Nobody starts a business because they enjoy soliciting funds. However, advancing a venture-scale business sometimes necessitates millions—or billions—of dollars in funding.
Unfortunately, preparing fundraising decks and pitching investors are not skills that founders learn before beginning a business; they are acquired via experience. As a result, many first-time entrepreneurs struggle to create a compelling story for an investor presentation deck.
Creating effective pitch decks is far from the most difficult component of launching a successful firm. However, executing it incorrectly might result in a lot of missed chances, so knowing the best industry practices is important. We’ll go over all you need to know about creating an effective investor pitch deck in this guide.
Remember: Humans have the least attention span.
If a startup can’t persuade investors that its idea is intriguing within the first five minutes of a presentation, they are unlikely to invest. The opening few minutes of a pitch must logically provide crystal-clear ideas.
Slides that you must include
Value proposition and vision this is a one-sentence summary of your company and the value you deliver to customers. Keep it short and to the point. Imagine this slide as a brief tweet—describe your company in 140 characters or fewer.
Problem
This is where a company’s value to customers is demonstrated. Even if it involves going to unusual lengths to persuade investors that the issue is, in fact, a problem, the problem it addresses must be made obvious and easy to grasp for investors.
Solution
It’s time to propose the solution now that the problem has been defined. The company must first describe how it solves the problem. A demonstration of the solution would be much more effective than anything.
Market potential and target market
Use this slide to describe your ideal customer and how many there are. What is the total market size, and how does your company fit into it? Investors will want to know how much people or firms are currently spending in the market to obtain a sense of the entire market size if the data can be found. This is where you explain the story of the problem’s magnitude and scale.
Team
As an early-stage company, your crew is the most important factor for investors to consider. For those who decide to invest in you, it’s a make-or-break situation. Spend some time perfecting this slide.
Create a captivating tale – based on your plan – and tell it with zeal.
So, what constitutes a good investment pitch? According to Forbes, the perfect selling tale includes the following elements:
- Being relatable — make an emotional connection with investors by presenting a situation that they can relate to.
- Demonstrating outcomes — human impacts, qualitative outcomes, and quantitative outcomes
- Defining a conflict – to elicit empathy, describe a struggle you’ve conquered.
- Presenting the solution – to show your knowledge
Parting Words
The strength of your startup pitch deck can determine the fate of your entire business idea and destiny. Don’t let this stage stand in the way of your success, but given how critical it is, it’s worth investing in improving your pitch deck or seeking guidance from a fundraising consultant before you blow any pitching opportunities.
