Content Outline
Related Assignments
This section is all about how you put together both pitch decks and one-pagers, documents that you are going to become well-acquainted with throughout your startup journey.
In this section, we'll walk you through the basic structure of pitch decks, and go over the 10 most important slides, including good and bad examples of each. Then, we'll talk shortly about how to prepare for pitches, and how to give a stunning presentation.
Finally, we'll examine the different types of one pagers, the content that goes in them, and when you might find yourself needing one.
Pitch decks are one of the most common materials that you'll need in your startup journey. Mostly, you'll need them for applying to grants, pitch competitions, and if/when you decide to pursue outside investment.
But creating a pitch deck adds more value than just the final product - it forces you to think deeply about your venture, and articulate the important aspects in few words. Building a good deck takes time and iteration, but the process starts with understanding the deck's fundamental purpose:
<aside> 💡 A pitch deck is all about rapidly convincing people to be interested in your company, in order to move them towards some end goal (investing, purchasing, partnering, promoting).
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Throughout your entrepreneurial journey, you will need a variety of pitch decks:
At this stage, the Show Me deck will be most important for your purposes, but we'll also talk briefly about the Read Me deck. Now, let's jump into the content that is typically included in these decks.
When it comes to Show-Me pitch decks, the simpler, the better. When you are presenting, the audience's attention is either on what you are saying, or what is on the slides. The art of a good pitch is whittling a ton of content down to the most important elements.
Guy Kawasaki has a famous Golden Rule: 10-20-30:
Pitch Deck Creation, Citation 1 (Link)
Each of these rules conveys a different lesson. 10 slides forces you to focus only on what matters, providing a high-level overview of what you do and why it's important. 20 minute presentations (assuming you have a 1-hour meeting) leaves you ample time for Q&A, where your knowledge and experience can shine. And 30 pt font prevents you from dumping text onto the slides, perhaps the most important rule of all.
According to Guy, the only 10 slides you need are:
Of course, others disagree, and the reality is that these slides will vary based on your company, stage, and the purpose of the pitch. If you poll many investors, you'll learn that there are some elements that are non-negotiable:
We'll go through each key slide step-by-step, and then discuss some of the other elements and materials you'll need for a successful pitch.
Pitch Deck Creation, Citation 2 (Link)
The title slide is arguably the hardest slide to mess up. It is literally just your company name, logo, and maybe a tagline.
Purpose: To sit on as you wait to start speaking
Includes:
Avoid:
It's exceedingly hard to find a bad example of a title slide, so the example on the right just gives good pointers about what to avoid.
<aside> 🧩 Touch Point On an index card or sheet of paper, make a rough sketch of your Title Slide.
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Good Example
Pitch Deck Creation, Citation 2 (Link)
Bad Example
Pitch Deck Creation, Citation 3 (Link)