Pitching & Pitch Decks
How to craft a compelling investor pitch that gets funded—from the 10-slide blueprint to the 30-second elevator pitch
In 2023, investors reviewed 200+ pitch decks per partner but funded fewer than 5. This module teaches the battle-tested 10-slide structure, elevator pitch formulas, and storytelling frameworks that turn a 'maybe later' into a term sheet. Includes templates, investor psychology insights, and real-world examples from successful founders.
PITCH DECK PROPOSAL
Mastering Investor Communication
The average investor makes a gut decision in the first 3 minutes. Your pitch isn't about the idea—it's about the inevitability of the future you're building and your team's ability to execute. This module breaks down exactly how to structure that narrative.
Why Most Pitches Fail
The average investor sees 200+ pitch decks per year and says "yes" to fewer than 5. Your pitch has ~3 minutes to capture attention before they mentally check out.[5]The difference between funded and ignored isn't always the idea—it's how you tell the story.
This module covers the proven pitch deck structure used by successful startups and industry leaders. You'll learn the 10-slide blueprint, elevator pitch formulas, storytelling frameworks, and investor psychology—everything to turn a "maybe later" into a term sheet.
The 10-Slide Pitch Deck Blueprint
The gold standard pitch deck structure, refined by industry experts and adopted across successful startups.[1]These 10 slides answer every question an investor has—in the order they think about them.
Total pitch time: 6-8 minutes (leave 2-4 minutes for Q&A in a 10-minute slot)
| Slide # | Title | Purpose | Key Content | Time (seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cover | First impression | Company name, tagline, logo, contact | 10-15 |
| 2 | Problem | Why this matters | Customer pain point (specific, urgent, expensive) | 30-45 |
| 3 | Solution | How you solve it | Your product in 1 sentence + visual demo | 45-60 |
| 4 | Product Demo | Show, don't tell | Screenshots, video, or live demo (if short) | 30-45 |
| 5 | Market Size | Is this big enough? | TAM/SAM/SOM with bottoms-up calculation | 30-45 |
| 6 | Business Model | How you make money | Revenue streams, pricing, unit economics | 30-45 |
| 7 | Traction | Proof it works | Revenue, users, growth rate, partnerships | 45-60 |
| 8 | Competition | Why you win | Market positioning (2x2 matrix) | 30-45 |
| 9 | Team | Why you? | Founders + advisors with relevant credentials | 30-45 |
| 10 | Ask | What you need | Fundraising amount, use of funds, milestones | 30-45 |
Slide 1: Cover
Your first impression. Keep it minimal—company name, one-line tagline (what you do), logo, and your email. Example: "Stripe — Payments infrastructure for the internet | founders@stripe.com"
Slide 2: Problem
The most important slide. Describe a customer pain point that is: (1) specific(not "email is broken" but "sales teams waste 4 hours/day on manual follow-ups"), (2) urgent (happens daily, not once a year), and (3) expensive(costs real money or time). Use a customer quote or statistic to make it visceral.
Slide 3: Solution
Your product in 1 sentence. Format: "We help [target customer] [solve problem] by [unique approach]." Example: "We help sales teams close deals 40% faster by automating follow-up emails with AI." Add a visual (product screenshot or diagram).
Slide 4: Product Demo
Show your product in action. For software, use annotated screenshots highlighting 3 key features. For hardware, show the prototype. If you can demo live in under 30 seconds, do it—but have a backup slide in case Wi-Fi fails.
Slide 5: Market Size
Investors need $1B+ TAM (total addressable market) to justify venture returns. Calculate bottoms-up: "10M businesses × $100/month = $12B TAM." Then show SAM (serviceable addressable market, your realistic target) and SOM (serviceable obtainable market, what you'll capture in 3-5 years).
Slide 6: Business Model
How you make money. State your pricing model (SaaS subscription, transaction fee, marketplace take rate) and show unit economics: CAC, LTV, payback period, gross margin. If pre-revenue, explain your pricing strategy and comparable benchmarks.
Slide 7: Traction
Proof your solution works. Best traction metrics (in order): revenue growth, user growth, engagement metrics (DAU/MAU), partnerships with recognizable brands. Show a hockey stick graph if you have one. If pre-launch, show LOIs (letters of intent) or pilot signups.
Slide 8: Competition
Never say "we have no competitors" (means you don't understand the market). Use a 2×2 matrix with your product in the top-right corner. Example axes: "Ease of Use" vs "Customization." Show why alternatives (incumbents, substitutes, DIY solutions) fall short.
Slide 9: Team
Why you? Highlight domain expertise, technical chops, or previous startup success. Format: "Jane Doe, CEO — Ex-Google Payments, built $50M revenue product." Include 1-2 key advisors if they're well-known investors or industry leaders.
Slide 10: Ask
Be specific. State: (1) how much you're raising ("$2M seed round"), (2) what you'll use it for ("60% product, 30% sales, 10% operations"), and (3) the milestone you'll hit ("$1M ARR in 18 months"). This shows you've thought through capital efficiency.
The 30-Second Elevator Pitch
You have 30 seconds in an elevator with an investor. What do you say? Use this 4-part formula to craft a pitch that's memorable, clear, and creates urgency.
The 4-Part Formula
Start with a surprising stat or bold claim that makes them lean in.
Example: "Sales teams waste $50B annually on manual follow-ups."
Explain your solution in 1 sentence using the format: "We help [customer] [solve problem] by [unique approach]."
Example: "We help B2B sales teams close deals 40% faster by automating follow-ups with AI."
Share 1 traction metric or customer validation point.
Example: "We've grown from 0 to $500K ARR in 8 months, with 200+ customers including Salesforce."
End with a clear call-to-action.
Example: "We're raising a $2M seed round—I'd love to send you our deck."
"Hotels charge $200/night for a room you sleep in for 8 hours. We let you rent someone's spare room for $50/night—and you get a local experience, not a sterile hotel. We've done $2M in bookings in 6 months across 200 cities. We're raising $500K to expand to Europe. Can I send you our deck?"
The 3-Minute Pitch Script
Most pitch meetings start with "Tell me about your company" and give you 3-5 minutes before interruptions. Here's a verbal script structure that covers the essentials—memorize this, then adapt to your story.
The 3-Minute Script Structure
"My co-founder and I were sales managers at [Company]. We spent 4 hours a day manually writing follow-up emails—and still lost deals because we forgot to follow up. We talked to 50 other sales leaders, and they all had the same problem: follow-up is critical, but it's manual, repetitive, and easy to forget."
"So we built [Product Name]—an AI that writes personalized follow-up emails automatically based on the context of your sales call. You just click 'Send.' [Show 15-second demo or screenshot]. It integrates with your CRM, learns your writing style, and sends emails at the optimal time."
"We launched 8 months ago. We're at $500K ARR, growing 20% month-over-month, with 200 customers including Salesforce and HubSpot. We're targeting the 2 million B2B sales teams globally—a $12B market. If we capture just 1% at $200/month, that's $240M ARR potential."
"We charge $200 per user per month. Our CAC is $600, LTV is $4,800, so we have an 8:1 LTV:CAC ratio and a 3-month payback period. Gross margin is 80% because we're SaaS."
"The alternatives are manual follow-ups (slow, error-prone), generic email automation tools (not personalized), or hiring more SDRs (expensive, doesn't scale). We're the only AI-powered solution built specifically for follow-ups, and our NPS is 72."
"I was Head of Sales at [Company], my co-founder built the AI team at Google. We're raising a $2M seed round to scale from $500K to $5M ARR in 18 months—hiring 3 engineers and 2 salespeople. We'd love your feedback on our deck and to explore investing."
Key Principles: Start with the problem (not "We're an AI company"). Use specific numbers (not "we're growing fast"). End with an ask. Practice until you can deliver this in exactly 3 minutes without looking at notes.
Storytelling: The Hero's Journey for Startups
Investors remember stories, not features. The most compelling pitches follow the "Hero's Journey" narrative structure—where the customer is the hero, the problem is the villain, and your product is the magic sword.[4]
Before (Problem)
Paint a picture of life before your solution. What's broken? What's painful? Make the investor feel the frustration.
Example: "Sales reps spend 4 hours/day on admin work instead of selling."
During (Solution)
Introduce your product as the "guide" that helps the hero (customer) overcome the villain (problem). Show the transformation.
Example: "Our AI automates admin tasks, giving reps 4 hours back per day."
After (Outcome)
Describe the future where the problem is solved. Use customer outcomes (not features) to show the impact.
Example: "Our customers close 40% more deals and hit quota 3 months faster."
What Investors Actually Evaluate
Investors don't just evaluate your business—they evaluate whether you'll deliver venture-scale returns. Here's what they're really thinking during your pitch (and how to address it).[5]
Address these questions proactively in your pitch—don't wait for them to ask
| Investor Question | What They're Thinking | How to Address It |
|---|---|---|
| Can this be a $1B company? | Is the market big enough for 100x returns? | Show $1B+ TAM with bottoms-up calculation |
| Why now? | Why didn't this exist 5 years ago? | Explain recent technology/regulatory/behavior shift |
| Why you? | Are you the best team to build this? | Domain expertise, technical ability, or previous success |
| What's the moat? | Can Google copy this in 6 months? | Network effects, data advantage, or 10x better product |
| What could go wrong? | What keeps you up at night? | Acknowledge 1-2 risks, then explain mitigation strategy |
| How do you make money? | Can this generate $100M+ revenue? | Clear pricing model with proven unit economics |
Deck Design: Less Is More
Your deck design should amplify your message, not distract from it. Follow these principles from Y Combinator's analysis of 5,000+ pitch decks.[3]
- One idea per slide (if you need 2 bullet points, you need 2 slides)
- Use 24pt+ font size (readable from 10 feet away in a conference room)
- Limit text to 10 words per slide (use speaker notes for details)
- High-contrast colors (dark text on light background, avoid gradients)
- Consistent font family (use 2 fonts max: one serif, one sans-serif)
- Charts/graphs over tables (visualize data, don't make investors squint)
- Professional (not clip art) icons and images
- White space is good (don't cram slides—break into multiple slides)
- No animations or transitions (they fail during screen sharing)
- Save as PDF (ensures fonts/layout look identical on any device)
Bad Slide: "Our AI-powered platform leverages machine learning algorithms to optimize customer engagement through predictive analytics and real-time personalization."
Good Slide: "Our AI predicts which customers will churn—so you can save them." [Include 1 visual showing prediction accuracy]
7 Mistakes That Kill Pitches
1. Starting with "We're an AI company"
Investors don't invest in technology—they invest in solutions to real problems. Start with the customer pain point, not your tech stack.
2. Using top-down market sizing
"We'll capture 1% of the $500B market" is lazy. Calculate bottoms-up: # of target customers × price × adoption rate = realistic TAM.
3. Saying "we have no competitors"
Every problem has a solution today (even if it's manual). Acknowledge alternatives, then explain why yours is 10x better.
4. Hiding weak traction
If you have no revenue, show user growth. If no users, show LOIs or pilot signups. If nothing, explain why (e.g., "We're pre-launch, beta starts next month").
5. Overcomplicating the business model
"We have SaaS, marketplace, ads, and hardware revenue" is a red flag. Pick one primary revenue stream and nail it.
6. Using jargon or buzzwords
"Synergistic blockchain-enabled metaverse platform" means nothing. Use plain English that a 12-year-old could understand.
7. Not practicing out loud
Reading your pitch in your head ≠ delivering it. Practice in front of a mirror, record yourself, or pitch to friends. Aim for 10+ reps before the real meeting.
Templates & Resources
Use these templates to build your pitch deck and scripts. All formats are designed for quick customization—replace placeholders with your content.
10-Slide Pitch Deck Template
PowerPoint/Keynote template with all 10 slides pre-formatted. Includes speaker notes with tips for each slide. (~2 MB PPTX file)
Elevator Pitch Worksheet
Fill-in-the-blank template for crafting your 30-second pitch using the 4-part formula. PDF with examples. (~500 KB PDF)
3-Minute Pitch Script
Word doc with the full 3-minute script structure. Includes timing markers and example scripts from 3 successful startups. (~1 MB DOCX)
Investor Q&A Prep Sheet
50 common investor questions with frameworks for answering. Covers objections, competitive questions, and due diligence. (~2 MB PDF)
References & Sources
- [1] Sequoia Capital - Writing a Business Plan • Accessed 2023
- [2] Guy Kawasaki - The Only 10 Slides You Need in Your Pitch • Accessed 2015
- [3] Pitch Deck Best Practices - Industry Standards • Accessed 2024
- [4] First Round Review - How to Tell a Story in Your Pitch • Accessed 2022
- [5] CB Insights - The Top 20 Reasons Startups Fail • Accessed 2023