Pitch Deck Template
by Aidan Nulman on May 04, 2010
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A template version of my VC pitch for YouPhonics (http://youphonics.com). ...
A template version of my VC pitch for YouPhonics (http://youphonics.com).
You can also download the full presentation (with notes that guide you through each slide!) at http://aidannulman.com/2010-pitch-template
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Bruce Werdschinski
- Dave McClure’s “Startup Viagra” presentation (http://bit.ly/cHiYco)
- Mint.com’s “Pre-launch Pitch Deck” (http://bit.ly/apUesg)
- A successful Montreal company’s recent slide deck for their Series B round
- A 90-minute conversation with a prominent NY-based VC, specifically about this presentation
If you’ve got any questions, comments, or if you need to send an email out due to a nervous tic, drop me a line: aidan [at] youphonics [dot] com
Before you start your pitch, you should go in knowing a few things about the firm:
- What are their recent investments?
- How recently have they invested at the stage of company you’re at?
- How do you fit into their investment strategy?
- Do you use any of their investments?
- Which investments has your contact led?
- What position/place in the hierarchy does your contact hold?
- Does recent news/information about the firm support their stated strategy?
I’m sure you can think of at least a few more things to research. And, for anything you can’t find, figure out a way to tactfully ask such a question before you move onto the next slide.
Who’s on your team? Full-time individuals count. So do contracting firms (especially if you’re planning on maintaining a relationship). If you’ve got any name-brand advisors, throw them in here, too!
Specifically, what people are looking for is a little bit of a background into who you are -- especially if you’re in the Angel stage. Talk about your education, your current roles, notable (and relevant) past experience, and something fun.
Your two goals for this slide:
- Condense each person’s (or firm’s) entire “resume” into three, maybe four short bullet points.
- Establish a rapport with your VC: maybe they studied a similar subject in college, or they worked the same job as your technical lead fresh out of school!
What problem exists today? How come it’s a problem?
Some words that will get the gears moving are “inefficient,” “broken,” and “fragmented.” I used two of the above in the real pitch. Regardless, use words that simplify without losing the core meaning.
Also, please note that I’m using quite a few goofy images, or at least not “professional”-looking ones. Using them worked fine in my meetings. But it all depends on your product, your personality, and your VC. Do your research, and stay within your comfort zone.
Also: draw a diagram. Don’t just use boxes, or a single piece of clip-art. Have the visuals tell the story visually, so your VC will follow along as you tell the story.
Statue of liberty image courtesy of “Mark Heard” (Flickr)
Police badge image courtesy of “scoutnurse” (Flickr)
Landfill image courtesy of “D’Arcy Norman” (Flickr)
Broadway and Columbus image courtesy of “heathbrandon” (Flickr)
Same as before: use trigger words to get the gears moving, both on the screen and in your script. Show the story while you tell it.
Bonus points if you can come up with a real, actually descriptive comparison: “Craigslist for one-legged farmers” or “LinkedIn for superheroes” -- we’re going along with the “LinkedIn for superheroes” example for the rest of the presentation.
EXTRA bonus points if you can integrate the comparison into your visuals without coming off as cheesy. (See Slide 7)
Lego Batman image courtesy of “crises_crs” (Flickr)
Since we’re building a LinkedIn for superheroes, perhaps this is the flow:
- Problem 1: cities throw away millions/year for ineffecient public security
- Solution 1: help cities contract their own superheroes!
- Segue: how do we find and contact these superheroes?
- Problem 2: superheroes can’t efficiently update their friends with their whereabouts/health
- Solution 2: LinkedIn for superheroes!
See how that was done? That’s your ideal scenario.
It can also work to have secondary problems. Particularly if there’s a solution to Problem 1 that doesn’t take Problem 2 into account, and vice-versa. Bridging the gap could be a powerful opportunity.
Superman image courtesy of “Dunechaser” (Flickr)
- Be brief
- Use pictures
- Comparisons are extremely useful
I’ve seen some people go on to a third problem. You can if you’d like. Don’t if it’s not absolutely necessary.
Here’s where you bust out your sweet demo and/or screenshots (mockups can work, too).
Don’t go overboard with your demo, though. Prashant Shah once wrote on Tim Ferriss’ blog (http://bit.ly/cvb2Gq) that what’s important is why customers will engage with -- and ultimately spend money on -- your product. Don’t assume that investors will care about its bells and whistles.
In our case, we’ve got city officials, superheroes, and Justice Leagues (who want private networks for just their supers).
How big are these groups? If we’re helping a market (or transaction), how much money is exchanged each year?
Tough questions to answer without too many words, so make it super-easy to visually navigate.
In every deck I’ve seen, there’s always one or two features that your company doesn’t have. I could venture a thousand guesses as to why that is, but sometimes a lack of a feature is a feature in and of itself. Or shows you where to start focusing next...
Again, this could lend to thousands of words. Keep it simple, keep it visual. Your VC will pick out what they want to see from the above: the features they care about are easily scanned and compared.
They’ll find out everything in due diligence later, anyway. So be open and honest about your competition!
When do you plan on getting through these steps? And how do you plan on doing it?
As usual on these bullet slides, aim for 2-3 categories, and 2-3 bullets each. It’s not a category if it only has one bullet. And don’t go over 4 -- better to split the info then.
And if you’re still pre-launch, this is HUGE. Get ready to answer some tough questions about defensibility, soundness of your plans, existing evidence, etc. Try to refer back to your story!
Macbooks image courtesy of “maury.mccown” (Flickr)
Everybody’s seen a hockey stick graph before. And there’s WAY too much information for you to go over that you’re definitely going to skip over the one or two things this specific VC will find important.
So flip the table. Give them control. Open your financial model and let them plug in their own variables. Let them see when you hit 10,000 users, if you’d like. Or when your ARPU surpasses your cost per user.
Of course, this means that:
1) You need to have it pre-populated with realistic numbers. (What’s realistic? Research it! Preferably with your product, if it’s launched or if there’s a landing page.)
2) You’ll be asked some tough questions: “What will you do if you’ve got a .5% free-to-pay conversion, only 2% viral growth, and a $3 CPC with a 4% signup rate?” Get ready to play defense. Playing well will let you SHINE!
(And playing well involves going back to your story. And acquisition strategy.)
Finally, please note: this isn’t to show that your business will make millions of dollars (though that’s useful too). What’s worthwhile is showing that the business that will make millions of dollars is there if you can push the numbers to the right values. By understanding which variables are the most important to push (and in which direction), you’ll be able to prioritize your actions and decisions. So, if you take the same (risky) route I did: KNOW YOUR SHIT.
You only get one chance to ask. Make it explicit. Bring it up so you can do the talking in the room, not just in your Executive Summary.
Personnel image courtesy of Office Space (film)
Web image courtesy of “photofarmer” (Flickr)
Credit cards image courtesy of “Andres Rueda” (Flickr)
But whatever you do, don’t forget to go over your main points once more:
There’s an inefficient market that you have an intuitive tool for. You stand to affect X people in a market Y big. And you’re the guy/gal to do it because of Z.
Good luck, and happy hunting!
And, as I said before: if you’ve got any questions, comments, or if you need to send an email out due to a nervous tic, drop me a line: aidan [at] youphonics [dot] com