Every time a new company is going through raising capital, they have to create a pitch deck. For some, this is a daunting task. There are hundreds of articles and books out there on how to make an investment-worthy presentation. We’ve combed through them (and even read many) and present you with the top 14 most important tips:
Day 1: A pitch deck is not a business plan. Your presentation should be short and to the point. It needs to highlight your key strengths and selling points that will motivate people to fund you. You have about 15 minutes or less at most, don’t try to cram too many slides in there.
Day 2: Keep it simple stupid. There is no need to create a slide for every tiny thing you do. If someone asks, “what does your company do?” And you answer them with a 20 slide presentation that begins at the inception of your product 4 years ago and ends with the current marketing campaign. They are going to think you are completely nuts! If people ask questions, you can go into more detail, but don’t assume they know everything about your business.
Day 3: Start with a clear positioning statement. Explain what makes your company unique from day 1! This is the most critical part of any presentation, and if you do it well, it will captivate your audience and keep them engaged for the duration of your pitch.
Day 4: Use a proper format and visualize the data that is presented in graphs and charts. People need to understand what you are showing them within seconds of seeing it. Adding visual cues will help keep their attention and make you look more professional at the same time.
Day 5: Don’t include sales numbers or forecasts in your deck. If you have to, this information is on a separate slide that can easily be accessed by all potential investors. They don’t need to know the exact stats of how your company is doing at any second in time. Instead, focus more on how your company will change its fortunes over the next 12 months.
Day 6: Avoid inserting detailed financial information into your pitch deck examples. If you want to go more in-depth and use complex numbers, please do it on a separate slide and include a short summary of what everything means.
Day 7: Never leave the room presentation deck! You never know who will show up during your pitch or how long they will stay once their curiosity gets piqued. It’s best to at least be in another room or cubicle so you can answer questions promptly.
Day 8: Seek feedback from people outside your immediate circle of friends and family. This is important because they might not share the same biases as someone who has known you for decades for your investor deck. Get them to review your deck for free, or give them some coffee money if they are qualified.
Day 9: Skip the Powerpoint presentations for your investor pitch deck! No, seriously, go to Google and search “Powerpoint alternatives.” Several websites can help you create an excellent presentation without having to know any fancy software. If you have Microsoft office, then just download PowerPoint. It’s not that expensive, and you can use the same program your mother is using.
Day 10: Remove any distractions from your best pitch decks. You want to make it as clean and professional-looking as possible. Make sure all of the pictures, colors, fonts, etc., on each slide are consistent with one another. If a potential investor sees a bunch of crazy graphics, they will not think you are professional.
Day 11: Proofread, proofread, proofread your pitch presentation! You might be the most brilliant person on earth, but that doesn’t mean that your deck is perfect. There are always typos and misspellings, and it can really detract from your overall presentation if you don’t take a little time and review your slides.
Day 12: Don’t be afraid to show weakness in your pitch deck design. No one is perfect, and sometimes investors want to see that you are vulnerable or make mistakes like everyone else. The best way to convey this is by showing the impact of how things went wrong in the past. It also helps to show what you learned from those mistakes and how you plan to fix those issues now.
Day 13: The best pitch deck ever is the one that you can read and understand out of your head! If your presentation cannot be clearly understood and read by someone else, it will not help you accomplish your goals. Even if people don’t like or appreciate what you are presenting, they should understand what is going on and recognize that you know your stuff.
Day 14: Never rely solely on visuals to represent your company and product. Instead, let the attendees come up with their own assumptions and draw their own conclusions. Remember, they may not grasp all of what you want to tell them, so it’s good if they can take some initiative every once in a while.
Venngage for Your Startup Pitch Deck
Bloggers, entrepreneurs, and startups worldwide use Venngage to create graphics to better their presentations. Our software is straightforward to use for everyone without any design or coding experience at all. Just sign up for a trial account, import your PowerPoint deck into our online app, make changes, and output your new presentation slide deck in under 5 minutes.
Venngage helps you create the most compelling visual representations of your numbers so that all of your potential investors will see what an asset they’ll be if they put their money behind you. But don’t just take our word for it!
Conclusion
There is no magical formula for the perfect pitch deck, but these tips will get you off on the right foot. Now that you’re armed with what’s worked, you can now adapt your presentation to fit your unique background and product. The most important thing is that you are enthusiastic about what you are trying to accomplish and have a clear vision of what your product, service, or idea will be in the future. In other words: sell yourself!
