In my last blog I discussed the purpose of pitch decks and explained how many companies will overuse graphics. Graphics may make the deck look organized but they rarely contain the information investors are looking for. I’ll explain how you can begin creating winning pitch decks by including the right information, in the right format.
The Key to Creating a Winning Pitch Decks
There is compromise between creating a visually engaging format and including the necessary information. I recommend a deck made up of short bullet points. These bullet points should answer the questions investors want answered.
The benefit of this format is that it contains enough information to explain key points to an investor. As a bonus, when used in a live presentation, it allows the presenter to summarize and discuss each slide in as much detail as necessary. The bullets serve as the prompters without requiring the audience to read a lot of text.
The Investor Questions Resource Guide on my website is full of information on the questions investors expect to be answered and how these can be presented to investors. It contains visual examples as well.
These formats also work for investors to whom you are emailing the pitch because it contains substance. But it also works for an audience presentation because you’re not asking your audience to read the slides. The slides simply trigger your explanation.
What Are the Qualities of a Winning Pitch Deck?
Creating winning pitch decks requires providing clear answers to the important questions an investor wants answered. It doesn’t necessarily have to answer every question. But it needs to give investors confidence that if they schedule you for another meeting you will have good answers to their next level of inquiries.
Below you will see examples of what sets a winning pitch deck apart from the average pitch deck we see as investors.
| Topic | Average Pitch Deck | Winning Pitch Deck |
| Essential product Idea | Not clearly described; not clear until after slide 5 or 6; disguised by heavy use of jargon | Stated clearly before slide #4. Described in language anyone can understand; either no use of jargon or technical terms are well defined. |
| Underlying technology | Described with complex diagrams or jargon | Described in simple non-jargon languages or self-explanatory diagrams |
| Market opportunity | Described with little or no substantiation or research | Well researched and backed up by references |
| Team | Describes team members and their past assignments | Describes team members and how their past experience qualifies them for this company. |
| Competition | Superficially addresses source of revenue and profit | Carefully analyzes revenue and profit opportunity and explains how investors can make a return on their investment |
| Business Model | Addresses superficially or not at all | Addressed in detail with specific milestones |
| Future Capital Needs | Not addressed | Addressed as qualifications for future funding |
| Milestones | Not addressed or very generic | Describes possible acquisition candidates, timing, and valuation range |
| Exit “plan” | Not addressed | Identify alternatives |
Also, most of the advice on creating effective PowerPoint slides says to use bullets. You might start by writing out your message as if you were writing a business plan.
- Then prioritize the right words in the sentences.
- Select a few keywords to put in a short phrase that will mean something to your audience.
This will result in actually conveying information to the audience. But it can also serve as your trigger, or prompt, for what to say during the presentation.
Remember, Creating Winning Pitch Decks is About Substance Over Style
Sometimes, a word is worth a thousand pictures. Graphics are great if they legitimately enhance the message of a slide, or if they send the message more effectively than can be done with words—without the need for an explanation. Yet, creating winning pitch decks requires more than fancy looking graphics.
When using the Monday Club Feedback Sheet as a proxy for the questions most investors want answered, it’s hard to see how a graphic can outperform logic and words in most cases.
Again, if a graphic works better than words, then use it. But a list of corporate logos does not send a clear message. Good examples of useful graphics are:
- Pie-charts to show market segmentation
- Graphs to show revenue
- Expenses, profit, and cash flow
- Time-charts to show milestone schedules
Sometimes, the use of graphics short-circuits the important message.
- Showing photographs of a startup team, for example, does not answer the question, “Why are these the right people to build this company?”
- Showing logos for competitors does not answer the question, “What is the competitive dynamic in your industry, and what is your strategy for competing successfully?”
- Flashing the logos of a lot of customers does not answer the question, “Who are the customers and why do they buy the product?”
A better and more entertaining use of graphics is to simply use images that pick up or elaborate your message. They amplify the message by providing color and examples, but they don’t try to convey a lot of information themselves. They are highlights. Not content.
What About Fast Pitch Type Competitions?
I am not a big fan of “Fast Pitch“ competitions, because the reviewer/panelists always end up claiming they weren’t told enough about a specific aspect of the pitch. And the presenter always replies that it was impossible with only 3 minutes of time.
If you decide to enter a Fast Pitch event, my advice is to go through your pitch deck with a highlighter and select the most important messages and be sure to cover them in your “Fast Pitch“ version. Of course, these will depend on how much time you are allowed.
I like to score each message on a scale from 1-10. Then start by selecting only the 10s and then the 9s and so on, depending on the time given.
The Takeaway on Creating Winning Pitch Decks
The key to creating winning pitch decks is to make sure you provide clear and compelling answers to the most important questions investors will have about your business. You don’t have to answer every question, just the ones having the most direct impact on the investor’s chances of making a good return on investment. Your mission is not to get a check; it is to get a next meeting!
Your messages need to be clear, believable, credible, and well supported by data and facts. If graphics, color, and fonts can enhance your message, that’s fine. But don’t use a lot of fancy graphics at the expense of communicating directly and clearly.
The best decks are simple and straight-forward. In the end, you must communicate the strength of your idea, its potential for profitability, and the ability of your team to execute your plans.
Good luck fundraising!
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