Let’s say you have an idea for an amazing product that could become the next big trend, or you’ve been nurturing the idea of starting your own company for years. You have everything you need: the idea, maybe even experience working at another company, but you don’t have the budget to bring your project to life.
You also don’t have wealthy friends ready to invest in your idea, so what should you do? Seek out investors, of course. But how do you convince an investor that your idea is worth their money? How do you present your idea to them? This is where a pitch deck comes into play. A pitch deck is a presentation designed not only to showcase your idea but also to present yourself and persuade the investor that your idea is worth their investment.
It sounds simple, but I guarantee that as soon as you sit down to create your pitch deck, you’ll realize it’s not that easy—especially if this is your first startup. Maybe after an initial failure, you found this post while searching for answers. Here, we aim to answer your question: How do you make your pitch deck successful?
First Impressions Matter
Let’s start by discussing something slightly tangential to the pitch deck: the importance of first impressions of you or your project. First impressions are always crucial, not because they determine whether you get a positive outcome, but because they influence whether someone even gives you the opportunity to speak. Are you worth the investor’s time? Their time is a valuable asset that successful people highly cherish. So take your first meeting seriously. Don’t stress too much, but don’t treat it lightly either. Usually, no one will look at your presentation right away unless you’re extremely lucky. First, you need to pitch the investor on your idea, capture their interest, and make them feel that you’re worth their time. A strong first impression is your first victory.
Key Components of a Successful pitch deck
We’ve established the goal of a pitch deck and why it’s necessary, but what should it consist of? A classic pitch deck typically includes the following components:
Proposition
The first slide often describes the problem your product or company aims to solve or the goals you will pursue. Don’t use the first slide to showcase your high school awards and brag about your accomplishments. The first slide isn’t about that—it’s about the problem and the solution. Remember not to waste others’ time.
However, also remember that the start of your pitch deck shouldn’t be dry and boring. Craft a good story; you need to evoke emotions in your audience, preferably positive ones. Use real-world examples or historical analogies—keep it simple, concise, and directly addressing the problem. You can ask the audience questions, but be careful not to make yourself look foolish. Remember, you’re speaking to smart people. Use logic—everything should be logical and obvious.
Market Analysis
Nothing is as convincing as numbers and synthetic data, such as charts, research, and examples from other companies. The numbers should back up your words; what you discussed in the previous slide should be supported by data.
Revenue Streams & Pricing Strategy
The most interesting part of your presentation for the investor is how your project, company, or product will generate income. It’s crucial for you to work on this part of the presentation to ensure there are no mistakes and that your future company will generate sufficient profits. No one will invest in unprofitable projects.
An important part of this section is the pricing strategy, in addition to the revenue your project or company is expected to generate. Why? Because your revenue, as presented earlier, shouldn’t come out of thin air. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, everything should follow logic. Your income should be based on real numbers that stem from your pricing strategy. It’s also important to note that your product’s price should be competitive, yet not too low.
Traction and Milestones
A key part of any presentation is your current achievements, the progress you’ve already made. Maybe you’ve already launched a pilot product, or you have a patent for your invention? Investors need to see that you’re not just waiting for someone to invest in your project and that you’re already working on it. It’s important that you have something to be proud of.
Positive feedback from your first customers or users of your service is a big plus for investors. Maybe you’ve made some changes to the product based on customer feedback—these are points worth highlighting in your presentation.
Another crucial indicator in this section would be graphs or figures showing the growth dynamics of your income or project development. You should have a prepared roadmap with calculated growth dynamics for your project. Besides that, don’t forget to set future goals you are aiming for. Progress is impossible without setting future goals—this is a vital step at any stage of your project’s development.
A good practice to conclude this section is to develop the best-case and worst-case scenarios for your project’s development. You should have a plan for both total success and for when things don’t go as planned. Usually, you’ll end up with a result somewhere between the worst and best scenarios, but you should be prepared for everything. The investor needs to understand that you’ve considered all potential paths for your project and are ready for anything.
Team Introduction
Once the boring part with the numbers is over, the creative part begins, where you introduce your team. Here, you can unleash your full creative potential and relax a bit. If the investor is satisfied with the previous slides containing the numbers, then presenting your team will be an additional incentive. And if the investor wasn’t impressed by the numbers shown earlier, they probably won’t care much about what comes next. So, the team introduction is a part of the presentation where you can relax. However, this section still needs to look presentable because the team is the driving force behind your project’s success.
Call to Action
Essentially, this is the final section of your presentation, where you outline what you want from the investor. Once again, everything should follow the logic of the previous slides; your request should logically stem from the numbers you’ve presented so far. This slide should describe the next steps for the investor and your project.
How Can You Improve Your Pitch Deck?
What should you do if you can’t manage to create a good presentation on your own? Even after reading guides on creating pitch decks and reviewing others’ work, you still haven’t achieved the results you wanted?
At this point, you might want to consider hiring someone to design your pitch deck or even create the entire pitch deck for you based on your data. Many companies can choose the right design for your presentation and breathe new life into it or create a ready-to-use presentation from scratch under your guidance. You could be a genius in your field—building airplanes, complex mechanisms, or creating a cool product that could become a trend. But you don’t necessarily need to be able to make presentations that convince investors to invest in you. There’s nothing wrong with enlisting the help of outside companies specializing in pitch deck design.
How to Evaluate a Pitch Deck?
Design and Visuals Evaluation
When you evaluate a pitch deck, the first thing to do is assess the design and visuals. From a technical standpoint, the fonts, space utilization on slides—everything should look concise. Images should be of high quality and follow a consistent style. First and foremost, the design should appeal to you as the project owner. Don’t forget about your brand—it should be present in the design of your presentation. Your brand should be associated with your product or company.
Despite a beautiful design, your presentation should be easy to read. Fonts should not blend into the background, and the text should be large enough for your audience to read easily. Also, don’t forget that illustrations, perhaps even videos, should support the text to help the audience better understand the material.
You might want to show the presentation to someone who is not very familiar with your project, company, or product, to see how easily they can grasp the concepts presented and what might need additional explanation.
Measuring Success
A successful pitch deck is obviously one that resonates with the investor, even if for some reason they decide not to invest in your business. It’s clear that each project and startup needs an investor who, like you, believes in your project. Sometimes investors may be unsure about something or just don’t feel the same excitement about your project that you do. They are often candid with you, and if they don’t like the design, they’ll tell you.
Additional Tips for Creating a Successful pitch deck
Practice your pitch several times in front of different people. No matter how great your project and presentation design are, your delivery accounts for 50% of success. You must be confident in your project and its success and be ready to answer any questions. It’s important to remain calm and composed.
Don’t overcomplicate things, no matter how complex your project is. Your goal is for someone who knows nothing about your business, project, company, or product to understand your pitch. At the same time, the presentation should remain engaging and possibly even make the audience see some everyday things from a different perspective.
Don’t forget about your audience during the pitch. They might want to ask something or may have lost focus, and you might need to revisit some points. Don’t turn your pitch into a monologue; make it a dialogue. This way, you’ll engage your audience better and make it easier for them to understand your point.
Final Word
A successful pitch deck is not just about a great idea, a brilliant invention, or a beautiful package. A successful pitch deck is one that brings new investors into your project. It’s like art—you may not immediately find someone who appreciates your work and wants to become your business partner. You may not immediately be able to convey your amazing startup to an investor, but if you know your project is excellent, you shouldn’t give up. Consider different scenarios, possible development paths for your project, and practice your pitch until you feel confident. And if necessary, reach out for help. A professionally designed presentation may be all you need to achieve success.