I’ve been asked several times in the last 30 days to help folks get their Pitch Decks “right”. Always interesting to learn about something new — but — much of the time is spent on helping folks understand What Investors Want To See (this post) and What Investors Think During Your Pitch (Part 2 — my next post).

With the caveat that beauty is in the eye of the beholder (in this case mine) — here’s what your deck should address (the order can vary based on your strengths and selling points):

WHAT SHOULD BE IN YOUR PITCH DECK

THE OPPORTUNITY
– Mission — what are you trying to accomplish?
– Opportunity — how big is the opportunity?
– Timing — why is now a good time to attack this?
– Solution — what are you trying to do/build to address this?

THE BASICS (yeah yeah – “it’s a thing that does a thing”)
– What is “it”?
– How does “it” work?

CURRENT SITUATION
– Competition/Competitive Landscape – who’s there now and how do they compete?
– Progress ToDate – where are you now/what have you done thus far?
– Financial Snapshot – $$ raised life to-date and current spending (monthly burn)?

TEAM (impress me here)
– Team
– Advisors
– Partners

GROWTH
– Growth Plan — Now -> Next -> Eventually?
– When/How do you achieve critical mass?
– Selecting Opportunities — how do you choose among the possible alternatives?

INVESTMENT (the ask)
– Investment Needs
– Spending Plan – $ by spend category and timeline (quarterly)
– Expected Return – how and when do “we” make $ on this investment

SUMMARY
– Why is this great?
– Why should we care?

Break a leg!  Cheers.  DC