This is the handout from a presentation that I made at a startups workshop in Jakarta, Indonesia. I was amazed at the lack of clarity that most of the participants had in their "pitches" and the lack of understanding of the need to tailor your pitch to the audience, as well as your own objectives. Of course, the actual presentation was less wordy, and adhered to Guy Kawasaki's 30/20/10 rule as well as the 7 x7 mode of slide presentation

1. STRUCTURE OF A PITCH DECK
Part of a half day workshop on preparing presentations for investors
Peter Cockcroft, July 2017
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2. WHAT NEEDSTO BE INTHE PITCH DECK?
• Different investors they will have different ways to organize their slides.
• It is very subjective, but what we propose here in terms of the fifteen or so slides so that
any investor has an answer to their potential questions.
• You can change the order around, but this is the basic content you need to have in your
deck.
• Remember to tailor your pitch deck to your audience, so possibly not all of these slides
will be necessary
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3. WHATTO INCLUDE INYOUR PITCH
• Slide 1 – Introduction - the elevator pitch
• Slide 2 – The Team – describe your team
• Slide 3 –The problem – define the problem or discontinuity
• Slide 4 –Your solution – what are you doing about it?
• Slide 5 – What is your advantage? – what is your
competitive advantage?
• Slide 6 –The competitive landscape –Who is your
competition?
• Slide 7 – Business model – How are you going to make
money?
• Slide 8 - Phasing orTiming - what phase are you in?
• Slide 9 –The market – is it big enough?
• Slide 10 – Market Access – How will you reach your
customers?
• Slide 11 – Financials - BS, P & L, and cash flow/liquidity
• Slide 12 – Milestones Current status, accomplishments to
date, timeline and use of funds
• Slide 14 – Current Equity Structure – who owns what?
• Slide 15 – Exit Options – How does the investor get his
money out?
• Slide 15 -Valuation – Do not be too greedy
• Slide 16 –The Ask - How Much areYou Asking For?
• Slide 17– Summary
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4. COVER
Remarks
• This is just basic corporate information for the handout.
Content
• Company name/logo
• Your name and email address
• Optional: intriguing one-liner about your business
• Optional: date
Verbal
• I don’t believe that you should talk to this slide at all – it is just information, and is very boring
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5. INTRODUCTION
Remarks
• The point on your opening slide to get the investor interested and to agree to let you drive the presentation and hopefully not
interrupt you too much if at all.
• This first slide gives you the opportunity to explain what your business is all about
• You want to leave the listener with a ‘no brainer’ reaction.
Content
• Maybe the best option is to treat this as your elevator pitch
• State in one sentence what your business is about. Be simple, clear, and intriguing.
Verbal
• Then say “I’m going to give you no more than a 20 minute overview and then take questions. Let’s get going.”
• If you are doing a demo, also mention that.
• The biggest mistake in the introduction is not being clear and concise when it comes to telling the audience what you’re doing.
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6. THETEAM
Remarks
• You want to keep this very high level and focused on 2-3 key achievements you (and other key people) have had in other roles
• Don’t do bio walkthroughs; focus on key achievements
• Focus attention on full-timers; much less on advisors/consultants
• Many startups don’t have demonstrable skills to actually run or manage a business
.Content
• List 2-4 key people
• Specify title and their responsibilities
• Bullet points for relevant background of each person – list companies
• Optional: if experience with known companies, add company logos
Verbal
• For each person, 2-3 key achievements in other roles
• Remember the team only needs to get you through to the next milestone
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7. THE PROBLEM
Remarks
• Once you’ve presented your team, you need to explain the problem that you will solve in simple terms.
• As Guy Kawasaki says:
“Discuss the pain that you are alleviating or the pleasure that you are offering”
• List and briefly explain 3 new trends which are driving this opportunity:
• Technology trend – e.g. new disruptive technology
• Social trend – e.g. change in social behavior
• Financial trend – e.g. change in finances – access to credit/subsidy, more discretionary income, etc
Content
• Make this simple
• But quantifiable – use numbers to show the audience the magnitude of the problem or discontinuity
Verbal
• This is a short but hard hitting slide
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8. YOUR SOLUTION
Remarks
• You've shown there's a problem – now, what is your solution?
• A common mistake with the solution slide (especially among technical founders) is to provide too many technical details.
• Do customers care? The focus needs to be on user value.What is the value to them of using your product compared to that of
existing products?
Context
• This slide should be about the unique solution and the value to your customers, not really the technical details behind it!
Verbal
• Emphasize the big picture solution – leave the details to the next meeting and the due diligence process
• “For [target customers] who are [dissatisfied with <the current offerings in the market> OR need <solutions to problems>] ,
my idea/product is a [new idea or product/service category] that provides [key problem/solution features]. Unlike [the
competing product], my idea/product is [describe key differentiators – one is best, no more than three]”
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9. WHAT ISYOUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?
Remarks
• Describe the technology, secret recipe, or magic behind your product.
• You've shown that you have a solution to a problem and the team to make that solution real and successful. Now you need to show your
special skills – how you can solve this problem better than anyone else.This is your unfair advantage - what makes you special?
• Do you know something that others do not? Do you have some intellectual property? Have you seen what others haven’t and does that
give you first-mover advantage?You need to explain what this is.
Content
• The less text and the more diagrams, schematics and flowcharts the better.
• If you have a prototype or demo this is the time to transition to it
Verbal
• Remember all investors are looking for startups who are building something that’s hard for future competitors to copy. Many startups fail
to communicate how they are planning to build such defensibility.
• This is where your passion and specific expertise needs to be obvious
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10. WHO ISYOUR COMPETITION?
Remarks
• A big mistake many founders make is believing they have no competitors. You most likely have indirect competitors solving the same problem in a different way.
• TProvide a complete view of the competitive landscape. Too much is better than too little.
• here is ALWAYS competition – direct and indirect. Demonstrate you know about them and have anticipated how they might attack you when you are successful
• If you can’t find anyone who’s solved the same problem, maybe you should ask if there's really a problem to be solved.
Content
• Option 1: 2×2 matrix with you and competitors shown
• Option 2: Competitors along a single spectrum focused on different stages of the market
• Option 3: Matrix with key values as rows and you/competitors as columns (challenge is to make this simple)
Verbal
• Explain that there are multiple competitors and how you are most differentiated
• Focus on 1-2 competitors which you are most relevant – helpful to share some of their advantages over you in additional to your advantages over them
• Use context of competitors to highlight your sustainable competitive differentiation aka secret recipe or “unfair advantage”.
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11. BUSINESS MODEL
Explainer
• In simple terms, explain how you will make money.
• Are you a service business, a product business? Do you sell direct or through distribution? Do you have a single stream of revenues or multiple ways to make
money?
• Show that you know your “unit economics” – how much each widget or service delivery point costs, and how much you get paid for it, and how much you make.
• While it’s helpful to show high level numbers to illustrate your model, don’t get hung up describing them at all
• If you don’t have numbers you are comfortable with yet, don’t put any on the slide. They just open up places for investors to poke at you.
Content
• Use visuals and/or diagrams to illustrate the market opportunity (e.g., number of kids who go to kindergarten), who pays you (e.g., parents) and how much, your
cost per unit (e.g., rent + teacher salary + supplies divided by average number of kids), and your unit profitability (revenue – cost).
• Option 2 – Use Business Model Canvas (or Lean Canvas). But I recommend against this, as it will take up too much time. Maybe add to an appendix
Verbal
• Our business model is <describe at highest level>. We’re similar to <name a competitor or other well known company with a similar model>
• Optional: We have some <no more than three> unique aspects to our business model <name them>
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12. BUSINESS PROGRESS MADE -TIMING
Remarks
• You’ve convinced the investor that there’s a major problem and you can solve it. You have the right team and the best business model. It’s now time to show
how far advanced you are..
• Investors want to know what “traction” you have– think about what would be interesting (and comforting) from their perspective. Even early stage financial
investors will not invest if they don’t see tangible traction.
• What progrress have you made so far? What have you learned? Who has joined?
Content
• Very business specific and no right format
• What have you done to show that your business model works?
• Key, relevant learnings
• This may need a 2nd slide if you have lots of progress data to show
Verbal
• “So far we have made good progress in a number of areas to validate assumptions and to discover what works well and what doesn’t.”
• Highlight progress in various areas, explain relevance and what you think is possible to achieve going forward – short-term vs. long-term.
• Highlight a few elements that failed and what you have learned.
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13. THE MARKET
Remarks
• One of the biggest fears many investors have is of ending up in too small a market.Thus you need to demonstrate that the market is big
enough for a profitable company based on a reasonable share of that market.
• There are two different markets:
• Existing market. Your customers are already spending a lot of money on a similar product, it's easy to find a marketplace, and you can explain why
you’re able to take customers away from current vendors.
• New market. Potential customers are not spending money on something that is solving the exact same problem, so it’s hard to guess how big the
market will be.
Content
• Explain the market in simple terms
• Quantify it – make sure the market is big enough
Verbal
• It’s essential that the person at the receiving end of the pitch gets the feeling that the startup is entering a really big market.
• At a minimum, you need to communicate that the market might be small now but it has the potential to become really large. No one
wants to invest in a small and/or heavily declining market, because the investor knows that before your startup becomes successful – and
later ready to exit – the market will be so small that the company will be worthless.
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14. WHAT ISYOUR MARKET ACCESS STRATEGY?
Remarks
• Now you need a slide explaining how you’re going to enter the market with your product.
• What’s your marketing/distribution/supply chain strategy?
• How can you best go to market in a timely and cost-effective way? Explain how you are going to reach your
customer without breaking the bank
• So what's your plan for tapping into what you believe is a big market for your great product?Will you target
customers directly or via partners? Offline or online?What kind of product will they buy if your product is only
part of the value proposition?
Content
• Bullet points on strategy, timing
Remarks
• A very important slide – you need the investor that you have the knowledge and resources to tap the market
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15. THE FINANCIALS
Remarks
• Now is the time to quantify your concept. How much money are we all going to make? Be realistic, as you need to be able to defend
your figures..And all this needs to be based on your budget.
• You should avoid presenting long-term financial forecasts that are too precise: Focus instead on the overall business model with a few
different scenarios on how different degrees of success or growth will impact the future financial forecast.
• Be honest, but bold in your expectations, but also remember to discuss the potential risks from a financial point of view.
• Remember, an investor develops a very sophisticated BS filter after having heard thousands of pitches from startups, and the ability to
communicate both the positive and the potential challenges will give you a lot of credibility compared to companies that offer slides that
are overly optimistic.
Content
• I like the idea of a simple graphic of revenue vs costs over time
• Define your key metrics
Verbal
• It is important to state your assumptions. If you do not do this, your numbers will be meaningless, and the investor will not be able to
judge whether they are valid or not.
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16. MILESTONES
Remarks
• You've presented the long-term vision and now you have to talk short-term milestones the plan for the near future, or until the
next milestone. One mistake startups make is not having a detailed plan for the next steps.
• Remember that you won't get the money for the next three years all up front, you will usually access it in tranches (phased
funding).And investors need to see how you plan to spend that money.
Content
• Use the graph from previous slide to illustrate the milestones
Verbal
• It is important that the founder has a clear path to scaling up the business.That is sometimes difficult as it can seem
overwhelming to plan several steps ahead when so many things need to get done just to deliver the minimum viable product to
the early adopters.
• Without this short and long-term approach, the plan for the business won't be meaningful, and assessing the return and risk
profile becomes difficult.
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17. CURRENT EQUITY STRUCTURE
Remarks
• This is important for the potential investor to understand
Content
• Table of current equity holding
• How much money have ypou invested
Verbal
• Mention previous investment history, including year, amount and investors
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18. EXIT OPTIONS
Remarks
• How do you think the investors can exit (who wil pay their equity od you feel that this
can be an IPO)
Content
• Give three options
• Mention any currency issues and how you will solve that
Verbal
• If you can, give examples of exits in your industry (or comparable examples)
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19. VALUATION
Remarks
• You may consider omitting this slide from the pitch altogether, or giving a genuinely conservative number in
order to build credibility.
• The entrepreneur instinct usually is to give up as little equity as possible in exchange for funding.As a result,
entrepreneurs all too often will arrive a pre-money valuation that is too high.
• If you insist that your start-up is worth $100 million and have spent, say, $100,000,you will lose credibility.Seed
funding often assumes a $1 million to $2 million valuation.The first round may be in the $5 million to $10
million range.
Content
• You may consider to put an estimated valuation on every milestone from the previous slide
Verbal
• Remember,an idea with no path to commercialization has little value to investors
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20. THE ASK
Remarks
• The ask slide is all about how much money you are looking for and what you'll give in return.
Content
• It’s critical that you show how far the money you are asking for will take you.
• Show that you will have enough for at least 18 months activity – investors hate to “top up” to solve unbudgeted cash flow
issues
• Will the financing take you all the way to a profitable company?
Verbal
• Many startups make the mistake of not including this information – but be cautious, as you may need to adjust this for different
investors.
• Previously we raised $ _____ from ______ as [debt/equity].To fund our next stage of the plan, we are raising $ _____ which
will give us ___ months of runway and allow us to achieve the [x] key milestones: (1) _____, (2) ______, (3) _____, (n)
______. So far, we have investor commitments of $___ for this round which include [investor names].
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21. SUMMARY
Remarks
• This is the final slide which will be visible during the follow-up questioning, so you want to have key info summarized here
• Finally, summarize why the investor should invest.
• Leave that slide to shine during the Q&A part of the meeting. - Every time they look up, they’ll be reminded why they should invest.
Content
• Bullet points of key information (likely most text on a slide)
• Items to consider including: your one-liner business description, 1 or more key trends driving opportunity, 2-3 traction points, secret sauce, how much you are
raising and amount still available,
Verbal
• Summarize with your three major points
• “For [target customers] who are [dissatisfied with <the current offerings in the market> OR need <solutions to problems>] , my idea/product is a [new idea or
product/service category] that provides [key problem/solution features]. Unlike [the competing product], my idea/product is [describe key differentiators – one is
best, no more than three]”
• “Happy to answer additional questions”
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