today, you should be able to build an impressive pitch deck that stands out and helps your business secure the funding it needs to grow and thrive.
So have some fun creating your pitch deck with your team!
And if you need more awesome people for your crew, you know where to find top talent: Unicorn Hunt, Europe’s magical beast of a startup job board. With +10,000 unique monthly users, you’re sure to find a perfect match for your goals.
