Effective Brand, Marketing and Communication
Mastering Your Pitch Deck
Best practises and Tips
Creating an effective pitch deck is crucial for any startup looking to secure funding and win over investors. This guide will walk you through the different types of decks, their purposes, essential elements of a successful pitch deck, and best practices for content, style, and delivery. By the end of this post, you'll be equipped with the knowledge to craft a compelling pitch deck that stands out.
Different Types of Pitch Decks
Intro Deck
Purpose:Introduce & Generate Curiosity
Characteristics:
- Highlight what's in it for the investors.
- Explain why your startup is interesting to them.
- Outline the problem you solve.
Pitching Deck
Purpose:Impress & Convince
Characteristics:
- Present the core elements of your startup.
- Showcase your startup's defensibility.
- Provide revenue projections.
- The deck should complement your speech without distracting from it.
Due Diligence Deck
Purpose:Inform & Complete
Characteristics:
- Provide details and evidence supporting your pitch.
- Answer any questions received during pitching.
Note: All your decks should use consistent language and style.
Elements of a Successful Pitch Deck
A pitch deck should clearly present the core elements of your startup:
- What makes it different from others.
- Essential aspects explaining what your solution does.
- Reasons for its future success.
Content Best Practices
1. The Problem: Clearly state the problem you solve, its size, and who is affected by it.
2. The Solution: Describe your solution, how it solves the problem, and why you are passionate about solving it (storytelling).
3. The Opportunity: Discuss the current and future market, the number of people affected, your traction, and what you're asking from investors.
4. Defensibility: Explain how you will win over competitors through product defensibility (patents, certifications, R&D) and revenue defensibility (current and future customer base, brand, marketing).
5. Revenue: Provide clear and concise numbers.
6. The Team: Showcase your team's expertise to build credibility.
Content Tips
- Be factual and data-based.
- Share data about your market and customer base.
- Use few, direct words and avoid jargon.
- Make it simple for someone who isn't an expert in your field.
- If possible, show a demo of your solution and guide the audience through it.
- Have a call to action.
- Make it relatable with examples.
- Prepare and practice answers to FAQs and difficult topics.
Style and Design
By Camilla Barlocco and AI
Design Tips
Dos:
- Use one or two images consistently across the deck.
- Maintain a simple layout and visuals.
- Pick no more than two fonts and three colors.
- Reduce words to a minimum.
- Use dark backgrounds with light-colored text.
- Use keywords or short sentences that summarize the concept.
- Use questions to guide through the deck.
Don'ts:
- Avoid image collages.
- Don't overload with fonts and colors.
- Avoid filling slides with text.
- Don't use long descriptions.
- Avoid complex graphs and too many icons.
Delivery
You are the superstar of the pitch. Invest time and resources in refining your public speaking skills. Use your body language and voice effectively.
Delivery Tips:
- Write a speech draft.
- Use words that are easy for you to remember.
- Rehearse your speech without slides.
- If a friend, granny, or kids can’t understand it, neither will the investors.
- Grab attention from the beginning by asking a question.
- Use pausing effectively.
- Don't rush; slow down and articulate every word.
- Have the right attitude (you will succeed and you are giving investors an opportunity to be part of it).
- Engage with the audience and ask if you have been clear.
- Close by asking for direct feedback and if there is anything specific they want to see in the due diligence deck.
- Enjoy and be present.
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