Elements of a VC Pitch Deck
Lots of people have opinions on the elements of a pitch deck to a VC or angel group. Fewer people, however, have the opportunity to actually see the investor pitch process firsthand and be part of that process. I have put some of the elements of a winning pitch deck below. Each topic and subtopic should be a slide in your pitch deck if you want to have a good shot of not getting excluded for not doing the homework to figure out what it is that VCs want. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but this outline should serve as a pretty good starting point for your pitch deck. The best pitches tend to have a sense of “inevitability” to them–in other words, the market and other forces at play make the business one that inevitably gains traction in our world.
- Mission Statement or Big, Huge Audacious Goal
- Main Problem Point You Solve
- Market (you want to demonstrate that the overall market trends in your industry will help you with momentum)
- Technology
- Overview/value prop
- Competitive differentiation (also good for SWOT Diagram or other competitive matrix graphic)
- Economics (explain the compelling reason(s) why market favors your solution)
- Development timeline
- Business
- Sales pipeline/traction (you may not have sales, but you should have some pipeline or interested parties slide)
- Distribution (channel partners, plan, strategy)
- Policy/Regulatory Issues (what are the salient issues favoring your business/discouraging others, how do you take advantage)
- IP (if applicable)
- Financials
- Projections (cash flow issues important)
- (optional) Fundraising needs (Caution: do not generally solicit unless you plan to comply with law)
- Team Bios (some prefer this goes in earlier, but I think it is appropriate at the end)
Every business is different, but in an initial pitch deck to professional VCs or angels, you should be prepared to cover each of the topics mentioned above. You should also be prepared to have back up slides in an appendix or other file so that you can go into more detail if someone expresses interest in learning more. In follow up meetings, you will generally have a chance to give the longer, more detailed slide deck that might be double the size of the initial pitch deck. It is always a good idea to try to determine what type of meeting you will be presenting at before you arrive at the particular meeting in question and it might be a good idea to determine ahead of time whether someone wants the “whole enchilada” pitch deck (45 minutes or more) or the initial pitch deck (15-30 minutes).
Graffagnini, LC welcomes entrepreneurs who want to improve their pitch decks and practice presentations. Get in touch with us if you want to get some practice at our Pitch Lab!
Lots of people have opinions on the elements of a pitch deck to a VC or angel group. Fewer people, however, have the opportunity to actually see the investor pitch process firsthand and be part of that process. I have put some of the elements of a winning pitch deck below. Each topic and subtopic should be a slide in your pitch deck if you want to have a good shot of not getting excluded for not doing the homework to figure out what it is that VCs want. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but this outline should serve as a pretty good starting point for your pitch deck. The best pitches tend to have a sense of “inevitability” to them–in other words, the market and other forces at play make the business one that inevitably gains traction in our world.
- Mission Statement or Big, Huge Audacious Goal
- Main Problem Point You Solve
- Market (you want to demonstrate that the overall market trends in your industry will help you with momentum)
- Technology
- Overview/value prop
- Competitive differentiation (also good for SWOT Diagram or other competitive matrix graphic)
- Economics (explain the compelling reason(s) why market favors your solution)
- Development timeline
- Business
- Sales pipeline/traction (you may not have sales, but you should have some pipeline or interested parties slide)
- Distribution (channel partners, plan, strategy)
- Policy/Regulatory Issues (what are the salient issues favoring your business/discouraging others, how do you take advantage)
- IP (if applicable)
- Financials
- Projections (cash flow issues important)
- (optional) Fundraising needs (Caution: do not generally solicit unless you plan to comply with law)
- Team Bios (some prefer this goes in earlier, but I think it is appropriate at the end)
Every business is different, but in an initial pitch deck to professional VCs or angels, you should be prepared to cover each of the topics mentioned above. You should also be prepared to have back up slides in an appendix or other file so that you can go into more detail if someone expresses interest in learning more. In follow up meetings, you will generally have a chance to give the longer, more detailed slide deck that might be double the size of the initial pitch deck. It is always a good idea to try to determine what type of meeting you will be presenting at before you arrive at the particular meeting in question and it might be a good idea to determine ahead of time whether someone wants the “whole enchilada” pitch deck (45 minutes or more) or the initial pitch deck (15-30 minutes).
Graffagnini, LC welcomes entrepreneurs who want to improve their pitch decks and practice presentations. Get in touch with us if you want to get some practice at our Pitch Lab!
