Creating a Winning Pitch Deck

A pitch deck is a visual presentation that conveys a business idea to any number of people, usually potential investors. The essence of the pitch deck is to give potential investors, customers, partners, or even co-founders a compelling and exciting overview of your business plan, products, services, and growth traction of your business. Notably, a great pitch is a crucial component of fundraising. It encourages potential investors to get involved in your business idea. Hence, in preparing a pitch deck, business owners should endeavor to make it impressive and straightforward. 

You can create a pitch deck using Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple’s Keynote, Canva, or Prezi. On average, a good pitch deck typically does not exceed 20 Slides. However, irrespective of the number of slides, it should be well articulated, highlighting the key points you want potential investors to note.

Tips for Creating a Winning and perfect Pitch Deck Design 

Creating a winning pitch deck design that would impress investors could be overwhelming, especially for a first-timer. However, a simple formula for this is that startup owners should consider the perspective of potential investors when preparing their pitch deck. These are some of the tips that could help you have a persuasive pitch deck irrespective of who you are pitching to;

• Use bullet points for easier assimilation
• Always include contact details.
• Ensure it is well articulated to create a compelling and exciting story.
• Ensure you have a solid startup idea vetted and backed by well-grounded market research.
• Keep your presentation consistent, especially with the theme, font, and design. However, avoid using small fonts.
• The pitch deck should contain visuals such as images, colorful charts, graphics, screenshots, and videos that help convey your message better and leave a lasting impact in the minds of your audience.
• When presenting your pitch, avoid reading word by word from your script.
• Before trying to pitch, make sure you consider the stage of your company. Do you meet your investors’ prerequisites? If you are raising your first round of funding, you are likely still at a pre-angel or angel investment stage. As a result, pitching to venture capitalists would be ineffective.
• Make two different pitch decks; a detailed version to be shared with investors via email and a simplified version that can be elaborated upon in person.

​What Investors want to See in a Pitch

• Introduction: This should describe who you are and what you do. It should also include the vision and mission of the startup. The introductory part is crucial because it allows you to make a great first impression of your company. Hence, ensure your introduction contains a snippet of your business’s value to your audience.
• The Problem: A pitch deck should include the problem your idea is trying to solve and the people who have that problem. This is essential information most investors will require. Better to have it on there before they ask. Always be a step ahead.
• The Solution: This is an essential part of your pitch deck. Sell that idea. It is the foundation of your startup. Break down what your idea can do and how it solves a particular problem.
• Market size and opportunity: Investors are more likely to invest when the market size is big. Show them that market and tell them how you intend to break into it. Use this section to outline your marketing and sales plan and the available opportunities to your audience.
• Products: Put the actual product or service on display. Illustrate how it works. You can share video clips of the product or service in action or just images. Whatever works best, please do it.
• The Team: A good pitch deck should include the people behind the idea and their role in the business.
• Competition: Tell the investor how your business is different from others. Avoid dwelling so much on the competitors but rather focus on the points that make your business different and worth the investment.

A perfectly crafted pitch deck is undoubtedly one of the trusted gateways to convincing investors to invest in your startup. It is necessary for startup owners to know how to create a pitch deck and understand the do’s and don’t’s of presenting a persuasive and exciting pitch that would convince investors to invest in their company.