What Investors Really Want To See In Your Pitch Decks (2024)

Have you ever wondered what truly captures the attention of potential investors in a business pitch?

Crafting a compelling pitch deck is often the make-or-break element in the quest for investment. It’s more than just an attractive slide show; it’s the elevator pitch to communicate your business idea effectively.

In this blog, we’ll dive into the core elements that investors want to see in your pitch decks. From storytelling to financial projections, we’ll explore the critical components that can make your presentation stand out and secure the support your business needs. Whether you’re a startup seeking to raise money or an established company looking to expand, understanding what investors want to see can significantly enhance your pitch deck’s impact.

Crafting a successful pitch deck is a daunting task, and statistics reveal that a vast majority, approximately 99%, fail to hit the mark and convince investors. There are several reasons behind this staggering failure rate.

Firstly, many pitch decks lack the essential element of storytelling. This omission often results in a disconnection between the information shared and the overall vision of the business. Moreover, overloading slides with excessive information can obscure the critical points and detract from the main message, leaving investors overwhelmed and disengaged.

Another prevalent issue is the absence of a clear value proposition. Furthermore, inadequately introducing the team behind the business and the team’s experience can erode credibility, as investors invest in teams as much as they do in ideas.

Unrealistic or exaggerated financial projections, a lack of comprehensive competition and market analysis, and poor design and presentation further contribute to the downfall of pitch decks, making it crucial for entrepreneurs to avoid these common pitfalls to stand out and captivate potential investors.

Crafting a comprehensive and effective pitch deck involves knowing precisely what information to include. Each slide plays a significant role in constructing a compelling narrative about your business.

From introducing the problem and the proposed solution your business aims to solve, to showcasing your revenue model and projections, every slide plays a crucial role in engaging and informing potential investors.

In this section, we’ll break down the essential slides necessary for a successful pitch deck.

The opening slide of your pitch deck serves as the gateway to capturing your audience’s attention. It’s your chance to make a memorable first impression with most investors and set the tone for the entire presentation.

This slide typically includes the name of your company or project, a compelling tagline or mission statement, and perhaps a striking visual element that represents your brand or concept. The aim is to instantly grab the investor’s interest and communicate the essence of your business in a concise and impactful manner.

A well-crafted opening slide should entice the audience to want to learn more about your venture.

The “Selling the Problem” slide within your pitch deck is where you outline and emphasize the issue or challenge your business is addressing. This slide is a pivotal moment to engage investors by clearly articulating the pain point or need that your product or service aims to solve. It should evoke empathy and understanding regarding the problem’s significance in the market or industry. This can be achieved through a compelling story.

This part of your presentation is not about highlighting your solution yet but rather establishing the context and urgency behind your business.

The “Providing the Solution” slide in your pitch deck is the opportune moment to unveil how your business addresses the previously established problem and how you will target customers.

This pivotal slide showcases your product or service as the solution to the identified pain points, providing a clear, innovative, and effective way to resolve the issues highlighted earlier. It’s essential to articulate how your offering uniquely tackles the problem, emphasizing its features, advantages, and how it stands out from existing solutions.

This slide serves as a pivotal point to transition from the problem statement to the proposed resolution, thereby capturing investor interest by presenting a well-defined, promising solution.

Next, we want to include a slide in your pitch deck that serves as a critical juncture to illustrate the target market and serviceable obtainable market.

This slide provides investors with an understanding of the market’s size, revenue growth potential, and the opportunities available for your product or service. It’s where you showcase the addressable market, target demographics, and any existing or potential trends that can benefit your business.

By presenting compelling unit economics and statistics, this slide demonstrates the scalability and attractiveness of the market opportunity. Effectively showcasing the market opportunity and size can significantly impact investors’ perceptions of your business and its growth potential in a competitive landscape.

The “Proof of Execution” slide within your pitch deck is the moment to provide concrete evidence that your business has gained traction and made progress.

This slide showcases your achievements, milestones, and any validated proof that your product or service is gaining traction in the market. It might include data on user growth, revenue figures, partnerships, key achievements, successful pilot programs, customer testimonials, or any significant metrics that validate your business’s progress and potential success.

It’s an opportunity to demonstrate that your business is not merely theoretical but has a tangible impact and is on a clear path to success.

The “Business Model” slide is where you articulate the go-to-market strategy and how your company will generate revenue and sustain itself.

It outlines your revenue streams, financial metrics, cost structure, pricing strategies, distribution channels, and any key partnerships crucial for your business model’s success. This slide serves as a roadmap for investors, helping them understand the viability and sustainability of your business over time. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate a clear and scalable plan that underlines how your company will thrive and evolve in the market.

This slide is where you introduce the individuals behind the business. This is an opportunity where you can showcase the expertise, experience, and capabilities of your management team. This slide provides an overview of key team members, their roles, and their relevant backgrounds, emphasizing how their collective skills and experience align with the company’s vision and goals.

It’s an opportunity to instill confidence in investors by showcasing a strong team equipped to execute the business plan effectively. By highlighting the team’s skills, achievements, and relevance to the business’s success, this slide aims to build trust and credibility.

You may also want to include contact details to make it easier for other investors to get in touch with you after your pitch.

Lastly, the “Purpose of the Pitch Deck” or “The Ask” slide elucidates the primary reason for your presentation: the investment or funding request.

This slide clarifies the purpose of your pitch and the specific amount or type of investment you are seeking. It outlines how much funding you are asking and how the funds will be utilized, whether for product development, market expansion, team growth, or any other specific use.

It’s crucial to be transparent and clear about the funding requirements to align investor expectations with your business needs.

This slide is the capstone of your pitch, signaling the culmination of your presentation and inviting investors to consider participating in your venture.

Crafting a pitch deck that stands independently, capable of conveying your business’s core ideas without your live presentation, is crucial. It serves as a comprehensive visual aid that maintains its impact even in your absence. An effective standalone pitch deck should encapsulate key points, tell a compelling story, and offer comprehensive information, enabling investors to revisit and comprehend the essence of your business.

The content within each slide should be self-explanatory, providing clarity and context without reliance on verbal explanation. Concise and informative text, along with complementary visuals, should effectively convey the message. Clear headlines, bullet points, and visuals can communicate essential details and maintain the flow of information.

Additionally, the pitch deck should follow a logical sequence and narrative, ensuring that the story and key elements remain coherent even without the presenter’s guidance. Each slide should build upon the previous one, creating a seamless storyline that guides the reader through the problem, solution, market, traction, team, and the ask.

Investors often revisit pitch decks post-presentation, so the deck should contain enough substantial content to evoke a strong, lasting impression and communicate the core business concepts effectively.

Of course!

While the core slides in your pitch deck offer a fundamental overview of your business, many investors may require more detail for a more comprehensive assessment.

This additional information might include detailed financial projections, a comprehensive business plan, extensive market research, product demonstrations or prototypes, legal documents, and customer testimonials.

These materials provide a deeper understanding of your business’s financial viability, strategy, market position, product functionality, legal standings, and customer validation. Being equipped with these supplementary materials enhances investor confidence, supports due diligence, and further substantiates the claims made in the initial pitch, offering a more detailed and comprehensive view of the investment opportunity.

In conclusion, a successful pitch deck is the cornerstone of effectively communicating your business to investors. While key slides within the deck serve as the core elements, the presentation should be compelling enough to stand alone and tell your business’s story even without your live guidance.

These essential slides, including the problem, solution, market opportunity, traction, team, and funding ask, provide a strong foundation. However, investors may often seek additional materials such as financial projections, a comprehensive business plan, market research, product demos, legal documents, and customer testimonials to conduct a more thorough assessment. Make sure you understand what your investors want to see.

The combination of the pitch deck and supplementary materials helps to substantiate your claims. Crafting a pitch deck that can both capture attention during a live presentation and hold its ground independently is crucial for maximizing the chances of securing seed funding and support for your business endeavor.

Are you in need of a killer pitch deck that not only captures an investor’s attention but also tells your business’s story with impact?

Look no further!

At Presentation Geeks, we specialize in creating outstanding custom templates designed to elevate your pitch to new heights. Our team of experts understands the nuances of a compelling presentation and will work closely with you to craft a visually stunning and information-rich pitch deck that will give you a competitive advantage. Whether you’re a startup looking to secure funding or an established business aiming to expand, we have a deep understanding of pitch decks to meet your unique needs and leave a lasting impression on potential investors.

Don’t just present; captivate your audience with a custom pitch deck investors want to see.