A modern design version of the classic pitch deck template from Pitch Deck Coach.
Learn what investors are looking for in your pitch deck. Avoid common pitch deck mistakes and omissions.
Proactively address the major risk factors investors worry about including Market risk, Product risk, Team risk, and Execution risk.
This comprehensive pitch deck template provides detailed information on every important slide required to convince investors to fund your startup:
Cover slide:
Announce your big idea—the one thing you do better than anyone else. You have 10 seconds to hook your audience.
Investment Summary slide:
Summarize the highlights of your business and investment opportunity. Provide a teaser for what's to come.
Problem slide:
Describe the problem you solve. Identify your target customers (and users) and explain why they are frustrated with current solutions.
Solution slide:
Explain how you provide a better solution and list the unique benefits for customers and users.
Product slide:
Show how your product works in three simple steps. Keep it visual.
Competition slide:
List your competitors. Explain why your product is better than theirs in the eyes of your customers and users.
Business Model slide:
Explain how you make money.
Market Opportunity slide:
Show much money you'll make when you dominate your target market. Bottom-up and top-down.
Traction slide:
Prove that customers love your product and are willing to pay for it.
Growth Strategy slide:
Explain how you'll acquire and retain customers.
Product Roadmap slide:
Show how you'll keep your product competitive.
Financials slide:
Provide a simple model, with explicit assumptions, of how much money you can make in the next 3-5 years.
Team slide:
Introduce a team with the experience and expertise to transform your opportunity into a large, profitable business.
Funding slide:
Ask for the money you need and explain what you'll do with it.
Investment Highlights Recap slide:
Restate the highlights of your business and investment opportunity as a closer.
This deck also includes an elevator pitch template and example. Use it to create short written summary of your pitch deck that an investor can skim in 30 seconds or less.
2. We are Uber for mobile auto details
“Get an affordable,
professional auto detail
wherever you are,
whenever you want”
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3. Cover slide notes
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● Your cover slide is very important. It's like your website homepage, and you don't want to waste it with just
a logo and a vague statement. Instead, use this slide to quickly introduce your big idea and grab your
audience's attention within the first 10 seconds.
● If investors can see why they or others would need your product or service, then you've passed the first
test.
● Be sure to clearly identify your product category and target customers in a simple statement or compare
yourself to a well-known leader in your category. This will help investors understand what you do and
differentiate yourself from competitors. Consider adding an image that reinforces your big idea.
4. Investment Highlights
Big Opportunity Experienced Team
Sustainable TechAdvantage Strong Product-Market Fit
Seeking $2M
First mover in $36B US
auto detail market
Deep market/technology/
execution experience
To achieve
$5.6M in ARR over
the next 12 months
2 patents
pending
1,600 detailers,
16,000 users, $162K/mo
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5. Investment Summary slide notes
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● Before diving into your presentation, make sure to summarize the highlights of your business upfront. This
is important because investors want to know your investment thesis and reasons to pay attention to your
slides. They are looking for startups with the highest return and least risk. So, emphasize your growth
potential and explain how you'll reduce market, product, team, and execution risks.
● Include traction on this slide if possible. This will get investors excited and provide instant validation of your
product and market opportunity, which gives you credibility. Traction says your MVP is good and you have
some degree of PMF. It's less risky for investors to invest in a startup that is scaling up from initial PMF than
investing in a pre-MVP startup that's building and testing an idea.
● Avoid trying to give your entire presentation off this slide. Spend about 30 seconds assuring your audience
that you have solid answers to their most pressing questions. Some investors may ask questions from this
slide, so use it as an opportunity to let them know you'll be getting to all of their questions soon.
6. Lack an easy way to get a professional,
affordable auto detail at their home or office
Spend too much time and money finding
customers rather than be detailing cars
No single view of currently available detailers
Few reviews to guide selection
Little opportunity to negotiate prices
Visiting a detailer’s shop takes too much time
~$12K annual marketing spend per
the National Auto Detail Assoc.
Busy consumers Mobile auto detailers
Problem: Demand and demand are fragmented
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7. Problem slide notes
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● Explain the problem you solve or the unmet need you address in simple terms that any investor can
understand. Identify your target customers and users who are dealing with this problem.
● Consider how painful the problem is for your customers and users. Is it a must-solve problem or a
nice-to-solve problem? How do they currently solve this problem, and what are the issues with those
solutions that create an opportunity for your solution?
● Make sure to provide proof that the problem exists if it's not obvious. This slide sets up the following
Solution and Competition slides, so match each problem to a benefit with supporting features on your
Solution slide. Also, use the feature-benefit pairings on your Solution slide to compete with other
companies on your Competition slide.
● It's important to distinguish between customers and users - users use, and customers pay. For example,
people searching for golf clubs on Google are users, while golf equipment companies advertising on
Google are customers.
8. Save time
Consumers
Detailers
Save money Get a great job
Detailers come
to their home or
office
Detailers compete
for their business
Detailers work hard
for great reviews
Save time Make more money Grow faster
Spend less time
chasing customers
Spend more time
detailing cars
Great reviews
+ Great prices
= More work
Solution: First marketplace for mobile auto details
8
Mobile App
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9. Solution slide notes
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● When presenting your solution, keep it simple and provide context. Explain what it is, what it does, and its
significant features and benefits. Your solution should solve the problems you introduced in the Problem
slide, such as being slow, expensive, or difficult to use.
● Quantify the improvements, such as being faster, cheaper, or easier to use, and explain how they will make
your target customers switch to your solution.
● Make sure to be consistent in your description of features, user benefits, and business value. Always link
product features to user benefits and business value.
10. Browse detailers Compare reviews and prices Book and pay
‘Browse’
screenshot
‘Compare’
screenshot
Standardized services & prices
‘Book & Pay’
screenshot
Option to add tip after job
Filter by date/time/availability
Review required after job
Detailer can discount (bid) on the fly
Filter by ratings/reviews/bid
2 patents
pending
Product: How it works
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11. Product slide notes
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● In your Solution slide, you explained what your product does and why it's better than current solutions.
Now, you need to show investors how your product works.
● Keep it simple by showing how it works in three steps. Use screenshots or video, and include a user
experience for each customer and user identified in your Problem slide.
● You can also highlight any technology patents you might own or have in the works. If your patents prevent
competitors from copying critical aspects of your solution, consider adding a dedicated Technology slide.
Remember to briefly describe your patents and explain where they fit into your solution.
12. More Convenient
Less Convenient
Less Expensive
More Expensive
Competitor
Competitor
Competitor
Competitor
Competitor
Competition: We win on convenience and cost
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13. Competition slide notes
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● When creating your Competition slide, it is important to remember that investors want minimal product
risk. You need to identify your competitors and provide at least one or two sustainable competitive
advantages.
● Never say you have no competitors, and remember that you'll have both direct and indirect competitors. If
you are pioneering new technology, your only competition might be the old manual way of doing things.
● You have two options for the layout of your Competition slide: the classic 'Gartner Magic Quadrant' 2x2
competitive landscape chart or the competitive matrix/grid. Your solution should be the only one that
checks the box for all features/benefits that drive your target customers' purchase decisions.
14. We charge detailers
a 15% transaction fee
$75
Our fee is a cost of revenue with guaranteed
ROI vs. a marketing expense with no guaranteed ROI
$63.75 $11.25
= +
Job Detailer Gleamr
Business model: Fair and simple for everyone
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15. Business model slide notes
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● In this section, you need to explain how you will make money with your product or service. Stick to your
primary revenue model and avoid listing potential revenue streams.
● Investors prefer active revenue streams to passive streams, except when the passive revenue is attached
to a sticky product. Recurring revenue streams are also preferred, as they are less expensive than
acquiring new customers.
● Show proof that your target customers are willing to pay your price, such as a growing base of paying
customers or a quote from a prospect.
● Your Business Model slide sets up your Market Opportunity slide, where you can show your potential
earnings if you dominate your market.
16. $36B
$12B
Total US
Auto Detailing
Mobile US
Auto Detailing
~$2B
Gleamr
Market ARR
15% transaction fee
[Some reputable source]
Market Opportunity: $2B Top-Down — US only
16
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17. Market opportunity (top-down) slide notes
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● To show investors your market potential, you need to analyze your market size using both top-down and
bottom-up methods. The bottom-up approach is preferred, and you should focus on the Serviceable
Obtainable Market (SOM) - the realistic market share you can capture in the next 3-5 years.
● Investors want to invest in a growing market, so include growth rate data and reliable sources in your
analysis.
● Don't use global numbers unless you plan to be an international business soon. Also, mention external
factors like new technologies or legislation that could boost your market's growth or extend its lifespan to
answer the 'Why now?' question.
18. 1. Source
2. Source
3. Source
4. Source
US Autos on the Road1
270 Million
Total Detailed @ 33%2
90 Million
Total Mobile @ 33%3
30 Million
Mobile Details per Auto per Year 6
Total Mobile Detailed per Year 180 Million
Average Mobile Detail Price4
$75
Total Mobile Detail Sales per Year ~$14 Billion
Gleamr Opp. per Year @ 15% ~$2 Billion
Market Opportunity: $2B Bottom-Up — US only
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19. Market opportunity (bottom-up) slide notes
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● To size your market opportunity, you can use a bottom-up analysis, which involves simple math. You need
to figure out how many people could buy your product or service each year and how much they would
pay.
● To do this, multiply the annual customer count by the average sale value. This analysis helps investors see
your assumptions about the number of customers and the price per customer per transaction per year.
● It's best to use big, round numbers that are easy to remember. This way, investors can easily understand
your assumptions and determine if they're reasonable.
20. Key Metrics
LTV
5x CAC
Launch Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
Detailers 0 10 50 200 400 800 1,600
Users 0 100 500 2,000 4,000 8,000 16,000
Jobs 0 90 450 1,800 3,600 7,200 14,400
Gross Revenue $0 $6,750 $33,750 $135,000 $270,000 $540,000 $1,080,000
Gleamr Revenue $0 $1,013 $5,063 $20,250 $40,500 $81,000 $162,000
Traction: Dealers and users are signing up fast
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22. Traction slide notes
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● Traction is evidence that customers are buying your product, which shows there is a market for it and that
it is competitive. It also indicates that you have some marketing and sales expertise.
● Using key metrics such as acquisition, retention, and expansion can help you measure and report your
traction.
● Investors prefer to fund growth rather than an idea, so showing traction helps you move away from
market and product risk and focus on execution risk.
● If you haven't launched your product, you can still list your traction metrics and significant milestones for
product, hiring, and funding.
23. Online marketing inc. SEM,
SEO, SMM, daily deals
Refer-a-friend discounts
for consumers
Volume/loyalty discounts
for consumers & detailers
Incentive programs for HR
and office managers
Marketing & Sales Customer Service Product
Acquiring customers Keeping customers Staying competitive
Dedicated customer service reps
for each DMA
Gleamr staffed community
message boards for consumers
(public) and detailers (login
required)
Growth Strategy: How we’ll scale our business
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Consumer Product Advisory
Board to drive consumer
features
Detailer Product Advisory Board
to drive detailer features
Add Android App
24. Growth strategy slide notes
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● This slide is about how to convince investors that you can turn your product into a successful business.
● You need to address three critical activities: customer acquisition, customer retention, and product
innovation. Cover organization, strategy, and tactics.
● You should share at least the following three key metrics with investors to show that your business can
scale: customer acquisition cost, lifetime value of the customer, and payback period. You can calculate
these metrics period by period. You should aim to generate an LTV that is 3-5 times your CAC for a
profitable business.
26. Product roadmap slide notes
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● On this slide, you should talk about your plans to improve and expand your product to keep your
competitive edge and grow your business.
● Examples of product milestones include adding new features, modules, integrations, or certifications. For
instance, HubSpot added Sales and Customer Support modules to their Marketing platform, and some
businesses get SOC 2 or HIPAA compliance to meet specific regulations.
● Highlighting these milestones shows investors that you have a plan to keep growing your business
through continuous product innovation.
27. Financial Highlights: $216M in ARR in 3 years
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28. Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Detailers 5,000 40,000 160,000
Users 50,000 400,000 1,600,000
Jobs 500,000 4,000,000 16,000,000
Average Price per Detail $75 $80 $90
Gleamr Revenue @15% $5,625,000 $48,000,000 $216,000,000
Gross Profit $5,625,000 $48,000,000 $216,000,000
OPEX
Sales & Marketing $5,062,500 $38,400,000 $151,200,000
Customer Service $1,687,500 $9,600,00 $21,600,000
Product Development $562,500 $2,400,000 $10,800,000
G&A $281,250 $2,400,000 $4,320,000
Total OPEX $7,593,750 $52,800,000 $187,920,000
EBIT ($1,968,750) ($4,800,000) $28,080,000
Financial Details: $216M in ARR in 3 years
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29. Financials slide notes
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● When you present your Financials slide, you're showing investors what you think your revenue and
expenses will be for the next three years. The numbers don't have to be exact, just reasonable. You don't
want the numbers to be too small because that's boring, but not too big because that's unrealistic. The
T2D3 (Triple-Triple-Double-Double-Double) rule of thumb is a good way to show an attractive revenue
curve.
● It's a good idea to share a summary of the slide online and save the detailed version for in-person
presentations or for investors who want more information. Make sure you include your revenue drivers and
operating expenses for marketing, sales, product development, and customer service, and highlight your
key assumptions. This lets investors decide if they think your numbers are reasonable.
● You should also include cumulative EBIT, which shows how much money you'll lose before becoming
profitable. And it's helpful to include percentages alongside your numbers to make it easier for investors to
understand things like margins and operating expenses as a percent of revenue. Most investors have an
idea of what percentage of revenue should be spent on each operation.
30. Jon Doh | Founder/CEO
Co-founder/CEO @ ArtFinder
(sold to Ebay). Prev. LinkedIn
Trish Taylor | Founder/VP Engineering
Co-founder/VP Eng. @ ArtFinder
(sold to Ebay). Prev. Facebook
Ricky Roma | VP Sales/Marketing
Prev. HubSpot
TBH | Director, Customer Service
Will Wachon | Industry Advisor
Founder/CEO @ Speedy K mobile
auto detailing
Sue Smead | Product Advisor
SVP Product @ Ebay
Meg Mitchum | Sales & Marketing Advisor
CRO @ HubSpot
Team: Leadership and Advisors
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31. Team slide notes
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● This slide is crucial in showing your ability to execute your business plan and manage risks. Investors want
to see experience and expertise in similar startups, technology, and markets.
● Make sure to include every member of your extended team, including founders, key employees, advisors,
and investors. Consider creating an advisory board to add industry, startup, and operational expertise to
accelerate your progress.
● A strong team can boost your credibility, so don't hesitate to move this slide to an earlier part of your
presentation if you have a great team.
32. Bootstrapped by founders thru MVP and first 6 months
Raising
$2M
Series A
So we can:
Reach $5.6M in sales
Scale and refine marketing
and sales
Scale customer service
Enhance our platform
Target close by EOQ3 | $600K
committed
Funding
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33. Funding slide notes
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● As you approach the end of your pitch presentation, it's time to focus on the Ask slide. By now, you should
have convinced your audience that your business has a large and growing market, a competitive product,
and a capable team that can deliver a high return on investment with low risk.
● The Ask slide is where you request funding and tie it back to your Financials slide. You should clearly state
how much money you need and what traction investors can expect in return. Make sure to specify how
much of the funds will be allocated to Sales, Marketing, Customer Support, and Product development. In
the example, Gleamr asks for $2 million to execute Year 1 of their business plan.
34. Investment Highlights: Recap
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Big Opportunity Experienced Team
Sustainable TechAdvantage Strong Product-Market Fit
Seeking $2M
First mover in $36B US
auto detail market
Deep market/technology/
execution experience
To achieve
$5.6M in ARR over
the next 12 months
2 patents
pending
1,600 detailers,
16,000 users, $162K/mo
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35. Investment Highlights Recap slide notes
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● After presenting your Funding slide, it's a good idea to leave an recap of your investment highlights up
while you answer questions. This way, you can refer back to your main points and end the presentation on
a positive note.
● Be sure to include a final slide with your contact information including your name, title, email, and phone
number.
● Before we wrap, let’s talk about elevator pitches.
36. Elevator Pitch notes
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● An elevator pitch is a short, written summary of your pitch deck that an investor can quickly read in 30
seconds or less.
● It's important to have a strong elevator pitch to catch investors' attention and get them interested in your
business. Investors often need a reason to read or listen to your full pitch deck, so make sure your elevator
pitch is crisp and compelling.
● Your elevator pitch should summarize the content of your pitch deck and is easy to create once you have
your deck prepared.
● Here's an elevator pitch template with sample content using the Gleamr example.
37. Your company name is your solution for your target customers/users. We help
your customers/users solve this problem with these benefits.
We’re initially targeting your target customers. We make our money by your business
model. We acquire customers by your customer acquisition strategy. Our Lifetime
Value of Customer (LTV) is your multiple of our Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).
We have your team advantage, your technical advantage. Your traction.
Elevator Pitch: Template
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38. Gleamr is “Uber for mobile auto details”. Our iPhone app helps consumers get an affordable,
professional auto detail wherever they are, whenever they want. And we help mobile auto
detailers spend less time chasing customers and more time detailing cars.
We’re initially targeting the $12B US market for mobile auto details. We make our money by
collecting a 15% transaction fee from auto detailers. We acquire customers primarily through
online marketing and we get a 5x return on our customer acquisition cost.
We have an experienced team with deep domain expertise, patent pending technology and a
first mover advantage. In our first six months we’ve signed up 1,600 detailers and 16,000
consumers. We’re making $162K a month and doubling users and revenue every month.
Elevator Pitch: Example
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