Or they would just buy you out on the spot or recreate it for themselves. Remember that investors are really investing in you, not the business or idea. What are you going to do with the money? Spend it on rent or buy up customers and squeeze the competition out of business? In later rounds, having some well known VCs on your deck can fast track funding and help in negotiating better terms. It shows someone else believes in you and has put their money on the line. Who are your other current and previous investors? In early stage funding rounds investors are very encouraged by success in raising money from angel investors and even friends and family. Key points include your burn rate, break even point and how many users you need to make a profit. It’s one of the three most important slides in your pitch deck, according to the data in this Forbes article. The financials slide is one that investors will spend the most time on. Yet, investors want to see that you’ve really thought this through and have something that makes sense. What is the basic business model for acquiring customers and generating revenues? Don’t get too bogged down here as strategies and tactics will change. What testing have you done? What is the feedback from user engagement? What is the trajectory of your growth? Yet, the one thing every potential investor is going to want to know is what traction you have so far. You don’t have to be profitable or even have many paying customers to raise capital. Screenshots are smart if you have an online product or app. What are the features and benefits? This is a great place to use images to show your product or service in action. What are your startup’s competitive advantages in the marketplace and over your competition? What’s unique? What can you do better that really matters to consumers or profitability? If you don’t know who they are, there is a good chance you haven’t done adequate research. This slide is really important as it will determine the potential outcome to investors that express interest.Įvery business has competition. Think in billions and always add credible sources. How is your startup solving this problem? How is you company a part of the solution?Įvery single pitch deck should incorporate the size of the market and potential size of the opportunity. What is the problem that your startup or service is solving? During the deck you need to bring together the what, why, why now (urgency) and why you have the team to accomplish it.

Typically this could be included in the cover slide with a nice high resolution photo and a powerful tag line. What is this? Show viewers what it is all about upfront so they know it is something they are interested in.

Exchange business model slide