How does your pitch deck measure up? You feel so excited about your business idea, you can’t wait to reveal all there is to share about it with potential investors! Before you start filling slides with unnecessary details that investors don’t really care about, read this article and discover what you need to know about when it comes to pitch deck secrets and raising money for your project.
Less is More
We know. You have SO MUCH to say about your baby project and you don’t want to leave anything important out. This is why we are going to help you understand what is the message investors expect to hear and how much time you have at your disposal to convey it.
The first rule is that your pitch deck should be short, clear and concise. You don’t want to make it more than 10 slides. You’ll have the opportunity to go more in detail when you deliver your presentation.
If your product, service, or app is a technological one, there’s nothing wrong with combining the pitch with a handout that gets into all the details & technology.
We have reviewed the founding and initial first pitch decks of a few companies, some of them well-known now, and analyzed the strengths and pain points in every one of them for you.
What’s the Problem, Facebook?
One of the biggest companies that we know today was also once a small project that needed money to survive. When you look at Facebook’s first pitch deck you see they talk about everything, except the problem they are solving and how solving this problem will bring money to both them and their investors.
Their first pitch deck was too long and it was missing some crucial information. They made it despite that but we can save a lot of time and energy. If we focus on creating a presentation that makes our audience think there is something in it for them, too.
“Nobody cares about your company if they don’t understand that there’s a problem.” – Fred Cary
What’s for Breakfast, Air, Bed, and Breakfast?
In their first pitch, Airbnb starts with the problem. With all the conventions happening in San Francisco there weren’t enough hotel rooms to accommodate them and they had an idea how to solve it.
When you’re trying to get somebody’s attention, you need to show them there is a problem first. The next thing they talk about is the solution and how are they going to make that solution happen? Then they go into market validation – you need to be sure that the problem affects more than just a handful of people.
After commenting on the market size, they present the product and point to the ways this product will make money. When you have a physical product this part is much clearer than when you have an app. If you are selling a product you are going to make money by selling it for more than you invested to create it. But when you have an app you need to explain how the money is going to come.
“If you’re going to invest in me, I need to show you how you’re going to make money.” – Fred Cary
In their next pitch, you can see how they evolved as a company. It is shorter. They use more photos to communicate their vibe without using too many words and they were more detailed with the solution. The problem stayed the same. This is the only part of your presentation that doesn’t change.
What’s Cooking, Y Combinator?
Y Combinator is an incubator type company that puts a little seed money to grow startups. Their pitch is very simple. It is based on a presumption that most founders build bad seed decks and because of that they don’t raise money. Don’t write bad decks (problem) and use their template (solution).
Then they go through traction, market, and revenue. Keep in mind that in the early stages of your company, investors don’t want to see the slide about revenue. These predictions are made a little later on. If you don’t have the numbers yet, just say, we don’t know.
On our blog, you can read more about how to get a YES from investors and other things you shouldn’t say. After traction, market growth & size, and revenue, Y Combinator talks about the cool solution they have for the problem and the team behind the company. The more experienced your team is, the sooner it should be in your presentation because people buy into the experience as much as they buy into the concept.
We Want to Help
Being an entrepreneur means you will need capital and support along the way and pitch deck is a very important part of that process. No matter who you turn to for help, it is important for you to come armed with facts. If you want people to help you, you need to make them believe in you first.
Do you have a pitch deck that needs revision? Send it to info@ideapros.com with the subject Pitch Deck Review and we’ll give you FREE ADVICE!
The “Idea Pros” at IdeaPros have the resources, experience, and tools to help you at this step or any step in the entrepreneurial journey.
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