Pitch Deck Series Part 2: Don’t Waste Your Cover Slide
In part two of this series I want to cover the most commonly wasted opportunity in most pitch decks. If you would like to read part one in which I cover the importance of storytelling, you can read that here.
The first thing a reader sees when reviewing your deck is your cover page. You never get a second chance to make a first impression and your title page is your first impression. It’s your first chance to get the reader excited about your company yet, very few founders take advantage of this. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that the vast majority of entrepreneurs put very little time, effort, or thought into this slide.
I’ve never quite understood this because most decks are only 10–15 slides (shorter decks are definitely preferred by investors but that is a topic for another post). Therefore, if you have a limited number of slides to generate interest in your company, why let any slide, including the title page, go to waste? Why not make it impactful? Why not create interest for the reader from the very start?
I can’t tell you the number of times I have been asked to provide feedback on a deck and when I ask those questions to an entrepreneur, a lightbulb suddenly goes off. Most never even considered what should be on the title slide.
Now that I have hopefully persuaded you to put some thought and effort into your title slide, let’s discuss what makes a weak or strong title slide.
Bad Cover Slides: Just the logo
The title slide of most decks I review simply have the company logo on it. This gives me precisely zero information about your company or why I should care. It’s a total waste of a slide.
The good news for you is that this is the standard for the majority of pitch decks out there. Thus, if you put in even a little more effort into the title slide, your deck will already be a step ahead of nearly every other presentation out there.
Slightly Less Bad Cover Slide: Logo and a stock photo
Now we have a visual to go along with the logo. The only reason this is slightly better is that the stock photo is typically (though not always) representative of the industry the company operates in.
While not much better, I at least have an idea of what market the company is going after. Congrats, you have a good-looking doctor on your cover, now I at least know this is healthcare startup. I have some info, albeit still very little, which I guess is better than nothing.
An OK Cover Slide: Logo with a vague tagline
Now we are at least headed in the right direction. Including a short, one sentence explanation of what the company does gives me more info.
The problem with this title slide is that most taglines are too vague or cliche. Anything that says “Disrupting the Financial Industry” or “Future of Mobile Technology” or “A new kind of Healthcare company” is that it doesn’t actually tell me what your company does. I at least know what sector you are in but there are hundreds of other startups looking to “Disrupt the Finance Industry.” I highly suggest refraining from using buzzwords or common phrases as it does not differentiate you in any way.
To be clear, I dislike these vague taglines. It actually demonstrates an inability to distill your idea to its essence and clearly articulate your message. The only reason it gets an “ok” rating is that the standard title slide is so bad that any tagline that provides any info to the reader is better than nothing.
Strong Cover Slide: Logo with a clear tagline
Rather than using a generalized, buzzword filled tagline, tell me exactly what your company does in the most simplified manner you possibly can. It should be short. It should be crystal clear. And it should pique the reader’s interest to want to learn more.
I know this is not easy. In fact, this is incredibly difficult. I know you want to tell me every amazing detail of your company and there is a time and place for that, but the title slide isn’t it. Trying to distill all the amazing things about your company down into a few words will take time, thought and likely numerous revisions. The key is to get to the essence of what your product allows your customers to do. Avoid using “AI”, “Blockchain”, or whatever the latest hot trend is. These are the technologies you use, not what your product does. Avoid terms like “disrupting” or “revolutionizing.” If you are truly disrupting an industry, that will become obvious to the reader as they learn more about your company.
Here is a great example. I love this tag line from AirBnB not because the company has been a huge success, but because in seven words, I have a clear understanding of what the company does. It has piqued my interest because the idea of booking a room with a local opens up an option I never knew existed (assuming I was reading the AirBnB deck while they were still early stage). Even better, there are no buzzwords used.
I also believe that going through the exercise of distilling your message to one sentence is hugely valuable in of itself. Yes, it takes time and effort. However, beyond using it on your title slide, it’s likely to be the first thing you tell people when they ask what you do. That includes investors, friends, family and colleagues. It will further hone your vision for the company. It will allow you to align your employees around a single, easy to understand mission. Point is, I think it’s worth the time and effort.
Best Cover Slide — Logo, clear tagline and image of your product
What’s the old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words? Since you don’t have room for a thousand words on your title slide, the best thing you can do is take this opportunity to show off your product.
You have multiple options for this. You could use a photo of the product. Even better, a picture of a customer using your product. Maybe your company was mentioned in a media outlet touting how amazing the product is. Point is that if the tagline is concise and you have a captivating image that actually shows off your product, now you have me hooked and I haven’t even opened the deck yet.
This website released 50 of their favorite decks from YC and 500 startups back in 2018 and in my opinion this is the best title slide of that group.
It’s my favorite of all those examples because within 0.3 seconds I know this is a beauty box subscription service aimed at African American women. Logo, check. Short, simple yet informative tagline, check. Image of the product, check. Not only do I see the makeup and brushes, I see a box (which communicates the company’s business model) and I see a customer using the product in the mirror. One slide and so many questions are already answered. If I see this in a meeting, I can spend less time figuring out what this company does and spend more time learning about the founder and the traction the company has achieved to date.
The title slide is too often the slide that founders put the least amount of effort, thought, and time into. Yet it’s the very first thing an investor sees about your company. Will a title slide be the reason an investor writes you a check? No. But neglecting it is wasted opportunity and may make it that much harder to generate interest. Fundraising is hard enough as it is, no reason to make it any harder on yourself.
*All cover slides shown were of pitch decks made public and images were taken from the website in which it was published. I, nor Sway, are an investor in any of the companies highlighted in this post.
