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What is one thing that distinguishes good pitch decks from great ones?
1. The Right Amount of Information
Including too much information in your initial pitch can be counterproductive. Leave some questions unanswered and avoid over-sharing. It also helps keep the meeting focus on you and not reading slides.
– Kevin Henrikson, Outlook iOS & Android @ Microsoft
2. The Presenter
A good presenter can be more effective with blank slides than a bad presenter with the best slides. Make sure that you know your stuff, breathe, and focus on engaging your audience rather than pitching them. Having a conversation is the best outcome you could hope for, so encourage interruptions.
– Douglas Hutchings, Picasolar
3. A Competitive Landscape Graph
A compelling competitive landscape graph can effectively show investors how your product is distinct from others in the space. In a few seconds, it effectively conveys what makes your company unique and why they should get out their checkbooks to help take it to the next level.
– Doug Bend, Bend Law Group, PC
4. Growth Curves That Demonstrate Traction
At the seed stage, investors invest in ideas that are explained through compelling stories. But once you’ve raised a few million, investors will want to see how efficiently you used the proceeds from your previous round. Demonstrate your traction by showing growth curves for your key performance indicators. Good traction is hard to ignore and will make them want to invest again.
– David Ciccarelli, Voices.com
5. Graphic Design
I see so many pitch decks with horrible graphic design and I immediately lose all respect for the presenter. It is so easy to improve a design these days. You can get it professionally designed on 99Designs.com for a few hundred bucks or download a template from Themeforest.net. Make sure your presentation is 10/10 quality and people will take you seriously.
– Brandon Stapper, 858 Graphics
6. Clarity
So often I see pitch decks that have proprietary concepts, unnecessary technical jargon or overly obscure ideas. Investors are looking for simple things in a pitch deck. What is the problem, what is your solution, who is your team, what’s the size of market, and how much money do you need to prove the opportunity? Don’t get too caught in overly intricate, vague or highly technical concepts.
7. Brevity
I find the shorter you can make the deck, the better. If you can explain everything concisely and efficiently that’s a good sign that you understand what you’re doing.
8. Past Strategic Plans and Real Data
A great pitch deck will include a company’s past strategic plan, complete with dates, and will have data demonstrating how the company did achieving the milestones they set out to achieve.
9. Focus
A good pitch deck hits all of the major points needed to secure investors. A great one does this while remaining focused and brief. It includes a maximum of 10 slides (if you’re using that format), and is no longer than 20 minutes. If you take the time to pare down your pitch deck, you should enjoy more success.
– Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance
10. The Right Amount of the Right Data
Investors want to see a solid command of the metrics that are important to your business. This includes a solid reading of key industry data supporting your hypotheses and an articulation of how your success should be measured (not vanity metrics). The best pitch decks are those that can clearly show your traction and the market potential through a few key data points.
11. The Benefits to the Investor
A good pitch deck tells you about the business model and why it is different from the rest. However, a great pitch deck speaks directly to the investor in terms of what their involvement will do for them, especially how much money they will make through their investment and how long it will take to get that return. A great pitch deck also includes how that investor can participate in the success.
12. Well-Organized Information Flow
If you can understand (and are inspired by) a pitch deck even without its presenter, it’s a great one. To make a pitch deck easy to understand, make sure it has all the needed components, answers all the important questions, and orders everything into a sensible flow of information. Limit one slide to one big idea, and hyperlink key sections to your references and other resources to learn more.
13. Visual Communication
As attention spans have continued to dwindle, savvy professionals have turned to visual communication tools like infographics and animated video to get their message across. Visuals get to the brain faster than any other form of communication and are retained 90 percent more often. When competing for money, powerful visuals will connect with your audience faster and ensure your pitch isn’t forgotten.
– Amy Balliett, Killer Infographics
14. Metrics on Competitors and Market Share
Does the deck contain industry and competitor research? I want to know that the business plan has a solid understanding of the market it is in, the competitors, their market share, market growth, pricing and/or monetization strategies. I want a deck to demonstrate that the company has a general idea of the market it’s after and who it must compete with or create a better service than.
CATEGORY: Raising