A pitch deck is an important tool you need if you plan to talk to investors. This is why you need to make sure your deck tells the story of your startup and all you plan to achieve.
Here are some key points that you will need to include in your pitch deck irrespective of the stage of operation or funding your startup is on.
- AN OVERVIEW
The first slide or at most first two slides of your deck matter because it prepares your potential investor(s) in deciding if they will like to know more or possibly lose focus from the rest of the slides. Therefore the first slide should cover the whole essence of what an investor(s) needs to know about your startup.
This summary should keep potential investor(s) interested in knowing more and have questions, which obviously will be answered in the subsequent slides.
This first slide or two of your deck should be taken seriously because it prepares your potential investor(s) in deciding if they will like to know more or startup or possible lose interest. Therefore make sure your overview cover the whole essence of what you are trying to communicate in this summary.
- THE PROBLEM YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE IS SOLVING
This part of the deck should outline the market research you’ve done and show a trend of problems the industry your product/service is still facing or have not been able to tackle and how you plan to help with that. By doing this, you are not only showing a problem and a possible solution but you make it easy for potential investor(s) to understand what your startup is all about.
- A MARKETING STRATEGY
It is one thing to have a solution to problems and another to have a clear plan on how to execute that. This part of your deck will show an investor the strategies you’ve set in place and marketing potential, something that shows the potential of your startup being profitable.
A pitch deck should show a clear, understandable and feasible way on how to plan to roll out your product or service and how to capture market share.
- YOUR TEAM
One of the easiest ways to give potential investor(s) a confidence boost about your startup and the product or service you will be offering is a slide dedicated to your team. The possibilities of your startup achieving what you set out to do is as good as the team you have and an investor will want to know the passion, dedication and experience exhibited in the team they might want to invest in.
A brief presentation of how the labor of work in your startup will be divided. An insight of every member on the team that will be involved in making sure every part of your plan is achieved.
- A FINANCIAL PROJECTION
A financial projection slide in your deck shows the reality of what you plan to do when you get the investment you seek and more so how you plan to make sure your revenue eventually becomes profitable.
It is important to be creative with your financial slide and not just stack up numbers that are not communicating your projection to your potential investor(s).
