Pitch Deck: 4 Good Practices
Time and again, fundraising has proved to be a challenging and time-consuming process for entrepreneurs, especially for those that are just about finding their feet in the market. It can take startups anywhere between a couple of months to a year to get investors on board. All this time, they have to juggle work and investor meetings and maintain a fine balance between them.
One of the few essentials in this process is the pitch deck or investor deck. This document gives the investors brief yet essential insights into the startup and its fundraising plans. The deck is relevant regardless of the company’s stage and its investment history and is something that has the potential to leave a lasting impression.
However, many entrepreneurs struggle while preparing their pitch deck and fail to detect glaring errors. Here are some good practices to follow while designing a deck.
Simple and Concise
Entrepreneurs hear this from many, many investors but never seem to follow this advice. As much experience as leading investors hold, they want you to break it down in the simplest way possible, in the most straightforward language possible.
And the reason behind this is apparent – when you are presenting in front of a panel, your deck is meant to aid your presentation, not distract away from it. Clouding the deck with excessive information, industry jargon, and irrelevant statistics will make it harder for investors to understand what you are doing.
Follow the famous 10/20/30 rule here to keep you on track – 10 slides, 20 minutes to present, and font size of 30. It is better to charm the audience with precise information that is clear and to the point. Details can always follow.
Visual and Aesthetic
If only this could be stressed enough! It is known that graphics, illustrations, and an excellent aesthetic sense will attract attention before the text. It is commonly said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Even if you make it a point to keep your information concise, don’t make the mistake of leaving out visual elements.
Use different colors to highlight essential elements, add product photos, insert bar charts, and graphs to convey key numbers, show a well-demarcated roadmap; the list is endless. An aesthetically pleasing deck does not require over-the-top effort. It only requires information to be presented in a more appealing manner, where the text is minimum and visual elements are dominant.
As suggested earlier, the pitch deck has the potential to stick in the minds of investors. They can pretty much remember you by your deck. Having visual elements boosts the chances of that happening.
Make it Tangible
Numbers quite literally drive the startup world, and they are an obvious addition to the pitch deck. But there is a thin line between putting in the right set of numbers and going overboard with them.
Tangibility is essential, but you should know your KPIs and the relevant statistics to an investor at a particular time. If it’s your first meeting, they will probably be interested in your current revenue, users, and unit economics. They do not want or need your excel sheet screenshots pasted in your deck.
Try to bring out only those numbers that are likely to grab investors’ attention and highlight those in your deck. Have a CAC:LTV ratio of 1:7? Great, highlight it. But the breakdown of your expenses in the last financial year? Nope, get rid of it. You want the focus to be on your presentation and what you bring to the table. You don’t want the eyes fixed on the deck, with people trying to calculate the numbers you have put up on the screen.
Update Without Fail
One of the worst (yet common) mistakes is sharing an old deck but talking about different numbers or product features as a part of your pitch. The deck and pitch have to be cohesive and complementary, and they cannot be talking about two different things. Whenever you see changes in your startup, small or big, ensure that you update your deck accordingly.
You should also consider the signals the market is giving you and adjust your market opportunity numbers. For example, the Covid-19 pandemic was a defining time for the EdTech industry. When such clear signals are there, it is quite likely that your numbers and projections will change.
Another thing is to note feedback and understand what elements might be missing in your deck. Are investors repeatedly asking the same question? Are they confused about the same aspects? If your answer is yes, you probably need to go back to the drawing board and evaluate your deck. Incorporate points that will help you take it home.
Bottomline
The deck is a vital part of your pitch and conversations with investors and needs to be given that level of importance. Don’t treat it as just another document because it can help you land some brilliant deals.
Remember, the deck usually acts as a teaser. It is not intended to be a detailed document. Use it as a tool to explain all that you are doing when you get a chance to pitch in front of investors.
