Hello! Peter from Myriad Ventures here. If you are like many other founders or creators, you might find it hard to get your product pitched and available. As someone who has been where you are in the past, and now as someone who develops pitch decks for our clients, I wanted to help you understand a pitch desk and what makes one a success – or failure.
When you intend to pitch something to an audience, be it investor or otherwise, you need to have an idea worth listening to. Great ideas, though, are often great because they have been thoroughly thought about and analysed. With great ideas comes detailed information, why?
Put simply, without the information how can anyone understand the product or service? Where does it fit on the marketplace? And what, if any, solution does it provide?
Inventors and founders need to present a compelling story within a pitch deck, and it must include a detailed path for the reader to understand the advantages it provides to the consumer, or society in general. At Myriad Ventures, we meet with many founders, inventors, and business owners who have never managed a pitch deck before.
In a bid to make life easier for you, I am going to detail for you in a quick format all that you must include for your pitch deck to gain the interest of investors. To help you understand their importance, I will also provide the brief reasons on why each section should be included.
What does a pitch deck need to succeed?
- A business overview
First, we must detail an overview of the business (1). For this we need to create a one sentence statement of what your business does and why it is important for consumers or clients.
Do not stress about this too much; this is just a short concise overview of the business and what it is aiming to achieve.
- The problem at hand
Next, we need to review the problem your business solves (2), so take some time to explain what the problem is that you are seeking to rectify. Investors need to understand fully what the issue is that you are aiming to fix. Without this, you are simply hoping an investor takes a liking to your project.
- The ‘Why’ factor
After explaining the problem faced, we now need to clarify the why you, why now (3) element. So, what is it about you entering the marketplace that will change it? Are you introducing a revolutionary product or invention? Take time to think about this as this is a key area on how investors will learn about your offer. It will also play a role in determining why they should invest into you now and not sometime down the timeline of future.
- The solution
Following from this you should explain the solution (4) to help you get things moving forward. So, what is it about your product that resolves the problem for the consumers? Do you solve the issue detailed on point 2? Explain this in detail and leave the reader in no doubt as to the viability of what you are introducing to the marketplace.
- The market
The fifth area you need to introduce now is the market size (5). How big is the market? What is the addressable size of that? What are the obtainable figures? What are the serviceable numbers?
These are all key metrics that allow the reader to understand the overall size and realistic reachable market size. An investor won’t invest in an overly small market, or a massively competitive market, without a good reason.
- The product/service
As we reach the midway point of your presentation. it is now time to discuss your product (6) in more detail with the audience.
What is it all about? How does it fit in with the consumer or user? What does it do? Does it have any special features or benefits? Explain what you are introducing to the marketplace and make sure you describe it in an easy to read manner. Leave them under no doubts as to what you have created!
- The traction
Next is the traction (7) of the product or service so far – basically, have you made any sales so far? Do you have any specific contracts or endorsements?
The particular purpose of this slide is to convince the reader that this is more than just a pipe dream, that interest has been shown either from real sales figures and/or any research done through a pilot of the product or service. This is a crucial part of showing you are selling something tangible, not just another dream.
- The competition
From this we move to the competition (8), which is always an important deciding factor when looking at a particular investment. Here, you should detail the research you have conducted on your competitors.
Who are they? What service or product do they provide? Are they successful? If so, by how much? Do they have a weakness or a key omission from their product/service?
This is very important for an investor to understand exactly who they may be up against if they invest into you. So, while it can be hard to find proven data here, include as much detailed and analysed information as possible on them.
- The team
As you near the finishing line of your presentation we now need to look at the team (9) responsible for this product or service being introduced. So, who are you and where do you fit in the overall strategy of the business? What kind of relevant experience you have? Who are your team players, and what do they contribute to the plan?
Detail the correct information that shows you for all you are. Are you skilled in a particular area of expertise? Do you excel in creativity? Let the investor know just why they should invest in you because before they invest in an idea, investors look at the people involved. Show them that you have people involved who they can trust to build and grow the investment in the long-term.
- The model
The final three sections will concentrate on the business model (10) and figures, so now is the time to describe how your business will make its money.
Here, you will need to fully describe what your business does to make income, and how you will contribute to the profitability and the success of it. Make sure you tell the investor exactly what can be achieved with their assistance; really focus on the potential as opposed to the present.
- The budget
The next area to cover is the financials (11) so here it is very important that you present to them an overview of the outlays, expenditures, and spending periods in which you need to succeed. Generally, an investor will expect a projection of these totalling 3-5 years.
The more information you provide here will help solidify the map to financial success so be thorough, do research and make sure you get the figures correctly prepared because this is an important area which investors will analyse.
- The funding goals
The final section should be the fundraising (12) goals – this is the last thing to bring up as now you have pre-sold the investor through the first eleven points. So how much are you looking for and how will you spend it?
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Where do you see the costs associated to the success of the business and when does it need to be available to spend?
- How much will you put into the development?
- Will you invest in research?
- How much of your investment will be used on things like staff salaries and marketing?
Everything needs to be clear and structured, leaving no stone unturned. Remember, you have one chance to make this pitch work; so, it has to be done correctly. Make sure you think carefully about how you will spend the money invested, and the financial position it puts the product or service into. When you will return their investment to them and how much you will return is also key to the success of your deck impressing. Will you provide equity or convertible notes?
These are very important factors to build into any of your long-term planning. With a pitch deck built on the above foundations, though, success is far more likely than failure. This, though, is just the beginning of your long-term business planning, development, and growth.
Author – Peter Lamb (Myriad Ventures)
I hope this report has provided you valuable insight into what it takes to create a compelling, informative, and detailed pitch deck for your business’s success and future achievements. Myriad Ventures are available to assist you with expert deck creation, if you need help then please reach out to us. Our experienced team will help you create the compelling story necessary for successful pitching to investors