EASY STEPS TO DESIGNING A QUALITY PITCH DECK FOR TECH STARTUPS

Convincing investors can be difficult and confusing, thus the last thing a founder should do is fumble before potential investors. This is because, in pitching, a lot can go wrong especially at the point of anxiety.

A quality pitch deck, if properly designed can hold the short attention span of any potential investor. Pitch decks are typical presentations with the use of info-graphical slides that showcases a company’s product, technology, and team. A typical pitch deck must contain the following slides and should look like this:

INTRO‍

• A Cover
• The Problem
• The Solution (Unique value proposition and vision)
• Product Demo

‍WHY YOU SHOULD INVEST IN US

• Market Size
• Business Model
• Competition
• Team

CONCLUSION‍

• Traction / Milestones
• Fundraising Information

There are certain important points to note before designing a Pitch Deck.

· A good presentation is not a cover or substitute for a bad product.

· Investing in startups is risky in the early stages for investors.

· Investors are quite smart, don’t attempt dishonesty, try being objective.

· Beyond trying to impress and give a good presentation, be real, be passionate, be engaging, be humane.

NOW, LET’S START!

In designing your pitch deck, your graphics package is very important, you can use any program of your choice such as Canva, Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple’s Keynote amongst many others.

Step 1: CHOOSE YOUR TEMPLATE DESIGN AND CREATE A VISUAL STYLE

Log in to Canva or the program of your choice and pick a professional pre-designed template that you can use to easily create a professional-looking pitch deck; without needing any design skills. When you click a template, it will expand to show all the page layouts in that template, you are then given the editing privilege to create tailored content.

When choosing your style, take note to choose what is consistent with your startup idea and market. You don’t want a template with either drab or unserious themes.

When using figures to give your facts, it’s best to use charts and graphs for the sake of proper visual interpretation.

Step 2: CREATE THE COVER

This is where your thesis comes to play, where you create a coherent impact with a short statement that sums up your business. In this page try to grab the attention of your audience with something summarizing, yet delighting. What you write on this page should just be a few key points; that you have up the screen when you’re talking. Keep it short to last for at most, a minute.

Step 3: STATE THE PROBLEM

In this slide, present your case quickly and remind your audience of the depth of the problem using a simple, relatable narrative. Make your audience realize the opportunity exactly as you did. Make them feel that excitement, drive the problem home, and do not use too many technical details so the investors have a better understanding of your proposition.

Step 4: GIVE THE SOLUTION (UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION AND THE VISION)

Once they understand the problem and it begins to sink in, dish out your solution in the next slide. In this slide, your passion should be felt as you show how consumers benefit, and the uniqueness of your startup. This slide should be very relatable to answer easy but passionate questions and problems.

And when writing your startup’s vision (which should be one line), let it reflect your company’s unique sentiments and beliefs.

Step 5: SHOWCASE YOUR PRODUCT DEMO

In this slide, you reveal screenshots of your product in action. If it is a product you want the audience to invest in, reveal it. Let them see. Just write out some description about the product itself and some quotes of some of your existing clients talking about how much they love your product, then include an explainer video to communicate how your product works.

- In programs like PowerPoint, you can add a video directly into your slide.

- If you are using Canva, it doesn’t allow you to include a video right into your presentation, but you can take a screenshot of your video and add it to the slide, then create a link on the slide to your video.

During your presentation, you can click the link and play the video from there. (Please practice this severally before the actual presentation).

Step 6: EXPLAIN THE MARKET SIZE

This slide should state and give a breakdown of your opportunity in the market for your product or service. This varies a lot depending on your product.

Step 7: BUSINESS MODEL

This slide should speak about the unique operation and functional capacity of the business. There are lots of exciting things about a business model and it can be easy to get carried away, but the most important thing to get across to your audience is how you’re going to make money. How does the business work? What new mechanism(s) or marketing strategy will your business use to drive greater profits? These questions should be answered with clarity and simplicity.

Step 8: YOUR COMPETITION!

Since every startup has at least one competitor, talk about them in this slide. This is to clearly differentiate yourself from the rest so that investors will see what makes your company stand out, and using diagrams here is better.

In this slide, answer questions like: What are your competitors doing? How far have they gotten in the marketplace? And, what are they doing wrong? Then you show your audience how your startup’s product/service can do better. When talking about your competitors, “Do not say anything bad about your competitors — you don’t know who might be sitting in the room that’s an investor/board member/mentor of one of them,” recommends Donna Griffit, a startup storyteller and pitch alchemist.

Step 11: PRESENT YOUR TEAM

Who is driving the bus? Your investors want to know. In this slide, identify your team members and the key management personnel. Explain why your team is best qualified for your startup idea — their experience, their skills, and the expertise that they bring. Remember, you’re trying to convince the audience, so use your advantages and don’t be afraid to talk about their experience at previous organizations or businesses.

Investors like a team with diverse experiences because it is can serve as an advantage against different forms of challenges. So, talk about each team member’s history, educational background, past experiences in other organizations, and skills in quick short forms and describe their specific role in the company. Remember, you’re trying to convince the audience, so use your advantages.

Step 12: SHOW YOUR TRACTION/MILESTONES

This is the section where you tell investors how far you have already achieved, your monthly development of the business. Talk about this in the first column. Before seeking financial investment, you must have gained some early traction and fundraising like having dedicated followership of high-paying customers, or securing some early crowdfunding; investors would want to know about this growth so that they can feel comfortable giving you their money.

According to Mike Lingle, contributor at 10Xu, “You want to show investors that you’re a natural-born hustler and that you’re already making the magic happen. Now they feel more comfortable giving you their money,” tell them how far you’ve gone, and how new funding can do more. Keep this simple and visually engaging.

Step 13: YOUR FUNDRAISING INFORMATION

In this section, be strategic. Go with ranges instead of stating actual amounts. This is because, investing firms have set targets, and when what you’re asking for exceeds their target, they let it pass. So go with ranges instead of specific amounts. For example, instead of writing 10 million as your specific target, write between 7 to 10 million.

Step 14: MEDIA AFFILIATIONS

This section focuses on marketing and brand influence if any, this shows that your business has transitioned from traditional to digital

If you have a large following on social media, include the links on the cover slide. Also, don’t forget to include your contact information.