There are 10 crucial slides 99% of investors expect to see or you're out. Learn what info to include in a pitch deck and how to build your slides effectively.
10 basic slides 99% of investors will require from you:
The average investor will spend 10-20 seconds assessing a new pitch deck, and if your deck does not include what’s needed that’s all an investor will need to disqualify you.
The truth is, most investors are looking for the same basic information. We’ve analyzed over 100,000 presentation sessions and ended up with 10 basic slides that encapsulate the essential information investors are looking for.
Critically, if you include all 10 slides in your pitch deck, you’re positioning yourself to be within the 1% of pitch decks that grab investors’ attention and influence their decisions.
Let’s dive straight in!
A pitch deck should be structured in the form of a narrative. First hook your investors with your value proposition, then lead them through the problem you solve, how you solve it, and your vision of a better world with your solution in it. Then end with the details of how their funding will help you do it.
Recommended pitch deck storyline format:
1) Unique Value Proposition
2) Big idea (elevator pitch)
3) Problem
4) Solution
5) Vision
6) Business plan (hard numbers)
7) How much? Why you? Why now?
8) Next step
Let’s cover some theory of what should go into each slide and see what it looks like in practice.
Based on our research, it takes investors just 10-20 seconds to decide if they want to read your pitch further. Here’s how to make the most of what little time you have to win them over:
I. Always open your pitch deck with a strong hook
A hook grabs investors’ attention and gives them a clear idea what’s in it for them (and whether your pitch is even relevant to them). A summary of your unique value proposition is a great way to turn those seconds into minutes.
II. Follow up with a short overview of your product or service
Your overview should be easily understandable even to investors that aren’t familiar with your industry.
Think of it as an elevator pitch-style introduction of your offering. If other VC partners receive your deck without any context, can they understand what you bring to the table? If the answer is no, keep simplifying.
Here’s an example of what an introduction slide should look like:
Aside from the company logo and tagline, it comes with visuals that instantly make it clear what line of business you’re operating in.
After the cover slide, you can find the company’s unique value proposition that summarizes the business vision in one sentence.
In this section of your pitch deck, you should identify a gap in your target market and explain how your solution aims to bridge that gap.
The main questions investors will have are:
The best way to go about this is by wrapping it up in a relatable user story. The user story should describe some of the common pain points your target customers are experiencing and why it’s critical to solve them.
Show the necessity of your solution in the marketplace in a way that makes it impossible for investors to imagine a world without it.
Let’s look at the example of Nicebox again. Listing the main problems troubling the industry on a tiered slide is a great way to keep up interest in your deck.
Once you’ve identified the main problems you aim to solve, it’s time to dive deeper into what it is your solution actually does and how customers use it to change their lives for the better.
Remember that investors are particularly busy people. Don’t make them work hard. You should, therefore, write clear and succinct (avoid walls of text) and support your statements with visuals, such as product demos or interface screenshots.
Investors usually don’t care about the technical specifications and features of your solution, so don’t complicate things. Keep things simple and easy to grasp.
Notice how instead of listing capabilities, the slide describes the solution next to a series of screenshot crops that can easily be replaced to feature your demo video.
This section of your pitch deck is where you should go into detail about your target market and where you position yourself within that market.
Don’t downplay the importance of this slide. Your assessment will inform a potential investor’s decision about whether your startup has what it takes to earn them money.
A carelessly prepared evaluation of your market size and opportunity will reflect on your perceived professionalism and aptitude.
What’s the competitive landscape like:
The best way to present complex data in an easily digestible way is by using various data visualization elements or animated number arrays, just like Cannasoft did here:
Now that you showed investors how much money you can make out of your product or service, it’s time to provide details of how you’re going to arrive at these numbers.
I. Outline your main revenue model
Will most of the money come from active revenue streams (a one-time fee or a subscription to use your solution), passive ones (advertisements and affiliate revenue), or will it be a combination of both?
II. Elaborate on the positioning of your product or service in the market
Is it a premium solution for the high-end market? Or, does your competitive advantage lie in a more affordable offer? If your company has tiered pricing, make sure to present the different pricing plans and explain the main differences between them.
If you have already validated your revenue streams prior to pitching to investors, you’re already at an advantage. Present the results of your market tests that show customers are willing to pay your price in order to minimize the fear of risk in potential investors.
Here’s a perfect example of a business and revenue model slide, complete with the primary revenue streams, the company’s position in the market, and main distribution channels.
If your business plan is mostly text-based, you can also choose to add a collapsible 'Read more' button, like Cannasoft did here:
In this part, you need to support your business model with numbers.
I. Present any milestones you have already achieved
Show the critical milestones you’ve attained. It can be anything from your profit margin or the number of sales to the number of return customers. At this point, anything that shows regular growth will work to your advantage.
II. Follow up with a roadmap of the milestones
What are you planning to achieve next with the help of the investors’ money?
Here’s an example of a traction and validation slide:
In the example Cannasoft showcased their milestones in a timeline format, demonstrating the main development plans for each stage. This will keep readers interested and engaged, as they know what bits of information to pay attention to at any given moment.
Presenting a detailed marketing strategy will prove to investors that you have at least one clear growth engine in place and that you have a clear way forward for growth. If you're unsure of how to best tackle this next part, it's worth reaching out to a certified business mentor.
Main questions the marketing slide should answer:
Here’s an example of a marketing strategy slide:
The example shows a great way to cover all the talking points without overloading investors with information. It uses tabs to encourage interaction and progressively expose information as the reader requires it.
Tabs are great. We know from our data that they increase the chances your deck being read in full by 41%.
Even the best business will fail without the right people leading it. Investors know this all too well. The best idea in the world is no use to them if the people involved can’t carry it out.
That’s why you should dedicate a separate slide to describe your organizational structure and the key members of your team.
Investors will want to know your team’s experience and skills in order to gauge your chances for success.
Just, don’t make the mistake of including their entire life history. Under each team member’s photo, include a short bio-style description listing the main skills and achievements that will be crucial in scaling your business.
Here’s an example of a team slide:
Before any potential investor throws money at your venture, they will need to assess the financial health of your company.
In order for them to do that, you will need to provide at least 3 years of projections, including an income statement, sales forecast, and cash flow forecast.
Investors mainly want to check 2 things:
Investors have been in it long enough to smell hockey stick projections from a mile away. Be ambitious, yet realistic. Don’t promise investors more than you can actually deliver.
Here’s an example of a financials slide:
Notice in the example how using an interactive graph can transform your data from hard to decipher to easily digestible.
This is where you ask for money. You wouldn’t believe how many startup founders get so preoccupied with crafting the perfect pitch deck that they forget to ask for money. Sounds surreal, I know, but it’s true.
Make it clear how much money you need to turn your vision into reality.
On top of that, investors are going to want to know how you’re going to spend their funds. Explain why their money is crucial to scaling your company fast and back it up with concrete projections.
Add a percentage breakdown of how you’re planning to allocate these funds, along with the main milestones these investments will help you achieve. This will help investors understand how their money is going to create value.
For more information on structuring and branding your deck, check out our guide on how to create a winning pitch deck.
We analyzed countless pitch decks to extract the common elements of successful decks, and tested what’s not effective anymore.
The result? Powerful scroll-based, interactive templates that are optimized for engagement and look perfect regardless of the device they’re viewed on. No matter which template you choose, you can rest assured that they’ll sell your vision in the best way possible.
Find the perfect pitch deck template to start creating your deck right away:
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