A template for a pitch deck from seasoned venture capital investors
When seeking investment, crafting a compelling and engaging presentation is essential in making your start-up stand out. This pitch deck template will help you provide your investor audience with a solid overview of your business and plan.
Benefits of this template for a pitch deck
- A priceless tool to present your start-up to the world.
- You will likely gain improved insight into your business and industry.
- Build confidence in your product or brand as you rehearse the details of your pitch.
- Perfect the timing of your presentation.
Introduction to this template for a pitch deck
When using this template for a pitch deck, remember that visuals are one of the most effective methods to communicate your business idea. Creating different pitch decks appeals to different audiences and is good practice. Use this template for pitch deck consistency.
When creating your pitch deck, keep the message clear, concise and to the point. If there is information that does not support your core message, dump it. Ensure to include enough information to stimulate interest and hold attention but not so much that investors drift off.
Eleven template pointers for your pitch deck
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Purpose & vision
Success is more likely to follow when entrepreneurs have a profound purpose for their start-up. A deeper sense of purpose produces resilience for the journey to success.
When creating this slide, keep it brief. If you can sum up your purpose and vision in 150 characters or less, it will be easy to remember and make an impact. Consider this example of a purposeful idea from PayPal,
"We believe every person has the right to participate fully in the global economy. We have an obligation to empower people to exercise this right and improve financial health."
From the above statement we can see PayPal has a purpose for global financial inclusion.
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Clear problem statement and solution
After speaking with a few venture capital investors, they highlighted that entrepreneurs are not always sure how to communicate problems verse solutions. What is the bigger problem you are trying to solve, and does your business or product solve it?
For example,
My Smart City is a citizen platform that aims to solve the problem of poor service delivery in South Africa. The problem is poor service delivery at a national level. Their solution is to invite citizens to be part of improving their cities by giving them a voice using technology.
The solution you have developed doesn't need to solve the problem all at once. It can be done in increments or at a local and provincial level and then rolled out area by area or nationally. In the case of My Smart City, they launched the platform city by city and added new functionality over time.
When explaining the solution verse problem scenario, think of personal stories you can share with your audience.
Storytelling is a powerful means to influence, teach, and inspire. Storytelling forges connections among people and ideas by engaging an audience on an emotional level. Furthermore, they are memorable and stand out because your story is unique and will never get repeated.
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Detailed deep market research and analysis of the opportunity
Once you have communicated the problem and how your business solves it, present a more in-depth analysis. Explain precisely how the problem is affecting your intended target market and a detailed approach to how you will solve the problem. Investors need to see that you understand your product-to-market fit.
Quantifiable data on this slide is essential and must undergird the information you are presenting. Metrics like consumer spending to determine market demand must be specific and realistic.
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Value proposition
Use solid visuals and storytelling in this slide.
The solution you have created for consumers must add value to their lives. Clearly explain how you propose to add value to your customers in a way that sets you apart from your competitors.
Evaluate this world-famous value proposition,
"Tap the app, get a ride".
"Uber is the smartest way to get around. One tap and a car comes directly to you. Your driver knows exactly where to go. And payment is completely cashless".
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Roadmap and checkpoints
Validate your business and product vision and growth potential. Highlight what your business has already achieved within its life cycle. Then cast a picture of where you intend to go. Proving that some aspect of your business model is successful will reduce risk concerns in the mind of your potential investor.
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Marketing and sales plan
Explain how you intend to reach your target market and gain traction within your sector. Specifics about your action plan, like the communication channels you intend to use, help validate your approach to investors.
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Competitor analysis
Show your investors what makes you different to your competitors and why your competitive advantage is essential to your customers. A simple slide using perceptual mapping can effectively display this type of information.
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Business model
Establish how your products generate revenue for the business.
Use visually engaging and legible charts of how you intend to make money and the pricing strategy. Highlight what the cost drivers of the business will be. Include profitability projections over time. Include a sales forecast, cash flow forecast and profit and loss statements to date. If these are not available, then display projected financials.
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The team
Introduce your team members, their unique skillsets and how they add value to the business. People invest in people, so explain what makes you and your team great. At the same time, make mention of other significant investors (if any), the board of directors and, if relevant, the board of advisors. Your team is a cornerstone to the success of your business, and potential investors need to understand who they are and if they are worthy of their money.
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Using the invested funds
Detail how much investment your business needs and how you will use it. Also, highlight what will get accomplished by using these funds. Lastly, explain if there is anything else you need from your potential investment partners.
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Key relationships
If you have critical relationships within your industry that you can leverage for the success of your business, then identify and explain their value in this slide.
Pro tips:
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Tell a personable story about your start-up.
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Display one focused idea per slide.
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Use consistent colour, font, and size format across your pitch deck.
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Use a minimum amount of bullet points.
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Don't use too many slides.
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Use visuals to keep content exciting and engaging.
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Be prepared to answer questions about all your slides.
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Use large fonts to make content legible.
