Every time a new company raises capital, it must create one pitch deck. For some, this is a daunting task. There are hundreds of articles and books on how to create an investment-worthy presentation. We’ve combed through them (and even read many) and present you with the top 14 most important tips:
Day 1: A pitch deck is not a business plan. Your presentation should be short and concise. It needs to highlight your key strengths and selling points that will motivate people to fund you. You have a maximum of 15 minutes, try not to cram in too many slides.
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Day 2: Just keep it stupid. You don’t have to create a slide for every little thing you do. When someone asks, “What does your company do? And you answer them with a 20-slide presentation that begins with your product’s launch 4 years ago and ends with the current marketing campaign. They’ll think you’re completely insane! If people ask questions, you can go into more detail, but don’t assume they know everything about your business.
Day 3: Start with a clear positioning. Explain what makes your company unique from day one! This is the most critical part of any presentation, and if done well, it will captivate your audience and keep them engaged for the duration of your pitch.
Day 4: Use an appropriate format and visualize the data presented in graphs and charts. People need to understand what you are showing them within seconds. Adding visual cues will help get their attention while making you look more professional.
Day 5: Don’t include sales numbers or forecasts in your deck. If need be, this information is on a separate slide that all potential investors can easily access. You don’t need to know the exact stats of how your business is doing every second. Instead, focus more on how your business will perform over the next 12 months.
Day 6: Avoid including detailed financial information in yours Examples of pitch decks. If you want to go deeper and use complex numbers, please do so on a separate slide and include a brief synopsis of what it all means.
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Day 7: Never leave the room presentation deck! You never know who might show up during your pitch or how long they’ll stay once their curiosity is piqued. It’s best to at least be in another room or booth so you can get questions answered promptly.
Day 8: Get feedback from people outside of your immediate circle of friends and family. This is important as they may not share the same prejudices as someone who has known you for your feeder deck for decades. Get them to check your deck for free, or give them some coffee money if they qualify.
Day 9: Skip the powerpoint presentations for your investor pitch deck! No, seriously, go to google and search for “powerpoint alternatives”. Several websites can help you create an excellent presentation without having to know any fancy software. If you have Microsoft Office, just download PowerPoint. It’s not that expensive and you can use the same program your mom uses.
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Day 10: Remove all distractions from your best pitch decks. You want to make it as clean and professional as possible. Make sure all images, colors, fonts, etc. match on each slide. If a potential investor sees a bunch of crazy graphics, they’re not going to think you’re a professional.
Day 11: Proofread, proofread, proofread your pitch presentation! You may be the most brilliant person alive, but that doesn’t mean your deck is perfect. There are always typos and misspellings, and it can really detract from your overall presentation if you don’t take a little time and check your slides.
Day 12: Don’t be afraid to show weaknesses in your pitch deck design. Nobody is perfect, and sometimes investors want to see that you are vulnerable or make mistakes like everyone else. The best way to convey this is to show the impact of what went wrong in the past. It also helps to show what you learned from those mistakes and how you plan to fix those issues now.
Day 13: The best pitch deck ever is the one you can read and understand from your head! If your presentation cannot be clearly understood and read by someone else, it will not help you achieve your goals. Even if people don’t like or appreciate what you’re presenting, they should understand what’s going on and acknowledge that you know your stuff.
Day 14: Never rely solely on visuals to represent your company and product. Instead, let participants make their own assumptions and draw their own conclusions. Keep in mind that they may not understand everything you want to tell them, so it’s good if they can take a little initiative every now and then.
Venngage for your startup pitch deck
Bloggers, entrepreneurs, and startups around the world use Venngage to create graphics to enhance their presentations. Our software is easy to use for anyone without any design or programming experience. Simply sign up for a trial account, import your PowerPoint deck into our online app, make changes, and output your new presentation slide deck in less than 5 minutes.
Venngage helps you create the most compelling visual representations of your numbers so all your potential investors can see what an asset they will be when they put their money behind them. But don’t just take our word for it!
Conclusion
There’s no magic formula for the perfect pitch deck, but these tips will get you on the right foot. Now that you’re armed with what worked, you can customize your presentation to fit your unique background and product. The most important thing is that you are enthusiastic about what you want to achieve and have a clear vision of what your product, service or idea will look like in the future. In other words: sell yourself!
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