FULL PITCH DECK STANDARDS

CAPITAL RAISE AND PITCH COMPETITIONS

This deck addresses the

They have been through the teaser phase and interested investors following in this exact order
OBJECTIVE
Get qualified investors “get” the magnitude of the opportunity and believe you may have
Explanations are in blue. These are
to a face to face a great solution. They yearn for more details, have asked for the
only examples, you will need your
meeting with founders investor deck and signed an NDA.
while already knowing own. Some of these require NO
the funding ask or to They already have reason to think your solution is both feasible (it MORE than what is in the teaser deck
win a competition.
can be done) and viable (it can be done profitably). They want as further explanation can be boring
more information and or will take a meeting. or even worse, confusing.

The deck will be no more than 10-12 pages and will contain the Each of the following are limited to
next level of details beyond the teaser. It contains the very same one page each – do not combine two
elements of the teaser with the addition of better financials and topics on the same slide page except
more detail on each. It is designed to attract face to face meetings Investment Readiness ❾ and
when comprehensive questions will be asked. Funding Request ❿.
PAGE

❶
CLEAR EXPLANATION OF THE PROBLEM
The WHY this business exists

Vividly describe the economic

or personal or business
problem/opportunity that
exists today and can be
quantified. A visual depicting
the problem should be so
powerful that it is one of the
two or three things the viewer
will always remember during
and after the deck is seen – it’s
WHY a new solution is needed,
not a nice to have). If you
don’t sell this, then you’ve lost
the audience. Keep this short
and sweet, could be slightly
more than the teaser, but not
much – you want to move on
to point).
PAGE

❷
THE MARKET OPPORTUNITY
The size and scope of the market

Describe the size and scope of

the addressable market that
feels the pain of the problem.
Describe your go to market
strategy. Describe in more
detail market segments,
channels, and demonstrate
your deep knowledge of the
customer and customer
persona and the best pathway
to the customer. Everyone says
their market is huge, so keep
this short and factual and
move on.
PAGE

❸
YOUR SECRET
What you know that others do not

What is your secret sauce –

why do you have the best
solution above all others?
Example - we have deep
knowledge of the problem
and have a unique insight to
the solution not being seen
by others or unique access to
solution assets – could be
university IP for example or
execution excellence. This is
NOT the solution, but why
you have created the best
solution. It’s what you know
that others do not. This
needs to be short and simple
– not ten things – at most 1-
3 things that tie together.
This MUST be memorable.
PAGE YOUR SOLUTION

❹
“What” you have built and how it
solves the problem and address the
competitor question

Why this solution works to

date. We have built X and will
build Y next – competitors do Z
and potential clients address
the problem by doing what??
We can prevent significant loss
or create new gains that are
compellingly better – 20%
better or more than existing
substitutes. This is more
comprehensive than the
teaser deck, but still lives on
one page only. Great visual
needed of the solution in use
or similar – best to find a way
to compare against
substitutes.
PAGE

❺ PROOF OF CONCEPT

What irrefutable and

independently verifiable proof
do you have that the investor
can rely upon showing you
have a potential winner? Give
2-3 examples at a detailed
level. At least two or three 3rd
party testimonials is useful.
PAGE
THE BUSINESS MODEL

❻ Does the expense/revenue model

scale efficiently?

How your technology/service/product

is built for scale and can add new
clients cost effectively and can be
configured for a recurring revenue
model. Need a narrative and good
financial chart here showing
scalability over time. This is not a
budget. Could be two pages
PAGE
TEAM

❼ Convincing argument that you have the

right team

Our launch team is capable

of X based on our expertise
and experience doing X or
Y. Preferably demonstrated
success in go-to-market
activity, unless the funds
are to hire a GTM pro. This
is critical.
PAGE

❽
RESOURCES ON HAND/WHAT YOU LACK
An honest assessment of where you stand

We have certain assets A, B

and C, built and functioning
well in X pilots demonstrating
Y effectiveness. We need to
acquire new Z assets to reach
X goals. This must be more
detailed than the teaser, but
must include why each asset is
needed. Assets can include
• human/talent
• intellectual property
• digital/real world property
• relationships/networks
• other resources

Be sure to provide a complete

assessment, without
exaggerating your strength or
appearing overly weak.

Could be two slides.

 INVESTMENT READINESS
Tie together your Solution ❹, POC ❺,
PAGE
and evidence that you have a profitably

❾ scalable Model ❻, with the right

Leadership ❼ in place and state that you
are now “investment ready” in two short or
a long single sentence.

Example – “We have created a

feasible, deployable and
tested solution to the problem
of X and we have evidence
that the business model is
viable and highly scalable, we
have the right launch team in
place and are investment
ready.” Combine this on a
single slide page with Funding
Request ❿.
 FUNDING REQUEST
PAGE Amount needed (not sought or hoped for)

❾
and where that will get the company. Think
in stages – to what stage does this
investment move the company? Use a
timeline graph.

The seed (or other) funding

round allows us to acquire
certain assets (name them)
that will allow us to reach X
benchmark of growth, build,
etc. Avoid broad categories
and be specific – for example
do not state “for customer
acquisition” or “to add ten
new customers”. Instead, be
specific – hire sales team, pay
for marketing tools and
campaigns, etc.
PAGE

❿
LAST SLIDE
Not “Thank You” but a “Next Steps”

Example 1
Interested investors are being
invited to a luncheon
presentation on this date and
time. We will demonstrate our
capabilities and have
customers to testify to our VP.

Example 2
Interested and qualified
investors can schedule face to
face meetings with founders
on these certain dates.

Example 3
Offer to schedule a one-on-
one meeting with a tour and
lunch with potential investor
REFERENCE MATERIALS
An appendix can always be
used for detailed budgets,
charts, other supporting
data, reports, etc.

KEEP NOTES ABOUT YOUR PITCH DECK

Separate the deck sections into 10 to 12 pages of a
notebook and continually keep notes that impact each section.
This makes it much easier to formulate ideas for changes, and
adjust each section at a later time to better fit them into the deck,
rather than the inevitable “force fitting” your changes without
regard to the rest of the content or layout.