How to Create a Pitch Deck for Your Business Idea

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Attracting investments is important for companies that are just entering the market, as well as for existing enterprises seeking to develop actively. Presenting a business idea is a difficult and responsible task. Firstly, such performances are usually strictly limited in time. Secondly, the audience may be initially disloyal; you need to dispel the doubts of investors and prove that it is worth investing in your business.

In order to successfully create a pitch deck, not only a thoughtful speech is important but also the content of the slides. Let’s figure out what you need to show and how to make a good design.

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Steps for creating a pitch deck

First of all, you need to define the business idea you want to present. To make it easier for you, check out these business research ideas. You can choose one of them, or come up with your own, based on the presented ideas. Is it possible to present your idea without a pitch deck? Probably yes, but at the same time, sooner or later, every entrepreneur comes to the need to make a set of slides in order to describe their idea.

Often, the founder themselves, based on templates that can be used from any office software package, makes the first pitch deck of a startup. There is a classic 30/20/10 rule that still holds true today. 30 is the size of the font, 20 is the number of minutes of a pitch deck, and 10 is the number of slides. On one slide, place information about only one thing: a team, a solution, an idea, but do not include several different informational occasions on it, as this will only confuse yourself and those who will watch your presentation.

At the beginning of the pitch deck, it is important to make the audience interested. Therefore, 5-6 slides should be taken to describe the business idea. On the title page of the presentation, type the name of the brand with an indication of the field of activity. You can add the main message or slogan of the company. If you work for the B2B segment or your designs are innovative, make a second slide with a brief explanation of what exactly you do and what the product is.

On the next few slides, you need to indicate why exactly your product will be in demand, why it is unique and what audience will be interested in. This information can be presented in different formats. For example, start with a problem that is relevant to a large number of people and show how your product solves it. Alternatively, start with the strengths of the product and then explain why it will be in demand using examples of specific situations.

The purpose of the first slides is to show that your product or service is really needed by the world and, accordingly, will bring profit.

There are four main sections within a good pitch deck:

  • An introduction is the first part of a pitch deck where you can talk about the situation as a whole: is there a market for your idea, or is it only you who cares.
  • In the second part, reveal everything about the problem. Use the villain-hero juxtaposition to talk about what’s wrong now and what will change once you make your idea a reality. 
  • Problem-solving is the next important part of a pitch deck. In this section, you should tell not only about know-how but also about competitors of your business idea.
  • Conclusions are the final section, which requires no less attention because it is known that we remember best the first and last things we encounter. At the end of the pitch deck, do not forget about the call or morality.

It is important to introduce future investors to the team working on the project – it is better to do this immediately after presenting the business idea. If the team is small, everyone can be mentioned; if it is large, the management team and key specialists can be mentioned. The team introduction usually spans two to three slides.

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Be sure to use photos on slides – human faces attract the attention of viewers and contribute to emotional involvement. Indicate the names and positions of team members, briefly describe their experience, focus on the most successful projects.

Intellectual property is an important aspect to include in your pitch deck. Show how your patents are interconnected and what affects the final product.

Money. The next important question any investor will ask is about money. If you already have a mature company, then show the dynamics of sales and the growth of the user base, and if you are just taking the first steps, then disclose information about the unit economy.

Conclusion

It is safe to say that the presentation of a business idea is a conservative form. Investors, first, are interested in money – therefore, show this information as much as possible. Do not exaggerate market opportunities or your achievements – the job of an investor is not just to take the word of an entrepreneur but to know as deeply as possible about these aspects.


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