A pitch deck – when do you need to create one? I have spoken a lot about creating a business plan but is this always the best option? The short answer – yes. You should always have a plan for your business. However, this can take a number of forms. The most common being the one I have previously described in an earlier post and this is a good foundation to have.
You should however also be prepared to create slightly different versions of your plan, depending on your audience. One of these versions needs to be a pitch deck, intended for audiences such as investors or other audiences that don’t have the time or patience to review a detailed plan.
Here is a sample of a pitch deck that I prepared that was successful in raising the funding that was being asked for. Following the example is a walkthrough of the components of the pitch deck.
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- Slide 1 – Title Slide, this is a bit self-explanatory
- Slide 2 – Let the audience know what you will be covering off in the presentation. This is especially important for readers we who might be viewing the deck post your presentation
- Slide 3 – Let the audience and readers know what the purpose of this pitch deck is
- Slide 4 – Share the background of your business, what the opportunity is, and most importantly – what you are asking for
- Slide 5 – Use this slide to give a little more insight into the opportunity for your business
- Slide 6 – Summarise your business objectives. This should be a mix of financial and non-financial objectives
- Slide 7 – Let the audience know that you have considered multiple scenarios of how you might establish and grow the business
- Slide 8 – This is where you share supporting detail in the form of the business’s financials. The first slide should cover the income (profit and loss) statement. Charts are always preferable to just plain numbers
- Slide 9 – Continue with the supporting financials, in this case, the balance sheet
- Slide 10 – Don’t forget the cash flow statement. This is what makes or breaks businesses
- Slide 11 – List out any risks you have identified and even more importantly specify how you will be mitigating those risks
- Slide 12 – Tell the audience what it is you are looking for. You will have already alluded to this earlier in the deck and now is your chance to elaborate on this
- Slide 13 – Your potential investors will be very keen to understand how you will be using any investment that they make. Take this opportunity to till them
- Slide 14 – Use this as an optional slide to better describe (if you need to) more about what it is you require
- Slide 15 – Very importantly, tell the audience what they will be gaining in return for this investment. This could be equity, interest income, or something else
- Slide 16 – Conclude your presentation
You might even be able to reduce the number of slides but do ensure you convey all the information you need to.
Keep reading for my next post on tips for a successful pitch.