How to Create a Pitch Deck
A pitch deck is a visual presentation that provides an overview of your business, product, or startup. It’s typically used to pitch your company to investors, potential partners, or stakeholders in order to secure funding, attract interest, or gain support.
A well-crafted pitch deck is concise, visually engaging, and persuasive, telling a compelling story about your business and why it’s a great investment opportunity
What Is a Pitch Deck Used For?
🚀 Fundraising: Startups and businesses use pitch decks to secure funding from investors, venture capitalists, and angel investors.
🤝 Partnerships & Collaborations: It helps businesses attract strategic partners and collaborations.
📣 Sales & Marketing: A pitch deck can be used to sell your product or idea to potential customers or clients.
🎤 Startup Competitions: Many entrepreneurs use pitch decks to present their business in competitions to gain exposure and funding.
We recommend having 3 pitch decks at the ready:
1. Pitch Competition
A high-impact, visually engaging deck designed for live presentations in competitions. This deck is shorter (8-10 slides) and focuses on storytelling, with bold visuals, minimal text, and a compelling narrative. The goal is to capture attention quickly, highlight the problem and solution clearly, and leave a lasting impression in a limited time.
2. General Outreach
A concise and skimmable deck (10-12 slides) tailored for cold outreach or warm intros to investors via email. It includes high-level insights into the business opportunity, traction, and funding ask without overwhelming details. The goal is to pique investor interest and secure a meeting rather than provide deep analysis.
3. Investor Meeting
A detailed, data-driven deck (15-20 slides) used in one-on-one investor meetings. This version includes comprehensive financial projections, go-to-market strategy, competitive analysis, and a deeper dive into the product and team. The goal is to answer investor questions, build confidence, and move towards a funding commitment.
A standard pitch deck typically covers the following key business aspects:
Introduction – A strong opening statement that grabs attention.
Problem Statement – What problem does your business solve?
Solution – How does your product or service address the problem?
Market Opportunity (TAM, SAM, SOM) – How big is the opportunity?
Product or Service – What are the key features and benefits?
Business Model – How will you make money?
Go-to-Market Strategy – How will you reach customers?
Traction & Milestones – Any achievements, sales, partnerships, or growth metrics.
Competitive Analysis – How do you compare to competitors?
Financial Projections – Revenue forecasts and funding needs.
Team – Who are the key players behind the business?
Call to Action – What are you asking for (funding, partnership, support)?
General Guidelines:
Use whatever platform you like (PowerPoint, GoogleSlides, Canva, PDF, etc.). It truly doesn’t matter.
Be Concise limit written words.
Aim for 10-15 Slides
Consider who you’re pitching to. Pitching for a grant should be approached differently from pitching a VC
Still have questions? We have a more thorough (and free!) guide to putting together a pitch deck here.
