Best advice entrepreneurs have when they pitch their business to customers.
Startup Entrepreneur spend a lot more time pitching their products to potential customers and investors to raise money. Raising money at any stage is always challenging and crucial. It requires a great and convincible pitch.
In this article, I have prepared Checklist for Pitch Deck and Pitch Deck Formula.
The formula in this pitch deck was developed after researching and evaluating pitches used by successful entrepreneurs who have successfully raised funds. It has been used by thousands of entrepreneurs and recommended by experts.
Listed below are the 11 points every Entrepreneur should look to include in their initial investor pitch deck.
Opening Slide : Cover Page - Your logo, business name , contact information and a tagline.
1) Is your pitch deck about the customers, not about the startup?
2) Does the pitch tell your story and engage people emotionally?
3) Does your story Identify and empathise with customer's problem?
4) Does your story explain solution in the context of that problem?
5) Does your deck contain anything that isn't about your story? If yes then you should
6) Does your story say why you are the team to build it?
7) Does it show people behind idea?
8) Does it include significant, relevant accomplishment for each person in a team that identifies that person as a winner?
9) Does it include your team's background too, and how it relates to your new company. Highlight any of your team's successful exits.
10) Have you considered time Q&A session? Questions give your audience a chance to be engaged, and you a chance to show your command of the subject.
11) Does it emphasise that your team has worked together in the past or for a long period of time?
12) Have you had a specific request prepared? You should be ready beforehand so you can end with it.
13) Does it have consistent look in presentation?
14) Does it have same font, size, color and capitalization format across all slides?
15) Does it match with your logo and corporate colour theme?
16) Is it readable? Use 32- to 44-point for titles and no smaller than 28-point for the text or bulleted items.
17) Does it have modern design? This pitch deck doesn't need have fancy design but at the same time it should not outdated and classic design.
18) Have you put logo on only the first and last slide so as to minimize any visual distractions?
19) Does it overloaded with lots of information?
20) Have you put your key numbers and traction at the very beginning of their deck?
21) Are you using separate documents like an executive summary or dedicated technical documents to cover complex product images and descriptions, patent & trademarks, technical details, platform information?
22) Are you including actual present tense in you user stories or example about your customer experience or customer success? E.g. Michael is looking to for web designers to design his new ecommerce website. He goes to X and enter his requirement details. X sends email notifications to all the registered ecommerce designers and developers.
23) Are you ready to describe the use of funds for the money you are raising, and where it will get you?
24) Are you keeping your pitch deck updated? Every time there is a big win or development, you would update the deck.
25) Have you converted pitch PowerPoint file in to PDF so investors see the deck the way you designed and intended it?
26) Can you pitch your entire idea and business plan in less than 20 minutes?
27) Does it include profiles of target customers?
28) Are you prepared to answer questions about the cost of acquiring new customers?
29) Does it include financial history or milestones? If you don't have a long financial history, then you should present the milestones that you've already reached.
30) Has any of your competitors have been acquired by other company? If your competitors have been acquired, then list acquisition prices and who acquired them.
31) Does in include information on how you will price your product and what your competition charges?
32) Have you already raised money? If you have already raised money, you will want to talk about how much, who invested and what you did with it. If you have personally funded your startup, make it known.
33) Have you received any attention in media? Include any press you've received on a backup slide.
34) Have you thought of exit strategy for investors? Have a strategy in place and be able to talk about it.
35) Have you included recent trends that make your solution possible?
36) Have you included information on Market Size?
37) Have you included information on Intellectual Property or Trademark or Patents?
38) Have you got your pitch deck reviewed and edited by third person?
1) Don't use too many bullet points.
2) Don't make it too long.
3) Don't read word by word from it.
4) Don't create a text-rich, picture-poor presentation. People cannot read and listen at the same time. Great visual inspire and engage people emotionally.
5) Don't come unprepared.
6) Don't be shy to ask for Money.
7) Don’t use animations or transitions.
8) Don't publicly share the pitch deck you’ve used to raise money.
9) Don't confuse investors with lots of unnecessary information.
10) Don’t put false or silly assumptions that you can’t back up or don’t have data on.