The document provides a comprehensive guide for creating an investor pitch deck that should be concise, visually appealing, and clearly narrate your business opportunity. It outlines key elements such as the team, vision, market opportunity, solution, traction, financials, and competitive landscape, emphasizing the importance of engaging storytelling and avoiding common pitfalls like excessive detail and unsupported assumptions. The goal of the pitch deck is to generate interest and secure further meetings rather than close an immediate investment.

1. Investor Pitch Deck
Showcase your opportunity to investors
David JW Bailey
www.linkedin.com/in/davidjwbailey

2. Good pitch decks
Compelling decks are visual, concise, and have a clear narrative.
They contain 10-13 slides or images.
Every element is in your own unique style.
Your deck should be able to stand on its own.
The purpose of your deck is not to answer all questions, nor close investment.
It is to open the audience to your vision and excite them to want more. The
story in your deck engages them to enquire.
Give enough information to gain interest without overwhelming anyone. Keep
clear and focused. At the end, ask for a meeting and exchange cards.

3. Bad pitch decks
Too many slides, too much information
Overloaded with words
Engrossed in own cleverness
Ignore customer concerns
Too many details
Belittle competitors
Unsupported assumptions
Dubious data sources or extrapolations
False confidence
Demanding without offering
Poor returns to investors

4. Thanks & Attribution
This deck was distilled from a variety of sources:
•Our co-founders & investors in other companies
•Sequoia fund
•UK TechCrunch
•SIME
•500 Startups / Dave McClure
•Sky Fernandes
•Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn & Greylock
•Amplify LA
•TechStars
•Decks uploaded to Crowdfunder
All the critics of all of those

5. This is a content guide, not a visual guide.

6. Contents – in your order
Team & key stakeholders Vision
or elevator pitch
Problem & current solutions
Traction and speed of growth
Market opportunity and size
Your solution
Optional Slides: exit strategy, partnership agreements,
product/service demo, existing sales/clients,
your “special sauce”
Revenue
Costs
Market & growth strategy
Financials & forecasts
Competition & risk
Your ‘ask’, basic use of funds

7. Team
Key team members, prior positions, successes, domain expertise
Past exits, past capital gains, past value created, PR value
Demonstrate current and relevant experience
Which roles are the keys to success in your company/space?

8. Vision or Elevator Pitch
A quick one-liner on the mission of your company
Keep it short and memorable
Try making it relatable, as in “We are X for Y”
“We are AirBNB for event spaces”
“We are the Starbucks of frozen yogurt”
While avoiding clichés and chasing bandwagons!

9. The Problem
Define the real problem/need you’re solving, and for whom.
Give a real example of the pain this causes, in hours or £
Describe a specific user case if you can
Say who is already doing this, and how are they going about it.
Compare what are they get right and wrong
Say what customers do if they can’t buy your answer
Current Sol ut i ons

10. Product / Service
Demo the product / service for real if you can
Tell the story of your customer
Show how customers use and value your product or service in their own words
Images and visuals are better than lots of text: show don’t tell

11. Traction
Show your timeline and milestones to date as well as any issues you overcame
Growth metrics are key at early stage – find out what others are using and get
comparatives
Highlight press, partnerships, accolades if you don’t have cash, turnover and
customers
Customer success stories and/or testimonials really help

12. Market Opportunity
Customers: clearly define exactly who you serve.
Define your market: what business/space you are in.
Macro trends & insights to show it is an underserved growth space.
Total market size: value and size, your place/niche.
Break down to show your actual addressable market at each stage of your
growth and explain it.
Realistic market share estimates

13. Revenue Model
How do you make money
What is the pricing and business model
Revenue to date – customer numbers to date
Show marketing funnel or equivalent
KPIs for your sector (CLV, CCA, £/employee, growth rate, churn)
Other potential future revenue streams

14. Costs Model
Explain the delivery model
Cost to service a customer for a year
Costs and investment to date
Show summary of how margin is earned
Show that costs change over time and scale
Summaries of infrastructure or overheads

15. Marketing & Growth Strategy
Where are your customers looking today and finding solutions?
Where will you get in attention?
How will you achieve your target growth rates?
What are the most important and unique channels and methods you will use
to find and win customers?
How are you doing it differently than others in the space? (or who is doing it
best that you can crib from?)

16. Financials & Forecasts
Include 3-ish years of summary financial projections
Explain critical assumptions in your model
Highlight each of these for at least 3 years:
•total customers
•total revenue
•growth rate
•total expense
•EBITDA
•gross assets
•free cash

17. Competition / Risk
Where do you exist in the larger overall market space?
Who are the competitors, why have they succeeded, and how do you
truly differentiate from them?
What are your advantages?
How is your place in the market unique to you, and the right one for
your company growth and customers?
What might kill your plans, and how can you avoid it?

18. Investment
What you have raised so far
Your existing & notable investors
The amount you want now, and how: equity, debt, convertible notes
Timing issues
Recent successes in this space
What were their multiples:
•At investment
•At exit
Use of proceeds
•Founder salaries
•New hires
•Sales & marketing
•Technology development
•Capital expenses / equipment