This is a preview of your story

Powered by

Storydoc

Famous Pitch Deck Examples to Steal From (+Templates)

See example pitch decks by famous companies and VCs like Uber, Airbnb, WeWork, Netflix, Tinder, Dropbox, YouTube, Y Combinator, and more.

Dominika Krukowska

9 minute read

Famous pitch deck examples
Trusted by top companies:
client logo: meta
client logo: RTL
client logo: Yotpo
client logo: NetApp
client logo: healthy.io
client logo: deliverlight

Short answer

What makes a pitch deck successful?

A winning pitch deck relies on clear storytelling, compelling visuals, and concise data presentation. It demonstrates unique value and establishes urgency. It clearly establishes a market need, shows a solid business viability, and a strong potential for hyper-growth.

Most pitch decks fail.

In the fiercely competitive startup landscape, your pitch deck isn't just a presentation, it's your lifeline.

99% of pitch decks fail to make an impact, the harsh reality is that most startups don't even get a foot in the door.

Investors are swamped with presentations, and they make snap judgments within seconds.

If your deck doesn't stand out your startup is lost. With no crucial funding, you can’t launch your venture.

What sets apart the successful 1%?

This post will attempt to answer that. We’ll explore the best pitch deck examples from famous startups and dissect what makes them so effective.

Let’s get started!

Famous pitch decks by successful companies

“Investors aren’t looking to say 'Yes', they are looking to say 'No.'”

-Gordon Miller, entrepreneur and investor.

Your pitch deck's primary goal is to break through the initial skepticism and get investors to consider your idea seriously.

At its core, a pitch deck is designed to pique interest, not to cover every detail of your business.

It's about sparking curiosity and opening doors. In the first stage, it's all about grabbing attention. Then, as interest grows, it's about building trust and getting buy-in for your vision.

This is what these famous pitch decks did well.

But while learning from the best is a good idea, it's important to note that most of these famous pitch decks are old and static.

More modern pitch decks offer interactive content that is much more engaging, entertaining, and memorable.

So we took the liberty to remake these famous decks with interactive storytelling.

No need to thank us :)

Disclaimer: The Storydoc team created these interactive famous pitch deck remakes based on publicly available slides. This is for demonstration purposes and doesn’t represent actual Storydoc decks used by these companies.

Airbnb pitch deck

The original Airbnb pitch deck, used to raise their $600k seed round, is a testament to simplicity and directness. Despite its basic nature, it effectively communicated the core idea of Airbnb.

Interestingly, the founders, initially clueless about the magnitude of their venture, adjusted their market size from millions to billions on advice, highlighting the importance of appealing to investor interests.

The deck, while simple, was a stepping stone for Airbnb, which has since evolved into a global phenomenon in the short-term lodging space.

How the remake improved the original deck:

  • Enhanced visual appeal: The interactive remake brings the Airbnb pitch deck to life with dynamic visuals and animations, making it more engaging and easier to digest.

  • Interactive elements: Incorporating interactive elements such as videos and clickable content adds depth to the presentation, allowing viewers to explore the Airbnb concept more thoroughly.

  • Clearer narrative flow: The remake provides a more structured and coherent narrative, guiding the audience through Airbnb's journey and business model with greater clarity and impact.

Uber pitch deck

Uber's pitch deck from 2009, used to secure a $200k seed investment, marked the beginning of a revolutionary journey in the transportation sector.

Founded by Garrett Camp, Oscar Salazar, and Travis Kalanick, Uber presented a simple yet powerful idea: connecting riders to drivers through an app, making cities more accessible and creating new opportunities for both riders and drivers.

The deck was straightforward, focusing on the problem of inefficient transportation and Uber's innovative solution.

How the remake improved the original deck:

  • Enhanced storytelling: The remake uses advanced storytelling techniques, integrating the narrative of Uber's journey with interactive elements. This approach makes the story of Uber's inception and growth more compelling and memorable.

  • Customized interactivity: Unlike the static original, the interactive version includes custom elements tailored to Uber's unique business model. This includes interactive maps and simulated app interfaces, giving viewers a hands-on feel of Uber's service.

  • Improved data presentation: The remake transforms the original deck's data points into interactive graphs and charts, making the data more digestible.

Netflix pitch deck

Netflix's pitch deck presents a compelling vision of transforming the entertainment distribution landscape.

The deck addresses the stagnant nature of traditional entertainment distribution, which limited accessibility and choice, leading to consumer frustration. Netflix's solution was a seamless streaming platform that made entertainment accessible, personalized, and ad-free.

The deck highlights key features like personalized content, on-demand streaming, and ad-free viewing. It also outlines Netflix's mission to grow its streaming service globally and become the most popular OTT platform.

How the remake improved the original deck:

  • Updated business context: Reflects the current state of the entertainment industry and Netflix's expanded capabilities, ensuring the presentation remains relevant and effective.

  • Modernized design elements: The visual appeal is significantly enhanced, with a contemporary design that makes the content more appealing and easier to navigate.

  • Enhanced user engagement: The interactive remake engages the audience more effectively, encouraging them to explore different aspects of the Netflix story and understand the depth of its market strategy.

WeWork pitch deck

WeWork's Series D pitch deck from 2014, which played a crucial role in valuing the company at $5 billion, is a detailed and graphically rich presentation.

It effectively communicated WeWork's vision of revolutionizing the workspace by creating a platform for creators, offering space, community, and services.

Founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, WeWork aimed to respond to a macro shift towards meaningful work, positioning itself at the forefront of this movement. The deck highlighted their rapid growth, global expansion, and the community-centric approach that set them apart in the market.

How the remake improved the original deck:

  • Interactive community visualization: The remake brings WeWork's community-focused approach to life with interactive elements that showcase the global reach and diversity of WeWork's spaces and members.

  • Enhanced financial data presentation: The interactive version transforms WeWork's financial forecasts and growth metrics into dynamic, easy-to-understand visualizations, providing a clearer picture of the company's financial health and potential.

  • Immersive brand experience: The remake captures the essence of WeWork's brand identity, using a design that reflects their modern, creative ethos, and providing an experience that aligns with the company's innovative approach to workspaces.

Tinder pitch deck

Tinder's pitch deck is a prime example of a product-focused presentation. The deck is simple yet effective, emphasizing Tinder's unique value proposition: a popular app for connecting with new and interesting people nearby.

It highlighted the ease and fun of the swipe mechanism, anonymity until mutual interest is expressed, and the built-in chat feature for safe and private communication. Despite its simplicity, the deck successfully conveyed the essence of Tinder's innovative approach to online dating.

How the remake improved the original deck:

  • Vivid user experience visualization: The remake uses dynamic visuals and animations to showcase the app's unique swipe feature and user interaction.

  • Interactive engagement metrics: The interactive version includes engaging elements that bring to life Tinder's impressive statistics, such as the number of matches and downloads, through interactive charts and graphs.

  • Enhanced narrative with real-life scenarios: The remake adds depth to the original pitch by incorporating real-life scenarios and user stories, making the app's impact on social interactions more tangible and relatable.

YouTube pitch deck

YouTube's original pitch deck was a fundamental step in their journey to becoming a video-sharing giant.

The deck, although basic with only 10 slides, effectively showcased YouTube's innovative approach to video sharing and its potential to revolutionize how people consume and share content online. It highlighted the platform's use of Adobe Flash video and HTML5 technology, making it accessible and user-friendly.

How the remake improved the original deck:

  • Dynamic storytelling: The remake transforms the original content into a dynamic storytelling experience, using interactive elements and animations to illustrate YouTube's journey and vision.

  • Clarified business strategy: The interactive version provides a clearer and more detailed explanation of YouTube's business and revenue model, helping viewers understand the platform's monetization strategy and market potential.

  • User interaction emphasis: The remake emphasizes the user interaction aspect of YouTube, showcasing how the platform engages and retains its audience, a key factor in its success.

Y Combinator pitch deck

The Y Combinator pitch deck template is designed to guide founders in creating effective seed decks. This template addresses a common problem: founders often build inadequate seed decks, leading to a waste of time and difficulty in raising necessary funds.

The solution offered by this template is a fast, simple, and effective way to build a pitch deck that not only improves the chances of fundraising but also streamlines the process.

How the remake improved the original deck:

  • Interactive and engaging format: The remake transforms the pitch deck into an interactive experience, making it more engaging and easier for founders to understand and apply the concepts.

  • Dynamic visualization of metrics: The remake includes dynamic charts and graphs to showcase the impressive metrics and success rates of decks created using the template, making the data more impactful.

  • Clearer problem-solution framework: The interactive version articulates the common problems with seed decks and the solutions offered by the template in a more structured and accessible manner, enhancing comprehension.

Dropbox pitch deck

Dropbox's original pitch deck, crafted in 2007, was a key instrument in securing a $1.2 million seed investment from Sequoia Capital.

The deck effectively communicated Dropbox's vision of simplifying the way people work together. It emphasized the increasing need for better storage solutions, driven by the proliferation of devices and larger file sizes.

Dropbox's founders, Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi, leveraged their strong technical backgrounds to present a compelling case for their innovative file-syncing service.

The business model was based on a freemium approach for individual users and a per-seat model for SMBs, with a focus on user love and word-of-mouth for customer acquisition.

How the remake improved the original deck:

  • Clearer problem-solution narrative: It articulates the fragmented nature of storage solutions in 2007 more clearly, showcasing Dropbox as a unified, user-friendly solution.

  • Updated business context: Reflects the current technological landscape and Dropbox's evolution from a simple file-syncing service to a comprehensive collaboration platform.

  • Streamlined presentation: The remake offers a more concise and focused presentation, highlighting key aspects of Dropbox's value proposition and market potential.

Slack startup company intro for investors

Slack, a revolutionary platform in the realm of team communication, presented a deck that was as innovative as their product.

At its core, Slack's pitch deck aimed to redefine workplace communication, moving away from cluttered email inboxes to a streamlined, real-time messaging system.

The deck was designed to not only introduce Slack's unique value proposition but also to demonstrate its potential to transform team collaboration and productivity.

How the remake improved the original deck:

  • Interactive and engaging format: The remake uses interactive elements to bring Slack's features and history to life. This format makes the presentation more engaging and helps in better understanding Slack's evolution and capabilities.

  • Visualization of growth and competition: The presentation provides insights into Slack's growth, including its daily active users and team counts. It also compares Slack with its competitors, giving a comprehensive view of its position in the market.

  • Focus on integrations: A significant part of the presentation is dedicated to Slack's integrations. It details the pre-made integrations and the possibilities for custom integrations, emphasizing Slack's flexibility and adaptability to various work environments.

Zuora best sales pitch deck ever

Zuora's sales pitch deck, famously known as the "Best Sales Deck Ever," is a standout example of how to connect with an audience in today's subscription-driven world.

Led by Zuora's CEO, Tien Tzuo, this interactive presentation brilliantly captures the shift from traditional product sales to a focus on ongoing customer relationships.

It's all about showing how people's buying habits have changed, preferring flexible subscriptions over owning things outright.

How the remake improved the original deck:

  • Personalization at scale: By adding dynamic variables, the remake allows for personalization at scale. This means that the deck can be tailored to each recipient in seconds, increasing its relevance and impact.

  • Engaging casual scrollers: The use of running numbers and before-and-after images turns casual scrollers into engaged readers. Interactive elements like these increase the likelihood of viewers scrolling through the entire deck by 41% and extend the average reading time by 21%.

  • Clear next steps: The remake includes clear and actionable next steps, like live chat widgets or embedded calendars, making it easier for interested prospects to take action. This clarity is essential for converting interest into tangible results.

Tesla pitch deck

Tesla's original pitch deck, crafted for their 2011 funding presentation, is a fascinating glimpse into the early ambitions of this now-iconic company. Back then, Tesla was not just an automotive company but a pioneer in the sustainable energy movement.

The deck showcased Tesla's mission to revolutionize transportation with electric vehicles and related energy solutions. It highlighted their innovative battery technology, the launch of the Tesla Model S, and their strategic partnerships with industry giants like Toyota and Panasonic.

The deck also detailed Tesla's expansion plans and how they intended to use the funds, particularly focusing on the development of their Fremont facility.

How the remake improved the original deck:

  • Interactive features: By adding interactive elements like videos and clickable charts, the remake turns a standard presentation into an engaging experience. This helps in explaining Tesla's complex technologies and strategies in a more user-friendly way.

  • Storytelling approach: The remake uses storytelling to make Tesla's journey and future plans more relatable and memorable. It's not just about the facts and figures but about connecting with the audience on a more personal level.

  • Clear next steps: The remake includes straightforward calls to action, like contact forms or links to further information. This makes it easier for interested viewers to take the next step in engaging with Tesla.

Take these pitch decks with a pinch of salt

When we talk about successful pitch decks, names like Airbnb often come up. But here's an interesting perspective:

"The whole success thing is overrated. There's a success bias. Everyone talks about Airbnb, but it’s actually a crappy deck. Those guys were clueless."

-Alexander Jarvis, a consultant in business model strategy and fundraising

Alexander points out how Airbnb's founders inflated their market size on a whim, a move not exactly born from expertise but rather a shot in the dark.

What's the lesson here?

While it's valuable to learn from famous pitch decks, don't take them at face value.

Success doesn't always stem from a perfect start. It's crucial to critically analyze these decks, understand the context, and most importantly, customize and improve upon them for your unique situation.

Pitch deck templates that stand out

Building a pitch deck is a big task that can make your hand shake, especially when your startup's future depends on it.

Luckily you don’t need to invent anything from scratch. You can start with a strong foundation by grabbing one of our interactive pitch deck templates.

Their structure is based on the aspects that made these famous pitch decks successful, as well as our own extensive analysis of over 100,000 pitch deck sessions.

Grab one!

No templates found
Dominika Krukowska

Hi, I'm Dominika, Content Specialist at Storydoc. As a creative professional with experience in fashion, I'm here to show you how to amplify your brand message through the power of storytelling and eye-catching visuals.

Grab a pitch deck template

Create your best pitch deck to date

Try Storydoc interactive pitch deck creator for 14 days free (keep any presentation you make forever!)