2. 1. The purpose of your Investor Deck is not to answer all possible questions,
nor close immediate investment.
2. It is to open investors minds to your vision and get them excited to know
more. The story you craft in your Deck gets them engaged to start filling in
the blanks for themselves
3. You want to give enough information to grab their interest, but not too much
as to overwhelm them or have your story lose clarity & focus.
4. Give them enough to get excited about, but leave them wanting more.
5. Your Deck should be able to stand on its own, without your presentation.
6. Compelling Decks are concise, tell a story, are visual, 10-13 slides.
What Your Pitch Deck Is For…
3. 1. Too many slides, too much information
2. “Wordy slides”: To avoid, follow Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule of
Power Point for slide design. 10 slides / 20 minutes to present the
slides / 30 point font or greater
3. Too many product details, or too many financial details
4. Belittling competitors
5. False/silly assumptions you can’t back up or don’t have data on
6. False confidence or arrogance
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Common Deck Mistakes
4. Common mistakes during Investor pitch
1. Poor setup/timings
2. Complex business strategyand too much jargons
3. Informationover load , lengthy presentationand too much
texts
4. Unprofessionalpresentation/spelling mistakes
5. Lack of proper flow of information/structure
6. Actionableitems
7. Excel sheet based random projections without backings of
reasons
5. How to deliver effective pitch to Investors ?
1. Know well in advance of your audience
2. Practice your pitch
3. Take only ten minutes and keep it short
4. Dressed and groomed well
5. Turn your pitch into a story ( Enthusiastic, passionate & Wild!)
6. Be laser-focused
7. Explain exactly what your product or service (Uniqueness, target audience,
acquisition strategy of customers)
8. If you are demonstrating product. Ensure that this works!
9. Revenue model
10. Anticipate & prepare for Q&A. Be ready for uncomfortable questions!
11. Show investors – possible exits, peer success histories & how they will make
money
6. 1) Elevator Pitch
2) Momentum, Traction, Expertise: Your key numbers
3) Market Opportunity: Define market size & your customer base
4) Problem & Current Solutions: What need do you fill? Other solutions
5) Product or Service: Your solution
6) Business Model: Key Revenue Streams
7) Market Approach & Strategy: How you grow your business
8) Team & Key Stakeholders (Investors, Advisors)
9) Financials & Roadmap
10) Competition
11) Investment: Your ‘Ask’ for funding, Basic use of funds
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Investor Pitch Deck Outline
Optional Slides: Exit Strategy, Partnership Agreements, Product/Service Demo,
Existing Sales/Clients, Your “Special Sauce”
7. Vision / Elevator Pitch
1. A quick one-liner summary that combines
your vision/product and the mission of
your company
2. Keep it short and memorable
3. Try: making it relatable… as in “We are X
for Y” (“We are AirBNB for Event Spaces”)
(“We are the Starbucks of Frozen Yogurt”)
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8. Traction
1. Show your timeline and milestones to date
2. Growth metrics are key at early stage
3. Highlight press, partnerships, accolades
4. Customer success stories and/or
testimonials
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9. Market Opportunity
1. Define Your Market: What business/space you
are in
2. Total Market Size: Dollar/Rs Size, Your
Place/Niche
3. Customers: Clearly define exactly who you
serve
4. Macro Trends & Insights
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10. The Problem
Define the real problem/need you’re
solving, and for who.
Current Solutions
Who else is already doing this, and how
are they going about it and what are they
not getting right or doing wrong?
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11. Product / Service
1. Tell the story of your customer and
how customers use/value your
product or service
2. Images and visuals are better than
lots of text: show don’t tell
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12. Revenue Model
1. Who is your primary customer & how do you make
money?
2. What is the pricing / model?
3. Revenue and # of customers to date
4. Show basic math on revenues and conversion rates
5. Life-time value of an average Customer (How many
months, how many dollars/Rs?)
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13. Marketing & Growth Strategy
1. Where are your customers looking today and finding help?
2. Where will you get in front of them?
3. How will you achieve your target growth rates?
4. What are the most important and unique channels and
methods you will use to find and win customers?
5. How are you doing it differently than others in the space?
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14. Team
1. Highlight key team members and their
prior positions, successes, domain
expertise
2. Demonstrate relevant experience
3. Which roles are the keys to success in
your company/space?
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15. Financials
1. Include 1-3 years of financial projections
2. Mention key & critical assumptions in your model of
expenses, customer conversion, market penetration
%
3. Highlight each of these Yearly for at least 1-3 years:
• Total Customers
• Total Revenue
• Total Expense
• EBITDA
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16. Competition
1. Where do you exist in the larger overall Market Space?
2. What are your Advantages?
3. How is your place in the market unique to you, and the
right one for your company growth and customers?
4. Who are the competitors, why have they succeeded, and
how do you truly differentiate from them?
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17. Investment
1. State how much Capital you are raising, and with what
general Terms: Equity, Debt, Convertible Note
2. What is the timing of your Capital raise?
3. Who are your existing & notable investors, if any?
4. What are your key Use of Proceeds (as % of total raise)
• Founder salaries
• Sales & Marketing
• New hires
• Technology/ Productor Service development
• Capital expenses / equipment
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19. Value Created by the New Product or Service
1. What is the new and unique value of
product/service?
2. Is there a clear customer need satisfied?
3. Is the background explained?
4. How important is this product/service to
customers and other stakeholders?
5. Is there a prototype or working description of
the product/service?
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20. Attractiveness of the Market Opportunity
1. How large is the market and how fast is it growing?
2. Can you be a "significant player" in this market?
3. What long-runprofitability do you expect to see in this
market?
4. Is there a clear market entry strategy?
5. Can the product/service be successfully monetized?
6. Is the businessmodel both realistic and viable over the
intermediate term (e.g. five to ten years)?
7. Is the product/service scalable?
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21. Competitive Advantage of the Proposed Venture
1. What is the positioning of the product/service in
relation to competitors (both direct and indirect)?
2. Is the product/service favorably positioned in the
distribution channel?
3. Can this product/service be a leader in its market?
4. Are barriers to entry identified?
5. How long will it take you to get to market?
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22. Operational and Technological Viability
1. How will the product or service be produced and
delivered to customers?
2. What are the distribution channels?
3. Is any intellectual property essential to success?
4. How will rights to the intellectual property be
secured?
5. Are there regulatory hurdles?
6. How long will it take to develop the property?
7. Are key milestones identified?
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23. Capability of Management Team
1. What roles will the current team play?
2. How will gaps in the management team
be filled?
3. Have the team members identified key
risks and how will they be mitigated?
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24. Capital Requirements and Financial Forecast
1. What type and amount of capital
investment is required?
2. Is the investment required all at once or
can it be staged?
3. Are summary financials provided that
include revenue, major expenditures and
net income (basically the balance sheet
description) ?
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