Step 5: Pitch Deck Creation
Alright, now that you got your list of investors together we will work on your pitch deck.
A pitch deck is a presentation to showcase your business idea, strategy, and potential to possible investors. A well-designed and persuasive pitch deck should help you to capture the interest of potential investors and get you into the next meeting to ultimately take you a step closer to secure the funding needed to grow your business.
Your pitch deck should tell a story that engages and excites your audience, and evoke an emotional response while still providing a clear and concise overview of all key points including the financial opportunity.
The narrative of your investor pitch could go something like this:
- “Boom! Here comes a strong catchphrase or vision that catches the attention of your audience….” ➡️Intro: Mission/Vision or Tagline
- “We’ve observed that there exists this problem, and we even know someone who has or even have experienced it ourselves…” ➡️Problem
- “But we got this great idea that offers the perfect solution to this problem…” ➡️Solutions
- “To be a little more specific, this is what our product/service offers…” ➡️Product/Service Features
- “And those are our target customer segments, who we are convinced will love our product because it covers their needs and resonates with their preferences …” ➡️Target Market
- “And to be a little more precise we are going to make money in the following way….” ➡️Revenue Model or Business Model
- “Of course there are potential risks or threats and we are fully aware of them…” ➡️Potential Risk or Threats
- “But our first results have been very promising and we see a huge opportunity…” ➡️Current Financials and/or Opportunity/Market Size
- “In fact, we believe that with a little external support we can get here in the next 3-5 years…” ➡️ Financial Projections
- “And we will get there through the following initiatives….” ➡️Strategic Roadmap
- “To implement these initiatives we need a budget for….” ➡️Investment Needs
- “And this is the team that is currently working on this business….” ➡️ Team
- “We would love to talk to you soon…” ➡️ Outro
Remember, we’ve prepared a pitch deck template with different slide options that you can use and adjust to your needs and branding. You can access it again here.
💡As a little tip: Before working on your presentation slides, start with writing down the title or key message of each slide to get the right narrative for your pitch. This will give you an overview of the whole story and make it easier to get the right sequence for your presentation.
Your investor pitch should include the following sections:
Intro: Mission/Vision or Tagline
The Intro section of a pitch deck is crucial for setting the tone and grabbing the attention of your audience. It should include your mission/vision statement or a tagline that summarizes what your company does in a simple and concise manner.
💡 Tips and best practices:
- Keep your mission/vision statement or tagline short and simple, ideally one sentence.
- Use language that is easy to understand and avoid jargon or buzzwords.
- Make sure your mission/vision statement or tagline is memorable and sticks in the minds of your audience.
- Use visuals such as graphics or images to reinforce your message and make your pitch more engaging.
- Tailor your mission/vision statement or tagline to your audience. For example, if you’re pitching to investors, focus on how your company can generate returns for them.
Problem
The “Problem” section of a pitch deck is where you introduce the main issue or pain point that your product or service aims to solve. This is your opportunity to clearly articulate the problem and provide evidence that it is a significant issue for your target market.
💡 Tips and best practices:
- Clearly define the problem that your product or service solves and provide specific examples or data to support your claims. Avoid vague or broad statements that may not resonate with your audience.
- Demonstrate the negative impact that the problem has on your target market, whether it’s lost time, money, or opportunities. Help your audience understand why solving this problem is important.
- Show that you understand the problem from the perspective of your target market. Use real-world examples and anecdotes to illustrate your point and demonstrate empathy.
- Keep your description of the problem brief and to the point. Your audience should be able to understand the issue quickly and easily.
- Consider using charts, graphs, or other visuals to help illustrate the problem and make it easier for your audience to understand. Visuals can also make your pitch deck more engaging and memorable.
Solutions
The “Solution” section of a pitch deck should focus on explaining how your product or service solves the problem you described in the previous section. This is where you present your unique value proposition and showcase the features and benefits of your solution.
💡 Tips and best practices:
- Explain the benefits of your solution rather than just the features. Your audience wants to know how your product or service can solve their problem and make their life easier or better.
- Consider using graphics or other visuals to help explain your solution. This can help your audience understand complex concepts more easily.
- Use real-world examples to illustrate how your solution has helped other customers. This can provide social proof and increase the credibility of your solution.
- Keep your explanations clear and concise. Avoid technical jargon or overly complex language that could confuse your audience.
- Highlight your unique value proposition and emphasize what sets your solution apart from competitors. This could be a unique feature, a better price point, or a more effective solution.
Product/Service Features
The Product/Service Features section of a pitch deck is where you provide a detailed description of the product or service you are offering and explain how it solves the problem you have identified. This section should highlight the unique features of your product or service that make it stand out from the competition.
💡 Tips and best practices:
- Avoid using technical jargon or complex language that might confuse your audience. Make sure that your product features are easy to understand and clearly communicated.
- Incorporate visuals like images, diagrams, or videos to help illustrate how your product works and make it more engaging for your audience.
- Focus on benefits, not just features. While it’s important to highlight the features of your product, it’s even more important to explain how those features benefit your target customers.
- Highlight your unique value proposition. Explain what sets your product apart from the competition and why your target customers should choose it over other options.
- Provide specific examples of how your product has helped customers or how it has been successful in solving the problem you have identified.
Target Market
The Target Market section of a pitch deck should provide a clear and concise overview of the ideal customer or client for your product or service. This section should demonstrate that you have a thorough understanding of the market and its needs, as well as how your solution fits into it.
💡 Tips and best practices:
- Clearly define the target market segment(s) your product or service is designed for. This could include factors such as demographics, geography, interests, behaviors, or other relevant characteristics.
- Consider including a visual representation of the target market segment(s), such as a chart or infographic, to help investors better understand who you are targeting.
- Be specific and avoid broad or vague statements. For example, instead of saying your target market is “millennials,” specify which subset of millennials your product or service is designed for.
- If applicable, highlight any traction or early success you have had with your target market. This could include customer feedback, testimonials, or other relevant metrics.
Revenue Model or Business Model
The Revenue Model or Business Model section of a pitch deck is where you outline how your company plans to make money. This section should be clear and concise, and should demonstrate that you have a solid understanding of your industry and market.
💡 Tips and best practices:
- Be specific and clearly outline your business model and revenue streams, describing how you plan to monetize your product or service, and what your long-term growth strategy is.. This will help investors understand how you plan to generate revenue and how it fits into the larger market landscape.
- If your business model has any unique or innovative features, be sure to highlight them. This will help set your company apart from competitors and demonstrate that you have a strong understanding of your industry.
- Using visuals such as charts or graphs, can help make your revenue model more clear and engaging for investors. Be sure to label your visuals clearly and use them to support your overall narrative.
- If your company has multiple potential revenue streams, be sure to highlight them. This can demonstrate that your business is diversified and has multiple paths to revenue generation.
Potential Risk or Threats
The Potential Risk or Threats section of a pitch deck is an important part of the presentation that allows you to demonstrate that you have considered potential challenges and have a plan to address them.
💡 Tips and best practices:
- Start by identifying the potential risks and threats that your business could face. This can include factors such as economic downturns, changing market trends, legal and regulatory changes, new competition, and more.
- After identifying the risks and threats, outline how you plan to address them. This can include contingency plans, risk mitigation strategies, or alternative approaches that you could take if certain risks materialize.
- When discussing potential risks and threats, it’s important to be honest and transparent. Investors will appreciate that you have thought critically about potential challenges and have a plan to address them.
- While risks and threats can be daunting, they can also present opportunities for growth and innovation. If appropriate, show how you plan to turn potential risks into opportunities for your business.
- Keep it concise: As with other sections of your pitch deck, keep your discussion of potential risks and threats concise and to the point. Focus on the most critical issues and demonstrate that you have a plan to address them.
Current Financials and/or Opportunity/Market Size
This section of the pitch deck should provide an overview of the current financial situation of the company, and/or an analysis of the size of the market opportunity. It is important to show that you have a solid understanding of the current state of the industry and how your company fits into it.
💡 Tips and best practices:
- Be transparent and honest about your financials, but also highlight any positive trends or milestones that you have achieved.
- Use data and research to support your analysis of the market opportunity and provide a clear picture of the potential size of the market.
- Consider including graphs or charts to make the information easier to understand and digest.
- If applicable, discuss any potential barriers to entry or challenges that your company may face in capturing a share of the market.
- Clearly articulate how your product or service fits into the current market landscape and what sets it apart from competitors.
Financial Projections
This section of the pitch deck should provide a forecast of the company’s financial performance over a set period of time. It is important to show investors that you have a realistic understanding of the potential financial outcomes for your business.
💡 Tips and best practices:
- Use data and research to support your financial projections and ensure they are as accurate as possible.
- Be conservative in your estimates, and don’t overinflate potential revenue or growth.
- Clearly explain the assumptions that underpin your projections, such as customer acquisition costs or expected growth rates.
- You can also provide a breakdown of the various revenue streams for your business and how they contribute to overall financial performance.
- Consider including a sensitivity analysis to show how changes in key assumptions could impact your financial projections.
Strategic Roadmap
The strategic roadmap section should detail the company’s plans for growth and development. This should include specific milestones and goals that the company aims to achieve, as well as a clear timeline for achieving these goals.
💡 Tips and Best Practices:
- Focus on the most important milestones and goals that will help drive the company’s growth. Avoid getting bogged down in too many details or specifics.
- Make sure that the goals and milestones you set are achievable within a reasonable timeframe. Investors will be looking for evidence that you have a well thought-out plan for success.
- If your company has already achieved some milestones, be sure to highlight these as evidence of your ability to execute and achieve success.
Investment Needs
The investment needs section should clearly outline how much funding the company is seeking, what it will be used for, and what percentage of ownership the investor will receive in return.
💡 Tips and Best Practices:
- Provide a clear breakdown of how the funding will be used, whether it be for product development, marketing, or hiring new staff. Investors will want to see that you have a well thought-out plan for how the funding will be used to drive growth and success.
- Explain why the amount of funding you are seeking is necessary to achieve your goals, and provide evidence to support your claims.
- Be upfront about what percentage of ownership the investor will receive in return for their investment. Investors will want to know exactly what they are getting in return for their money.
Team
The Team section of a pitch deck should introduce the key members of the founding team, their backgrounds, and their roles in the company. It’s essential to showcase the team’s relevant experience, education, and skills that qualify them to execute the business plan. Investors invest in the team as much as the idea, so this section should be a highlight.
💡 Tips and Best Practices:
- Highlight the team’s unique skills and experience that make them qualified to execute the business plan.
- Showcase the team’s complementary skillsets that allow them to work well together.
- Provide specific examples of the team’s past successes or achievements in related fields.
- Include the team’s social proof, such as awards, media mentions, or industry recognition, to build credibility.
Outro
The Outro, also known as the Call to Action, is the final part of the pitch deck, where you wrap up the presentation and ask for a specific action from the investor. It could be a follow-up meeting, an investment offer, or simply a request for feedback.
💡 Tips and Best Practices:
- End the presentation with a memorable and impactful statement that sums up the company’s vision or mission.
- Be clear and concise about what you are asking for, whether it’s funding, feedback, or another action.
- Offer a clear path for the next steps, such as scheduling a follow-up meeting or providing additional information.
- Be confident and enthusiastic about the business idea and the potential of the partnership with the investor.
- Include contact information, such as an email address or phone number, to make it easy for investors to get in touch with you.
- Remember, the Outro is the final impression you’ll make on investors, so make sure it’s a strong and memorable one.
