Part 11: The perfect pitch deck

In our previous posts, we talked about common mistakes that start-ups make in their pitch decks. Let's switch gears now and focus on the structure of the perfect pitch deck. We've reviewed over 150 pitch decks in the last 12 months (in addition to being former investors and founders), and we believe that the perfect pitch deck has 15 slides - neither too long nor too short.

Here's what the perfect pitch deck looks like:

1. Cover (in)

2. Problem

3. Vision

4. Solution Overview

5. Product Deep Dive #1

6. Product Deep Dive #2

7. Competition

8. Monetization

9. Traction #1

10. Traction #2

11. Product and Growth Milestones

12. Market Size

13. Team

14. Funding Ask

15. Cover (out)

This structure covers all the content you need and in the right order. It starts by selling the problem, introducing how you’re solving it, then talking about how you’re differentiated, how you make money, and how much you’ve already achieved. It then goes on to say that you have a clear path forward and are positioned in a large market. Finally, it concludes by introducing your team and telling the reader what your funding ask is.

Possible changes to the structure of the deck include:

• Move the team slide to the front of the deck, but only if your team is made up of rockstars who have built and exited a venture-scale start-up before. Otherwise, sell your problem, solution, and traction first.

• If you're super early stage, replace the traction slides with slides that talk about past milestone achievement. Ideally, you have things to show here that are meaningful, like results of enterprise pilots, feedback from your open beta, data from pre-clinical studies, publication of your white paper, and other things that are relevant for the niche you're in. Stuff like “we incorporated” is not relevant.

• If there just isn't enough to show regarding traction yet, even considering all relevant milestones, trim one of the slides and add a third deep dive slide on your product. You can also just cut the length of the deck from 15 to 14 or even 13 slides. If in doubt, make the deck shorter - that's always a good move.

What beats the perfect pitch deck structure? Traction! If you're past the inflection point on the hockey stick, there's really not a lot you'll need to do other than telling investors about your amazing growth trajectory.

For the 99% of remaining start-ups, make sure to build a killer pitch deck. It's one of the only variables in the fundraising process that are fully under your control. It comes with unlimited return on investment because it stands in between you and the money you need to build a billion-dollar business.

Talk soon,

Rafael

PS: How do we help you? My team and I build pitch decks, review existing decks, and offer pitch simulations. Get in touch if you or someone you know may be interested.

PPS: This mini course is based on our popular “Fundraising & Pitch Deck” newsletter.