What to include in your pitch deck

The main objective of an investment pitch deck is to tell the story of your business even when you're not there to back it up. Therefore it needs to be clear, concise and should get people interested to want to find out more.

First things first

Don't overdo it with the slides. We recommend keeping it simple and short: approx. 12 slides - one for each point as per the below suggested structure. If you feel that you have a lot of information to include and it's looking pretty wordy, you can add an appendix with the extra slides to refer to for more details/ numbers where needed or simply create a data room where you can store additional information should the investor be interested to learn more after reviewing the pitch deck.

Suggested structure

1. Elevator Pitch

A short one-line summary that combines your vision, solution, and mission of your company. Think about how can you gain an investor's interest from the beginning.

2. Problem

• Define the real problem/need you’re solving, and for who.

3. Current Solutions

• What are the current alternatives to the problem?

• Why are they not good enough? What is missing? Why? How do you know?

4. Your solution

• Describe how your product/ solution is solving the problem/ need for the customer

• Why is it unique?

• Clearly define exactly who you serve, how they use your solution, how they benefit;

• Show product images here if you can

5. Market Opportunity

• How big is the market for this?

• Consider the total market but also the realistic market share gain

• Where do you sit in the current marketplace?

• Share any relevant trends or insights

6. Progress, Validation & Traction

• What have you validated so far? What’s next?

• What traction have you generated? i.e users, feedback, clients, trials, sales, revenue etc.

• What are your key metrics, use data to showcase progress

• Highlight existing press, partnerships, awards, testimonials

7. Business Model

• How do you make money?

• What is the pricing/model?

• Revenue and # of customers to date;

• Show basic math on revenues and conversion rates

• Lifetime value of an average customer

8. Market Approach & Strategy

• Where are your customers looking today and finding help?

• How will you get in front of them?

• 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?

9. Competition

• Where do you exist in the larger overall Market Space?

• What are your Advantages?

• How is your place in the market unique to you, and the right one for your company growth and customers?

• Who are the competitors, why have they succeeded, and how do you truly differentiate from them?

10. Team & Key Stakeholders

• Highlight key team members and their prior positions, successes, domain expertise

• Demonstrate relevant experience

• Consider including advisors, mentors, existing investors

• Important key hires you're looking to make soon/ post-investment

• Acknowledge any gaps in the team and how you plan to resolve

11. Financials

• Include 3-5 years of financial projections covering customer growth, revenue, costs, and EBITDA;

• Mention key & critical assumptions in your financial model, conversion rates etc.

12. Investment Ask

• State how much capital you are raising, equity or debt, EIS/SEIS assurance, valuation etc.

• Note any committed funding to date and when the round will close;

• Who are your existing & notable investors, if any?

• What are your key Use of Proceeds (as % of total raise)? i.e: founder salaries, marketing, new hires, product development, equipment, expenses etc.