Investor pitch deck
What is an investor pitch?
A pitch deck is a brief presentation used to provide your audience with a quick overview of your business plan. It is the hook you will use to capture the attention and imagination of an investor. You will usually use your pitch deck during face-to-face or online meetings with potential investors, customers, partners, and co-founders.
Before we get started, copy the Investor Pitch Template to your Google Drive and start outlining your answers and create your pitch.
How do you create an investor pitch deck for you business?
Exude inevitability. Make them believe that you are going to make your business work whether they’re on the train or not - it’s a train they don’t want to miss. If they feel that they might miss out on a great opportunity or to be a part of an incredible story, they’re much more willing to invest or lend!
Some tips that will help you formulate a great pitch deck is to play to your strengths and to do your research. This is essentially a more fleshed out version of your elevator pitch. The point of a pitch is to create interest and buzz for your business, not to cover every detail. You should be able to illustrate the essentials of your company in 10 slides or less. The essentials you’d need to cover in a pitch deck are:
Introduction: Who are you and why you're here? Keep it short and sweet.
Validate: What makes you uniquely qualified to do this? What have you done to date? Who have you convinced to go on this journey with you? What skin do you have in the game?
Problem: What problem are you trying to solve? Is it really a problem? What problem are you solving?
Advantages: Why has this not been created before? What makes your solution special?
Product: How does your product or service actually work? Show some examples.
Traction: What market trends tell you this will be in high demand? What do you know about the future that makes this the right time?
Market: Who has this problem? How big is this problem or how many people have it? Try to predict the size of your target market.
Competition: How are you different from others? What are the alternative solutions to the problem you are trying to solve?
Business model: How are you planning to make money? Show a schedule when you expect to make a profit. What is your planned budget?
Ask: What kind of money are you looking for? When do you need it by? Are you offering a stake in your business? Will you pay back with interests? When will you pay back? Checkout our article on How to pitch an idea for tips on how to actually deliver your investor pitch.
Contact: Leave your contact details and let them know how they can reach you.
Why is an investor pitch deck important for your business?
We all wish that investors and lenders were like Oprah. “You get funding, and you get funding, everyone gets funding!” Alas, money is rarely free and most often hard to get. To woo investors and lenders, you’ll need a pitch that will wow them over and convince them that your business is worth taking a chance on.
Pro Tip
Investors and lenders are looking for safe bets and for people they trust, so look to build relationships. It’s great if you are able to get a referral to a specific lender or investor from someone else who already has a relationship with that person.