Pitch Deck pointers

1. +
ProfessorVirginia Cha
2017
Go ahead, copy this, use this. But attribute the photos.
Pitch Deck
Template

2. You have a great idea…
You have a great team…
You have a great business model…
You need to build the MVP…
how do you get support from
angel/pre-seed investors?

3. Basic PPT Pointers for a Pitch Deck:
Story Telling
Structure & Content
Visual Appeal
Delivery

4. • Story Telling –
“Storytelling skills and leadership are immensely important for
the success of the founders: they need to make people follow
them, rally around them, wanting to work for them or to buy
from them. The founders need to instill passion in others.“
Scott Kupor, Managing Partner,

6. A pitch is not a lecture. Be brief,
bold, and clear

7. Structure & Content
Limit yourself to the most important content
and lay out your pitch in a logical sequence
You have only <10 minutes to tell
your story – do *not* clutter it by
trying to show everything
in your bag of tricks
10 slides maximum.
Do a Demo!

8. +

9. Answer for the audience –
why are we here?
Start with your story
Your first slide is utmost important! You lose or gain
interest right here.
Why is this story compelling to you and to others?
 What problem do you solve?
 Who has this problem?
 Tell people you’re going to CHANGE something in this
world, and why this change is going to impact many people
Venture Story

10. +
So What?
10
“We deliver
lunches to
schools directly
so students can
have healthy
lunch choices
without fuss.”
Does the job, but does
not answer the so-what
question
“Our children
need healthy
foods and our
school canteens
cannot fill this
gap due to their
mass model.”
Better
“It is the sweet memory of such perfect mornings
that inspired me to find a new life purpose and pass
on those good habits of simple healthy eating to my
sons Raphael and Gaspard.
But here I am, years later, living in a steel, 21st
Century, glistening city, trying to cope with a hectic
schedule, while keeping mom’s nurturing heritage
alive. My kitchen? Nowhere near pristine, but
always trying… I shake my head and clink my heels
and tell myself: “Wait! I can do this!”
“Good food every day is possible!” - I hear my inner
voice begging me to believe that I can do this.
Good Food. It's possible!” source: www.thenewluncher.com
Typical pitch So What? Make it personal
Personal appeal imprints the message

11. So what?
Get people nodding that this is an important problem
Describe a pain point in a way people connect with
Don’t go overboard with charts and analysts data!
Problem Statement
(include market and
opportunity size)

12. Describe your solution
Use familiar references
(“we enable everyone to be their own amazon.com”)
Describe how you are positioned amongst your
competitors
Describe your targeted market and why your offer is
differentiated/superior
Your Solution &
Competitive Landscape
So what?

13. A demo/mockup is better
Describe your minimum build – and how you plan to
iterate
Describe the resources necessary to build this MVP
Minimum Viable Product
or your Product
description
So what?

14. Describe your targeted customers;
describe how you are going to get the first 100 customers
Describe your ‘super fans’ – your first group of customers
who will champion your cause
Describe alliances and marketing strategies you need
to achieve this
Describe how these strategies will help you scale
Avoid the “better mousetrap” answer on why people
will use your innovation
Go-to-Market
So what?

15. Can consider putting this slide in front
Include your advisors, mentors, coaches, angels
CV of previous work/startups important here
Remember – your purpose for describing you and
your team is to de-risk this deal for the investors!
So, don’t drag out all of your accomplishments –
just those that matter for this venture. This pitch
is not an ego trip for you.
Your Team
So what?

16. Very important content slide!
What is the key hypothesis you’re testing?
What specific actions will you take to acquire the initial
group of customers to test this?
Include key business measures: customer acquisition
costs, profit margins, expected churn, etc.
How do plan to test and
validate your product or
data showing traction
So what?

17. Show a picture of a
timeline of milestones

18. Remember – BBC: Brief, Bold, and Clear.
Tell them what you want –
Advice? Contacts? Network?
Incubation support?
Customers?
Micro-funding?
Partners?
What do you want?So what?

19. Visual Appeal
Consider Gill Sans; no clutter
Guy Kawasaki’s Font Size Rule*
*age of oldest person in the room/2

20. Understand the subtle meaning of colors
Red is excitement, alert
Green is growth
Yellow is confidence, warmth, wisdom
Purple is dignity, sophistication
WhiteWhite iis professionalism, innocence, new
Blue is trust, truth, justice
Black is strength, authority
Orange is action, optimism
Brown is friendliness, warmth
Grey is integrity and maturity
color meaning suggested by http://slideshop.com/infographics/5-essential-tools-business-presentation

21. Delivery
Deliver it with passion and conviction! Remember –
they are investing in you and your ability to deliver the dream.

22. +
What is the #1 Reason for Investors to
invest?
You are the message.
Keep your PPT simple!

23. +
Practice!
Practice!
Practice!