Here at Greenbackers, we review around 20-30 pitch decks a week, that’s well over 1000 per year. We see far too many fail to, in our opinion, really make a compelling case to invest.
According to INC Magazine research, statistically, only 1% of ALL pitch decks secure venture capital funding. Part of this equation, of course, is indentifying and approaching the right funds (Greenbackers can help there), but even when you’ve found them, expect that your pitch deck will get less than three minutes of their attention. Because, like us, they look at hundreds.
In that small window, there are three things that will likely land your deck in the trash alongside the 99% of the other pitch decks will that fail to even get to an investment committee for consideration, much less funded.
- You have an idea, not a business. Well, sorry, investors do not invest in ideas, however great. They invest in businesses. Show that you have one.
- Your financials are half-baked. Investors generally seek to get an annual return of around 30 to 40 percent for early-stage startups. If you can’t show that, then at least show how and when you will get there.
- Your team isn’t fully invested. A major indicator, statistically, of the likelihood of a startup’s success or not is whether its team has reached the point of no return. In other words, VCs may seek to gauge how invested a team is by whether or not they themselves have invested in the idea so far as to get to the point of no return.
According to Sequoia Capital, here are a number of ‘must-have’ slides that are more likely to make investors say ‘yes’. Here’s how it works:
- Define your company’s purpose with clarity.
- Address the problem with insight.
- Present your solution as a beacon of hope.
- Time it right; why now, not later?
- Map out the market; show your understanding and potential.
- Outshine competitors by highlighting your edge.
- THEN Detail your product like the masterpiece it is.
- Explain your business model; make it compelling and clear, how you’ll make £€$¥
- Showcase your team; the architects of your vision, key partnerships and advisory board (if you have one.
- Your ask (£€$¥), use of funds and + what else would help you from an investor.
This isn’t just about numbers or graphs. It’s about creating a narrative that makes investors feel at home with your vision.
Every slide, every figure, and every graph should tell a part of your story. From understanding the problem to presenting a game-changing solution.
Start with the ‘why’. End with the ‘how’. And here is the graphic from Sequioa to help you get there.
