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Turn VC theory into practice by mastering the pitch deck and the storytelling arcs that win investors, customers, and teams.
A clear story wins over investors, inspires customers, and convinces early employees to join your mission. The best pitch decks are not crammed with jargon or endless data. They take something complex and present it in a way that anyone can understand. Clarity always beats complexity.
But there’s no single “boilerplate” pitch. Every company has a different origin story, and the most effective decks lean into their unique positioning.
Too often I receive a pitch deck devoid of personality and that feels more akin to a checklist. The best founders learn how to stir emotion and pitch a mission beyond the deck.
So what are some effective narrative arcs?
| Narrative Arc | Arc Description | Example | Use If |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vision for the Future | Our vision for the future is inevitable → here’s why → we’re building it now and this is just the first step. | Canva — great design is limited by a complex toolchain → democratise tools and unlock a massive market of prosumers. | Your biggest strength is conviction about where the world is headed (climate, AI, biotech). |
| Founders journey | The product and vision is the culmination of the founder’s life experiences and traditionally reflects their “life’s work”. |
These experiences translate to an earned secret about the market they’re uniquely placed to exploit. | Air BNB - the idea for AirBNB emerged through personal experience living in SF and renting out an air bed to free up cash. ** | Your unique life experiences express why you will win and your unique insight to the market. | | Problem → Solution | Big, undeniable pain → here’s the elegant fix → traction shows it works. | Carta seed (2009) — paper stock certificates are broken → digital cap tables. | You’re solving something obvious and viscerally painful, but need to win investor confidence with structure and simplicity. | | Why Now? | The conditions have finally aligned (tech/regulation/behavior) → the window is open → we’re the ones seizing it. | Coinbase seed — timing was everything. Bitcoin is scaling, we will build the on-ramp before the regulatory gates close and benefit from massive market expansion. | You’re in a market where timing is decisive. | | Ecosystem / Platform | The system is broken or incomplete → we’re the missing keystone → everything else grows because of us. | Stripe — “Payments infrastructure for the internet.” Not just a product, but the rails that powered a whole ecosystem. | Works well when building infrastructure, developer tools, or a platform that others depend on. |
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What is the one thing that sets your start up apart? That means your team rather than others will succeed?
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
Investors do not look for balanced teams or ideas. We look for spikes that confer a team with tiny resources a chance to win a massive market.
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There are many ways to tell a story - construct the narrative that amplifies the greatest differentiator or boldest bet.
The Coinbase seed deck (here) is a great example of a “why now’ narrative. Bitcoin is a “new digital currency” with accelerating adoption but tools and UX gates usage.
Aside: Be wary of using generic ‘why now’ statements - “AI unlocks X”. If the category is already busy why now is just a precondition and would not translate as the spike to construct a narrative around.
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Each slide should have a single idea; and together the deck should construct a cogent narrative leaving the investor a clear idea of why they should back you.
Remember pitch decks are there to amplify your story. Keep slides visual. Avoid more than 2 bullet points. You want the investor focussed on what your saying and for the pitch to assist your storytelling.
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It is common for the first pitch deck to go through 20+ iterations on the path to a crisp version of the story.
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Find founders who have raised and practice. Make sure they tell you the unvarnished truth.
Look for visual queues of interest. Are people leaning in? Asking questions?
Focus on the questions people ask — are they ‘good’ questions or do they just not seem to “get it”. If it’s the latter, then it’s on you to tell a sharper story.
The questions investors ask are always more reflective of their hesitations than the ‘feedback’ they will send you.
Is the narrative landing?