What is Pitch Deck?
A pitch deck, also known as a startup pitch deck or slide deck, is a visual document that tells investors about your business plan, products or services, funding requirements, and key criteria such as value, target market, and financial goals.
Size Of A Pitch Deck
A pitch deck’s average length is 12 to 14 slides (but never more than 20), with each slide communicating one separate concept. The order of events can change depending on how you choose to tell your story.
The following points must contain in your slides:
- The company’s mission
- The difficulty
- Market potential and target market
- The solution or product
- Business plan
- The opposition
- Marketing & sales plan
- The team
- Financials
Kinds Of Pitch Deck
You can get some practice by making two different pitch decks. An Email Deck is a document that contains a lot of information and is emailed to interested recipients.If you add more graphics to it, you can use it to identify individual investors. Because less text and more graphics draw greater attention, the Presentation Deck aids in the strengthening of the ideas.
How to Create a Winning Pitch Deck
Customize your presentation for your audience
The most important thing is to know who you’re talking to. In the style of a tweet, tell your story. The investor should remark something along the lines of, “I’m interested.” Your presentation should be adjusted to the unique audience and, as a result, the delivery medium. If you’re making a presentation to an investor who will be seeing it on a display, such as a tablet or a computer, make it self-explanatory, concise, and brief, with easily digestible bullet points…
If you’re giving a presentation to a group of investors or judges, it should be very visual with little text. It should support what you’ve said. In most cases, you’ll need 10-20 slides. The 7×7 rule states that there should be no more than seven lines of text and no more than seven words per line. There should be no paragraphs in this document. Keep the data simple, clear, and concise. Never read your slides in front of a group of people. Use your voice to speak over your slides. Practice, practice, practice. Practice instils confidence in you, allowing you to achieve a level of ease. Make sure you give them enough information to pique their interest and persuade them to learn more.
Must-have slides
Investors need to know who you are, what you’re talking about, and how well you know your market. Here are a few slides you should include in your winning pitch deck.
1. Title
Highlight your name with a one- to two-line description or a simple tagline that catches the reader’s attention, such as Airbnb’s early motto, “Book rooms with locals, not hotels.”
2. Problem
What exactly is the issue? Describe how you perceive a conflict, what the market requires, and thus the cost of the situation. Consider it a risk and a possibility. Demonstrate how you discovered the problem. Did you, for example, witness it, feel it, or hear about it?
3. Solution
Describe how your product or service solves the problem in the market. Determine three to four main benefits and solution samples. Will clients, for example, save money as a result of your solution?
4. Market demand
Is it possible for your market to expand? Take care to quantify your market in terms of size, sectors, and sales; for example, is it primarily made up of children or adults? Describe the characteristics of your target customers and, as a result, the necessity for your product or service.
5. Business model
Describe how you plan to earn revenue and expand your business. “We take the tenth commission on each transaction,” Airbnb, for example, noted.
6. Competition
Make a comparative presentation that shows your competitors, where they are, and how much they charge. Recognize the dangers of inertia and, as a result, the status quo. Describe the most significant impediment to people entering your business. Be mindful of displaying cognitive bias, which is when you believe you are superior to your opponents.
7. Sales and marketing
Make a plan for how you’ll promote your company. Will you rely on social media or a different strategy, such as a mobile sales force? What is the normal sales cycle for you? Describe how you plan to attract new clients. Pay attention to the price. To attract customers, the value of your goods must be relatively high. You should be able to recoup the cost of obtaining or gaining the customer within three to six months.
8. Management team
Demonstrate your team’s strength. Don’t minimize the contributions of others on your team in order to draw attention to yourself. Give credit where credit is due. If you have one, highlight the qualities of your board of advisors, as well as any essential workers. Employees make your company more appealing to investors since they demonstrate your ability to lead a team.
9. Company status
Explain where you are right now and where you want to go. What are your current sales in terms of units and clients? If you have customers, use testimonials to your advantage.
10. Financial projections
Financial matters can be stressful at times. Some entrepreneurs avoid financials because they are unable to fully comprehend and explain them. At the very least, be aware of your sources of revenue and have a good understanding of your expenses. Make a beeline towards the underneath line. Know where you’ll need financing, when you’ll break even, and when you’ll be profitable. Emphasize your sources of income.
11. Investment strategy and use of funds
Indicate the amount of money you’re looking for through investments and how you’ll put it to use. What is the best way to assess the worth of your business? You can miss the valuation to market debate and negotiation on occasion. Indicate how the investor can help you in other ways. What kind of reasonably non-monetary help would you like from your investors? What advice can they give you, for example, to help you grow your business and achieve critical milestones?
12. Risk assessment
Recognize your risk of failure. Investors are aware that entrepreneurs’ businesses are high-risk. Share as much information about your market as you can. Strive for a healthy mix of optimism and realism.
13. Return on investment
Be explicit when it comes to departure alternatives. Identify possible purchasers for acquisitions. Explain why they must be interested and how they will prepare for their return. This should not be a monetary transaction.
14. Intellectual property
Material things are enticing to investors. Demonstrate how you intend to profit from it. Finally, never say anything along the lines of, “This is the finest deal you’ll ever see!” alternatively “We are the only ones who do what we do! There are no competitors for us!” Instead of being arrogant, be confident. As much as possible, make your story credible. Through the Regional Angel Investor Network, angel investors are actively seeking start-up businesses to invest in (RAIN). For more information, check out this helpful website.