Creating Your First Pitch Deck Part 2

You should now have a document answering questions about your business from our last post. Let’s sift through all you’ve written, and pull out the most salient parts.

First, let’s start with the problem. The problem slide should be clear and relatable, and should feel obvious once you explain it to others.

Problem

This should be framed in terms of the customer- who has this problem, what is the pain? (This should be your answer to #1 in your document.)

Solution + Defensibility

How do you solve the problem? Why is your solution a “must have” and not a “nice to have?” Show that you are the best in your niche. (Your answer to #2.)

Competitive Differentiation

What is special about your company? What is the edge you have that no one else has? What’s your differentiator, underlying magic- your unfair advantage? (Your product features compared to your answer in #4 in your document.)

Market Opportunity

From the information you have combined in your document, you can calculate the market size and dollar value you can attribute to the market. (This is #3 and #5 in your document, combined.) If you need additional help, see this article by Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Concept Validated/ Traction

Have you shown there is a need for your product? What are people saying/are they using your product/are they paying? (This is #7 in your document.)

Business Model

How will you make money? Does it have the potential to scale? (This is #6.)

Go To Market

How are you finding and retaining users? (This is #8)

Team

Why are you the best team right now to solve this? (This is #9.)

Ask

What are you looking for? Funding, help, etc. (This is #10.)

A few deck design principles to think about:

Show your vision within the market opportunity.

More visuals. Less Text.

Tailor for your audience.

Tell a story about real people.

Use quotes and data to support your story.

Once you have your content in a deck format, test it out on a few people to get feedback. Do they understand your business? Can your grandma understand it? Can a 5-year-old understand it? If not, simplify the language in your deck.

Once you know it is understandable, then you are ready to send it to a designer. If you need a recommendation for a designer please reach out {at} hello@altitudeprograms.com

Once you have your deck you are ready to start practicing your pitch (storytelling) and preparing for fundraising. If you need additional help or want a second pair of eyes on your deck, reach out {at} hello@altitudeprograms.com.