Today’s biggest and most successful companies were also once at the point when they needed investors. Raising money for a project is quite challenging. And, in order to attract potential investors, you need to prepare an excellent pitch deck.
A pitch deck is a short presentation that is meant to lay out all the reasons why someone should invest in your business. The aim of every pitch deck is to present the merits of working with your company.
Keep in mind that a pitch deck will not help you get a donation right away, after just one meeting. Actually, it is meant to spark interest in your company. A good pitch deck will make the investors want to ask more questions and, therefore, they will have to arrange another meeting.
The great news is that you don’t have to think too much about making the perfect pitch deck. There is already an existing pitch deck formula that has helped many startups raise thousands and, in some cases, even millions of dollars.
Here are the 10 slides your pitch deck should include so you could win over every investor.
10 Slides Every Successful Pitch Deck Has
1. Value Proposition & Vision
The second slide should explain what problem will your product/service resolve. The best strategy for this slide is to write a realistic story that precisely defines the problem. You may be tempted to present the solution to the problem immediately, but, that should be left for another slide.
3. Target Audience
This slide should explain who is your ideal target audience. It is recommended to include some specific data on this slide such as the total target market size. Even though you may feel tempted to make your target audience as broad as possible, investors prefer seeing a very specific and reachable market. The more specific you are, the more realistic your pitch deck will be.
4. The solution
On this slide, you should describe your product/service in detail and explain how can it solve the problem you mentioned on slide number two. You may be tempted to move this slide closer to the beginning, but don’t. This way, you get to build up the problem and anticipation and then you describe how can your company come to the rescue.
5. Business Model
On this slide, you should mention how your business will earn money. For example, you can explain who do you plan to charge and how does your pricing fit into the target market.
6. Sales Strategy & Marketing
To show that you are competent, you should include a slide that outlines your sales and marketing plan. Start by explaining how do you plan to reach your target market and which sales channels you plan to use. Then, mention in detail the key tactics you plan to use.
7. Your Team
Besides talking about your product, it is worth mentioning the people who are going to work on the project. On this slide, you should introduce your team members, their greatest achievements, and what they can bring to the table. If you don’t have a team, then you can just identify the positions you plan to fill.
8. Finances
Investors love seeing numbers and precise data. So, make sure to include the potential finances such as sales forecast, profit and loss statement, and cash flow forecast for at least three years. Try to make the numbers as realistic as possible. Also, avoid in-depth spreadsheets; simple charts will do the trick.
9. Competition
Every business has competition. You should present your toughest competitors to the investors as well as the key advantages your business has over the competition. The key to this slide is pointing out how your business is different from other similar companies on the market.
10. Investment & Funds
You should reserve your last slide for the main purpose of the entire pitch deck – asking for money. Your potential investors need to know how much money you need. It is recommended to provide the details on how you plan using the money so that the investors know exactly how their money is going to be used.