A pitch deck is a concise presentation (usually 10–15 slides) that startups and entrepreneurs use to showcase their business idea to investors or stakeholders. Think of it as your business plan on slides. It’s visual, brief, and persuasive.
It’s often shared during investor meetings, demo days, or emailed to potential backers. A well-designed pitch deck can open the door to funding, partnerships, and support.
Types of Pitch Deck
Not all pitch decks are the same. Depending on your audience and purpose, your deck might take on a different tone or structure. Here are some common types:
- Investor Pitch Deck: This is the most popular format, aimed at getting funding. It highlights your business model, traction, financials, and market opportunity. It’s ideal for venture capitalists, angel investors, and accelerator programs.
- Startup Pitch Deck: Similar to an investor pitch deck, but can also be used to attract co-founders, advisors, or early hires. The focus here is vision, problem-solving approach, and product idea.
- Sales Pitch Deck: Used to convince customers or clients. This deck focuses more on product features, benefits, and how it solves a pain point. It’s ideal for sales teams and business development.
- Internal Pitch Deck: Created for internal stakeholders like board members or team leads. Often includes strategy updates, KPIs, and growth plans.
- Product Pitch Deck: Zooms in on your product—how it works, the technology behind it, and the UX/UI design. This is useful for tech reviewers, product managers, and early adopters.
Components of a Pitch Deck
The best pitch decks follow this structure. Here’s what to include in a pitch deck:
1. Introduction
This is where you introduce yourself or your company. Mention the name of your startup, your role, and why you’re passionate about the business. Make this a personal moment, showing why you are uniquely positioned to solve the problem you’re addressing.
Quickly address the key value you bring to the table. Investors receive tons of pitch decks, so making a memorable first impression is crucial.
2. Problem
Explain the problem in relatable terms that show the need for a solution. Think about what keeps your target audience up at night.
Define your target market and make the problem feel personal. Highlight the emotional or financial impact it has on potential customers. And don’t just say it’s a problem—show why it’s important to fix it now, and how much potential there is for improvement.
3. Solution
Walk through your product or service and show how it directly addresses the problem. This could be a demo video, a product image, or key features that highlight its effectiveness. Focus on the unique selling proposition (USP)—why your solution is better than any alternatives on the market. Be clear about the benefits.
4. Market Opportunity
Show your Total Addressable Market (TAM), Serviceable Available Market (SAM), and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM). This helps investors understand the potential size of the opportunity. Highlight trends that prove your market is growing and will continue to do so. Use data points that show how your business will fit into that growth.
And if applicable, share customer feedback, surveys, or testimonials that demonstrate interest in your product.
5. Product
Include visuals like screenshots, wireframes, or videos to make the product more tangible. If your product is in the early stages, showing a prototype or beta version is fine. Explain key features in simple terms, focusing on how your product solves the problem you outlined earlier. This is where you want to get specific—show them your product’s magic.
6. Business Model
Explain how your business makes money. Do you have a subscription-based model? Is your product sold as a one-time purchase?
Also provide an overview of your pricing strategy and why it’s optimal for your target market. And highlight how your business model can grow over time, particularly if it has the potential to scale easily or reach a global market.
7. Traction
Share important metrics like monthly active users (MAUs), customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), sales, or any significant milestones you’ve reached. If you have any notable partnerships, early customers, or key endorsements, now’s the time to mention them. Show graphs or charts that highlight your growth trajectory and any positive trends in your business’s performance.
8. Marketing & Growth Strategy
Whether it’s through inbound marketing, paid ads, social media, or partnerships, explain how you’ll reach and engage your target audience. A great marketing plan also focuses on customer retention. Show how you plan to keep customers happy and keep them coming back. Highlight how your marketing strategy can scale as your business grows. Investors want to see that your acquisition costs won’t rise exponentially as you expand.
9. Competitive Analysis
A clear understanding of your competition is crucial to making your case. Highlight your competitors and what sets your business apart. List other businesses offering similar products or services. Explain why they don’t fully solve the problem or why your solution is better.
This is also where you identify your unique selling point (USP). Whether it’s pricing, technology, customer service, or innovation, explain why you’re positioned to succeed. Help investors understand where you stand in the market relative to the competition.
10. Team
Introduce your leadership team, including co-founders, key hires, and advisors. Provide brief bios showcasing their expertise and experience. Focus on why your team is the right one to execute this vision. Investors need to trust that you have the skills and experience to pull it off.
11. Financials
Here, you’ll show your financial projections and demonstrate that you understand the business’s financial side. Show your revenue, expenses, and cash flow projections for the next 3-5 years. Highlight key financial metrics such as gross margin, operating margin, and profit.
If you’ve raised any funds previously, be sure to mention them here. Show how you’ve allocated that capital to date. Be realistic in your projections. Investors appreciate founders who are grounded and honest about their financial expectations.
12. Ask
This is where you tell investors how much money you’re looking to raise and how you’ll use it. Specify the amount of funding you’re requesting and the type of investment you’re seeking (equity, debt, etc.).
Be clear about how you’ll use the investment (e.g., product development, marketing, hiring, operational costs). Showing a well-thought-out plan for using the capital will help investors feel confident in your vision.
Pitch Deck Examples
If you’re looking for inspiration, these great pitch decks nailed the format and storytelling:
- Canva pitch deck: Canva’s pitch deck is a great example of how a visual product should be presented. It’s simple, clear, and focuses heavily on the problem and solution.
- Facebook (The OG example pitch deck): Mark Zuckerberg’s first pitch deck for Facebook is a classic. While it’s much simpler than modern decks, it has some timeless elements, like focusing on market opportunity and the team behind the idea.
- Airbnb pitch deck – It was simple, clear, and focused on market opportunity and vision.
Other examples of pitch decks you can learn from:
- Dropbox pitch deck – They used storytelling and simplicity to convey a complex idea.
- Uber pitch deck – It highlighted market disruption, user adoption, and scalability.
Platforms like Slidebean, Canva, and Visme offer free pitch deck templates and pitch deck generators you can tweak to fit your story.
FAQs
What is a pitch deck in business?
A pitch deck in business is a short presentation used to introduce and explain your business idea to investors or stakeholders. It often includes your business model, financials, and growth plan.
How to make a pitch deck?
Use tools like PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Canva. Follow a structured format, focus on visuals, and tell a compelling story about your startup.
What should be included in a pitch deck?
Essential slides: Introduction, Problem, Solution, Market, Product, Business Model, Traction, Competition, Team, Financials, and Ask.
How long should a pitch deck be?
10 to 15 slides is ideal. Investors are busy, and brevity shows clarity.
What does a pitch deck look like?
A pitch deck is a visual slideshow, often with one major idea per slide. It combines graphs, charts, product images, and short text to tell a compelling story.