How to create an engaging startup pitch deck that never gets ignored by investors.
Breaking down successful examples like Airbnb, DropBox, etc.
People generally believe they should start their pitch with “why,” but investors don’t have that much time.
Picture yourself.
Pouring your fourth cup of coffee while
Responding to the 30th email out of over 100 received this morning.
You have a series of Zoom pitch meetings lined up,
Followed by a big networking event in town.
Suddenly, an email pops up in your inbox with a pitch deck.
What do you quickly want to know about the pitch?
Should I flip to the next slide or
Push it to the “reply later” stack?
A few factors influence that decision:
Does this interest me enough?
Does this fit my area of interest?
In this type of situation, you need to be direct, straightforward, and captivating within the first few seconds.
If you can convey “who you are, what you are building, and for whom” in a single line, it gives investors time to contemplate and become excited about the rest of the pitch.
We rely exclusively on the “COVER SLIDE” to communicate all this information.
Types of titles that need improvement are those that include generic, vague, or cliché terms.
For example:
“Transforming the world with the power of AI.”
“Building the network-disrupting platform.”
“We are going to transform the relationship between information and individuals.”
And the list goes on.
So, how do we start with a better one?
The best way is to include three nouns in the title. Nouns help create vivid images in the investor’s mind.
An effective exercise to begin is by answering three simple questions:
What are you making?
For whom?
What problem do you solve?
Examples:
→ “Airbnb is the first online marketplace that lets travellers book rooms with locals instead of hotels.”
→ “Dropbox synchronizes files across your team’s computers.”
→ “Lumineye is building X-ray vision for soldiers and first responders.”
→ “Vahan is building LinkedIn for the next billion internet users.”
Another way is by using the “X for Y” approach.
If you decide to use X (Uber) for Y (home delivery), there are a few things you need to take care of:
→ Your X should be a big company and have become a household name.
→ Ask yourself if your customers truly want an Uber-like service for home delivery.
→ Consider if home delivery is a big enough market.
The VC and startup investment industry is small (in terms of the number of people in it) and heavily network-driven. Everyone is well-connected with each other. Once you email your pitch, you enter into echo chambers, and it’s highly likely that your startup will be discussed with other investors.
We want to ensure that this works in our favour rather than against us.
Along with being exciting, we have to make it legible.
What is legible?
It is an idea that can be understood by anyone who has no idea about your business.
Word of mouth: your idea is so clear and easy to understand that it can be easily repeated.
You are designing slides to democratize the idea so that even your grandmother can understand it.
A few things to avoid straight away:
Complexity: Ideas that are intertwined with multiple concepts.
Ambiguity: Something that can be interpreted in two ways.
Jargon: As a founder, you live and breathe your business, but someone from the outside might need to be more familiar with the industry terms you use on a day-to-day basis or that are fundamental to you.
Ignorable words: No one likes being sold to; we humans want to feel that we are making a choice. The language that sounds like sales is often seen as marketing and generally gets ignored. Avoid buzzwords or anything that investors might equate with zero value.
A pitch deck is not just about business, market, or ideas; it is about your take, thoughts, opinions, and vision regarding all those aspects.
If you can narrate your ideas and stories simply, clearly, and concisely, it reflects a lot of secondary information about you and your thought process.
If you have figured out this piece of your business, it also means you can make other people excited about your ideas, onboard great talent, attract investors, and raise subsequent funding rounds.
It shows that you are efficient with your words, which implies that you must be efficient with your thoughts and actions as well.
Moreover, it gives the impression that you understand the most important part of your ideas.
Signs that your presentation went well :
People are talking about your idea after the presentation, even when you have left the room. For that to happen, the person needs to have a clear mental picture. To achieve that, you need to use nouns and objects to create a vivid imagination. A well-designed deck for your business supports this.
It felt conversational: This is the safest and best choice because it makes the other person feel involved and helps retain their attention.
It’s to the point and makes the other person feel that their time has been valued.
When a butterfly flaps its wings in China, it creates a tornado in Brazil.
You never know what impact your story can bring if shared with the right people, in the right way at the right time.
-If you need feedback or assistance with your pitch deck write to me at sakshi.rajput@fidle.co
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