Here’s the guide to perfecting your pitch deck - your deck vs what the investors are looking for!

So, let’s dive deeper into the top 6 slides that founders may present and what investors typically think:

1. Problem slide:

Founder - What is it that you want to solve and why?

In this slide, paint a simple, relatable narrative and state what problem you aim to solve, how big it is, the pain that you wish to alleviate and why your target customer base is left unsatisfied with the currently available solutions.

Investor - How intense and/or frequent is the problem that the founder is trying to solve?

Ideally, as an investor, you should look for a start-up that solves a problem which is highly intense and frequent in nature.

2. Solution slide:

Founder – How do you solve it?

This is the culmination of the problem slide. A good solution slide focusses more on benefits and less on features. Introduce your product and show how it addresses the customer’s challenge. You could use strong graphics to show how your solution solves the problem.

Investor – What value addition is going to take place?

Essentially, the start-up needs to sell more than just a product or service – who is the product being built for and what are they offering their customers are important factors that need to be taken into consideration.

3. Team slide:

Founder – Background, roles and a compelling story

It is helpful to give a high-level breakdown of the educational qualifications and unique experiences of the core team that drives the start-up forward. Show the investors that you are a founder that they would want to bet on – that you are intelligent, driven and ethical.

Investors – Founder’s strength and passion

Investors are looking for a strong and diverse team that is passionate and has relevant domain expertise. Investors believe that in some cases, a lack of founder’s experience can be countered by highlighting entrepreneurial spirit or accomplishments.

4. Market slide:

Founder – TAM, SAM & SOM

Total Addressable Market (TAM): In simple terms, TAM comprises of everyone who could buy your product/service or the maximum amount of revenue a business can earn by selling their offering. It helps to determine the market’s potential for growth, business concept’s viability and effort or funding that may be required to operate in the market.

Serviceable Available Market (SAM): It is the portion of the TAM that the business can actually acquire (it is the percentage of TAM that is within the business’s operable territory). It is the realistic picture of the market that can actually be tapped after considering the limiting factors that cannot be changed.

Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM): It is the portion of the SAM that can be realistically achieved within the short term. It considers the competitive, financial, niche and resource-based restrictions while predicting realistic reach during the initial years of operation.

Investor – How big is the market? What is the acceptability of the product and is there a willingness to pay for it?

Determine whether the product or service meets the needs of the customers and whether they would be willing to pay for it.

5. Competition slide:

Founders – Metrics

You should understand basic information about your competitors, including their business location and the size of their staff. You will need this information to understand your own company’s growth against your rival’s and how that might impact your performance. Monitoring the fluctuations in your competitor’s revenue and number of customers could also help you scale your own expectations better.

Investors – How unique is the product/service from the competitors?

Investors need confirmation that the founders know their stuff. The competition slide should prove that the product is unique, the founders are self-aware, mindful of what sets them apart from the rest of the crowd, intimate with the trends, and aim at a strategic position within their industry.

6. Business model slide:

Founders – What is the core of your business?

A business model, at the heart of any business, is a strategy for operating a business. A company may have multiple revenue streams but typically has only one business model. Without one, you won’t know what to offer your customers and how to build your business. It describes how a company will generate value for its customers and takes into account many considerations, such as identifying customers, their problems and ways to solve their problems.

Investors – Metrics

The founder’s business model should translate in terms of key metrics such as revenue growth and burn rate. It is also essential to evaluate a start-up’s fundraising strategy and plan for the future.

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