14 must-have slides in your Investor Pitch Deck

 

Setting up a new business or expanding an existing one is never easy. There’s much to be done. In case of a new business, you need to get the requisite licenses to start things up, rent suitable office space and necessary equipment, hire and onboard employees, etc. If you’re going in for expansion, you may need more employees, need more office, warehouse, and factory space, buy or upgrade equipment, along with other tasks. All these are necessary no matter what your requirements are. However, while time-consuming and often difficult, none of these is the most important. What is, is having enough funding for it all. Meaning, you need to find investors, which is also not so easy. Needing financing means you have to ask people to invest while attempting to convince them of why they should give you, their money. Therefore, what you need to do first is create a crisp, compelling, and highly persuasive investor pitch deck. One that will engage these potential investors and get them excited enough about your products and services to actually invest in your business. Before we get started, let’s learn what a pitch deck is. 

Pitch Deck – A Simple Explanation 

A pitch deck is a presentation that’s typically created using PowerPoint. It’s also commonly referred to as a slide deck or start-up deck by many. It is a presentation that provides a concise but informative summary of your business. Inclusions should be key points of your business plan, the products and services you have to offer, high-level financial projections, and funding needs. The whole point of having a pitch deck is to primarily tell your target audience the story of your business and do it using compelling and persuasive visual elements. That being said, let’s look at the 14 slides that must be included to ensure that potential investors get all the facts they need to make an informed decision. 

 

Slide 1 – Company Overview 

It’s important to include your company overview at the very beginning. You need to introduce yourself and your business so that potential investors know who is asking for an investment. In put all the necessary information in not more than 6 bullet points. What you must include is your business’s name, your location, what problem your business is going to take care of, how experienced the team is, and any key traction you’ve already made in the industry. The whole point of giving them this information is to get their attention and convince them of the company’s growth potential. 

 

Slide 2 – Mission/ Vision 

The Mission/ Vision slide is also vital because you have to use just 1 sentence to give an overview of your business and the value you’re bringing to your customers. Keep in mind that your language is simple enough for everyone who will read it. Basically, this slide gives you the chance to pitch your business to the audience in 15 seconds or less, just like an elevator pitch.  

 

Slide 3 – Meet the Team 

Investors generally want and need to know who’s in charge of building and growing the business. This plays a big part in helping them to make the decision to invest their money. There are certain things you can include in this slide such as: 

  • Pictures of the key team members along with their respective designations 

  • Short description of their previous employment and relevant experience and expertise in the industry  

 

Slide 4 – The Problem 

The main reasons you’re setting up your business is because there’s a problem that needs solving. Therefore, you can use this slide to determine what exactly the problem is and who are the people that need help. The easiest way to do this is to tell a relatable story that will help define the problem. Make it as real as possible so that your potential investors get a clear picture of what the problem is and why it really needs a solution as quickly as possible.  

 

Slide 5 – The Solution 

Once you’ve identified the problem, you need to have the solution ready for delivery as well. Ensure that you have proper data to support why your solution is the best in the market. Mention what kind of positive impact it will have as opposed to competitive products. Here’s where you get to use charts or graphs to present the information visually which is more likely to leave a lasting impression on the audience. 

 

Slide 6 – The Product/ Service 

This slide goes hand-in-hand with the solution. Use it to describe the product/ service you’re offering. Explain how consumers can use your product to solve the problem or problems outlined in slide 4. Show them why it is unique and better than any competitor’s product/ service. Ensure that you: 

  • Outline the product’s key features  

  • Talk about why existing consumers like and care about the product/ service 

  • Mention what the product’s milestones (if any) are 

  • Talk about whether there are plans to improve on the existing product and what these improvements will be 

 

Slide 7 – The Target Market and Opportunity 

Knowing who the target market is, is of the utmost importance. Potential investors need to know a number of things before making a decision to part with their money. They typically ask questions like, “What’s the market size for your product?”, “What is the scope for growth?”, “What impact have your products and services had on consumers?” “Where exactly is your company positioned?” Ensure that you have all this information ready to present to them.  

However, be very careful with this slide. If there is a massive market for the products/ services you’re providing, it’s easy to want to show every bit of data available for the same. Instead, try and divide your market into segments. You can then show different marketing strategies and different types of products which you can offer. The key here is to be specific in order to achieve your goal. 

 

Slide 8 – Key Partnerships 

This slide works in the case of an established company that’s looking to expand and needs investors. Here they can share some of the key strategic partnerships that are vital to their success. You can share this information in the form of intellectual property licensing or a major distribution partner who will be taking your product to market. It’s essential to showcase these types of partnerships, especially if they have contributed to your business’s success so far.  

Slide 9 – Revenue/ Business Model 

It’s critical to share your business model with your investors. They want to understand how your product/ service makes or is going to make money. Points that you can cover in this slide are: 

  • What is the pricing model? 

  • What is a customer’s long-term value? 

  • What channels are you using for customer acquisition? 

  • What are the costs involved in this process? 

It’s also ideal to include information about your competitors here. Talk about where your pricing falls in the larger market. Do you plan to offer a premium, high-price product or does your product fall into the budget category? 

 

Slide 10 – Marketing Plan/ Strategy 

No matter whether it’s new business or simply expansion, you need to show your marketing strategy. What are you going to do to engage your customers’ attention? What does your sales process look like? Use this slide to outline your marketing strategy carefully. Ensure that you talk about:  

  • the key marketing channels you are going to use (paid searches, radio, TV, social media, email marketing, etc.) 

  • what marketing channels have worked well in the past 

  • any early press you might have gotten 

  • if you have any preliminary customer acquisition costs per customer and what is the projected lifetime value of a customer is 

It’s really not easy to find and win over investors. You have to be clear with what you plan to do and you are going to go about doing it. That’s why you need to have a proper marketing strategy that shows what marketing channels you’ll be using. If your marketing plan is different from what your competitors are doing, you can explain it in this slide. 

 

Slide 11 – Traction/ Milestones 

Having a marketing strategy in place early in the game is more likely to work in your business’s favor. Investors look for proof of success along with mitigated risks. Therefore, any proof that corroborates that your solution actually solves the problem you have identified is extremely crucial.  

You can also use this slide to showcase any milestones the business has achieved so far. Talk about the major achievements along with any future goals you might have.  

 

Slide 12 – Financials 

Your Financials slide is extremely crucial and has the power to make or break your pitch deck. Investors want to have a clear and detailed explanation of your company’s current financial status as well as any future break up of finances for your marketing plan going forward. They will expect to see the company’s income statement (also called profit and loss statement), sales forecast, and cash flow forecast going back at least three years. However, don’t confuse them with too much information. Stick to data derived from these statements in charts that show sales, total customers, total expenses, and profits. 

Explain what assumptions you’ve made in order to arrive at your sales goals and what your key expense drivers are. However, be careful with your projections. Don’t tell your investors that you’re going to increase revenue by 10x but only end up increasing sales and marketing costs by 2x. 

 

Slide 13 – Competitors 

Whether you’re just starting up a business or have an established one, there’s always going to be competition. Consumers constantly look for alternate solutions given how the market is ever–evolving.  

With this slide, you can show where your business and product/ service fit into the competitive landscape. Talk about how your product is superior to any alternatives available from competitor companies. Outline the major advantages that could give your product/ service an edge over every other similar one in the market. Your end goal here is to make sure that investors see that the investment into your company is worth it. 

 

Slide 14 – Ask for the Investment 

After all the effort put into the previous slides, now it’s time to ask for the money. While it’s necessary to explain who you are and what your company is about, the problem, the solution, etc. you also HAVE to tell them how much money you need to take things further.  

More importantly, they need explanation as to why you need the amount you’re asking for as well as how you plan to use it to achieve the goals you’ve set for your business. Along with these, you need to tell them what sort of returns they’ll get from giving you the money. 

Lastly, if you’ve already managed to bring in other investors, talk about them and how you got them to invest in your business. You never know but it could just give this new set of potential investors a push in the right direction. 

 

Crafting your Investor Pitch Deck with the Experts 

It might seem really daunting that you need to create a pitch deck with the above-mentioned 14 slides. However, it has to be done without question. Each of these forms a vital piece of the picture you are painting for your potential investors. All of it is to ask them to invest in your business. It’s a pitch deck that’s neither simple nor easy to design. This is why you go straight to a professional pitch deck design agency for all the assistance you require. Right off the bat, we recommend you talk to our team at PowerPoint.Design. Our portfolio of clients that we’ve worked with speaks for itself and you can also check out the services we have to offer.  

Write to us at [email protected] or call on +91-9923-444-353 to talk to the team and get a quote or even if you simply have extra questions about our work.