How To Make A Pitch Deck That Attracts Investors

How To Make A Pitch Deck That Attracts Investors banner.

Let’s talk about your pitch deck. Every founder knows they need one if they want to raise equity investment. Most founders have probably created one. But creating a pitch deck that will have investors clamouring to back your startup is a trickier task.

Deborah Gruenberger, founder of a design and marketing agency and angel investor, recently ran an engaging workshop for our community of founders on how to craft a pitch deck that really tells a story. It was packed full of practical tips to help our founders elevate their pitch deck from the hundreds of others that pass over investors’ desks each week.

We’ve summarised a few key takeaways from the workshop below and hope they help to make your pitch deck really shine!

Focus on the Core Questions of a Pitch Deck

Deborah stressed that the basis of a good pitch deck really comes down to clearly answering four simple but crucial questions:

  1. Why this problem?
  2. Why this solution?
  3. Why now?
  4. Why you?

These questions help potential investors understand the necessity of your business, the timing and why you are the right person to solve this problem.

Blog image 4 whys 1
The 4 Core Questions a Pitch Deck Should Answer

But, there are also three essential elements that every founder should focus on if you want your pitch deck to really stand out from the crowd:

  1. Storytelling
  2. Design
  3. Data

1. The Power of Storytelling

Most startups kick off their pitch deck by explaining what they do and how they do it. But, Deborah suggested framing your pitch around your purpose and mission before delving into how you solve the problem and what your product does. Remember that people invest in people. Connecting with investors on an emotional level and telling your business story in a compelling way is essential in a pitch. 

Top Tip: Remember that investors are there to make money, so tell your story in the way they need to hear to believe in the business opportunity.

Real life example: Tony Eames, co-founder of Total Active Hub, recently revamped the Problem and Solution slides of his pitch deck to enhance storytelling. He achieved this by making the customer the central character and used their challenges and experiences to illustrate how Total Active Hub’s solution effectively addresses their clients problems. This fresh approach had some additional benefits, it helped bring the viral nature of their business to the forefront, which investors love to see. The storytelling allowed Tony to illustrate the positive network effects of their product; how positive customer engagement led to a powerful referral channel and was a catalyst for product adoption. Drawing out this growth potential is precisely what the storytelling aimed to do – generate excitement about the investment opportunity, and keep investors engaged.

2. The Importance of Design

Investors get sent hundreds of pitch decks every week, which means the time they spend looking at each one could only be a few minutes. Looking at a deck that’s messy or confusing might mean they switch off, or worse still, it might mean they discount the investment opportunity altogether. With our attention spans getting shorter and our brains able to process visual design 60 times faster than text, Deborah stressed it’s crucial to have a well-designed pitch deck to set yourself apart from others. 

In order to achieve this, Deborah recommends using visual hierarchy, consistency in colours and imagery and keeping slides uncluttered to make your presentation more engaging and easier to follow.

Top Tip: Stick to one message per slide and use bullet points instead of full sentences to avoid clutter.

Real life examples: There are many design tools you can use to create a beautiful looking pitch deck. From Canva to Pitch.com. Pitch.com also put together this handy gallery of pitch deck examples from companies who have successfully raised — all of them have invested heavily into the design of their pitch deck slides.

3. Leveraging Data

Using data to back up your statements adds weight to your pitch. Deborah recommended incorporating various types of data to illustrate key points, particularly in areas like customer analysis, competitor analysis and your business metrics.

Deborah stressed that there are certain slides where data is a must-have. The traction slide and the market analysis (with TAM, SAM, SOM), are both examples where data should be used. 

Both your progress and the market opportunity should be quantified, from primary data (= data you have collected yourself) or from secondary data (= data you found elsewhere). Including these data points and using a mix of data types means your story packs an extra punch and it gives a more robust view of your business and its potential.

Top Tip: Use a mix of qualitative and quantitative data to paint a full picture of your business’s potential and impact. Numbers are convincing, but stories about user experiences can be equally powerful.

Real life example: Another founder within our community leveraged data well in their go-to-market slides. After providing a birds eye view of their go-to-market strategy, they incorporated key metrics associated with each stage of a Marketing funnel into their pitch deck. This communicated to investors what traction they had already, what KPIs they track at different parts of their marketing funnel, and what their goals are for the future. Doing this gave investors confidence. Not only could they see they were the type of business that’s measuring in this way already, but also that they had clear measurable future goals to track success by.  

Ready to Revamp Your Pitch Deck?

Creating a great pitch deck is about more than just rattling off facts about your business. It’s about telling a compelling story, having a clean design so it’s easy to engage with the story and using solid data to back up your claims and paint an exciting picture to investors.

If your pitch deck needs a bit of a makeover to bring out your story, improve the design, or add some oomph with strong data points, why not consider joining our Funding Accelerator? You’ll get access to all our mentors and be able to chat one-on-one with Deborah about your deck and how to make it even better.

FocusedforBusiness

Latest Blog & News

financial forecasting for startups part 2 banner.

Part 2 – Financial Forecasting For Startups: How Much Money Do I Need?

In Part 1 Financial Forecasting For Startups: How Much Money Do I Need we covered why financial forecasting is so important for startups to
Financial Forecasting For Startups Part 1 banner

Part 1 – Financial Forecasting For Startups: How Much Money Do I Need?

One of the first questions you need to answer if you are raising equity investment is: How much money should I raise? The answer
3 Reasons You Might Want To Reject Angel Investors image.

3 Reasons You Might Want To Reject Angel Investors

Receiving investment commitments from angel investors can feel a bit like striking gold. After months of networking, pitching, and refining your investor documents, the
How To Value A Small Business To Get Investors Excited banner

How To Value A Small Business To Get Investors Excited

Raising investment can be challenging. The preparation, pitching, and negotiation is a time-consuming process, and can distract founders from their primary goal: Growing their
Resilience training: 6 Proven Hacks to Boost Resilience When Fundraising banner.

Resilience training: 6 Proven Hacks to Boost Resilience When Fundraising

Jennifer Clamp, founder of Aata, and one of our trusted mentors on our Funding Accelerator programme, recently led a resilience training workshop on how
Dorset LEP & Focused For Business Team Up banner

Exciting Funding Boost: Dorset LEP & Focused For Business Team Up

If you’re a startup or small business in Dorset looking to raise investment, help is at hand! Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Focused
finding investors banner.

8 Practical And Eye-opening Tips For Actually Finding Investors

Last month we tried something new in Funding Masterminds: an Idea Swap workshop, where our founders shared their tactics on how to find investors
Your most important investor document is not your pitch deck (it's your Executive Summary) banner

Your Executive Summary Is More Important Than Your Pitch Deck!

Do you obsess about your Pitch Deck? Spending hours tweaking it to ensure it gives investors the information they need? Most founders do. A
Funding Accelerator Mentor Elliott Gaspar explains what investors look for in a financial forecast for investors

3 Things That will Make Your Financial Forecast Attractive

Much like brewing a delicious cup of coffee, a compelling financial forecast for investors requires a complex blend of data, strategy, and storytelling. It’s
unit metrics that attract startup investors

3 Unit Metrics You Need To Build A Compelling Growth Story

Did the conversation with potential investors fizzle out at the financial stage? It’s not just the vision, but the focus on detail that secures
Financial savings mechanism. Piggy bank formed by gears and cogs

Traction makes it quicker to raise funding for a startup

So you want to raise funding for a startup? To succeed, you’ll need to speak the language of investors. Investors will ask “how much
10 Resources For Finding Grant Funding In The UK banner.

10 Resources For Finding Grant Funding In The UK

Finding grant funding can feel like really hard work – and yet it is often a crucial stage in starting and growing your business.
Here's the funding terminology you need to know banner.

Here Is The Funding Terminology You Need To Know

When it comes to securing funding, understanding the funding terminology investors use is key to building strong relationships and making good business decisions for
How to Maintain Strong Investor Relationships After the First Funding Round banner.

How to Maintain Strong Investor Relationships After the First Funding Round

Securing your first round of funding is a significant milestone for any start-up, but the journey doesn’t end there. Maintaining strong relationships with your
How To Utilise Marketing Channels To Determine Product Demand banner.

How To Utilise Marketing Channels To Determine Product Demand

Launching a new product can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. You’ve put time, effort, and resources into creating something you believe in, but the
This Is What Investors Want To See Before Backing Your Business banner.

This Is What Investors Want To See Before Backing Your Business (Minimum Viable Product)

When pitching to investors, there’s one key term that will almost always come up: MVP (Minimum Viable Product). It’s not just a buzzword; it’s
Is pitching to angel investors really like Dragons Den banner.

Is Pitching to Angel Investors Really Like Dragon’s Den? 

If you’ve ever watched Dragon’s Den, you know the drill: entrepreneurs nervously walk into a room full of high-powered investors, pitch their hearts out,