deck for business plan

10 Corporate Deck Examples & Templates (That Stand Out)

Get tips for creating an impressive corporate pitch deck, see high-performing corporate slide deck examples, and grab a battle-tested corporate deck template.

8 minute read

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Short answer

What does a corporate deck include.

A typical corporate deck includes the following elements:

• Introduction (UVP + hook)
• Problem (your market segment has)
• Solution (you have that no one can copy)
• Market size and opportunity
• Business and revenue model
• Traction and validation
• Marketing/growth strategy
• Team (authority & experience)
• Investment and use of funds

Without an outstanding deck, you won't get funded.

The highly competitive business landscape makes it challenging to impress investors with your pitch. Countless hours spent crafting the perfect pitch may not be enough.

If you don't have a well-crafted corporate deck, you risk losing investors and missing out on the funding your business needs to succeed.

Read on to learn the key components of a winning corporate deck and get insights from templated corporate deck examples that have successfully secured funding for other companies. Let’s go!

What is a corporate deck?

A corporate deck, or corporate pitch deck, is a presentation designed to convey the essential aspects of a business to potential investors, partners, or stakeholders. A corporate deck includes slides that outline the company's business model, products or services, target market, competition, team, financials, and growth strategy.

Corporate pitch deck vs. startup pitch deck

The difference between a corporate deck and a startup deck is subtle. While a corporate deck is pitched to corporate incubators or departments for projects under the corporate umbrella, a startup pitch deck is pitched to investors as an independent business with the promise of a successful exit.

What is the goal of a corporate deck?

The goal of a corporate deck is to secure their investment, partnership, or stakeholder buy-in. To achieve this objective, corporate pitch decks should be heavily focused on showing the impact of the product, service or initiative on market-share, growth, and revenue.

If you're looking for other types of business presentations, check out our dedicated guides:

• Make a Sales Pitch Deck That Turns ‘Maybe’ to ‘Yes!’
• Create a Sales One-Pager (Examples, Writing Tips, Templates)
• Make a Winning Business Proposal Presentation in 12 Steps
• How to Create a Marketing Deck (Strategy, Tips & Templates)

Why most corporate decks fail (and how to avoid it)

The hard truth is that 99% of corporate decks fail to impress investors. That's a staggering statistic, but it's not surprising given the common pitfalls that many companies fall into when creating their presentations.

Here are the reasons why corporate decks fail and how to avoid these mistakes:

1. They use static slides that kill engagement

Static slides are engagement killers - there’s no option to visualize your data, include an actionable CTA, or deliver a pleasant reader experience on a mobile device.

Reengage your audience by incorporating interactive elements into your deck. Things such as videos, animations, clickable charts, or interactive ROI calculators.

Interactive content allows investors to explore the data on their own at their preferred pace. And when you allow investors to interact with your presentation, you’re increasing the chances of them reading it in full by 41% .

2. They offer facts rather than tell a story

Corporate slide decks that rely too heavily on listing out facts and figures are dry and tiring.

Instead of spouting facts, structure your deck around a compelling narrative that captures investors' attention and makes them care about your mission and vision.

If you’re not sure how to get started, here’s a video on how to improve storytelling in a pitch deck:

3. They are generic and fail to personalize

Investors are swamped with corporate decks on a daily basis, and they can smell generic from a mile away.

If you truly want to stand out from the crowd, you need to do your research ahead of time to understand the specific needs of your target audience.

By understanding what matters most to them, you can create a presentation that speaks directly to their concerns and demonstrates how your company can deliver value. Personalization gets 68% more people to read your deck in full .

4. They fail to use behavior data to continually optimize

Make sure you’re making data-driven decks instead of flying blind. If you’re sending out PDFs or PowerPoints that collect zero data about how readers engage with your deck there’s no way you’ll ever achieve a top performing deck.

The good news is that Storydoc decks collect insight on how your audience interacts with your deck, down to the slide and even button level. Where they skip, where they linger and when they share it with other decision-makers. Imagine what you could do with this info!

Corporate deck examples that stand out

A beautiful corporate presentation deck is a basic requirement - it’s not gonna make you stand out.

To create a deck that drives real results you’ll wanna take a close look at our list of the top corporate deck examples.

These corporate deck samples were all created using Storydoc and have been optimized for high engagement.

And the best part? All the examples are templated, which means you can use any of them to create your best-performing corporate deck in minutes!

Jump ahead to each example:

Startup pitch deck

What makes this deck great:

• The cover slide video enhances interaction, increasing engagement by up to 32% . This boosts the chances of potential investors reading the deck in its entirety and taking the desired action at the end.
• The roadmap slide offers a clear and concise presentation of your start-up’s journey. Meanwhile, various data visualization elements are perfect for demonstrating financial projections, proving that your business is making progress.
• The calendar integration on the final slide simplifies the process for investors to schedule the next meeting immediately after going through your corporate deck.

Light mode invest pitch deck

• The minimalist design makes your deck easy to follow even for those unfamiliar with the industry.
• With image and video placeholders , showcasing your solution and how it solves problems is effortless, without relying on complicated terminology.
• The interactive slides showcase the team behind your solution, illustrating their capability to steer it towards success.

Light mode product pitch deck

• The powerful personalization features enable you to produce an infinite number of versions of your deck in just a few clicks, resulting in 68% more people reading it entirely .
• The AI assistant lets you create relevant visuals or copy for the corporate pitch deck in just a few clicks.
• The intuitive editor automatically extracts the essential visuals of your company, ensuring that your deck maintains its brand consistency.

Investor pitch deck

• The fresh, contemporary design is sure to capture the attention of potential investors, particularly in trend-led industries.
• The perfect balance of text-based slides and engaging visuals enables you to present your key metrics while providing necessary context.
• The scroll-based interactive design facilitates explaining your solution to potential investors and guides them through a compelling narrative.

Pitch deck essentials

• The compact design makes it easy to communicate essential information in fewer slides, saving the investors' time.
• Various interactive slides provide potential investors with all the critical insights at first glance. By clicking through tabs, they can discover more about your solution, enhancing their engagement.
• The smart CTAs allow you to incorporate a live chat widget or calendar, smoothly directing potential investors to the next step.

Product pitch deck

• The combination of visual slides is ideal for presenting the product's primary features and use cases without overloading investors with walls of text.
• Videos that can be embedded and played directly from the deck allow you to include case studies from past customers to legitimize your product.
• An easy, intuitive editor ensures complete control over your presentation. If you release a new product version or make a typo in the specs, you can quickly make the necessary tweaks at any time, even after sending your deck.
• Powerful interactive design that doesn't detract from the main message. By using our running numbers slides and data visualization elements, you can present key metrics or financial projections to potential investors in an eye-catching, easy-to-understand format.
• Several data visualization elements that can be customized to your specific use case. You can also add real-time variables to your charts.
• The dynamic content allows your audience to interact with the deck. For example, you can embed an interactive ROI calculator that they can fill out to determine if they're getting their money's worth.

General invest pitch deck

• The versatile components make it suitable for pre-seed, seed, or series A funding. It includes all the necessary corporate deck elements that you can use to create a master deck.
• The ability to add customizable fields that can be filled in within seconds, making it possible to personalize your corporate deck at scale.
• The intuitive, user-friendly editor ensures that anything you add automatically adjusts to the overall deck layout. This means you don't have to worry about breaking the design.

Creative pitch deck

• The attention-grabbing design , featuring vibrant colors and animated elements, can convert casual scrollers into engaged readers.
• The fully interactive layout of this corporate deck increases interaction and extends the average reading time.
• The combination of visual and data visualization slides enables you to showcase snippets of your portfolio while emphasizing the most crucial metrics.

Bonus: successful corporate deck example by a Storydoc client

Finally, we left the best for last - a real-life corporate deck example created for one of our clients operating in the medical cannabis industry. It has been designed according to the best practices for creating a powerful corporate deck and delivered outstanding results.

• The running numbers slides enable readers to quickly and easily access the most critical metrics.
• The roadmap slide provides a clear and concise visualization of the company's current growth and significant milestones.
• The narrator slide simplifies complex financial metrics by directing the reader's attention to the exact numbers they should be focusing on at any given time.

How to create a corporate deck that stands out?

Putting together a corporate deck that leaves an impression and gets buy-in takes a lot of time and effort (and know-how) to get right.

But the truth is this task does not have to be so daunting. You can dramatically cut down the time and effort involved by leveraging corporate deck templates .

We have some tried and tested corporate pitch deck templates for you that are optimized for engagement and designed for making a lasting impression.

Make your best deck ever.

How to measure the effectiveness of a corporate deck.

To create a highly performing deck in the top 1%, it’s critical to measure performance, identify problems, and fix them.

Key corporate deck performance metrics to measure and optimize:

• Open rate: Measure the percentage of investors who open your corporate deck to understand how effective your deck is at generating initial interest.
• Reading time: Measure the total amount of time viewers spend reading your deck to gauge their level of interest.
• Engagement: Track how long viewers stay on each slide, how often they interact with the deck, or where they drop off to determine which parts of your corporate deck are most captivating and identify areas for improvement.
• CTA conversion rate: Measure the percentage of investors who take the desired action, such as scheduling a meeting, after viewing your corporate deck.

Here's a short video explaining how to get started with our analytics panel:

What is the best tool for making a corporate deck?

The best tool for making a corporate deck is intuitive, has lots of ready-made templates, and provides an outcome that stands out.

There are 2 types of tools on the market, legacy tools and next-generation tools, but only the next-gen tools will help you stand out.

Legacy tools like PowerPoint and Google Slides, Canva, and Visme will make same-old decks. But our own next-gen corporate deck creator makes interactive content experiences that make an impression.

Grab a template and see for yourself -

Hi, I'm Dominika, Content Specialist at Storydoc. As a creative professional with experience in fashion, I'm here to show you how to amplify your brand message through the power of storytelling and eye-catching visuals.

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Creating the perfect pitch deck and business plan: Examples and best practices [2022]

• January 7, 2022

I know you’ve probably been told that a good pitch deck and business plan are essential in the world of startups. It’s true — they are — but there is a LOT of conflicting advice out there on how to create them. (Hint: There isn’t just one right way.) I want to share some ideas based on solid research and real-world experience so you can create something that works for you.

What is a pitch deck?

What is its purpose, do you need a pitch deck and a business plan, who should create the pitch deck, how do you create a pitch deck, what is a financial model, what is a financial forecast, how accurate does a startup financial model need to be, what to include in an early-stage pitch deck, what should i avoid putting into my pitch deck, slide #0 – title, slide #1 – executive summary, slide #2 – trends, slide #3 – problem, slide #4 – solution, slide #5 – business model, slide #6 – market, slide #7 – competition, slide #8 – go to market, slide #9 – traction, slide #10 – team, slide #11 – investment proposal (the ask), keep it simple, stick to a consistent layout, make it easy to read, use a pitch deck template, beautiful.ai, key takeaways.

In this article, I’ll discuss what a pitch deck is, explain its purpose and its importance in the outreach process, give you tips and practices to create your perfect pitch deck, and what to include in it. We’ll also look at an example of a pitch deck template, using slides from startups that have raised hundreds of millions from VCs. We’ll also explore why you must build a financial model alongside your pitch deck.

Before we get started, remember that pitching on stage and building your pitch deck are two very different things. Pitching is a form of art. Anyone can present a business plan or startup idea to another person, but only a few pitches are memorable and truly capture the interest of investors.

Practice makes perfect, and the better you get at pitching, the more likely you are to succeed. So sign up to pitch competitions, put yourself out there, and get feedback. The more you pitch, the better you will become at it. It’s better to make mistakes when it doesn’t matter than pitch unprepared to critical investors and risk disaster.

Now let’s dive into what it takes to build a great pitch deck!

Pitch decks are an essential document for every founder to master, but there is a lot of conflicting information out there, and no one-size-fits-all template.

To help you get started, we’ve pulled together pitch deck examples and best practices for new founders and early-stage startups.

Using this information to guide you, you’ll be able to create a pitch that will wow investors and get you the funding that your business needs.

A pitch deck is a condensed business plan that communicates your business idea to investors or partners. It should be clear, concise, and well-organised so that it promotes a conversation, not just information that needs to be digested. The pitch deck is used as an elevator pitch during your outreach process and should highlight the key aspects of your startup in a way that gets investors excited about working with you.

The pitch deck itself isn’t going to fund or run your startup — it’s just one piece of the puzzle — but it’s an important one. As Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist at Canva, former Chief Evangelist at Apple, and author of The Art of the Start puts it .

The purpose of a pitch is to stimulate interest, not to close a deal.

While the pitch deck is an information-packed overview of your startup, it should be more than just numbers and figures. A winning pitch deck also captures the imagination by telling a story and getting the audience emotionally involved. People don’t buy products, they buy stories — pitch decks help people to see your startup as a compelling narrative instead of just an idea on paper.

A pitch deck helps you generate interest from investors so that they will fund or work with your company in some way. It is a way to quickly pitch your business idea and get feedback, without having to go through the entire business plan. The pitch deck should be used as a tool to start a conversation with potential investors so that you can get their feedback and determine if they are interested in what you’re doing.

For an early-stage startup, the pitch deck and financial model are the business plan. There are too many uncertainties to waste time writing a 100-page business plan. Founders should use tools like the Lean Canvas to help them think through the different aspects of their business, but a pitch deck and financial model are essential when trying to raise money and get investment.

The pitch deck should be created by the founder or co-founder of the company. They are the ones who know the most about their business and can best pitch it to investors. Remember, the pitch deck isn’t what wins you the investment, but it will start the conversation and get people interested in what you’re doing.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer for this question, as the pitch deck needs to be tailored to your specific startup and its investors. However, there are some best practices that you can use to make sure your pitch deck is as compelling as possible.

Financial Model

The pitch deck should always include a financial model, typically as a supporting document, that shows financial projections for the next three to five years. This will help investors understand how you will manage the financial risks associated with your startup.

A financial model is a document that shows how your business will make money and what kind of return investors can expect on their investment. It includes projected revenue, expenses, and profits over a specific period of time.

Investors will expect to see a three to five-year financial forecast, broken down by year and month.

The financial model should also include a section on the startup’s burn rate – how much money the company is spending each month and how long it can continue to do so before running out of funds.

A financial forecast is a projection of future income, expenses, and profits. It typically covers a period of three to five years and breaks down revenue, expenses, and net cash flow by month.

The financial model doesn’t need to be complex, but it should show a realistic understanding of the numbers behind your startup.

It is important to remember that venture capitalists and angel investors do not expect your financial forecasts to be 100% accurate – they simply want to see that you have put thought into your business, that your operational plans are accounted for, and that you understand the basics of financial forecasting.

Pitch Deck Structure

As a founder, you’ll quickly learn that you’ll need more than one pitch deck. Different pitch decks are used for different purposes, and you may end up using a pitch deck that is specific to your target investor, the stage of investment, or the format in which you’ll be pitching.

This means that there is no magic formula for your pitch deck structure. However, there are a few essential slides that should be in every business pitch deck.

• Title or cover slide
• Market size and opportunity

These slides will give the pitch deck a good structure and focus on the key elements that you want to talk about. There may be more slides depending on your company, but those are the main ones that should always appear somewhere in every pitch deck.

Early-stage startup pitch decks are used to spark interest in your idea and the founding team. Venture capital firms and angel investors will be comfortable with greater uncertainty and higher risk in this pitch deck, so there is more leeway to experiment with different ideas and concepts. This doesn’t mean that you should just throw in everything without a thought though!

At this early stage, there will be multiple unknowns that you are setting out to solve, including exactly how you’ll build your solution to the problem, how you’ll find your scaleable route to market, and maybe even how you’ll convert users to paying customers.

It’s normal to not have all the answers to these questions, and that’s OK! It doesn’t mean that you should pitch an idea if you don’t know how it will work yet. All of this is just a reality check for potential investors — they need to see that you have a realistic idea of what you need to do and a plan for how you might do it.

It’s a common mistake for first-time founders to try to put too much information into their pitch decks. This can include everything from detailed financial models to a full history of the company’s founding story. While it’s important to have all this information ready, it’s best to save it for when you’re actually speaking with investors.

Your pitch deck should be focused on your idea and the current state of your company. It should be set up in a way that clearly lays out who you are, what problem you’re solving, and how you plan to solve it. You want investors to see the actual value in investing in your startup so avoid including anything that’s not absolutely necessary for them to understand this concept.

– Do not include unnecessary information or graphics

– Keep your pitch deck to a maximum of 20 slides

– Stick to clear and concise language

– Make sure all the data is accurate and up to date

Be cautious about adding in anything that doesn’t support your pitch deck theme or the key points you want to make. If it isn’t relevant, remove it! You don’t have time for extra fluff when pitching investors; be direct and focus on what matters most.

Early-Stage Pitch Deck Example

The following pitch deck template is a good example of how you can tell a story that builds investor confidence in your startup idea. Using this format will set a great first impression and can help you with raising capital.

This is the most important slide in the whole deck, you need to grab the attention of the investor with a title slide that convinces them to keep reading. Your title slide must:

• Showcase your logo and brand name.
• In one phrase, state your value proposition.
• Engage the reader by promising them an interesting pitch.

It’s important to make your startup feel credible and trustworthy. Just as people will judge a book by the cover, investors will judge your pitch deck in less than five seconds, so make sure you have a strong first impression!

A common mistake that founders make with the title slide is not making the most of the opportunity. Taking inspiration from other industries, a prize-winning sticker on a book cover or a wine bottle has a tremendous impact on sales. What can you do to make your pitch deck stand out?

After catching your audience’s attention, you should include a company summary on slide one. Investors are unlikely to know anything about you or your company, so this is where you need to tell them what you do, where you’re going, and why they should care.

In just a few sentences, you should be able to concisely state the following:

• What your company does
• The stage you’re at
• The traction you’ve made so far
• Where you’re heading

If the title slide is about grabbing attention, the executive summary is about keeping it.

You need to get investors hooked and hungry for more information.

With the investor’s attention now captured, it’s time to give them some context. What industry are you in? What trends are happening in that industry?

Trends are the market conditions that you have zero influence over. But, by showing how you understand them and how they impact your startup, you can demonstrate that not only is your startup inevitable, but that the risk of failure is also reduced.

Your goal with the trends slide is to show that your startup idea isn’t some crazy gamble, it’s obvious and inevitable, and that the market is about to change in a big way.

In the context of startup ideas, the important things to consider about trends are whether they are weak or strong, societal and cultural, or technological.

Weak Trends: These are usually easy to spot and include things like the aging population, increasing internet penetration rates, or a growing demand for a new product or service.

Strong Trends: These are hard to argue against. They will be big and happening quickly. They could be something like the rise of mobile payments, a technology reaching critical mass, or a new way of thinking about an old problem.

Technological Trends: These trends focus on the development of new technologies. For instance, the rise of drones, Web3, and artificial intelligence technologies are all technological trends that would be relevant to an investor pitch deck when combined with a startup idea.

Societal and Cultural Trends: These trends are about the way people are living their lives, and integrating new technologies into them. A good example of this is the trend towards health and wellness. This could be anything from the increasing popularity of mindfulness to people taking more interest in their food.

It’s important to consider societal trends alongside advances in technology, just because a technology is possible, doesn’t mean that people will want to use it (remember Google Glass?).

Building into emerging trends can lead to you raising millions without even having a pitch deck , like Hopin, or still whilst the world is in lockdown and your app is still in beta – like Clubhouse.

Now that you’ve got the pitch deck rolling, it’s time to talk about your startup idea. What problem are you solving? What is happening right now? What are people not happy with?

When it comes to the problem slide, be specific. Don’t just say that there is a problem. Tell them what it is and make your audience feel the pain; they should be able to recall having had it themselves or easily empathise with those that do.

As a founder, you need to prove that you have a deep awareness and understanding of the problem you’re solving. You need to demonstrate that you can stand in the shoes of your customers and see the problem as they do.

Ideally, you should be able to summarise all of this into a problem statement. This is a simple one or two-sentence explanation that describes the problem, identifies the pain points, and explains why it needs solving.

Providing data to back up your problem statement is also important, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. You’re not trying to show the size of the market, just the severity of the problem.

Having built up an understanding of the problem, you now need to explain how you plan on solving it. What is your solution? How will your startup solve this problem? What makes your product or service different?

Your solution slide should be clear, concise, and easy to understand. You should have a brief paragraph explaining what your startup does, followed by supporting information in the form of screenshots, images, or diagrams.

Remember, during live pitching or conversations, you may be able to talk about your solution in more detail – maybe even showcase a live demo – but in your pitch deck, you need to keep it simple.

If you’re having trouble boiling down your complex solution then consider how you would sell it to a potential customer. If you can pitch it to them in a way that they understand and see the value, then your pitch deck will be able to do the same.

With the problem and solution explained, it’s time to move on to your business model. This is a critical slide for any pitch deck as it demonstrates how you plan to make money from your startup idea. It’s showing your investors that you understand the business side of things and that you have a plan for growth.

This slide can be a little tricky to get right, as you don’t want to overload your audience with too much information (especially at idea stage, when you don’t have a fully formed business model). However, you need to convey that the unit economics make sense and that there is a path to profitability.

There are lots of different ways to structure this slide, but the most common model breaks it down into a one-paragraph pitch of your business model, followed by one or two diagrams showing the relationships between your costs and revenue. By using simple visuals, you can convey complex ideas far more effectively than words alone.

Unfortunately, pitch decks don’t have the space to explore every aspect of your business model. It’s a good idea to create a separate document for this, which you can then share with interested investors or partners.

Now it’s time to move on to the all-important question of market size. Market sizing for early-stage startups can be a contentious issue.

Many entrepreneurs think that they need to show huge total addressable markets (TAM), and pitch themselves as the next billion-dollar startup. However, most sophisticated investors how that for most early-stage startups this is not appropriate.

Pitching a large TAM isn’t going to impress investors, they’ve seen it all before, but pitching yourself as the best company in your segment will demonstrate that you have a great understanding of your industry and the opportunity at hand.

It’s most important to be able to show that there is a market for your product or service, that it’s growing, and that there is room for you to compete. You don’t need to pitch yourself as a billion-dollar company, just pitch that you have a good understanding of the market segment, that people are spending money solving this type of problem, and that you’re going to be one of the best companies in your space.

For example, if your idea is to launch the next big analytics platform, don’t pitch a market size that includes every business in the world. Instead, focus on a specific industry or sector and show how behaviours in that industry are changing, paving the way for your product or service.

Again, you don’t need to go into too much detail in your pitch deck. A one-paragraph pitch of your market size is usually enough, followed by a simple diagram showing the trends that are opening up opportunities for your startup.

This is another key slide for any pitch deck, as it demonstrates that you have done your research and that you understand the competitive landscape.

Start by defining the market segment you are targeting, and then show the key points of differentiation when compared to your primary competitors.

Describe how they fit into the customer’s perspective of the market, show where their strengths and weaknesses lie, and how you plan to compete with them.

This isn’t the place for a full analysis of your competitors, but you should be able to pitch yourself as the best company in your space, with a clear understanding of how you’re going to win.

There are two common ways to visualise your competitor analysis, the magic quadrant (or 2×2 matrix) and a comparison table.

The magic quadrant is a way of plotting your competitors on two axes, based on two factors that you’ll pluck from thin air. These visualisations are rarely credible unless you have a lot of experience in the market you are analysing, or they’ve been produced by large consultancies like Deloitte or Gartner.

On the other hand, comparison tables can be very effective as they’re easy to digest, position you alongside recognisable brands, and allow you to highlight the key differences between your company and your competitors. By comparing factors that are demonstrably important to customers, you’ll come across as more credible and able to back up your pitch with cold, hard facts.

Now it’s time to talk about marketing and sales strategy, or how you’re going to get your product or service in front of customers. This is where you’ll pitch your go-to-market strategy. Your go-to-market slide should include the following elements:

• The channels you will use to reach your target audience
• The actions you will take to put your product in front of potential customers
• The milestones you will hit as you progress through your go-to-market plan
• The resources you will require to reach your target successfully

Start by describing your target market and how you plan to reach them. This might include explaining your distribution channels, sales strategy, or marketing approach. You can also use this slide to talk about any partnerships you have in place, or how you plan to leverage them.

Next, explain the actions you will take to reach your target audience, and how you plan to measure success. These actions should fit within each of the channels that you’ve already identified. For example, if you’re using digital marketing, your actions might be things like website development, SEO, or social media campaigns.

Lastly, list the key milestones you will hit as you progress through your go-to-market plan, and identify the resources you will require to achieve them. You can include your team, budget for marketing activities, or specific assets like signage.

As a startup, traction is key. Investors want to see that you’re making progress and that your product is resonating with customers. This slide is often one of the trickiest for startups at idea-stage, as it can be difficult to show commercial progress and it will be too early for product-market fit.

There are a few different ways to pitch traction, and you need to choose the one that works best with your company and the stage you’re at. Some options include user base, revenue growth, or market validation.

If you’re focusing on your user base, you’ll want to pitch a clear and compelling story about your customer base. If you have a small data set, it’s worth showcasing your first 100 customers as this makes the numbers seem more real.

If you have a large customer base, pitch your exponential growth in terms of percentage or absolute figures. For example, pitch how many customers you signed in the past quarter or year.

Revenue Growth

If you’re focusing on revenue growth, pitch your current (or projected) sales figures. You can also pitch the average ticket size or value of your deals. Alternatively, pitch your revenue growth (in terms of percentage or absolute figures) over the past year.

Market Validation

If your product is still at idea-stage and still has a long way to go before it’s ready for market, pitch your progress in terms of real-world validation. For example, pitch the number of people who have registered to use your product or service, or pitch the number of companies that have expressed interest during interviews.

Most importantly, be honest about your progress. If they are interested, investors will dig into your traction claims and you’ll need to back them up with data – if it turns out that you’ve lied or embellished the facts, you’ll not only lose trust and credibility, you’ll probably lose the investment too.

Having set the scene in which your startup operates, it’s time to introduce the management team behind your startup. Investors will be keen to learn about who is leading your company and how they will transform your idea into a profitable business.

The focus here must be you and your co-founders. People invest in people, so you’ll need to show how you have the vision, experience, and motivation required to deliver on your pitch.

Keep your team slide short and sweet. You’ll want to include the founding team, highlighting their relevant experience in the industry or field that you’re operating within.

Pictures help to make your presentation more personal, so make sure you have a good quality headshot of each team member, consistently formatted so that everyone appears the same size and in focus.

The team slide should only include the founding team, though it is acceptable to include key team members, as well as notable advisors or investors if beneficial. If you do this, ensure that there is a clear visual separation between the two groups.

This is the big one. The pitch deck wouldn’t be complete without a clear proposal of what you’re asking for from your investors. This slide should clearly state the amount of money you’re seeking, as well as what you plan to do with it.

It’s important to remember that investors are looking for a return on their investment (ROI), so your proposal must be realistic and demonstrate how you will use the funds raised to reach key growth milestones.

To convince investors, your “Ask slide” will need to answer these three questions:

• How much are you seeking to raise?
• What will you do with the money?
• What do you intend to accomplish with the funds?

Always remember to pitch the ask in terms of how it benefits the investor – not just you. For example, if you’re seeking a £100,000 investment, explain how that money will help you reach a specific milestone that will create value for your investors.

Be specific about how much you need to raise, and where you plan to deploy the money. This will show that you’ve done your homework and understand how you will grow your business.

A simple pie chart with the breakdown of how you plan to use funds can go a long way towards demonstrating to investors that you’re serious about using their money wisely. For example, if 25 percent goes towards marketing spend, 30 percent for technology development, and 45 percent for new hires, that’s a good indication you have your priorities straight.

It’s unlikely that you will be profitable before the next round of funding, but it is usually worth highlighting the key numbers from your financial projections to give investors an idea of the scale and trajectory of your business.

Perhaps the most important factor in your investment ask is demonstrating that you understand how much capital you require to hit key growth milestones without requiring further funding rounds for at least 12-18 months. This is something that almost every investor will expect you to have a solid plan for.

Pitch Deck Design

Whether you’re sharing your deck by email or presenting on stage, the design of your pitch deck matters. However, you can’t afford to hire a professional pitch deck designer to help. So, what do you do?

KEEP. IT. SIMPLE.

Your pitch deck is not the place to show off your design skills – or highlight any lack of expertise in this department! The only goal of your pitch deck is to communicate information clearly and concisely so that investors understand what you’re pitching and can get excited about it.

Keep your presentation simple, use bold typography, highlight key information, and stick to a maximum of two or three colors. Resist the urge to use lots of graphics and animations, as these can be distracting and take up valuable space on your slides.

How to design a better pitch deck

There are a lot of things to consider when designing your pitch deck presentation. Below are some tips on how to make your pitch more effective:

The average investor has a short attention span, so keep your deck concise and easy to follow. Use clear language, avoid complex graphs and charts, and stick to a maximum of 15 slides.

Use the same fonts, colors, and layouts throughout your pitch deck to create a cohesive look.

Slides that are crowded with text and images will be difficult for your audience to read and comprehend.

A pitch deck template is a great way to ensure that your pitch deck looks professional and follows the proper design guidelines.

Pitch deck design tools

Today, there is a huge selection of online design tools and no-code builders to help you build your perfect deck. Below are just a few of the design platforms that can help you craft your pitch.

An easy-to-use platform that allows startups to build a beautiful slide deck without any special design skills. Start from scratch or create your slides using predefined pitch deck templates.

https://slidebean.com/

Offers a wide range of design tools and templates for creating professional pitch decks. The free version includes limited features, while the paid plans start at $12/month.

This pitch deck design app is great for startups and entrepreneurs who need to create a pitch deck quickly. The basic plan starts at $12/month (billed annually) but there is a 14-day free trial.

https://www.beautiful.ai/

The tools provided by Pitch allow you to quickly produce a high-quality pitch. Even if you’re not a designer, you can create a strong pitch deck that looks great. The basic plan is free, but you’ll need to upgrade to the paid plans for more features.

https://pitch.com/

While these design tools can be extremely powerful, it still pays to follow the same basic guidelines to ensure that your pitch deck is easy for investors to understand; Keep it simple, avoid animation, stick to a consistent layout, and make sure your text and images are easy to read.

When you’re trying to capture investors’ attention and raise equity funding, you need to show them that you have a good plan. But startups aren’t traditional businesses and they don’t use traditional business plans.

like the Holy Grail, the business plan remains largely unattainable and mythological. Most experts wouldn’t agree, but a business plan is of limited usefulness for a startup because entrepreneurs base so much of their plans on assumptions, “visions,” and unknowns. Guy Kawasaki

This is why pitch decks are the perfect approach to sharing a startup business plan.

Fundamentally, your pitch deck is used to share your vision, attract investors, and start conversations. As a founder, you should be prepared for investors who may not “get” your pitch deck right away — this doesn’t mean that they aren’t interested in what you’re doing.

Be prepared to answer questions and have an engaging conversation about your startup. Investors want to see that you have a clear understanding of your business, the problem you’re solving, and how you plan on making money. They also want to know that you’re capable of executing your vision.

Remember, pitch decks are just one part of the overall investment process. If you’re able to create a pitch deck that effectively communicates your idea and leaves investors wanting more, then you’re on the right track!

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Blog Graphic Design 30+ Best Pitch Deck Examples, Tips & Templates

30+ Best Pitch Deck Examples, Tips & Templates

Written by: Ryan McCready Jul 04, 2023

A startup is, by definition, a fast-growing company. And to grow you need funding.

Enter the pitch deck.

In this post, we’ll look at the best startup pitch deck templates from heavy-hitters such as Guy Kawasaki, Airbnb, Uber and Facebook. We’ll also uncover the secrets of their successful startup pitch decks, and how you can leverage them to attract investor dollars, bring on new business partners and win new client contracts.

Haven’t created a winning pitch deck before? Then, use Venngage’s Presentation Maker to easily edit the templates — no technical expertise required.

 Table of contents (click to jump ahead):

• What is a pitch deck?

30 pitch deck examples for businesses

What makes a good pitch deck, what is the difference between a pitch deck vs business plan, pitch deck faq, create a pitch deck in 4 easy steps, what is a pitch deck .

A pitch deck is a presentation created to raise venture capital for your business. In order to gain buy-in and drum up financial support from potential investors, these presentations outline everything from why your business exists, to your business model, progress or milestones , your team, and a call-to-action.

The best startup pitch decks can help you:

• Prove the value of your business
• Simplify complex ideas so your audience can understand them (and get on board)
• Differentiate your business from competitors
• Tell the story behind your company to your target audience (and make that story exciting)

What is a pitch deck presentation?

A pitch deck presentation is a slideshow that introduces a business idea, product, or service to investors. Typically consisting of 10–20 slides, a pitch deck is used to persuade potential investors to provide funding for a business. It serves as a comprehensive overview of your company, outlining your business model, the problem you solve, the market opportunity you address, your key team members, and your financial projections.

1. Buffer pitch deck

Industry: Social Media Management

Business model: Subscription-based SaaS (Software as a Service)

Amount raised: $500k, according to Buffer’s co-founder Leo Widrich .

Location: San Francisco, California, USA

Website: Buffer.com

Key takeaway : The traction slide was key for Buffer: it showed they had a great product/market fit. If you have great traction, it’s much easier to raise funding.

What’s interesting about Buffer’s pitching process was the issue of competition, as that’s where many talks stalled. Investors became confused, since the social media landscape looked crowded and no one was sure how Buffer differed.

Eventually, they created this slide to clear the air:

To be frank, I’m still confused by this addition to the Buffer pitch deck, but perhaps their presentation would have cleared things up.

In any case, we’ve recreated Buffer’s pitch deck with its own traction, timeline and competitor slides, plus a clean new layout and some easy-to-customize icons:

Design tip : don’t forget to add a contact slide at the end of your pitch deck, like in the business pitch example below.

Because sometimes you’re going to pitch to a small room of investors. Other times, it will be to an auditorium full of random people in your industry. And I can guarantee that not everyone is going to know your brand off the top of their head.

You should make it extremely easy for people to find out more info or contact your team with any questions. I would recommend adding this to the last slide, as shown below.

Alternatively, you could add it to the slide that will be seen the longest in your pitch deck, like the title slide. This will help anyone interested write down your information as event organizers get things ready.

Related:  Creating a Pitch Deck? 5 Ways to Design a Winner

2. Airbnb pitch deck

Industry: Hospitality, Travel, and Technology

Business model: Online marketplace (peer-to-peer) for lodging and travel experiences

Amount raised: $20k at three months and $600k at eight months (seed), according to Vator .

Website: airbnb.com

Key takeaway: A large marketplace, impressive rate of traction and a market ready for a new competitor are the factors which made Airbnb stand out early on, says Fast Company. The organization’s slide deck clearly demonstrates these points.

Your pitch deck should explain the core information in your business plan in a simple and straightforward way. Few startups have done this as well as Airbnb.

We’ve re-designed Airbnb’s famous deck as two light and airy sample pitch deck templates. The focus here is on engaging visuals, with minimal text used.

Airbnb fundraising slide deck

This type of deck is also called a demo day presentation .  Since its going to be viewed from a distance by investors while you present, you don’t need lots of text to get your message across. The point is to complement your speech, not distract from it.

Another great thing about Airbnb’s fundraising slide deck format is that every slide has a maximum of three sections of information:

As one of the most popular presentation layouts , the rule of three design principle has been drilled into my head. And for good reason!

Here’s one of the slides that demonstrates why this pitch deck design tip works:

VIDEO TUTORIAL:  Learn how to customize this pitch deck template by watching this quick 8-minute video.

Minimalist Airbnb pitch deck template

This simple sample pitch deck template is clean and incredibly easy to customize, making it perfect for presentation newbies.

Don’t forget to insert your own tagline instead of the famous “Book rooms with locals, rather than hotels” slogan. Hint: your tagline should similarly convey what your business offers. Airbnb’s pitch deck offers up tantalizing benefits: cost savings, an insider’s perspective on a location and new possibilities.

Design tip : Click the text boxes in our online editor and add your own words to the pitch decks. Duplicate slides you like, or delete the ones you don’t.

Related:  How to Create an Effective Pitch Deck Design [+Examples]

3. Uber pitch deck

Industry: Transportation, Technology, and Logistics

Business model: On-demand transportation network and logistics platform

Amount raised: $1.57M in seed funding in 2010, reports Business Insider .

Website: uber.com

Key takeaway : Successful pitch decks clearly highlight the key pain point (the inefficiency of cabs) and a tantalizing solution (fast, convenient 1-click ordering).

Uber co-founder Garrett Camp shared the company’s very first pitch deck from 2008 via a  Medium post .

While there’s a surprising amount of text, it still manages to hit on every major part of their business plan succinctly — including key differentiators, use cases and best/worst-case scenarios.

Want something similar? We’ve updated the classic Uber pitch deck template with a sharp layout:

Uber investor deck

Many of the best pitch deck presentations out there are rather brief, only covering a few main points across a handful of slides. But sometimes your deck needs to provide more information.

There’s nothing wrong with having a longer investor pitch deck, as long as you switch up the slide layouts throughout — no one wants to see basically the same slide (just with different metrics or points) 25 times over.

This sample pitch deck template we created based on the infamous Uber deck has 20 or more slides and a diversity of layout options:

Design tip : Replace the photos with your own or browse our in-editor library with thousands of free professional stock images. To do so, double click any image to open our “replace” feature. Then, search for photos by keyword.

Blue Uber slide deck

In this navy version of the Uber pitch deck template, we’ve added bright colors and creative layouts.

Again, it’s easy to swap out the icons in our online editor. Choose from thousands of free icons in our in-editor library to make it your own.

Related : 9 Tips for Improving Your Presentation Skills For Your Next Meeting

4. Guy Kawasaki pitch deck

How much did they raise?  Guy Kawasaki’s Garage Capital raised more than $315 million dollars for its clients, according to one estimate .

Key takeaway : Avoid in-depth technical discussions in your pitch deck. Focus on the pain point you’re solving, how you’ll solve it, how you’ll make money and how you’ll reach custvomers.

Guy Kawasaki’s 10 slide outline is famous for its laser focus. He’s renowned for coining the 10/20/30 rule : 10 slides, 20 minutes and no fonts smaller than 30 point.

While you may be tempted to include as much of your business plan as possible in your pitch deck, his outline forces you to tease out your most important content and engage investors or clients within a short time span.

We’re recreated his famous outline in two winning templates you can adapt and make your own:

Gradient Guy Kawasaki pitch deck

This clean pitch deck template has all the sections you need and nothing you don’t.

Kawasaki’s format steers you towards what venture capitalists really care about : problem/solution, technology, competition, marketing plan, your team, financial projections and timeline.

Read our blog post on persuasive presentations for more design and speaking tips.

Design tip : Quickly add in charts and graphs with our in-editor chart maker. You can even import data from Excel or Google sheets.

Blue Guy Kawasaki pitch deck

This more conservative pitch deck template design keeps all the focus on the core information.

Remember: opt for a 30-point font or larger. This will force you to stick to your key points and explain them clearly. Anything smaller, and you’ll risk losing your audience — especially if they’re busy reading while tuning out what you’re actually saying.

5. Sequoia capital pitch deck

How much did they raise? Sequoia Capital is actually a Venture Capital firm. According to TechCrunch , they’ve raised almost $1B for later-stage U.S. investments.

Key takeaway : “If you can’t tell the story of the company in five minutes, then you’re either overthinking it or you haven’t simplified it down enough.” – Mike Vernal, Sequoia Capital

VC firm Sequoia Capital has its own  10-slide pitch deck format to rival Guy Kawasaki’s famous example that we’ll take a look at a little later on. Its highly-curated, clarified format shines a spotlight on innovative ideas.

As the video above suggests, effectively communicating your mission, not just listing features, is key. Below is our take on the Sequoia Capital pitch deck example; you’ll find it clean, clear and easy to create.

Design tip : Click the blue background and select a new color from our color wheel (or one of your own brand colors via My Brand Kit, available with Venngage for Business ) to create a pitch deck with your branding.

Related:  How to Make Successful Financial Pitch Decks For Startups

Blue and pink iconics pitch deck

Ready to try it for yourself? Add a pop of color to your version of the Sequoia pitch deck template with this pink and blue slide deck. The contrasting colors will make your information stand out.

6. Facebook pitch deck

How much did they raise? $500K in angel funding from venture capitalist Peter Thiel (first round).

Key takeaway : If you don’t have revenue traction yet, lean heavily on other metrics , like customer base, user engagement and growth.  Use a timeline to tell a story about your company.

The best pitch decks tell the real story about your company or brand. You should not only want to sell the audience on your product but also on the hard work you’ve done building it from the ground up.

Design tip: Try data visualizations to relay a company or product timeline . Since people are familiar with the format and know how to read them quickly, you can convey the information impactfully and save room while you’re at it.

Here, Facebook’s classic pitch deck shows the incredible schools that’ve already signed on and describe when future launches will happen.

The sample pitch deck template featured below shows another example of a company or product timeline . This would have been a great fit in the Facebook pitch deck, don’t you think?

Plus you can summarize a ton of information about your brand on a single slide. Check out how well the timeline fits into this pitch deck template below:

If the designer wouldn’t have used a timeline, the same information could have been spread over five or six extra slides! Luckily, Venngage’s timeline maker can help you visualize progress across a period of time without any design experience required.

7. TikTok Pitch Deck

How much did they raise? $150.4M in funding in 2014 (back when TikTok was called Musical.ly), says Crunchbase .

Key takeaway : Use icons as visual anchors for written information.

(The full slide deck is available to Digiday subscribers , though you can view some of the key slides in this Medium post . Keep in mind: this TikTok pitch deck was created for potential advertisers, not investors. No other TikTok pitch decks are publicly available.)

What TikTok does really well in the above example is use icons as visual anchors for their stats. (I could write a whole article about using icons in your presentations correctly. There are so many ways you can use them to upgrade your slides.)

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, just look at the slide deck template below.

Each of the main points has an icon that gives instant visual context about what the stat is about to the audience. These icons draw the eye immediately to these important facts and figures as well.

Design tip: Remember to use icons that have a similar style and color palette. Otherwise, you run the risk of them becoming a distraction.

8. Y Combinator pitch deck

How much did they raise? This startup accelerator has invested in over 3,500 startups to date, according to the company website . They state their combined valuation nears $1 trillion.

Key takeaway : Create clear, concise pitch deck slides that tell a story investors can understand in seconds.

The classic Y Combinator pitch deck is incredibly simple, and for good reason. Seed stage companies can’t provide much detail, so they should focus on telling a story about their company.

That means your slides should tell a story investors can immediately understand in a glance.

Note that one of Y Combinator’s key components is the problem (above) and solution (below) slides.

Explaining how your startup is going to solve a pain point is a vital part of any slide deck. According to Y Combinator , startups should use the problem slide to show the problem your business solves, and how this problem currently affects businesses and/or people. Additionally, if you’re starting a new startup, forming an LLC could be a great choice to launch your business in the right direction, especially if you are focused on asset protection .

Without that information, investors are going to be left with more questions than answers.

The solution slide should show the real-world benefits of your product/service. I recommend using data visualization to show traction, like the chart above, with a couple of notes for context.

To ensure your problem and solutions slides are easily understood, use a similar layout for both, as shown below.

This will help the audience quickly recall the main problem you want to solve, and connect it to your solution (even if the slides are separated by a few other points or ideas).

9. Front pitch deck

How much did they raise ? $10M in Series A funding

Key takeaway : Use a simple flowchart to visualize a problem your product/service solves.

Not everyone is going to be able to explain their problem and solution as succinctly as the previous examples. Some will need to take a unique approach to get their point across.

That’s why I want to highlight how Front masterfully communicated the problem to be solved. They likely realized it would be a lot easier (and cleaner) to create a flow chart that visualizes the problem instead of text. (Did I mention you can make your own flowcharts with Venngage?)

Also, I really like how they distilled each down to a single phrase. That approach, combined with the visuals, will help it stick in investors’ minds as one of the best pitch decks.

Here’s another example pitch deck that uses a chart to convey their problem/solution:

It splits the competition slide right down the middle to illustrate the differences. It also shows exactly how the processes differ between the two entities using mini flowcharts.

Helping the audience make the right conclusions about your company should be an important part of your pitch deck strategy. Without saying a word, the visual choices you make can greatly impact your message.

10. Crema pitch deck

How much did they raise? $175K in seed funding .

Key takeaway : Choose background images carefully — making sure they have a similar color palette.

The best pitch decks keep things consistent, mainly because there are so many moving parts in any presentation. You want each of your slides to feel like they’re connected by a singular feeling or theme. An out-of-place presentation background image can throw that off.

Keeping things consistent when you use a solid background color or pattern isn’t hard. But things can get tricky if you want to use different photos for your backgrounds.

However, if you pick presentation background images that have a similar color palette, you’ll be fine. Check out the images Crema used in their startup pitch deck below:

If you’re struggling to find exactly the same colored photos, you can use a color filter to make things more uniform.

11. WeWork pitch deck

How much did they raise? $6.9M in seed funding in 2011, says Crunchbase .

Key takeaway : Put your metrics on display.

The behemoths at WeWork still have one of the best software pitch decks, despite recent troubles (layoffs, and a valuation that dropped from $47 billion to $2.9 billion).

In fact, this investor pitch deck actually helped them raise money at a $5 billion valuation.

My favorite thing from this is how their key metrics are on the second slide. They waste no time getting down to business!

A lot of the time brands hide these metrics at the end of their presentation, but WeWork made sure to put it front and center in their slide deck.

This approach puts the audience in a positive state of mind, helping them be more receptive to the pitch.

12. Crew (Dribble) pitch deck

How much did they raise? $2M in seed funding

Key takeaway : Start your presentation with a simple statement to set the tone.

Sometimes you have to set the mood of the room before you jump into your slide deck. A simple way to do this is by adding a powerful statement or famous quote at the beginning of your slides.

This may sound cliche, but the creatives over at Crew (now Dribbble ) used this approach well in their pitch presentation.

By claiming that every business is an online business, they instantly change the way that people think about the business sector.

Additionally, the designers used this straightforward statement to set up the rest of the presentation. In the next few slides, the potential market is explained. Without the statement, I don’t think these numbers would be as impactful.

Let’s take a look at the graphs and charts the Dribble team used in their slide deck. In the below business pitch example, you can see that the line charts use the same color palette, size, and typography.

One of my favorite tips from my presentation ideas roundup article states you should never make the audience do the math.

You can also use this mantra when you’re adding data visualizations to your slides. Make each slide extra easy to consume, as well as, easy to compare to other visualizations.

Below the pie charts use the exact same color palette, size, and typography as well:

If the designers would have used a different example, the audience would be distracted trying to decipher the information.

But consistent design across multiple visualizations will ensure your audience can make comparisons that lead to the right conclusions.

Pro Tip: You can use a comparison infographic to summarize key points you’re comparing.

13. Aspire Food Group pitch deck

How much did they raise? $1M from the Hult Prize in 2013 to scale their project.

Key takeaway : Simple graphics clearly illustrate the problem (food security), the size of the market and Aspire’s unique farming project (spoiler alert: it’s insects).

Nonprofits pitching donors or social enterprises pitching for funding have a slightly different challenge than other organizations. They need to present a unique solution and  make an emotional connection to their audience.

Aspire’s simple pitch deck graphics allow investors to grasp their unique business idea at a glance. Plus, by introducing the audience to one of their customers and describing how insect farming has impacted her food budget, the concept is made relatable to many.

Another simple design hack is to choose a unique background for your nonprofit or social enterprise pick deck. Take this sample pitch deck template:

There are millions of stock photos out there for you to pick from, so finding one that will work shouldn’t be too hard.

However, when you’re picking your presentation background images , it’s important to make sure it matches your message or brand.

In the above example, the pitch deck’s slightly crumpled paper background fits an eco-friendly startup well.   Especially because eco-friendly living and minimalism share similar tenants.

Another great example is this sponsorship pitch deck above. It elevates the message by opting for a simplistic background choice.

With a beautiful yet minimalistic slide deck like this, who wouldn’t want to donate?

Most of the time your pitch deck background images are supposed to be used in a supporting role. However, you can also design your presentation around the background images to create some of the best pitch decks out there.

As you can see in this pitch deck template, we added written content to the white space in each of the stock photos:

Plus no one can really copy your pitch deck layout, so you will instantly stand out from other companies.

Be sure to pick photos that share the same color palette and theme. Otherwise, the benefits of using these presentation backgrounds will be lost.

14. Mattermark pitch deck

How much did they raise? A total of $17.2M so far, says Crunchbase .

Key takeaway : Use screenshots in your pitch deck to show the problem you’re solving.

Highlighting digital problems is tough when you have limited space and time…like when you’re pitching your new digital product to a room full of investors.

That’s why some of the best pitch decks include screenshots of the problem being solved.

As you can see above, the people from Mattermark used screenshots to show how unorganized SAAS reporting was. At that time it was spread over a ton of different sites, with different reporting standards and values.

It would be difficult to sell an investor on their product just by talking about the market. Mainly because not a lot of people have experience in that specific niche.

But with a handful of screenshots, they were able to highlight the product potential almost instantly.

In terms of design, the team at Mattermark stuck to the rule of three (see slide below). This rule will help you keep your team from overwhelming the audience with a flood of stats or figures.

They also decided to make these figures easier to consume by highlighting them in different colors

Compared to a boring list of figures, it’s a lot easier to remember three distinct colored numbers. Plus because the background colors darken as they go, it naturally guides the reader’s eyes down the slide.

15. Dwolla pitch deck

How much did they raise? $12M in funding as of 2018.

Key takeaway : Give the reason your company was founded in one quick sentence.

In many of our own presentations, we talk about how Venngage started from humble beginnings before undergoing tremendous growth in just a few years.

That’s because people love origin stories — they help your audience connect with your brand and appreciate all the work put into it.

Take a look at the pitch deck slide from Dwolla above. In a single sentence, they outline their reason for doing business, and what they hope to solve.

Just be sure to talk about your company founding in the first few slides of your pitch. Otherwise, it won’t have the same impact.

On another note, as a design company, we always love to see people create great visualizations in their pitch decks — particularly when these visuals communicate key information well….like when it comes to your ideal users!

I have seen a lot of brands just talk about their users, but I recommend creating visual user personas instead. Our persona guides can help you with this!

As you can see above, Dwolla visualized their user personas for each use case.

These visual user personas allow audiences to put a “real” face to your user base. And if you have many ideal users (like Dwolla), it helps keep each group organized.

16. Kickfolio (App.io) pitch deck 

How much did they raise? $1M in seed funding.

Key takeaway : Go for huge graphs! The bigger, the better.

Be proud of your brand’s growth and metrics in your slide deck.

You worked hard to grow a company from nothing, and that’s a big achievement! So why would you want to make that growth hard to see?

However, I’ve seen a lot of people inadvertently hide their key metrics by using small graphs or charts.

The only solution to this problem is…get bigger with your graphs! And I mean huge, like the ones App.io deployed in the pitch deck above. Their graph is so large and imposing, every audience member could see it clearly.

Venngage’s  graph maker can help you do this for your own pitch decks too.

17. Yalochat pitch deck

How much did they raise? $15M in Series B funding, says TechCrunch.

Key takeaway : Use icons as illustrations to add instant context.

Icons have been making a comeback in the design world over the past few years. According to recent reports on graphic design trends , they’ll continue to be popular.

This presentation from Yalochat is one of the best examples of how to use illustrated icons correctly.

Each icon perfectly illustrates the point being made on each slide, giving instant context. They will definitely catch the eyes of any audience member.

Just remember to follow their lead and  use consistently designed icons !

18. Brex pitch deck

How much did they raise? $1.5 billion to date.

Key takeaway : Include a single slide about your team and highlight what makes them truly exceptional.

Another important part of your story is the people who helped you build your company. These people are the lifeblood of your brand, and what helps it stand out from the competitors.

Corporate card startup Brex does this well by using team member photos, and including their titles and company affiliations to build credibility. You can download the Brex slides for free, thanks to Business Insider .

Let’s tale a look at a sample pitch deck that employs a similar philosophy.

I’m guessing you already planned on adding something similar to your pitch deck. Again, I would recommend using only a single team slide like they did.

You can use a team photo if you want to talk about the whole team, or add an organizational chart instead. Alternatively, like Brex, you can highlight the most important individuals, like this business pitch example:

Whatever you choose to do, don’t forget to talk about your team on a team slide, and highlight the people who make your company truly great.

Read More:  12+ Organizational Chart Examples and Templates

19. Purple Go pitch deck

How much did they raise? Undisclosed.

Key takeaway : Use a contrasting hue to draw your audience’s attention to key information.

Color isn’t just about making your designs look good — it can also draw your audience’s attention to important information.

For example, take a look at this simple pitch deck from Purple Go . They contrast deep purple with white to help certain sentences pop.

This is a simple way to make your slides have a lot of impact; pick colors that contrast boldly with each other.

20. Mint pitch deck

How much did they raise? $31M to date, according to Mint.

Key takeaway : Add visual cues, such as illustrations and icons, to help explain your brand to investors.

I’m guessing your pitch deck is already going to touch on how you stand out from the competition. But just listing a few things that set you apart may not be enough on your slide deck!

You may need to add some visual cues to help the audience out.

We decided to redesign Mint’s original deck for a contemporary take on this.

In this minimalist pitch deck template, our designers used visuals to make the main company stand out even more. And best of all, it doesn’t distract from the minimalist theme.

This simple addition to your slides will help your information jump off the page, providing a rewarding visual break from related companies.

21. Park Evergreen (Plot) pitch deck

How much did they raise? $400k in seed funding.

Key takeaway : Give each metric its own slide.

Generally, slide decks are full of important metrics that you’re supposed to remember. But not all of those numbers are presented in a way that would make them easy to.

Some are hidden in long paragraphs, while others are smashed together with less important findings.

That’s why I’m a huge fan of how Park Evergreen (now called Plot ) included important numbers in this slide deck. As you can see below, each metric is given its own slide:

With this approach, the audience members place their full attention on that number. And they’ll be able to recall the information a lot quicker.

It may look overly simple to some, but the best pitch decks use this tactic a lot.

22. Hampton Creek (Eat Just) pitch deck

How much did they raise? $1.5M in Series A.

Key takeaway : Create a minimalist title slide to build anticipation for your presentation.

You probably know that presentations don’t always run as smoothly as planned. With long breaks and technical problems, the time between presentations can end up running rather long.

Translation: you might spend more time looking at the title slide than the actual presentation itself.

So if you really want to build some anticipation for your pitch, create a minimalist (some might even say, mysterious) title slide. As you can see, the team at Eat Just (once known as Hampton Creek) did just that.

The lack of information makes spectators want to learn more about your brand, effortlessly engaging them.

The only negative is that no one is going to know the name of your company — yet.

23. Sickweather pitch deck

How much did they raise? $2.6M to date, according to Crunchbase.

Key takeaway : Pull out the main metrics from your graphs and charts to make your slide a snap to understand.

Remember when I said: “Don’t make your audience do the math”?

Yeah. That’s because people hate doing math — so you never want to make investors try to calculate your data themselves. Especially when dealing with millions of dollars, tiny percent changes or other complicated numbers.

Out of all the tips in this article, this one might be the most important. Mainly because forgetting this idea all but guarantees your failure.

That’s why I recommend you “do the math” on every slide where you include a graph or chart — like how Sickweather did above.

By pulling out the main growth metrics from the graph, they made this slide a lot more consumable, and showed the audience exactly what they should pay attention to.

24. Dutchie pitch deck

How much did they raise? $35M in 2020, according to TechCrunch .

Key takeaway : Set the tone by putting your most impressive stat(s) in the introduction.

Dutchie, an all-in-one technology platform for eCommerce, POS and payments, wastes no time coming out the gates with one impressive insight: “10% of all legal cannabis in the world” is purchased through their product.

Now I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty tantalizing.

So it makes perfect sense they would pull it out from their market share figures and feature it in their introduction. By doing so, investors get an idea how successful and established Dutchie is right off the bat.

25. Studysmarter pitch deck

How much did they raise?  $15M according to TechCrunch .

Key takeaway : Illustrate your vision over several slides.

Rather than dedicate one slide to their vision for the company, digital learning company Studysmarter continuously brings up how their product will be understood in the future — as “the world’s central hub” for “lifelong” learning, becoming the “largest learning platform in Europe” by 2021.

While this visionary sentiment is not new to the pitch deck industry, it makes sense Studysmarter would want to focus much of their presentation slide deck on this idea: the idea of an unlimited target market and use cases.

Design wise, their illustrations are consistent, using visuals to illustrate their message and various target demographics.

These graphics build off the sleek, modern interface Studysmarter’s brand image invokes. It also illustrates what they want investors to envision for the future of the brand.

26. Clearbanc (Clearco) Pitch Deck

How much did they raise? $70M in series A funding, according to TechCrunch.

Key takeaway : Use flow charts to communicate complicated processes.

As a company that offers startups “growth capital for the new economy” through non-dilutive revenue-share agreements, Clearco (previously known as Clearbanc) wins big by communicating how the process works in less than a slide’s time.

That’s right: the company uses a flowchart .

For complicated business processes that would normally take several slides of text to communicate, a flowchart is a smart way to visualize a process while saving space and keeping your audience engaged.

Particularly for a company like Clearco, this is key for getting investors up to speed. Then you can move on to the other facts and figures they’ll surely want to hear.

27. Foursquare Pitch Deck

Key takeaway : Show how the end-product looks in your presentation.

Okay look, I get it. This slide deck from 2009 is certainly behind on times when it comes to design tips in this current day and age…

BUT take it back to more than a decade ago, and you’ll see why Foursquare’s pitch deck won big with investors.

As one of the first businesses to employ gamification, the company lets this selling proposition shine by using an iPhone graphic to show how the app’s points and badges look to the end-user. These visuals communicate the appeal by showcasing exactly how consumers will interact with, and understand, the product.

In essence, it takes the guesswork out of their pitch.

So while the text-heavy aspect of this sample pitch deck isn’t exactly ideal, their use of visuals can teach us a lesson.

28. TalentBase pitch deck

How much did they raise?   $330K to date.

Key takeaway : Let the numbers do the talking.

Rather than take up a ton of slide space in this pitch deck example, TalentBase, an affordable payroll solution , focused their real estate on the real deal-closers: the numbers.

While this won’t work for every business, as you may need to add more slides to truly explain the environment your organization exists in and your processes, TalentBase uses their positioning to drive forward a captivating narrative.

And this narrative utilizes only numbers to connect the dots in the mind of potential investors about the value TalentBase offers, in terms of market capture.

29. Peloton pitch deck

Key takeaway : Discuss both the tangible and intangible benefits your product offers.

In 2018, back before the real pandemic hey-day of this tech unicorn, Peloton dazzled in a funding round and managed to capture in $550M funding.

Part of this can be attributed to Peloton’s emphasis on the benefits it brings customers.

Across multiple slides, the exercise equipment and media company highlights how customers’ lives are improved in various emotional and functional ways. Since this connection lays the groundwork for long-term B2C relationships, investors can immediately identify the value encompassed by this modern fitness tool.

Looking to try something similar? Check out the below Peloton sample pitch deck, reimagined by our Venngage design team.

30. Ledgy pitch deck

How much did they raise? $ 10M in September 2021.

Key takeaway : Cut down on space with text and graphics that follow a clear logical narrative.

In just seven slides, the equity management and investor relations platform, Ledgy, was able to convince their audience that their product was worth investing in.

By putting their mission first, and following it up with engaging visuals, the company tells a story despite using minimal text.

Yoko Spirig, CEO and co-founder of Ledgy, echoed this sentiment in an interview : “Starting with the ‘why’ lets you build the business case for the product, and create a logical narrative that investors can follow.”

That’s why, design-wise, this is one of the cleanest pitch deck examples in the bunch. It’s one of the shortest too.

I also appreciate how their brand colors are used in conjunction with white to keep everything consistent (something that Venngage’s automated branding feature My Brand Kit can help you out with).

To summarize, some of my favorite pitch deck design tips include:

• Adding icon headers to your most important insights
• Use similar charts and graphs for easy comparisons across slides
• For longer pitch decks, switch up the slide layouts
• Pick a consistent theme for your presentation background images
• Don’t just list your ideal users, create visual personas
• Use a timeline to show how your company has grown
• Always do the math for your audience

Now let’s take a look at what’s the difference between a pitch deck and a business plan.

A pitch deck and a business plan serve different purposes in the world of entrepreneurship, each playing a crucial role in showcasing and strategizing a business venture. The main distinction lies in their format, level of detail and intended audience.

Pitch decks typically consists of a series of carefully crafted slides, highlighting key aspects of the business such as the value proposition, target market, revenue model, competitive advantage and team expertise.

The goal is to pique interest, generate excitement and secure further engagement or funding opportunities. A pitch deck emphasizes storytelling, persuasive visuals, and concise messaging to create an impactful impression.

On the other hand, a business plan is a comprehensive and detailed document that provides an in-depth roadmap for the entire business venture. It outlines the company’s mission, vision, goals, market analysis, marketing strategies, operational details, financial projections and risk assessment.

A business plan serves as a strategic blueprint, guiding the entrepreneur and internal stakeholders in executing the business idea effectively. It tends to be more exhaustive, often spanning several pages or even chapters, and is typically presented in a written format.

What should a pitch deck contain?

A well-crafted pitch deck should contain key information that effectively communicates your business concept, value proposition, and growth potential. While the specific content may vary depending on your industry and target audience, here are the essential elements that a pitch deck should typically include:

• Problem statement
• Market opportunity
• Business model
• Competitive analysis
• Marketing and sales strategy
• Team members
• Financial projections
• Milestones and timeline
• Investment opportunity

Not a graphic designer? No sweat — creating your own pitch deck is a breeze using Venngage’s Presentation Maker . (We’ll go over the basics here; for a more in-depth look, check out this article .)

Step 1: Sign up on Venngage for free using your email, Gmail or Facebook account. If you already have an account, log in to access the platform.

Step 2: Browse through our selection of professionally designed pitch deck templates and select one that suits your needs and preferences.

Step 3: Once you’ve selected a template, start customizing it to match your branding and content. Venngage’s drag-and-drop editor allows you to easily modify every aspect of the template, including colors, fonts, images and layout. Replace the placeholder text with your own content, such as your company information, product or service details, market analysis and financial projections.

Note: there are hundreds of templates available that you can design and share for free. If you want to access certain designs, take advantage of in-editor features like My Brand Kit/Team collaboration .

Step 4: Once you’re satisfied with your design, you can download it in various formats such as PDF or PNG. Alternatively, you can use also Venngage’s sharing options to present your pitch deck directly from the platform or share it with others via a generated link.

To leave a lasting impression on your audience, consider transforming your slides into an interactive presentation. Here are 15  interactive presentation ideas  to enhance interactivity and engagement.

Now that you know how to create the best pitch decks to communicate your ideas, present your startup or raise venture capital, take action and start designing your own pitch deck today!

And if you want to learn more, there are a ton of other presentation design resources you can take a look at next:

• 20+ Business Pitch Deck Templates and Design Best Practices
• 120+ Best Presentation Ideas, Design Tips & Examples
• 15 Presentation Design Statistics to Know For 2019
• 7 Tips for Designing a Persuasive Presentation [Presentation Design Guide + Templates]
• 20+ Consulting Proposal Templates

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35 Best Pitch Decks From Real-Life Startups [With Templates]

Written by: Orana Velarde

Many companies in existence—even big-name startups—once had to create a pitch deck at the beginning of their journey. Thanks to the internet, we can access and study all those successful pitch decks for a healthy dose of inspiration.

Some of these investor pitch deck examples have become quite famous, like the Airbnb pitch deck from when the company was still called AirBed&Breakfast.

In this article, we’ve put together the 35 best pitch decks to learn from. We've also recreated some of those pitch decks into templates to help you attract investors and support for your own company.

If you're ready to create your own pitch deck, use our presentation software to put together a professional investor presentation in minutes.

Here's a short selection of 8 easy-to-edit pitch deck templates you can edit, share and download with Visme. View 23 more templates below:

What Makes a Good Pitch Deck?

Before we launch into 35 of the best pitch decks of all time, let’s talk about what makes a good pitch deck . What’s going to grab investor attention and help propel your business toward the same success that companies like Airbnb, WeWork, Uber and Facebook have all seen?

Let’s dig into a few of the major components to keep in mind when designing a pitch deck.

• Use the right slides. There are 10 key slides every pitch deck should have, including an introduction, problem/solution, business model , statistics, etc. Flesh out a proper pitch deck outline before you get started pulling necessary information.
• Tell a story. One of the best ways to capture your audience is through a compelling story. Make sure you’re really selling your business idea by elaborating on why people are going to want or need it.
• Be passionate about your idea . No one wants to listen to someone half-heartedly pitch a business idea. You need to believe in it and make your audience believe in it, too.
• Proofread and practice. Nothing is going to make you seem less professional than typos and a million “ums” during your speech. Review your slides and rehearse them to make sure you’re ready to present.
• Pay attention to design . Old, boring, bulleted PowerPoints won’t get you anywhere anymore. With access to beautiful and simple templates and tools (*ahem* Visme *ahem*) it’s never been easier to create beautiful and creative pitch decks.

For even more tips on your pitch deck design, watch this video:

If you need help creating attention-grabbing pitch decks, you can use the versions recreated in Visme as a starting point. Better yet, allow Visme's AI presentation maker to do the heavy lifting for you—it handles everything from design to content, speeding up your pitch deck design process.

With just a text prompt, this advanced tool helps you generate pitch deck presentations complete with images, icons, illustrations, text, and everything else—in just seconds.

For example, you can draw inspiration from any of these pitch deck examples and instruct the AI presentation maker to generate a similar pitch deck design tailored to your business and topic of choice. Isn't that amazing?

Click on a Pitch Deck to Jump Ahead

• Dropbox Pitch Deck
• Tinder Pitch Deck
• Airbnb Pitch Deck
• WeWork Pitch Deck
• Uber Pitch Deck
• BuzzFeed Pitch Deck
• Launchrock Pitch Deck
• Foursquare Pitch Deck
• Intercom Pitch Deck
• Mattermark Pitch Deck
• TouristEye Pitch Deck
• Buffer Pitch Deck
• Ooomf (Crew) Pitch Deck
• Moz Pitch Deck
• Biogrify Pitch Deck
• Front Pitch Deck
• Piccsy Pitch Deck
• LinkedIn Pitch Deck
• Fyre Festival Pitch Deck
• Manpacks Pitch Deck
• Coinbase Pitch Deck
• Snapchat Pitch Deck
• YouTube Pitch Deck
• Facebook Pitch Deck
• Crunchbase Pitch Deck
• Contently Pitch Deck
• Wise (TransferWise) Pitch Deck
• Bliss Pitch Deck
• Castle Pitch Deck
• Shift Pitch Deck
• Cubeit Pitch Deck
• Revolut Pitch Deck
• Alto Pitch Deck
• Wayfair Pitch Deck
• Walmart - Flipkart Pitch Deck

1. Dropbox Pitch Deck

Dropbox is one of the pioneers of cloud storage as we know it today, and their pitch deck from 2007 was all about revolutionizing the way people stored and shared important data.

The company has raised around $1.7 billion in funding and is backed by popular investors like JP Morgan and Sequoia Capital.

Original pitch deck:

What makes Dropbox's pitch deck stand out among others is how it addresses the “why” behind the entire idea of cloud storage.

As you go through the slides, you’ll notice how each section focuses on how Dropbox’s solution will benefit users and the society as a whole by changing the way people work with files.

This slide deck inspiration also dives into the details of why investing in the company is a good idea at that particular time, making a strong case for securing the funding they need.

Key Takeaway: Draw a comparison with your competitors to show how your product is better. Focus on the features, but then follow up with benefits to explain why those features are worth investing in.

It's also a good idea to explain why the timing is ideal for launching your product or company. Dropbox does this well by highlighting trends that are relevant to their target audience, such as the increased use of digital devices and more distributed/remote teams.

Here's an investor pitch deck template that comes built-in with a comparison table , data widgets, charts and a benefits slide. Customize it to create a value-focused pitch deck like Dropbox.

Recreated in Visme:

Create your own Pitch Deck with this easy-to-edit template! Edit and Download

2. Tinder Pitch Deck

Previously known as Matchbox, Tinder is one of the most popular dating apps in the world.

While Tinder's pitch deck below is not officially connected to any funding round, the app managed to raise over $50 million in just three rounds.

So, what is it about this that makes it such a great pitch deck inspiration?

First, they do an excellent job of communicating the problem with a short (but relatable) story. Then, instead of talking about the solution, they show it within their app.

The next few slides dive deeper into the app’s functionality — how it works and what value it provides. By using step-by-step screenshots, they let their app do the talking.

Finally, the pitch deck summarizes additional features being developed and the revenue opportunity, or how they plan to make money, in two short slides.

Key Takeaway: Using storytelling to explain a problem can make it relatable and easier to understand. A good pitch deck puts investors in the customers’ shoes, which naturally makes them more intrigued to learn about the solution.

Another lesson to be learned here is to use your product’s functionality to explain the solution. Tinder does a great job of showing instead of telling with step-by-step screenshots of how users will navigate through the app to fulfill their needs.

Customize this business pitch deck template below designed especially for apps and SaaS businesses, and apply your own storytelling principles:

3. Airbnb Pitch Deck

Some of the best investor decks present information in a quickly-digestible, easily-understandable way. This is where an early pitch deck by Airbnb shines.

Airbnb’s pitch deck is commonly cited as one of the best, and has helped raise over $112 million .

Each slide is relatively basic, presenting the information quickly and efficiently. They also avoid the pitfalls of sticking simply to text, adding images and charts throughout that illustrate their points in a similar manner.

Key Takeaway: You don’t want to bore your audience, but you also want them to know exactly what your product or service is trying to do. Airbnb's modern pitch deck design exemplifies simplicity at its finest.

Here’s a pitch deck template inspired by Airbnb to get you started.

The Visme editor comes equipped with several AI features, like the AI Presentation Maker , which helps you craft a fully designed pitch deck from start to finish, including content and visual graphics. Additionally, the AI Writer can help you refine content in several ways, like summarizing longer text or refreshing older content.

Use the prompt window to explain what you need and watch the tool unleash its magic.

4. WeWork Pitch Deck

In the WeWork Pitch Deck Series D , they show projected growth in big numbers. They used the power of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) to really bring the message home to investors.

By providing big-name services to their members through an affiliate scheme, they were able to add the logos of all these companies in their company deck and show who they were already working with.

Not only did they get tons of funding with this pitch deck, they're now one of the biggest coworking space providers in the world. They knew the potential of WeWork and were definitely not afraid to show it.

Key Takeaway: If you know your idea has the potential to be huge, show it. WeWork knew they had a sound business plan that was bound to grow with the right amount of support. They didn’t take any shortcuts and used visual charts to show huge projections and big plans.

Here’s a business pitch template inspired by WeWork to get you started.

5. Uber Pitch Deck

When Uber first started out, it was called UberCab.

The idea behind the business seemed like something right out of a fairy tale; cabs that would pick you up in minutes, which you didn’t have to call or stand on the curb for.

Even though their initial ideas did not exactly represent how Uber is today, their original pitch deck is a great example of believing in a product.

This professional pitch deck goes into detail about how UberCab could ultimately change the way taxis work, forever.

The actual slides from this business deck rely heavily on bullet points to get the message across, but they hit home because they are simple and short-winded. The bullet points are more like matter-of-fact statements instead of long explanations.

You can tell that the founders knew they had a great idea and all they needed was the investors to see it the way they did. They had no charts because they were still a small enterprise and had no growth to show.

They were relying on a simple fact: their idea was a game changer.

Key Takeaway:  Even if all you have is a great idea, strongly believing in that idea can help you get the funding you need to turn it into a reality. Forget fancy charts and long explanations — the best pitch deck designs keep it simple and get to the point quickly.

Here’s a pitch deck template inspired by Uber to get you started.

6. BuzzFeed Pitch Deck

When BuzzFeed was small, with only five people in a tiny office in Chinatown, they knew they had to stand out from the crowd to get ahead. So, instead of just being one amongst the pack, they created their own pack.

They visualized this idea perfectly on slide 18 of their pitch deck. BuzzFeed pitched the idea of advertisement as content instead of having content and advertisement as two different entities, which was the norm.

Their idea to use content generated by users, computer algorithms and advertisers is what made them different from other journalistic websites. They pitched their platform to investors so they could include their advertisement as content.

In the pitch deck, BuzzFeed’s founders showed exactly how their idea worked and how it would look online. They also visualized exactly how the “advertisement as content” idea would benefit them, including screenshots of the actual website.

In their second-last slide, they prompt “How big can this get?”, and they were not shy to show just how their take on viral media could take off.

Key Takeaway: If you're in the SaaS business, visualize your idea using actual screenshots of your product. Showing can be much more effective than simply telling, as it helps investors gain a deeper understanding of your idea.

Here’s a product pitch deck template inspired by BuzzFeed to get you started.

7. Launchrock Pitch Deck

The usual presentation has a light background and dark-colored content, but the pitch deck for Launchrock went in the opposite direction.

The slides have a black background, while the content is made of white text and red and blue gradient buttons. This visual quality is perfectly reminiscent of the Launchrock brand.

The Launchrock brand is simple, bold and to the point, and so is their pitch deck. The information on each slide is minimal, but precise. The data flows from one slide to the next in a simple storytelling format .

To top it off, they use social proof and a sense of community to get the message across.

Key Takeaway:  Don't be afraid to experiment when it comes to pitch deck design . Just make sure the colors and fonts you choose are aligned with your brand and don't compromise on the readability of your presentation slides.

Another lesson to be learned is that you don't always need to use text to explain your idea. The flowchart on slide 11 has no text, but it fully visualizes the idea behind their product.

Here’s a professional pitch deck template inspired by Launchrock to get you started.

8. Foursquare Pitch Deck

Foursquare was huge a while ago, but with so many location-based apps now it’s easy to wonder if it still exists. Yes, Foursquare still exists and it’s so much more than it used to be at the beginning.

Back in the young days of Foursquare , it was just two guys with an idea and this pitch deck.

This pitch deck has long sections of text, which isn’t usually considered a good idea. But on these slides with long bullet points, there are also mobile device mockups with real screenshots of the app doing its thing.

This somehow makes it work, along with the fact that the text is inspiring, innovative and perfectly organized.

The screenshots visualize every single functionality, yet keep things real. There are no excessive growth charts or high pitched dream ideas.

Foursquare has done a great job of growing into a huge enterprise and it all began in the era of this pitch deck.

Key Takeaway:  Instead of just focusing on one type of user, show how your idea, company or product will benefit all the stakeholders involved. A large part of this pitch deck’s success is that it shows how the Foursquare app benefits both companies and users.

Here’s a pitch deck template inspired by Foursquare to get you started.

9. Intercom Pitch Deck

The Intercom logo has seen a lot of revamping since its first pitch deck, but it has always been full of personality.

The slides in Intercom's pitch presentation example stick to a simple outline accompanied by the hand-drawn font of their logo on the headings and bullets.

Not only does this keep the pitch deck cover page on brand, it also adds a good dose of personality to all the slides. It shows investors that the Intercom company is simple, but not unpolished. Adding the font shows off the fun, human side of the brand.

Along with a light blue gradient background, the overall feel of this pitch deck is calm and reassuring. To hit the nail on the head, they used a simple font for the text, adding only some bold styling to reinforce the message.

The headings are positioned just right so if you skim through the slides, you can read them easily and grasp the big idea.

Key Takeaway: The design of your pitch decks is more important than you'd think. Make sure your slides are easy to read and skim through, the colors don't clash, and the fonts are legible, even if they're fun or handwritten-style.

Hey marketers! Need to create scroll-stopping visual content fast?

• Transform your visual content with Visme’s easy-to-use content creation platform
• Produce beautiful, effective marketing content quickly even without an extensive design skillset
• Inspire your sales team to create their own content with branded templates for easy customization

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Here’s a pitch deck template inspired by Intercom to get you started.

10. Mattermark Pitch Deck

The main idea behind Mattermark was to solve an actual problem.

They created a “Google for businesses;” a data-driven search engine that helps SaaS businesses stay informed about other companies, which leads to better business decisions and improved market research.

The idea was a big one and they needed to show a lot of details in the pitch deck. Bordering on “too much information,” the Mattermark pitch deck uses multi-colored charts to compare important data.

To present the problem they aimed to solve, they relied on a flowing arrow diagram to visualize the outcome. As the slides progress, information is added on to create a comprehensive message.

They bring it home towards the end by showing how Mattermark can do it all faster and better. The charts are inspiring and resemble hockey sticks; the ultimate success chart example.

Key Takeaway:  If you have a lot of data to present, make it interesting by using different types of graphs . If you're presenting a solution to a problem, you can visualize that too with the help of arrows.

Here’s a good pitch deck template inspired by Mattermark to get you started.

11. TouristEye Pitch Deck

Before TouristEye was acquired by Lonely Planet, it was one of the first mobile apps directed at travelers. With the strong premise of “Travel Guides Suck,” they used this pitch deck to share the hype of TouristEye.

In this pitch deck, screenshots and travel-themed photography visualize a new, more personalized way of traveling where users could create their itineraries on the TouristEye app.

It’s not surprising that Lonely Planet ended up acquiring TouristEye; it was a huge competition for them.

Even if the hype behind TouristEye was that travel guides sucked, Lonely Planet saw the potential and had to have it for their platform.

Key Takeaway:  The best pitch decks explain the big idea up front, even if it sounds a little harsh. If you have data to back your big idea up, especially related to conversions and growth, that's even better. Notice how TouristEye does it on slide 19 by highlighting that intent equals conversions.

Here’s a pitch deck template inspired by TouristEye to get you started.

12. Buffer Pitch Deck

Buffer’s pitch deck is a great example of transparency and believing in your product.

The company is one of the first to release their pitch deck publicly, not only helping others with their decks, but illustrating goodwill.

Key Takeaway: Transparency is something that both customers and investors appreciate. It reinforces your honesty and trustworthiness, and helps them better understand how your product works. Even better, it displays complete confidence in your product or service.

Here’s a pitch deck template inspired by Buffer to get you started.

13. Ooomf (Crew) Pitch Deck

A common (and expected) thing you see in most pitch decks is how much growth a company has seen so far with their product.

What’s less commonly seen are the people who’ve already taken an interest in your work. This is unsurprising, as many pitch decks are created for projects still looking for funding.

However, for those lucky enough to already have some investors, this is a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of.

One great example of this is Crew.

Their pitch deck is incredibly sparse, using only the bare-minimum text and pictures. They also list other companies that have invested in theirs on slide 29, along with the amount they’ve already earned.

If you don’t have any interested parties yet, no problem; simply add quotes from satisfied customers or workers.

This deck does that, as well, with Milan C., a worker at Crew, claiming on their last slide, “Crew changed the way I work and with that how I live.”

Key Takeaway:  If you already have a few investors, companies or individuals supporting your product, don't be afraid to highlight them in your pitch deck.

Growth is not the only thing potential investors are intrigued by — proving that your product has earned respect from other groups is often enough to make people believe it's worth investing in.

Here’s a pitch deck template inspired by Crew to get you started.

14. Moz Pitch Deck

Moz's pitch deck features an adorable mascot that appears on all of their slides, and colorful blocks and charts that illustrate their points.

Their later slides are filled with fun images, such as cartoon character Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes) rampaging through a city.

The pitch deck never sacrifices the facts for fun either. They continue to describe their goals and statistics throughout, showing how useful they could be for investors and the business world in general.

SEOmoz has a rather appealing tagline: “How a tiny Mom & Son consultancy became a leader in SEO Software, and our roadmap to being Seattle’s next $1 billion company.”

The tagline opens with the promise of an appealing story (their journey to the big time), and ends with an ambitious goal, piquing curiosity and convincing potential investors to follow along.

Key Takeaway: It’s no secret that describing statistics and information can be, well, boring. Many potential investors have already heard such things countless times, even through the course of the day. So, how do you make yours stand out?

Simple: do something different and entertaining, while still offering the information you need to get your point across. SEOmoz does this admirably in their pitch deck.

Here’s a pitch deck template inspired by SEOmoz to get you started.

When creating a pitch deck with Visme, you have access to practical business features that help you create pitch decks more productively. Dynamic fields , for example, enable you to design one pitch deck template and input custom fields that can be easily adjusted with a few clicks. You can use this feature to tailor your message according to your audience.

15. Biogrify Pitch Deck

Not everyone’s an artist, but you don't need to be one to create a great pitch deck.

Sometimes just looking at design ideas and learning the in’s-and-out’s of your product can be enough.

Biogrify's deck is a great example of this, as it’s filled with images and screenshots, most of which aren’t drawings.

Their deck looks a little different than the slide deck examples above due to the focus on creativity.

Notice how they’ve used photos with speech bubbles to explain their message and several shots of their product in action to advertise.

The charts on slide 7 are of special note, as they are organized to not clutter the page and still maximize the amount of images that can fit.

Key Takeaway: Use creativity, but not just for thef sake of it. In Biogrify's pitch deck, each image helps support their words, making the overall experience appealing and interesting, rather than either frustrating or confusing. Better yet, the message is reinforced through the use of visual presentation aids .

Here’s a pitch deck template inspired by Biogrify to get you started.

16. Front Pitch Deck

Front's pitch deck offers a great example of using an attractive color scheme to your advantage.

They’ve primarily used white, blue, and pink to fill the slides.

For example, slide 9 has a white background and pink header, with a line graph that uses blue and pink to represent the specific values mentioned.

Front establishes some of this color scheme early on, with the title page in deep blue with white font. Colorful confetti shapes litter the background, hinting at the “fun” feel the pink would later give.

Key Takeaway: Using a specific color scheme can work wonders for your pitch deck. The colors, spread across the slides, can help unify a presentation and make it pop. Moreover, using specific colors that represent your company will help the pitch deck be more recognizable.

Be careful when choosing colors for your pitch deck. Different colors can evoke different feelings. You can find out more about color psychology and color schemes in our comprehensive guide.

Here’s a startup pitch template inspired by Front to get you started.

17. Piccsy Pitch Deck

Piccsy's deck gives a bit more literal example of smooth transitions. The photo site has an online infographic format , rather than the traditional slide deck format.

Each individual slide flows smoothly into one another as you scroll down the page, with similar themes (like the circles to hold information and the color scheme) tying the work together.

This pitch deck also takes an innovative approach by providing information at the end to encourage contact, making it one of the best investor pitch decks.

Key Takeaway:  Stand out to potential investors by turning your pitch deck into an interactive experience . Piccsy does this well by creating an infographic-style website, complete with their branding and even contact information at the end to encourage action.

Think of ways to pitch your startup to investors other than going with a traditional presentation deck — videos, interactive web pages and online presentations are a few great alternatives.

Here’s a pitch deck template inspired by Piccsy to get you started.

When you’re at the point of adding visuals, you can generate unique images, illustrations and graphics using the AI Image Generator . Likewise, if you have chosen stock or legacy images that need a little editing, take advantage of the AI Edit Tools to upscale, unblur and remove unwanted objects or entire backgrounds.

18. LinkedIn Pitch Deck

The way you design your pitch deck depends on several things, like your target market and the people you hope will invest in your product.

LinkedIn's Series B pitch deck is specifically aimed towards more serious, business-minded individuals, considering that is the intended audience to use the product.

Their pitch deck is filled with straightforward facts and data that logically define the site’s worth, rather than more artistic and stylized elements.

LinkedIn even goes a step further and shows the relations between the current most-used mediums for certain services and their older counterparts (e.g. using a bank in the past versus using PayPal in the present).

This allows them to prove their point—that the internet has become the most-used base for services previously offered offline—and show their particular niche, again endearing themselves to their audience.

Key Takeaway: Tailor your pitch deck content to your target audience. If your product or service is aimed at the younger generation, you’ll probably want to have more references to pop culture and familiar terms in your deck. If you’re pitching to a more mathematically-inclined group, your deck should be more organized and filled with data.

Here’s a pitch deck template inspired by LinkedIn to get you started.

19. Fyre Festival Pitch Deck

You might have already seen the Fyre Festival documentary on Netflix.

If you haven’t, you should consider doing so, especially from a marketing point of view.

Fyre Festival was the single most disastrous business event in the past years. But it also managed to round up millions of dollars from investors as it grew, all thanks to the social media hype and this over the top pitch deck .

Savvy business owners with impeccable BS filters didn’t fall for the bright and shiny influencers being paraded on this pitch deck. But tons of other investors did, mostly due to the FOMO factor the slides presented.

FOMO stands for “Fear of Missing Out,” and that is how Billy McFarland managed to get millions of dollars to fund a badly organized idea.

Key Takeaway: This is the kind of pitch deck that will go down in history as the epitome of blinding investors with celebrities and expert social media schemes. The Fyre Festival pitch deck is not the best pitch deck, but it is a great example of how information can be manipulated.

Here’s a pitch deck template inspired by Fyre Festival to get you started.

20. Manpacks Pitch Deck

Manpacks was a subscription service that sold men’s underwear, socks, toiletries and other products. The service was discontinued in 2018, but was an absolute hit when it first launched in 2010.

Manpacks' pitch deck managed to raise $500,000 in funding over one round.

For starters, their business model was unique and solved an actual need — regularly shipping basic essentials to men who dislike shopping or are just lazy.

But what really got to investors was the fact that Manpacks knew who they were. Their brand voice was reflected in every slide of their pitch deck.

Better yet, they knew who their target audience was, which is also why the service had as many as 10,000 subscribers at one point.

Key Takeaway: Understanding who you are as a brand and being able to express that clearly is just as important as knowing your product — and the best pitch decks are designed with that in mind.

Manpacks’ pitch deck is short, but it does the job by communicating the problem, solution, value proposition and incentive for investors all in a fun tone that’s aligned with their brand voice .

If you're looking to create a light-hearted but on-brand pitch deck similar to Manpacks', here's a fun, colorful and illustrative pitch deck template you can use for your own startup.

21. Coinbase Pitch Deck

Coinbase is a cryptocurrency platform that lets people buy, sell and store digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

To date, the company has raised nearly $550 million in funding over 14 rounds.

What’s interesting is they still managed to raise a good amount even back in 2012 when only a handful of people knew about cryptocurrency.

Coinbase's pitch deck above is a great example of how the company generated interest in the concept of digital currency by presenting data-driven arguments.

Instead of talking about their own growth, they start by focusing on the growth of Bitcoin, and why it’s worth investing in a service made specifically for that digital currency.

Key Takeaway: Using data to support your claims can help you build trust and credibility in the eyes of potential investors. The best pitch decks make this data easier to understand by visualizing it into charts and graphs, just like Coinbase did.

Let’s also take a moment to appreciate how Coinbase used ratios and the example of iTunes to successfully capture the essence of its product in four words.

Use the pitch deck template below inspired by Coinbase to put focus on your solution.

22. Snapchat Pitch Deck

Back in 2011, Snapchat came up with the unique idea of sharing photos and videos that disappear after a short time.

Their pitch deck below from 2014 is not exactly an investor pitch deck — Snapchat designed this presentation to introduce businesses to their product and its marketing value, and to convince them to sign up for a business account.

The presentation above carries immense value if you’re looking for a sales pitch deck example that’s minimalistic and effective.

The slides are clean and full of images, which makes it easier for businesses to quickly look through and get the point.

We especially love the “What Do I Snap?” and “Get the Word Out” slides, which show businesses how they can use the app for marketing purposes with the help of visual examples.

Key Takeaway: Stuffing text into your slides is not always the answer. Using images can be much more effective at familiarizing people with your product’s features and functionality.

Also, think about whether your audience would find more value in real examples or fictional ones. Snapchat uses actual examples from existing brands using the platform to show businesses how others like them are taking advantage of new marketing opportunities.

Here's a pitch deck template inspired by Snapchat that you can use to showcase your product visually.

23. YouTube Pitch Deck

With over 2 billion users , YouTube is the largest video sharing platform in the world.

The company has raised around $83.5 million in funding in just two rounds. This professional pitch deck below is from their first funding round in 2005, when they pitched to Sequoia Capital. At the time, the platform had less than 10,000 users.

YouTube’s investor presentation is a solid example of what a traditional pitch deck outline looks like. Keep in mind that the pitch deck is quite old, which is probably why it lacks good design and visuals.

Even so, it covers key details by highlighting the problem, presenting the exact solution, listing the competition, and outlining the sales and distribution plan.

Key Takeaway: If your product is unique and better than the competition, it will sell itself. In the case of pitch decks, great products are likely to attract investors even if you don’t focus too much on the design.

Also, even if you’re keeping it basic, make sure you incorporate all the important details like what you plan to achieve and how you plan to get there.

Use the pitch deck template below inspired by YouTube to highlight your key strengths and what makes you better than your competitors.

As you work on your pitch deck in Visme, you have the opportunity to work collaboratively and brainstorm using the online whiteboard . Additionally, you can also use the workflow feature to work on projects together. Assign specific slides to particular team members and leave each other comments and feedback to finish the pitch deck together.

24. Facebook Pitch Deck

We all know about Facebook — our beloved social media platform that helps us stay connected with our friends, family, colleagues, pets and the world in general.

Till now, Facebook has secured over $2.3 billion in funding, and this pitch deck from 2004 played a key role in helping Mark Zuckerberg build the largest social network in the world.

Initially, Facebook was created for the students, alumni, faculty and staff at Harvard University. Later, it expanded to include other schools and universities, but it wasn’t long until it transcended academic institutions and took over the world.

Because Facebook wasn’t really making any money at the time, it relied on social proof as well as usage and engagement statistics to sell its idea — and it worked!

Key Takeaway: As a startup, you don’t always need to have financial information to back up your idea. If you don’t currently have any revenue data to show, you can still make a strong case with usage, engagement and audience metrics that show potential for growth.

Also, adding social proof can go a long way in building trust and credibility in front of investors. This works especially well if those customer reviews and testimonials talk about your potential for going big.

Visualize usage and engagement statistics using the Facebook-inspired pitch deck template below.

25. Crunchbase Pitch Deck

Crunchbase is one the best platforms for researching innovative startups and companies. The website lists important information like funding data, mergers and acquisitions, leadership positions and more.

Their pitch deck below was part of their Series C funding round, and helped secure around $30 million . All in all, there’s a lot to learn from this good pitch deck example coming from a company focused on investment.

As you can see, starting with a story helped investors see the opportunity for Crunchbase’s solution and understand the challenges people face while searching for reliable information about companies. So, when Crunchbase presented the solution, the investors were ready for it.

Another interesting thing to note is Crunchbase’s use of visual analogies to highlight the gravity of the problem and the size of the potential opportunity.

Key Takeaway: Set the stage with a story rather than trying to impress investors with big numbers on traffic and usage data. This will grab their attention and help them understand the purpose of your product.

Also, using images and graphics as visual metaphors can help you drive the point home more effectively than with plain text.

Start your own presentation with a story using Crunchbase's recreated startup pitch deck template below.

26. Contently Pitch Deck

Contently is a popular content marketing platform that helps businesses with content strategy and connects them with a global talent network of writers, designers, filmmakers and more.

With the pitch deck below, Contently was able to secure $9 million in funding back in 2014.

The design of this pitch deck example is clean and bold. We especially like the big fonts, which get the message across clearly.

The highlight of Contently’s pitch deck is probably the way they present the problem (and where they fit in.) They set the stage by talking about the huge market size, and then throw in a stat to highlight the problem within that market.

Another good thing about this pitch deck is the use of social proof to build trust with potential investors. They do this with a powerful quote from Forbes in support of their platform.

Key Takeaway: The design of your pitch deck matters a lot more than you’d think. Using large and bold fonts that’s aligned with your brand identity can a) help you highlight key points, and b) make you look confident.

Grab attention using this pitch deck template inspired by Contently.

27. Wise (TransferWise) Pitch Deck

Formerly known as TransferWise, this London-based money transfer service gained popularity primarily because of its innovative pricing model that charges users a minimal fee for transfers while showing them what they have to pay upfront.

Since its inception in 2011, the company has raised around $1.3 billion in funding over 13 rounds. The pitch deck below is from 2012, and it helped Wise raise $1.3 million in funding.

TransferWise’s deck is simple and straightforward, which is also its best quality. Instead of beating around the bush or trying to be too creative, they get straight to the point. This shows they clearly know what they’re doing.

There’s also a good balance of text and visuals in this pitch deck — you never feel overwhelmed with too much information. They’ve also laid out their short-term and long-term priorities, which shows they have a good roadmap for the next year and a half.

Key Takeaway: Let your product and value proposition guide the design of your pitch deck. If you’re solving a solid problem that doesn’t require too many words to explain, don’t use too many words — use numbers instead.

In TransferWise’s case, their USP was (and still is) the low cost of money transfers, and they wasted no time in making that clear.

Explain your product and pricing using this Wise-inspired pitch deck template:

28. Bliss Pitch Deck

Bliss.ai launched in 2015 as a code review management platform that helped engineering teams analyze code quality.

The company shut down after only a couple of years, but managed to raise around $750,000 in funding when it started with the help of the pitch deck below.

Bliss’s pitch deck has a clean and professional design, which is in line with their business idea and brand voice. The deck is pretty decent and covers all key points.

We love the fact that they establish what they do up front — this is important if you’re presenting a technical idea. The team slide is also very well done as it includes both the founders and the investors.

Bliss has also done a good job with using social proof, such as testimonials and logos, to increase their credibility.

Key Takeaway: If your company or product is more on the technical side, it’s a good idea to explain what it is and how it works before anything else. Talking about traction and clients won’t do you much good if your investors are still trying to figure out what you do.

Briefly explain the purpose of your SaaS company with this Bliss-inspired pitch deck template.

Create a stunning presentation in less time

• Hundreds of premade slides available
• Add animation and interactivity to your slides
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When your pitch deck presentation is ready, you can share it as a live Flipbook document, an interactive PDF or a printable document. Once sent to your prospects, you can track performance like opens, views, and demographics through the analytics dashboard .

29. Castle Pitch Deck

Castle was a property management platform founded in 2014. The company closed its operations four years later, but their pitch deck below helped raise over $270,000 in funding in its early days.

The great thing about this pitch deck is that you can see the team’s personality show through. The headers are non-traditional and sum up key ideas. The design is clean and bold. Also, they’ve used icons and illustrations to highlight key points, which is a nice touch.

Castle’s pitch deck also does an excellent job at presenting the value proposition up front. We also like the “And we have some great ways to grow” slide, which shows that they’ve put a considerable amount of thought into making it big.

Key Takeaway: Don’t be afraid to show some personality in your pitch deck template . If you’re friendly and approachable, incorporate design elements that exude the same feelings in your presentation slides.

Also, if you have ideas that are not yet concrete, it might not be a bad idea to share them anyway. It shows investors that you’ve at least made the effort to think about your business.

Show your personality and share ideas with this pitch deck template inspired by Castle:

30. Shift Pitch Deck

Shift’s journey started in 2013 as an automotive marketplace. One of their major selling points was convenience — car sellers could get a price estimate and inspection for their car, while car buyers could get the car delivered to them for a test drive.

The Series A pitch deck below helped the company raise around $24 million . Let’s see what we can learn from this investor presentation.

Click here to view Shift's pitch deck.

Shift’s pitch deck has a clean, minimalistic design with plenty of visuals. Along with images, and screenshots of their website and app, they also generously use icons to highlight key points.

We also like how they visualize the process of how their service works, and also answer the who, why and how behind their business idea.

One of the best things about this pitch deck is they also mention their own challenges, which is not something a lot of startups have the guts to do. This shows that the Shift team is realistic — they know it’s not going to be all sunshine and rainbows but they’re ready for the ride.

Key Takeaway: It’s okay to acknowledge the challenges you’re potentially going to face down the road, as long as you have a plan to tackle these challenges, or even just the will to come up with a plan. It shows investors that you’re realistic, grounded and that you have a sense of responsibility.

Be honest about your humble beginnings and tell your startup's success story in an engaging way with this Shift-inspired pitch deck template.

31. Cubeit Pitch Deck

Cubeit was founded in 2012 as a collaborative OS — a place to share, save and organize content from different apps. The pitch deck below helped the startup raise $3 million in funding.

Click here to view Cubeit's pitch deck.

Right off the bat, we can tell that Cubeit’s pitch deck is more on the technical side. However, it still makes good use of visualizations and even includes a video demo.

They start strong, and have also included a customer profile in one of their slides, which shows they’ve done their research and that they know who their product is for.

Key Takeaway: If you’re in the SaaS business, adding a video demo of your product to your pitch deck is a great idea. It helps investors understand how your product works much better than with static screenshots. To make your video more effective, consider adding a voiceover and even text and animations.

Use the pitch deck template below inspired by Cubeit to highlight key technical points about your product.

32. Revolut Pitch Deck

Revolut launched as a digital banking service in 2015. The company offered peer-to-peer payments, currency exchange and pre-paid debit card services.

To date, they’ve raised around $1.7 billion in funding over 14 rounds — which is a huge amount. The pitch deck below is a good example of a fintech startup presentation.

This pitch deck uses a lot of screenshots, and they’re displayed nicely on phone screens, which helps add some perspective. They’ve also included example use cases, comparisons with their competition and information on how they will use the funds.

Key Takeaway: When using visuals for your pitch deck, go beyond images and screenshots. Think about creative ways to showcase your screenshots, such as with the help of phone mockups.

Showcase your app or software using this Revolut-inspired pitch deck template:

33. Alto Pitch Deck

Alto (previously ScriptDash) came to the scene in 2015 with the innovative idea of a digital pharmacy. Their services included coordinating with doctors and delivering prescriptions to patients on a recurring or on-demand basis.

The pitch deck below was used by the company to raise funds during their seed round.

Alto’s pitch deck is refreshingly short and sweet. The slides come with nice, descriptive headers (with most of them being questions) and the presentation aptly explains the big idea, how the product works and why the timing is just right.

They’ve also done a fair bit of homework on potential scalability, which can be seen in their cost of acquisition and expansion slides.

Key Takeaway: Sometimes, keeping it short and concise can be the best thing you can do for your investor presentation. The goal of a pitch deck is not to secure funding, it’s to make it to the next meeting. Even if your slides are short, they should be intriguing and full of value, so much so that they make investors want to know more.

Present your solution and keep it short and sweet with this pitch deck template inspired by Alto:

34. Wayfair Pitch Deck

Wayfair is a popular American e-commerce company offering millions of home and furniture products from thousands of global suppliers.

Their pitch deck from 2015 offers a great example of what an established company that wants to grow bigger should have in their presentation slides.

Wayfair’s investor presentation is comprehensive, data-driven and aligned with their brand’s visual style. The slides focus on the brand’s uniqueness and what makes it so special.

They make a clear point about how they understand their customers’ shopping behavior and tailor their website experience to their needs, unlike search-based stores like Amazon.

They also make full use of their impressive numbers and statistics to put together a compelling offer for investors.

Key Takeaway: If you have data, flaunt it. Established brands have the powerful advantage of using their current success to back their expansion plans. Also, if you’ve already seen some success, you need to show that you earned it in your pitch deck not just with data, but also with good branding, marketing and design skills.

Show off your idea using this Wayfair-inspired pitch deck template:

35. Walmart - Flipkart Pitch Deck

Flipkart is one of the largest e-commerce companies in India, second only to Amazon. In 2018, Walmart acquired more than 70% of Flipkart’s shares in a $16 billion deal with the help of the pitch deck below.

The presentation above focuses less on Walmart and more on how both companies can create value together, which is the selling point of the deal.

The slides dive deep into the Indian e-commerce market and the opportunities it offers, and then go on to talk about how Walmart’s strategy is a good fit for Flipkart.

Key Takeaway: When you talk about creating value, consider every single stakeholder you can create value for, instead of just focusing on the end customer. Talk about the value you can create for the community in general, the shareholders, the associates and even other businesses.

Explain how your business will benefit the stakeholders and add value using the pitch deck template below inspired by Walmart and Flipkart.

Bonus: Startup Pitch Deck Presentation Theme

Looking for more than a simple slide template? We've got the ultimate pitch deck theme to help you pull together all of the perfect slides.

It all starts with a story. Our pitch deck theme centers around 12 different startup archetypes or founder stories that can help you pull the best introduction slides and put together the best story that really sells your pitch.

Check out the introduction category of this theme's slides to read all about the different archetypes and pinpoint how you should angle your pitch deck's intro and overall brand story.

This theme offers over 60 different slide options for your startup to choose from when building the best pitch deck. Try out the investor pitch deck theme for your next pitch deck.

Pitch Deck FAQ

Q1. what is in a pitch deck.

A pitch deck is a brief presentation that provides an overview of your company, business plan and vision.

It typically includes critical information such as your business concept, the problem your company solves, your target market, competitive advantages, team members, and financial projections.

The best startup pitch decks are not only engaging but share compelling stories about the business venture that pique investors' interest in your business.

Q2. What Is the Purpose of a Pitch Deck?

The primary purpose of a pitch deck is to capture the interest of potential investors or clients by presenting a business idea in a compelling and persuasive manner. It serves as a tool to facilitate discussion and encourage further engagement. A winning pitch deck should clearly convey your business's value proposition and illustrate why it's worth investing in.

Q3. What Are the Types of Pitch Decks?

There are several types of pitch decks, each serving a unique purpose and audience. Here are four notable types:

• Startup Pitch Deck: This type of pitch deck showcases your startup's vision, mission, and potential to investors and partners.
• Investor Pitch Deck : This deck focuses on the investment opportunity, detailing the financial potential and how the funds will be used.
• Elevator Pitch Deck: A brief pitch highlighting the most compelling points of a business or idea, designed to catch interest quickly.
• Sales Pitch Deck: Used for presenting a product or service to potential clients or customers, emphasizing benefits and competitive advantages.

Q4. What Are the Key Elements of a Pitch Deck?

The structure of a pitch deck can vary, but some essential slides include:

• Problem: Clearly define the problem you're solving.
• Solution: Explain how your product or service addresses the problem.
• Market: Describe your target audience and the size of the market opportunity.
• Team: Introduce the key people behind your business and highlight their expertise.
• Traction: Share any early successes or milestones you've achieved.
• Financials: Provide a brief overview of your revenue model and financial projections.

Q5. How Long Is a Pitch Deck?

The ideal length of a pitch deck is 10 to 20 slides. Investors and clients appreciate brevity and clarity.

However, striking the right balance is key to delivering a good pitch. So you need to keep it concise while including all necessary information. Writing a pitch deck that's too long can lose your audience's attention, while one that's too short may omit essential information about your business.

Get Started With Your Own Pitch Deck

If you want to create an amazing pitch deck that highlights your business idea and appeals to the right investors, Visme's pitch deck templates can help you get started on the right foot.

Our investor pitch deck templates are designed by professionals and contain realistic information to help guide your own pitch deck content creation process.

You can download your finished pitch deck in various formats, like PPTX, PDF and even HTML5. You can also share your presentation online via a link or embed it within your website.

Remember; the key is to stay true to your message, stay true to your brand, be honest and show results. Here's another great resource to help you learn how to create a pitch deck for your startup.

Did you find these pitch deck examples helpful? Which one is your favorite? We’d love to know what you think! Let us know your comments and feedback below.

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About the Author

Orana is a multi-faceted creative. She is a content writer, artist, and designer. She travels the world with her family and is currently in Istanbul. Find out more about her work at oranavelarde.com

12 Startup Pitch Deck Examples [+ Template]

A great startup pitch deck is an integral part of launching a business. This deck is presented to prospective investors to convince them to invest and help you grow your startup . The trick to having the best pitch deck possible is to include enough information to explain your goals and methodology without losing your audience’s interest.

Pitch decks are usually in PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, or Google Slides to make them easier to present to potential investors. However, the deck can also have an alternative format like a Word document or even a video. For inspiration, let’s go through some successful startup pitch deck examples and discuss what they got right. 

Pitch Deck Basics

There are some overarching characteristics that make for a great pitch deck. While we’ll go through what a deck typically includes and some relevant business pitch examples, you can pick and choose certain elements as long as your startup pitch deck has the following basic qualities:

• Design-forward: Customers expect a better experience with your product and that’s achieved through better UX and graphic design. Show your team’s design chops with thoughtful deck design and mock-ups.
• Comprehensive: Be prepared to answer any questions from potential investors. Your slides should cover enough so if they check back for reminders after the presentation, they’ll find the most important information.
• Engaging: A startup pitch deck inevitably includes some boring elements. Your job is to keep it exciting and break up information-heavy slides with features like illustrations and block quotes.
• Straightforward: It’s easy to get caught up with sharing every detail, but it’s more important that your potential investors understand your pitch. For more complicated slides and ideas, pare down your pitch to make it easier to understand.

1. Problem Slide

Your pitch deck should open with a key problem — this is the whole justification for your business and why consumers will find it valuable. A common structure for this slide is to bullet pain points and create a story your potential investors can relate to.

The problem slide is the basis for your presentation. Creating a relatable story makes for an engaging presentation that’s easy to follow and understand.

Uber Example

Why it works : Although it’s not the most visually engaging, Uber’s business pitch example clearly explains how Uber solves key issues with traditional cabs. Uber’s deck is broken down into multiple slides to deliver all the necessary information without overwhelming the audience.

2. Solution slide

After presenting the problem, you should follow up directly with a solution. An effective solution slide structure covers current industry solutions and identifies the gaps your startup fills. This slide has a general overview of any proprietary technology, covers basic product features, and includes relevant interface mock-ups to show investors what your product will do for consumers.

Intercom Example

Why it works : Intercom’s solution slide is simple but effective. While some extra design could elevate this slide, the bullet points are easy to understand and effectively explain Intercom’s unique selling proposition (USP) in the SaaS market.

3. Market validation slide

Market validation is especially important to investors because it shows proof that there are people who will purchase your product. This slide should include any relevant statistics for current sales if your startup has launched or competitors’ sales if it hasn’t. Don’t forget to cover basic information about your target market, their purchasing power, and their habits in your industry. This slide is especially important if your prospective investors aren’t familiar with your product or industry.

LinkedIn Example

Why it work s: At 37 pages, LinkedIn’s pitch deck is longer than we’d recommend.  But what it lacks in brevity it makes up for with powerful market validation using clear data from top competitors. It also breaks down barriers to growth and revenue for these competitors and shows how LinkedIn would improve their models.

4. Market size slide

Market size goes hand in hand with market validation. Once you’ve confirmed your target market has enough purchasing power, you need to justify your product’s longevity.

Focus on continued sales. The two most common elements to ensure your startup brings in long-term revenue are:

• A very large market
• A business model built for continuous purchases (e.g., subscription models)

Facebook Example

Why it works: Facebook is the poster child for successful startups. Its market size slides effectively communicate how Facebook’s initial launches succeeded and justify further growth. The slides with market statistics about college students also explain clearly how Facebook will create revenue.

5. Product slide

The product slide is your chance to nail your pitch and sell your vision to investors. This slide should center your value proposition. A popular strategy for this section is to pose a few questions about your industry and show how your product is the answer. Take the time to craft this slide carefully, polishing it up from the copy to design details.

Dropbox Example

Why it works: Dropbox’s product slides are effective because they show how Dropbox truly innovates over other file sharing services. They justify why now is the time to launch and why consumers will choose Dropbox over competitors.

6. Business model slide

The business model slide covers how the startup will run and launch its product for sustainable growth. This section can compare your startup to other businesses or use internal data if the product has launched.

Moz Example

Why it works : While some of these slides can look busy, Moz’s business model was ahead of its time by calling out why organic marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) have untapped potential. This deck does a good job of explaining the business model to investors who might not be SEO savvy.

But wait...there's more!

7. market adoption slide.

It’s important to show some proof that your target market has interest in purchasing your product, especially if there are other competitors in the market. This is a lot easier if your product has already launched because you can include sales data. If your startup is pre-launch, showing potential market adoption can be tricky. In this case, you can use social proof from similar competitors. If you do this, it’s also important to note how your product differs from these competitors, especially if you can resolve a customer’s complaint. If possible, include case studies in the market adoption slide. These show proof that you can use investments to increase the reach of your startup.

Buffer Example

Why it works : Buffer’s market adoption slides show social proof through key statistics outlining Buffer’s success so far. With an extremely high profit margin and growth rate for their user base, Buffer shows off why their product will offer a larger ROI for potential investors.

8. Competition slide

Many investors look at your competition to help contextualize your startup. If an investor has little or no experience in your vertical, showing competitors they’re familiar with gives them real examples of success. This slide should cover the following topics related to your competition:

• Revenue data
• What competitors do well
• What competitors don’t do well
• How your startup bridges product gaps

Mint Example

Why it works : Mint’s competitor slides are effective because they show current competitors along with future projections for these competitors. This slide effectively shows how Mint creates more value for customers over time and uses competitors as inspiration in their defensive strategy.

9. Team slide

A team slide helps investors get to know the minds behind your startup. Include information about founders, leadership, and top existing investors to show why your team is qualified to launch this startup. Any evidence of past successes with your leadership, consultants, or investors is important to include, as it shows new investors that you have relevant experience to launch your startup. If there’s any relevant history about your startup, such as a higher ROI than expected for a former investor, be sure to include this in your pitch deck.

Contently Example

Why it works : While Contently’s team slide has a lot of information, it’s all relevant to potential investors. In addition to founders and investors, Contently includes top employees, proprietary technology, advisors, and the amount they’ve raised so far. This, along with their financial model slide, show potential investors that Contently will make good use of their investment and even make them some profit.

10. Press slide

The press section of your startup pitch deck is a great opportunity to show off any buzz and get your investors excited about your business. Focus on positive reviews or attention related to your product. Stay away from negative press unless you can show you’ve changed those negative opinions. Make sure to keep these slides focused and succinct. It’s easy to get caught up in showing off product buzz, but press slides should always demonstrate potential for a more widespread product adoption.

Snapchat example

Why it works : Snapchat was in a unique position at the time this deck was created, as its press slide has strong social proof. Snapchat calls out popular users, including press and media sources, that are already using the app. The wide variety of users, including household names like MTV, shows how Snapchat is a well-known social media platform.

11. Testimonial slide

Testimonials give investors insight into what existing customers really think about your product. Testimonials can also shed light on the public perception of your product, especially compared to competitors.

Seventy-two percent of consumers only take action after reading positive reviews. You can use this logic with your potential investors, too.

Positive testimonials show that your customers have brand loyalty and that users are satisfied with the product and customer service. This section of the startup pitch deck is only possible for startups that have launched their product.

AirBnB Example

Why it works : Not every pitch deck includes testimonials, especially if the startup hasn’t launched, but it makes sense to include feedback for Airbnb. Showcasing new users makes this slide simple yet effective. It could also benefit from including average Airbnb ratings for stronger evidence of positive reception.

12. Financial model slide

The financial model slide shows how your product creates revenue. For example, if your product is a subscription-based service, has premium features, or other horizontal integration, you’ll explain that model on these slides. Potential investors should walk away from your presentation knowing exactly how your startup creates revenue and understand any plans to ensure a steady stream of income.

Shopify Example

Why it works : Shopify offers a great pitch deck example of when breaking some pitch norms can work in your favor. Although it’s nearly 30 slides, the entire deck is informative and engaging. The financial model slides work well because they show how Shopify and its past investors turned a profit. Not only do they explain their current financial model, but Shopify also covers their plans for future growth to reassure investors they’ll make a profit, too.

What should you avoid putting in a startup pitch deck?

The best pitch deck is completely tailored to your startup. While there’s no hard-and-fast rule about what you shouldn’t include, make sure everything you’re presenting is relevant to potential investors. 

How do I present my startup pitch deck to investors?

It’s almost always better to present a pitch deck live to investors. Designate one member of your leadership team, ideally a founder, to present your deck to investors. 

Following a script can come across as disingenuous, but using notes is OK, so get lots of practice in before you present to investors.

What should a startup pitch deck include?

A typical startup pitch deck template includes the following slides:

• Market validation
• Market size
• Business model
• Market adoption
• Competition
• Testimonials
• Financial model

However, every pitch deck is different, so your final pitch might skip some of these topics or use multiple slides to expand on certain sections.

Built to scale with HubSpot for Startups

It takes some time to put together a startup pitch deck that works, but once you’ve nailed your presentation, you can reuse it for multiple pitches with just a few tweaks to update any data or statistics. HubSpot for Startups helps you track marketing and sales data to make this process easier. New investors can rest easy knowing you’ve got the support of HubSpot’s powerful CRM at your fingertips.

Get the pitch deck template

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33 Legendary Startup Pitch Decks and What You Can Learn From Them [+10 Free Templates]

A startup pitch deck is a brief presentation that provides investors with an overview of your new business and/or startup idea through presentation slides.

It usually focuses on showcasing your product, sharing your business model, giving a look into your monetization strategy, and introducing your team.

A startup pitch deck is an essential fundraising tool for successful startups, whether you’re looking to raise funding from $50,000, $500,000, or $50 million. However, an investor pitch deck is just one of the best pitch decks and examples we will share below.

Despite the brevity of the successful startup pitch decks, which usually run for 10 slides or less, creating a pitch deck that wins investment is not an easy task.

What Does a Successful Startup Pitch Deck Cover?

A great pitch deck covers key points through visuals and bullet points and usually has a competition slide, a problem slide, and a solution slide to explain your offering and the market.

Additionally, a business model slide and a team slide (if your business is developed enough to present these) can turn a good deck into a great startup pitch deck.

Don’t forget, a simple pitch deck is a good pitch deck—and you’re about to learn how to nail it.

In This Legendary Startup Pitch Deck Article You Will Find:

• Examples of 33 successful pitch decks
• Takeaways that you can apply when creating your own startup pitch deck
• Editable templates of 10 pitch decks that you can use for free

Looking for a winning pitch deck template ASAP to present in front of potential investors?   Try our free template created in collaboration with HighSpark – an agency that has helped more than 500 startups raise cumulatively over $80 million in funding. 

Here is the list of 33 of the best startup pitch deck examples that we will go through:

• ZenPayRoll (Now Gusto)
• Wealthsimple
• AppVirality
• Shape Integrated Software
• Ooomf (now Crew)
• Sequoia Capital

These startup pitch deck examples were created by top brands in tech. At the time, they were all small startups (seed stage companies) looking to raise money or venture capital through potential investors and grow their businesses. Sound familiar?!

We hope that their business idea and investor pitch decks will inspire you (and of course, potential investors).

If you are more of a visual learner than a reader type, you can watch a video summary of the first 10 startup pitch deck examples mentioned in this blog post:

Alternatively, if you’re ready to create your own pitch deck, we’ve added some startup pitch deck examples and pitch deck templates to the bottom of this article. You can go straight to them by clicking here . Or get access to Piktochart’s online design tool by signing up for a free account and choosing a presentation template to get started easily.

From behemoths like Facebook and YouTube to superstars like Buffer, together these startups have raised millions of dollars and are now worth billions!

It’s time to see how they did it.

33 Legendary Startup Pitch Deck Examples

1. facebook pitch deck.

Here’s a fun fact: Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist, and entrepreneur, was the first outside investor in Facebook back in 2004. That’s when Mark Zuckerberg first set out to turn his dorm room project into a lasting business. Zuckerberg received $500,000 from Peter Thiel.

Facebook’s pitch deck was more of a media kit  of sorts. It was containing the company’s value proposition, key metrics, and marketing services that were used to sell ads to potential clients.

Favorite takeaway : The focus of the startup pitch deck was based on solid numbers such as user engagement, traffic, and growth trajectory.

2. Airbnb pitch deck

Airbnb is a platform that allows people to list, find, and rent lodging.

This company is one of the greatest startup success stories of our time.

The now famous Airbnb pitch deck has become one of the best pitch decks for inspiring entrepreneurs around the world.

Favorite takeaway: The intro. It’s all about hooking your audience. You need to describe your business using as few words as possible. Imagine telling a 5-year-old what your business is about. If you can’t do that, it’s time to put some time into nailing it down.

3. Buffer pitch deck

Buffer is a social media scheduling platform that helps you schedule content for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

The almighty startup pitch deck that helped Buffer to raise half a million dollars gained popularity by becoming one of the first pitch decks openly shared online. The founder decided to put it up to help other startups to raise funds.

Favorite takeaway: Similar to Facebook, the deck was based on solid numbers from Buffer’s users (e.g., 800 users, $150,000 annual revenue run rate, etc.)

4. Square pitch deck

Square is a company that allows merchants to accept mobile credit card payments via a dongle.

Favorite takeaway : Social proof! It doesn’t hurt to promote the management team if they’ve been with Twitter, Google, LinkedIn, PayPal, and more. It shows that your management team’s experience is an armor to the company. This detailed startup pitch deck outlines Square’s business model and a simple financial model that portrays its annual revenue and five-year growth rate.

5. LinkedIn pitch deck

Founded in 2002, LinkedIn is the top business-oriented social networking platform.

The company’s pitch talks a great deal about company values, the power of networking, and how it’s different from other social networks out there.

Favorite takeaway : The deck also provides an extensive analogy to showcase to investors what LinkedIn is. For example, it talks about “Web 1.0” vs. “Web 2.0”: Alta Vista was “Search 1.0”, and Google was “Search 2.0”. The deck talks about how LinkedIn is “Networking for Businesses 2.0”.

6. Mint pitch deck

Mint is a personal financial services tool that helps people track their spending and find ways to save money.

This startup pitch deck example was used in a competition and was never used for raising money, but it’s still a powerful deck that startups can learn from.

Favorite takeaway : This simple deck provides a clear value proposition to customers and investors. The creators of this deck also understood that one of the key concerns of an investor is the exit mechanism of his or her investments. I love how the deck highlights a number of exit strategy options.

7. MapMe pitch deck

MapMe allows users to create universally accessible (i.e., on smartphones, tablets, and computers) maps of anywhere they want with no coding required.

This startup deck was used to raise $1 million in seed funding.

Social proof almost always works. The deck showed that the startup had over 20,000 unique visitors, 18,000 monthly alerts, and12 minutes average sessions on the site.

Favorite takeaway : The pitch deck has fewer than 13 slides but provides investors with knowledge of the traction the site got going viral on social media and its go-to-market strategy.

8. LaunchRock pitch deck

LaunchRock allows users to create landing pages and quickly get their startups known through social media, even before the launch of their full site.

Favorite takeaway : As a more creatively designed pitch deck example, this pitch deck had only 15 slides but showed how the product works and the different ways it can be used. They also utilize an analogy similar to what LinkedIn had in their decks.

9. Mixpanel pitch deck

Mixpanel is an advanced analytics platform for mobile and the web. They not only measure page views but also analyze the actions people take. This is the series-B startup pitch deck for Mixpanel that helped them raise over $65 million.

Favorite takeaway : This pitch deck example started off with a problem: people guessing their analytics. It followed up by providing its solution to that problem and, ultimately, its competitive advantage. One of the best pitch decks, this is a great example of showing the problem and solution.

10. Moz pitch deck

Moz started out as an SEO company but has pivoted to support marketers across all inbound marketing strategies.

This is the series-B startup pitch deck for Moz which they used to raise over $18 million. If you’re an established startup, this is a great example of an investor pitch deck, and you can follow this guide. The pitch deck is packed with information about the company since it was founded five years prior to this pitch.

Favorite takeaway : Because the company had already been in operation for five years, they were able to present an accurate estimated revenue, revenue run rate, average customer lifetime value, cost of paid acquisition, etc.

11. Buzzfeed pitch deck

We all have a love-and-hate relationship with Buzzfeed, don’t we? I’m sure you’ve stumbled on their pages or watched their videos before. As of today, BuzzFeed has managed to raise over $240 million in investor capital (another great example of an investor pitch deck).

Favorite takeaway : SOCIAL PROOF! It doesn’t hurt to start a pitch deck with big numbers the company has, like the millions of users visiting the website on a monthly basis and quotations from large organizations such as CNN.

12. YouTube pitch deck

YouTube was acquired by Google in 2006 for $1.6 billion. Like Facebook, this company doesn’t require any introduction. Unfortunately, this is not the original deck. This is YouTube’s pitch deck to Sequoia Capital (one of the most established VC investors who’s often regarded as one of the industry’s best), which was released through a legal proceeding.

Favorite takeaway : The company wanted to be the primary outlet for video content, and it succeeded in doing just that. It goes to show that if you know what your product can do, are able to show its potential, and build on the momentum gained through early investments to create that, then you can achieve its potential. If you’re aiming to build an investor pitch deck to land a VC like Sequoia Capital, this presentation slide deck is a great template for you!

13. Manpacks pitch deck

Manpacks is a platform that delivers men’s essentials such as underwear, razors, grooming, and other products.

The company raised $500,000 with this pitch deck.

Favorite takeaway : This deck stands out! They clearly understand who they are, and they stayed that way throughout the entire presentation. The startup pitch deck is filled with a fun tone that helps explain the product well.

14. Foursquare pitch deck

Foursquare is a mobile platform that helps you find the best places to go in your area.

Favorite takeaway : This pitch deck does a great job using screenshots of social proof that the app already has from its users sharing tweets of them being the ‘mayor’ of a particular area.

15. Flowtab pitch deck

Flowtab was an app that allowed people to order drinks quickly at a crowded bar. Despite shutting down, the founders still made an effort to help other startups.

Favorite takeaway : Simplicity. This pitch deck example does well explaining critical information like the problem, the solution, their business model, and traction. You can’t really go wrong with this pitch deck.

16. Dwolla pitch deck

Dwolla is a payment solution that allows users to send, receive, and request funds from other users. This 18-slide startup pitch deck landed the company $16.5 million.

Favorite takeaway : Most startups are founded because of a problem they faced, but not many people tell their story well through their pitch decks. In their slide deck, Dwolla shared a great story of how the founder paid $50,000 a year in credit card fees and then created a solution for never doing it again.

17. ZenPayRoll  (Now Gusto) pitch deck

Gusto (previously ZenPayroll) is a cloud-based solution tool for small businesses to pay employees.

The company raised $6 million with this pitch deck.

Favorite takeaway : This isn’t just a startup pitch deck. It is a template that you can use and replicate easily by filling in the blanks.

18. Bliss pitch deck

Bliss provides metrics for coders and allows them to collaborate easily.

The company raised over $400,000 using Angel List.

Favorite takeaway : The pitch deck was well composed with a clear understanding of the product and the investors they were pitching to. This is one of the best pitch decks to use if you know your target market.

19. Adpushup pitch deck

Adpushup allows companies to maximize ad revenues through advanced A/B testing. They raised more than $632,000 in investments.

Favorite takeaway : This slide deck proves that going back to the basics works. This pitch deck has basic principles like a great introduction, an outline of problems, potential solutions, market opportunities, products, case studies, milestones, traction, and a future plan.

20. Wealthsimple pitch deck

Wealthsimple is Canada’s first online investment manager. They raised more than $2 million in seed funding with this slide deck.

Favorite takeaway : The startup pitch deck is sweet and short but effective. Our favorite part is the transformation of the industry, which is laid out in a table format.

21. AppVirality pitch deck

AppVirality allows app developers to grow their platforms using growth method techniques proven by other startups.

Favorite takeaway : Our favorite takeaway is how the flow of the pitch deck goes through the problem, the proven solution, and how it works within their app to their target market in multiple slides.

22. Shape Integrated Software pitch deck

Shape Integrated Software is budget management software that helps PPC analysts manage various budgets across different channels.

Favorite takeaway : When you have the traction to back your startup, use it. Shape clearly took advantage of it and presented it clearly in their pitch deck.

23. Podozi pitch deck

Podozi is an online e-commerce platform based in Nigeria.

Favorite takeaway : Most startup pitch decks work well when they’re short and sweet, in multiple slides, like Podozi’s. The best takeaway is the working partnership with large brands that this platform already has.

24. Fittr pitch deck

Fittr is a platform that designs custom workouts tailored to equipment, access, time management, and goals.

Favorite takeaway : As a user of this platform, we love the investment goals and the purpose of what the company is planning to use it for.

25. Swipes pitch deck

Swipes is a task manager app to help its users increase their productivity.

Favorite takeaway : One of their pages used social proof of quotations from The Next Web and Lifehacker. You can’t go wrong with that.

26. Canvas pitch deck

Canvas replaces paper-based processes with affordable and easy-to-use mobile apps and forms. They raised $9 million with these decks.

Favorite takeaway :  Instead of saying what they do, the second slide in their pitch deck shows how their startup helps businesses. No words are needed.

27. Ooomf  (now Crew) pitch deck

Crew (formerly Ooomf & then PickCrew) is a freelancer marketplace that connects mobile and web developers with projects or work. This deck was used to raise over $2 million dollars.

Favorite takeaway : Well-designed with an easy-to-understand flow.

28. Cubeit pitch deck

Cubeit is a mobile application that allows users to aggregate content from anywhere. Cubeit used this 13-slide deck to raise seed funding before they even had a finished product.

Favorite takeaway : A strong introduction will get investors to pay attention. Their deck starts out with a clear message, which was that “owning more devices doesn’t make your life easier”. I can’t help but pay attention to how this company will help.

29.  Castle pitch deck

Castle was a startup that let rental owners put their properties on autopilot. This was the deck Castle used to raise $270,000 for their startup.

Favorite takeaway : Great design and easy to digest.

30.  Sequoia Capital pitch deck

Sequoia Capital is one of the leading investment firms in Silicon Valley. This deck is a template they recommend following.

Favorite takeaway : It’s like having the keys to the kingdom. You don’t have to guess what this investment giant is looking for. They tell you straight away.

31. Uber pitch deck

When Uber hit the scene, they fundamentally reimagined urban transportation. Their pitch deck tells this audacious story perfectly. Simple yet impactful, it illustrates the problem of expensive taxis and car services, then introduces Uber as the affordable, tech-driven solution.

They use stark data points to highlight the financial opportunity, a vital touch for potential investors.

As you create your pitch, remember Uber’s two key strengths: painting a clear problem-solution scenario and using compelling data to underscore their market potential. This strategy not only shows understanding of their market but also communicates their transformative vision effectively.

Favorite takeaway : The deck is clean and minimalist. The flow is easy to follow, and you get a clear idea of what’s the problem they’re trying to solve, and how they solve it.

32. WeWork pitch deck

WeWork’s pitch deck beautifully encapsulates its community-driven approach to shared workspaces.

They use visually appealing slides that mirror their innovative, modern brand. Their pitch deck deftly articulates the benefits of shared workspaces in today’s economy, setting the stage for their unique value proposition.

Favorite takeaway : what we do, who we do it for, why we do it; the deck walks you through their company vision with smart visuals and copy. We loved how they generated urgency by highlighting how co-working spaces were a fast-growing trend and investors could miss out on a profitable investment if they didn’t act quickly.

33. MatterMark pitch deck

MatterMark’s pitch deck is a testament to the power of storytelling. utilizing clean visuals to aid comprehension and coupled with succinct copy to keep the narrative engaging. The 30-slide deck earned the platform $6.5 million in seed A funding.

Favorite takeaway : Strong visual storytelling through the use of charts and graphs. In just a few moments, you can see where the majority of their revenue comes from compared to their other revenue streams.

Summary of Pitch Deck Template Takeaways

To sum up, a strong startup pitch deck not only serves to reinforce your brand to the target audience or investors, but shows your business plan and unique offering through the slides presented; using a problem slide, a solution slide, and a traction slide including concise bullet points. 

The best startup pitch deck also shows off your company’s personality, through the inclusion of a team slide or similar in the next few slides, to be presented after your business plan is clearly outlined.

As your company grows, you’ll probably start thinking about the next stage of growth. You can use these successful pitch decks can as the foundation to make an investor deck for your next round of financing.

Look at the takeaways from these startup pitch decks as a guide to help you in your quest to raise funds and venture capital for your own startup for an investment round.

Here are some of the key takeaways from our pitch deck examples:

• Pitch decks don’t have to be formal or beautiful.
• A great pitch deck will provide an impactful intro or slogan.
• Keep your deck short (less than 20 pages).
• Use analogies to back up the points that you’re making.

After going through so many startup pitch deck examples, we recommend that to make your pitch presentation stand out you should:

• Start with a strong intro/vision.
• Show problems and offer solutions.
• Identify market opportunities.
• Showcase products/services clearly.
• Digest your business model
• Highlight financials
• Add social proof/case studies.
• Differentiate from competition.
• Show an experienced management team.

Designing a strong pitch deck could turn your business idea into a reality after convincing investors to provide support financial support to your project.

If you’re looking for additional information, DocSend shared lessons  they got learning from 200 startups who raised $360 million from their first pitch deck.

10 Pitch Deck Templates for You to Try

The following pitch decks are free templates available in Piktochart that you can use. This makes it easy to work on your slides without having to worry about design. We took care of that for you.

If you don’t have an account yet, just sign up for a free Piktochart account here and then click on one of the templates below.

To learn how the online pitch deck creator works, watch this on-demand demo .

1. Investment Pitch Deck Template With HighSpark

2. Finance Pitch Deck Template

3. Business Pitch Deck Template

4. Startup Pitch Deck Examples

5. Tech Pitch Deck Examples

6. Business Keynote Template 

7. Product Pitch Deck Template

8. Product Pitch Deck Template

9. App Product Presentation Template

10. Product Website Pitch Deck Template

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How to Create a Business Plan Presentation

Noah Parsons

9 min. read

Updated August 1, 2024

It’s been said that business plans are worthless – it’s the planning process that is truly valuable . In many ways, this is a true statement. The business plan document that you create isn’t necessarily that useful because few people will ever review it in detail.

But, the process you went through to create that document forced you to think in detail about your business and answer questions that you might not have answered otherwise.

The planning process forced you to become an expert in your business, your target market, and your operations.

The expertise that you created in the planning process is what you need to showcase when you pitch your business to lenders and investors. Figuring out how to distill all of that knowledge into a few slides and a ten-to-twenty-minute presentation is the next challenge.

This guide will help you turn your business plan into a cohesive and convincing presentation that will help you win investors and wow your audience. 

• What is a business plan presentation?

A business plan presentation is also often called a “ pitch deck .” It’s a set of slides, often designed to accompany an in-person or Zoom meeting, that presents the fundamentals of your business.

A great business plan presentation explains what you do, who your target audience is, how your business operates, and what your “ask” is. After all, you probably aren’t just presenting your business plan to share your great idea, you’re trying to convince your audience to do something for you.

When you’re designing your business plan presentation, it’s helpful to know if you’re going to be able to talk through your presentation, or if it’s just going to be emailed out. This 

• Why do you present a business plan?

Your business plan presentation is all about the “ask”. Whether you’re trying to raise money for your business, win a business plan competition, or pitching a potential new employee to join your business, you have a reason for presenting your business. As you work on your business plan presentation, keep this in mind. Know who your audience is and what you want from them at the end of your presentation. More often than not, your goal will be simply to get to the next meeting or have some opportunity to continue the conversation. 

• 6 Tips to create a convincing business plan presentation

We’ll cover exactly what to include in your business plan presentation in the next section, but first let’s go over a few tips that will help you prepare a great presentation.

1. Start with a review of your business plan

Your business plan presentation is a summary of your business plan, so use your plan as a starting point. You already have all the information you need to, so just go back to your plan and highlight the key points that you plan to cover in your presentation. If there are key statistics or facts about your market that you want to highlight, identify those so that you don’t forget to include them in your presentation.

2. Tell a story

The key to engaging your audience is to hook them with a story. Think about the problems your customers face when they’re using a product or service from the competition. Explain what life is like before your business arrives to provide a novel solution. The more that you can get your audience to nod along and understand the point of view of your customer, the more likely they are to support your business. 

3. Use visuals

Business plan presentations shouldn’t be slides crammed with text and other information. Instead, focus on using imagery to convey your message. You don’t want your audience to just be reading a slide full of information while you talk – they won’t really give you their full attention when this happens. Instead, use photos, charts and graphs, or diagrams to explain your business and the problems you are solving. 

4. Use large, easy to read font

Always use a relatively large font in your presentation – 30pt or larger. Your audience shouldn’t have to strain to read what’s on your slide. Using a large font will also force you to choose your words carefully because you won’t have that much room on the page for a lot of words. 

6. Research who you’re presenting to

Nailing your presentation requires knowing your audience. For example, suppose you’ve invented a new medical device and are presenting to a room full of industry experts and medical professionals. In that case, you’ll want to present using terminology that they are familiar with.

However, if your presentation is to investors who may not be as familiar with your industry, you may need to simplify things and make sure to use language that they will understand. 

• What to include in your business plan presentation

As a general rule, try to keep your presentation to 10-12 slides. Although you could probably talk about your business all day, your audience is looking for a concise presentation that clearly communicates what your business does and where you are going.

Here are the 10 slides you should include your presentation:

1. Introduction 

This is sometimes also called the title slide. You should include your company name and logo and a one line summary of your business. This might be your mission statement, or just a short tagline that explains what you’re doing in a nutshell. For example, Spotify might have said, “We’re revolutionizing how people listen to music and how artists get paid”. Instagram might have said, “We make it easy for anyone to produce professional-looking photos”.

2. The problem and your solution

This is where your story-telling skills need to come into play. You want to make your problem real to your audience. You want them to relate to people who have the problem, even if they don’t have the problem themselves. You want your audience nodding along in understanding.

With your problem clearly identified, you now explain your solution. This is a description of what your product or service is and what it does. Explain how it solves your customer’s problem and how it compares to the competition. 

3. Target market and opportunity

Your next step is to explain the size of your market and what your business opportunity is. You’ll use the market research data from your business plan in this slide to show how many potential customers are out there and you’ll show the different market segments that your business will target . 

4. Business model and pricing strategy

Your business model is an explanation of how you make money. For many businesses, this is very straightforward and doesn’t require much, if any, explanation. For others, more details will be required. For example, a business like Google provides their search engine for free to users, but sells ads in the search results. 

5. Traction

Traction is evidence of early success with your business. This might mean a list of initial customers, pre-orders through a Kickstarter campaign, or signed contracts with potential buyers. Any evidence that you can provide that proves that your business will be a success is useful to showcase here. 

6. Marketing and sales

Be sure to include a slide that provides an overview of your marketing and sales plan . You’ve identified your target market and now you need to explain how you’re going to reach them and sell to them. 

7. Financial projections

You shouldn’t try and fit your entire financial plan into your business plan presentation. Instead, extract the highlights and present them here. A sales forecast chart and profits chart could be useful. If you have a guess as to when you’ll become profitable, include that information. The goal of your presentation is to spark interest and get your audience to ask for additional information, so don’t overload things in your initial presentation.

8. Your team

Who is behind your business is often even more important than your idea. People come up with good ideas all the time. Investors are looking not just for a great idea, but for a team of people who can turn that idea into reality. Use this slide to provide a brief overview of your team and the rationale behind why your team is the right team to make the business a success. 

9. Use of funds

Assuming that you are presenting your business plan to raise money for your business, you’ll need to explain how you’re going to use that money. Is it for marketing or perhaps R&D? Maybe you need to raise funds to hire key additions to your team or to expand to a new location. Make it clear why you need the money and how you’re going to use it.

10. Call to action

Finally, don’t forget your “ask.” If you’re seeking investment, ask for it. If you are trying to convince someone to join your team, ask them to join. Your business plan presentation exists for a reason and there’s no harm in being direct about what you are looking for.

11. Appendix

Aside from the core slides of your presentation, it’s always useful to have additional slides ready to answer questions that come up. A great presentation leaves the audience interested and wanting to know more. Try and anticipate those questions and add slides in the appendix that helps answer those questions. When the audience asks a question that you’ve prepared a slide for, skip into the appendix and answer that question with your slide. This method shows your audience that you’re well prepared and have thought through all aspects of your business.

This is where it all comes back to planning. The plan document itself may not be useful, but the process you went through will leave you well-prepared to present your business plan expertly and successfully.

Check out our analysis of 7 well-known startup pitch decks for examples of businesses that successfully did this.

• Download your free pitch deck template

Get a jump start on your business plan presentation by downloading our free pitch deck template . It has everything you need to get started and includes all the key slides you need for a winning presentation. 

But a good business pitch is only as good as the business plan behind it. So, to be sure you’re prepared to pitch to investors, you can also download our free business plan template . It has everything you need to back up your pitch and impress external stakeholders.

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

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How to pitch your startup, 1. introduction.

• 2. Elevator Pitch
• 3. 1-Minute Pitch
• 4. Pitching to Investors
• 5. Guidelines

6. Organization

• 7. Presentation Tips
• 8. Example Decks
• 9. Download Templates

tl;dr Pitch Deck Templates

• Elevator Pitch Template
• One-Minute Pitch Template
• Simple Pitch Deck Template   (To edit and use, click “File” and then “Make a Copy”)
• Long Template  
• Angel/VC Template  

If you’re like most founders, you probably think about your startup 24/7. You wake up in the morning brainstorming product features, and you fall asleep at night contemplating marketing campaigns. You can’t remember the last movie you saw at the theater; your idea of a fun, Saturday night is collaborating with developers overseas. And stalking VCs on LinkedIn has become a favorite past-time. Passion, hardwork and a healthy amount of obsession are essential ingredients to entrepreneurial success. However, it’s not uncommon for founders to become hyper-focused on initial ideas at the expense of an important fact:

A startup founder’s ultimate success is dependent on others buying into his or her vision.

Translation: Your progress is contingent upon your ability to pitch the value of who you are, what you’re doing and why it matters. Reaching important milestones like raising venture capital, sourcing top talent and acquiring new customers all require the same skill — telling a story that makes someone say, “Heck, yeah!” Sometimes you have 30 minutes to make that happen; other times you have 30 seconds. Regardless, your job is to clearly communicate why a given audience should care about your business.

If you are a startup looking to get to traction and funding, check out the Founder Institute pre-seed accelerator program .

One of your most powerful tools in achieving this objective is the pitch deck. Early-stage founders can use templates to create visual presentations that provide brief overviews of business value propositions, market opportunities and metrics. At the Founder Institute , we see dozens of decks every week. The majority of them are completely forgettable because someone overlooked a few essential ingredients to storytelling success.

The purpose of a presentation deck is to enable entrepreneurs to effectively tell the story of their business,” says Bill Gurley, general partner at Benchmark Capital . “In many ways it’s like a structured scientific proof. You want to walk the listener through an argument as to why this is going to be an amazing business.

The reality? Phenomenal pitches aren’t thrown together in a weekend — they are thoughtfully contemplated, tested and refined. In this guide, we’ll make a case for why founders should master both The Elevator Pitch and The 1-Minute Pitch before tackling decks. We’ll also provide guidelines for constructing narratives, customizing pitch deck templates and communicating with potential investors. These are many of the same techniques Founder Institute alumni have used to procure $1.8BN+ in funding. Finally, we’ll conclude with some examples of real decks utilized by globally recognized startups. After reading this guide, you will know exactly what it takes to create a compelling deck, give a memorable presentation and stand out from the crowd. Let’s get started... 

Three Types of Startup Pitches

Think back to elementary school: Did your foray into your first language begin with a 1,200-page copy of War and Peace ? No, you started by learning simple words. Similarly, you shouldn’t expect to construct “the perfect” pitch deck right away. Instead, begin by constructing the simplest description of your business possible: The Elevator Pitch.

2. The Elevator Pitch Template

As a startup founder, you will meet hundreds of people at various meetings, events and conferences. You will also, routinely, introduce yourself to complete strangers by email. In such situations, you have seconds to peak someone’s curiosity. And the best way to do that is a compelling Elevator Pitch.

This one-sentence statement explains what you do, who you serve and why it matters in simple language. As the name implies, the summary can quickly be recited to a stranger on an elevator ride.

Founder Institute CEO and Co-founder Adeo Ressi has developed an awesome Elevator Pitch template dubbed “ Startup Madlibs .”

• The  defined offering  must be short, simple and capable of being understood by everyone, like "a website", "a mobile application", "hardware" or "desktop software."
• The  defined audience  is the initial group of people that you will market your offering to. In the case of consumer applications, it is usually a demographic, such as "women age 25 to 35 years old." In the case of business applications, it is usually a job function at a type of corporation, such as "system administrators at medium sized technology businesses."
• Now that you have an offering helping an audience, you need to  solve a problem.  The problem needs to be something that everyone understands, such as "reduce the time collecting bill payments" or "engage in an immersive entertainment experience."
• The final component, the  secret sauce , adds your unique approach to solving the problem and demonstrates a mastery of the market. Some examples are "by sending automated email alerts based on analysis of highest response times" or "with virtual worlds constructed in reaction to the movements of the players."

OK, let’s look at a couple of examples…

Mediocre Elevator Pitch Example:

My company Socialista , Is developing a revolutionary, social utility To help female consumers Find deals online faster .

What’s wrong with this pitch?

• The offering is vague: A ‘social utility” could be a phone company. The pitch should read “ecommerce website.” 
• The adjectives are empty: This person may think their business is revolutionary, but it’s an over-inflated claim. Let the numbers speak for themselves! 
• The audience is vague: It could be more clearly defined (e.g. female consumers between the ages of 18 and 25).
• The problem isn’t obvious: Why can’t the target consumer use search engines to find deals online? Why is this platform better than her current options?

Including these details implies the person has done their homework, knows their stuff and has a viable business idea.

Improved Elevator Pitch Example:

My company Socialista , Is developing an ecommerce website To help female consumers between the ages of 18-25 Shop for hip, baby products at wholesale prices , With automated ordering of diapers and other staples . As you can see, the Elevator Pitch format is deceptively simple. The key to standing out is (a) being super specific, and (b) emphasizing your startup’s “secret sauce.” In this case, the founder’s unique differentiator is providing a fashionable solution at an unusually affordable price. Mastering this exercise is extremely helpful in refining Unique Value Propositions.

3. The One-Minute Pitch Template

Once you’ve articulated your Elevator Pitch, you are ready to move onto the One-Minute Pitch. Here you can add several key details to your Elevator Pitch, including:

• The value of the market your business is in.
• Your competition, and how you differentiate from them. 
• The current state of your business or product. 
• Your Ask (how the person/ people you are pitching can help you). 

Check out the easy-to-use "One Minute Pitch Template" from the Founder Institute below: 

4. Preparing to Pitch Investors

Before you begin creating your pitch deck, it’s important to consider the perspective of potential investors. Top VCs see and hear dozens of pitches per week, both in-person and via email. Luminary Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) hears from around 3,000 startups each year. How many of those company’s procure investments? Only 15 of them. The current VC landscape is showing bigger deals spread amongst fewer startups. Despite funding reaching its highest levels since 2000 , seed-stage investments consisted of only 25 percent of total deals made in 2018. Translation: The competition is tough.

Pre-requisites for Pitching to Investors

As Mike Suprovici (Founder Institute EIR) lays out in his  Startup Guide: How to Raise the First Round of Funding for Your Startup , before you even begin to approach investors, you need the following:

A strong startup idea that is vetted and backed by solid market research.  See this  startup idea guide  from the Founder Institute.

A prototype, a patent, or a proof of concept for the final idea.

A simple and scalable  startup financial model  that shows at least $10M in revenue after 3 years.  See this  revenue forecasting template  from Aaron Patzer, Founder of Mint.com and FI Mentor.

A strong 10 to 15 page presentation that meets investors' expectations. We will discuss this in the section below.

An incorporated entity with a smart capitalization table ("Cap table").  See this  simple cap table  from Venture Hacks.

The ability to quit your job and live for six months on savings while you conclude the financing and launch the business.

Another factor to consider is what kind of investor you are approaching. Consider the stage of your own company, before trying to pitch to certain investors. Do you meet their pre-requisites? If you are raising your first round of funding, then you are likely still at a pre-angel or angel investment stage. As a result, you should NOT try to pitch venture capitalists.

What Investors Want to See in a Pitch

If you are ready to pitch angels or venture capitalists, it's critical to understand what those investors are looking for. In order to stand out, your pitch must include both (a) the specific informational components investors are seeking, and (b) a memorable story that illustrates a compelling opportunity. As Jasmine Foroutan, CEO and Founder of Pitch Genius , says, investors want more than rote slideshows:

The biggest challenge of making a memorable deck is building a storyline that echoes outside of the pitch deck. This means, building a storyline that is not only easy for investors to remember, but also a storyline that’s easy for them to repeat and regurgitate to other potential investors.

Investors make decisions based on return and risk: How big of a return could they receive? And what might prevent them from receiving that return? Most VCs want a 10-20x return. 

As a founder, your job is to convince investors your startup offers the greatest potential return, with the least amount of risk — in comparison to the others on their list. Generally speaking, investors will evaluate risk in three main areas:

• Market Risk: Are you addressing a large, growing market?
• Product Risk: Do you have a sustainable competitive advantages?
• Execution Risk: Can your team “pull it off?” 

What Makes a Startup "Fundable"?

During one of Naval Ravikant's (Founder of AngelList) talks at the Founder Institute, he described  'The Anatomy of a Fundable Startup' , which you can watch below:

Similarly, when Aaron Patzer (Founder of Mint.com) described his  Pitching Secrets  to the Founder Institute, he outlined four main questions investors will ask themselves whever they evaluate a startup pitch:

• Does it solve a problem?
• Does it solve that problem in a big market?
• Is it something that has a competitive or sustainable advantage?
• Can you make money or make a profit?

Address those four questions, and you will have a much higher chance of attracting funding from professional investors.

5. Pitch Deck Guidelines

Think of your deck like a visual business plan. Your objective is to succinctly illustrate your marketplace knowledge, business model and qualifications for execution. A standard deck consists of 10 to 14 slides . The most common mistake made by newbie founders? Providing too much detail, too soon. Jenny Lefcourt, General Partner at Freestyle Capital, cautions early-stage founders against making this error :

What's really important is to not go into the weeds of all the details because what you’re trying to do is give them enough information that they want more information. Your goal at meeting No. 1 is to get people interested enough that they want meeting No. 2.

• Avoid excessive text. 
• Use large fonts that are easy to read. 
• Include colorful charts, statistics and graphics. 
• Label each slide (e.g. problem, solution, team). 

Don’t:

• Include unsubstantiated growth projections.
• Describe extraneous hiring details.
• Use tons of bullet points.
• Inflate your capabilities. 

Make Two Decks

Many founders are surprised to learn they need two decks: (1) a detailed version that can be shared with investors via email, and (2) a simplified version that can be elaborated upon in person. It’s not uncommon for investors to request to see a deck before agreeing to meet. For this reason, your “reading” version should include enough detail to stand alone. Conversely, a standard deck should be streamlined to ensure investors spend more time listening and less time reading. Most of the presentations available for online viewing showcase “listening” decks. We recommend beginning with the construction of the “reading” deck, which can then be edited for pitch presentations.

Is there a RIGHT way to organize a pitch deck? The answer is both yes and no. In terms of information provided, there are certain points you absolutely must cover. However, you have creative freedom when organizing and presenting your slides. Here are the four most common types of decks :

• The Problem-Solution Deck
• The Vision-Opportunity Deck
• The Team Deck
• The Traction Deck

The most commonly used pitch deck template is the Problem-Solution Deck, which is ideal for founders with especially unique solutions to widespread problems. 

All four frameworks contain the same informational points, organized in different ways. A variety of templates exist online and can be modified to meet your needs. However, don’t be afraid to venture outside of existing formats, so long as you're including necessary information.

The biggest misconception founders have about pitch decks is that there’s a simple formula for building a perfect pitch, and that’s by replicating other successful pitch decks,” says Foroutan. “Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. How will startups ever stand out to investors if everyone is using the same pitch to persuade them?

The most compelling elements of your business plan, your unique value proposition (UVP) and your intended audience should all inform how you structure your deck.

With that said, the Problem-Solution Pitch Deck Template is a great place to start. In this section, we’ll walk through all of the elements included in the standard deck: 

The Problem-Solution Deck Format:

Announce your big idea — the one thing you do better than anyone else. You have 10 seconds to engage your audience. Include:

• Name of Company
• CEO First & Last Name
• CEO Email (must be the CEO’s direct email address)
• CEO Phone number
• A simple image (reinforce the idea without distraction) 

2. Summary 

Summarize the highlights of your business opportunity, emphasizing minimization of market, product and execution risk. Include:

• Metrics that prove traction. 
• Special advantages your startup has. 
• Summary of investment size you are seeking.

Describe the problem you solve, who you solve it for and the reasons why your target customer are unsatisfied with current solutions. Include:

• Title: Problem
• One sentence description of the problem (10 words max).
• Sub-description of the problem (3 bullet points max).

4. Solution

Describe your solution and the major benefits it entails. Are current solutions slow, expensive or difficult to use? Are your solutions faster, cheaper and easier to use? Do customers care? Include:

• Title: Solution
• One sentence description of the solution (10 words max).
• Sub-description of the solution (3 bullet points max).

Make your product more tangible by illustrating how it works in three simple steps. Utilize screenshots, graphics and/or video. Skip the demo. Depending on your idea, this might be the ideal place to showcase the filing status of important patents. Include:

• Title: Product
• Product Screenshot
• Multiple Slides (if necessary)

NOTE : The order of slides 6, 7, 8, 9 can be rearranged to fit your particular narrative.

6. Business Model

Illustrate your primary revenue model. Generally, investors prefer active revenue streams to passive revenue streams. They also, particularly, like recurring revenue streams like monthly and annual subscriptions. Note: Companies that make money via advertising revenue are the exceptions – not the rule. Include:

• Title: Business Model
• Proof your market is willing and able to pay. 
• Use a quote if you haven’t launched yet.

7. Market Opportunity

Illustrate how much money you could, theoretically, make if you dominate your target market. Many investors like to see both a top-down and a bottom-up analysis. Although bottom-up is more difficult to calculate, including it will increase your credibility. Here’s an article on how to calculate it .  Include:

• Title: Market
• Total Addressable Market (TAM): All the people who could use your product or service. eg: All auto detail customers in the US.
• Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM): The subset of your TAM who are likely to use a product like your current product. eg: All mobile auto detail customers in the US.
• Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM): The subset of your SAM that you can reasonably obtain in the next 3-5 years. Aka your realistic market share. eg: 10-20% of all mobile auto detail customers in the US.

8. Competition

This might be the most important slide of the entire presentation. However, many founders struggle to clearly differentiate their products and services from the competition. Your offering must be SO compelling that users enthusiastically switch from existing solutions. In this slide, your objective is to provide 3-4 reasons why your solutions is superior to both direct and indirect competitors in the marketplace.

Warning : Don't make the mistake of saying you have no competitors. Investors will assume your idea isn’t worth pursuing.

Of course, if you’re pioneering a new technology, your competition will be its traditional counterpart. Nonetheless, your job is to clearly compare the differences between the status quo and your game-changing solution. 

You have two options regarding layout: The"Gartner Magic Quadrant" shown below or the “Competitive Grid” shown above.

Here your objective is to demonstrate your knowledge of customer acquisition, customer retention and product innovation. Investors expect you to know a few key metrics:

• Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC): What's your fully loaded cost of acquiring a paying customer? Ex. $100
• Lifetime Value of Customer (LTV): How much will someone pay your startup before they leave? Ex. $4,800
• Payback Period: How long does it take to cover acquisition costs? Ex: $100/$100/mo = 1 month. 
• Generating an LTV that is a strong multiple of CAC is a prerequisite for profitability. Of course, don’t forget to consider the cost of revenue[m] and other operating expenses, such as product development and customer service. 

10. Traction

This is another important slide that showcases customers love your product and are happy to pay for it. The Traction Slide should seek to mitigate the three types of risk: Market risk, product risk and execution risk. It should suggest that your startup can replicate initial success at scale, decrease future acquisition costs and increase profitability.

Use key metrics[o] to illustrate traction, highlight trends and rates of change. An ideal scenario for investors, for example, might be customer and revenue doubling monthly coupled with declining customer acquisition costs. If you have yet to launch, use this slide to illustrate major milestones in product development, key hires and funding.

11. Financials

How much money do you expect to make within the next 3 to 5 years? Do your best to estimate projected revenue, costs and expenses based on hitting your funding goals. Include:

• Title: Financials. 
• EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Tax) 
• Percentages alongside numbers for gross margin etc. 

Your Team Slide should mitigate investor concerns about execution. VCs love to see team members who have previously worked with successful startups, similar technologies and in similar markets. Check off as many of those boxes as you can. Note that your Team slide should include every important member of your extended team. This should include founders, key employees, advisors and investors (if any).

Creating an advisory board is a very simple way to add industry expertise to your "team" and is something that I strongly recommend For example, being able to drop a line like "We have the CMO of the largest real estate brokerage in the world on our advisory board" really boosts your credibility if your are focusing on a real estate opportunity.

A second and equally important benefit of advisors is that they can quickly help you refine your business and product vision themselves and connect you to people they know who can do the same. You can also use advisors to add significant technology and startup experience and expertise to your team.

13. Funding

Finally, it’s time to ask for the money you need. Include:

• Title: Funding
• Amount you are raising
• Financial objectives (i.e. reach $2mm ARR in 12 months)

14. Summary

After your presentation finale, end on a copy of your Summary Slide in the background. At this time, you will be fielding remaining questions that have yet to be answered.

15. Appendix

Though not mandatory, some founders include an Appendix with supporting information positive PR, customer testimonials, technological details and/or in-depth financial information.

Remember: Creating a pitch deck isn’t a “one-time exercise.” Practice your pitch often in front of peers, advisors, and mentors. The clearer your messaging becomes, the faster you will close deals.

7. How to Ace Your Presentation

Here are some of  Ressi’s best pitch presentation tips:

• Keep it under 10 minutes: Be respectful of your audience’s time, and summarize your ideas into a brief presentation. 
• Tell a story: Don’t just talk numbers —  take your audience on a journey  of why this business matters.
• Have a clear UVP: Investors often hear dozens of presentations a week. Stand out with a real unique value proposition. 
• Show your passion: Don’t be afraid to let investors see your excitement over your idea.
• Anticipate questions: Though it may not seem like it, getting interrupted is a good thing; it shows your audience is listening and cares enough to voice their concerns. Think through answers to potential questions ahead of time. 

Investor Pet Peeves

Investors listen to a ton of pitches, so it is only natural for them to see (and be slightly irritated) by common mistakes.

One of the biggest pet peeves of Manu Kumar, of K9 Ventures , is when presenters say they will answer a question later: 

You have to follow the flow,’” says Kumar. “When somebody asks you a question, that’s the right time to address the question. Even if it means you have to jump ahead or jump back.

Over the years, we’ve spoken with several VCs who echo this sentiment — entrepreneurs must demonstrate flexibility, spontaneity and willingness to “jump off” script. You may be eager to talk about your team because it’s in the next slide. However, the investor sitting in front of you may care more about customer acquisition costs. Which is why practicing your pitch in low-stakes situations is SO important. The more familiar you become with addressing unexpected interruptions, the more confidently you will handle diversions in meetings that matters.

Adeo Ressi (CEO of the Founder Institute) has something that frustrates him even more: 

One of my biggest pet peeves is when founders pitch me a business, and they don’t clearly define who their customer is,” says Ressi. “If you don’t know The Who , it’s very hard for me to understand The What or The How .

See more investor pet peeves from funding experts Manu Kumar of  K9 Ventures , James Cham of  Bloomberg Beta , Adeo Ressi of the  Founder Institute , and Alex Gurevich of  Javelin Venture Partners  below. 

The bottom-line : Delivering “the perfect pitch” takes practice. It’s normal to feel nervous before speaking to a room full of strangers. However, the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Founders who wanting to expedite progress should consider joining an intensive accelerator program.

8. Successful Pitch Examples

Below are some examples of decks and presentations — from both big and small names — that have resulted in funding. Notice the common elements we’ve discussed woven throughout the decks. And take note of any presentation strategies that might be advantageous to your startup:

Pitch Deck Examples:

Founder : Aaron Patzer Funding : $31.8M in 5 rounds, acquired by Intuit

Airbnb 

Founders : Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, Nathan Blecharczyk Funding : $4.4B in 13 rounds (as of March 2019)

Pitch Presentation Examples

Should you study the pitch presentations of legends like Steve Jobs, Marc Benioff and Elon Musk? Absolutely. However, it’s often helpful to watch entrepreneurs who are less removed from your current stage of business. Below are some pitch presentations from up-and-coming Founder Institute Alumni:

1. Pethub 

Pethub is an award-winning software company helping pet owners manage their pets’ lives online. PetHub ID tags are officially in-use by over 250 communities and 20 states in the U.S as their government or shelter issued ID tag, and 98% of PetHub recovered pets are reunited with family without ever entering a shelter. The company has raised several million dollars in funding and is on pace to track and protect over 1 million animals by 2021. Pethub is also a Seattle FI alum, founded by Tom Arnold .

2. Spaceishare

SpaceiShare , a Toronto FI company founded by Sarah Selhi , is a marketplace that allows people to offer their empty physical spaces as storage for people who need the room. They secured a sizable deal on on Dragon's Den, and have been featured across Canadian press.

And here is Sarah's presentation on Dragon's Den, where she delivers a modified pitch and fields a very different set of questions: 

Bridgr , a Montreal FI company founded by Amira Boutouchent , is an online platform that helps small and medium-sized manufacturing companies find and collaborate with validated and qualified independent experts to solve their operations issues, allowing them to grow quickly without the need for expensive and time-consuming consultancies.

Climber is a Lisbon FI company founded by Mário Mouraz . They build revenue management software that takes data from external sources, such as weather, air traffic, online shopping, and claims regarding a hotel’s reputation. They cross analyze all of that with information from the hotel user, in order to automatically calculate what to sell and how much to sell it for.

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Writing a Business Plan

Team sequoia.

When Brian, Joe and Nate founded Airbnb, they had an air mattress, entrepreneurial passion, and a vision for reinventing travel and hospitality, but no clear idea how to approach VCs or how to craft a pitch deck.

They came across Sequoia’s guide for how to write a business plan and the rest is history . They made a great deck.

But it wasn’t really the slides we liked—it was their ideas, the clarity of their thinking, and the scope of their ambition. We love partnering with founders hell-bent on bringing an idea to life that conventional wisdom deems impossible. And we love to partner early— when an idea is newly formed and has the maximal room to grow.

You can find our guide to pitching below (with a few refinements from years of use).

Company purpose Start here: define your company in a single declarative sentence. This is harder than it looks. It’s easy to get caught up listing features instead of communicating your mission.

Problem Describe the pain of your customer. How is this addressed today and what are the shortcomings to current solutions.

Solution Explain your eureka moment. Why is your value prop unique and compelling? Why will it endure? And where does it go from here?

Why now? The best companies almost always have a clear why now? Nature hates a vacuum—so why hasn’t your solution been built before now?

Market potential Identify your customer and your market. Some of the best companies invent their own markets.

Competition / alternatives Who are your direct and indirect competitors. Show that you have a plan to win.

Business model How do you intend to thrive?

Team Tell the story of your founders and key team members.

Financials If you have any, please include.

Vision If all goes well, what will you have built in five years?

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• Presentations
• Pitch Decks

New PowerPoint Pitch Deck Templates (From Envato Elements - For 2024)

It’s challenging to craft a compelling investor pitch PowerPoint template. You need a narrative that resonates with slides designs that engage and don’t overwhelm.

Your PPT deck must: showcase your team, the problem and your innovative solution . It must include your business plan and financial evidence for investors to know.

Here's a handful of the best new PowerPoint business plan pitch deck templates. These are trending on Envato Elements:

1. Startup Pitch Deck Template for PowerPoint

First, let's look at this investor presentation template for PowerPoint that has all the elements a winning pitch needs. Its premium look and design are perfect for professionals and entrepreneurs. The business plan PPT template's features speak for themselves:

• Google Slides and PPTX files
• 30 total slides
• fully editable elements
• documentation file

2. Pitch Deck - Business Plan Template for PowerPoint

Check out this P owerPoint pitch deck template. These creative slides designs are ready to customize for your business pitch presentation. You'll find many professional PPT slides, graphs, charts, tables, and diagrams. As for its features:

• over 100 unique slides
• full HD resolution
• 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio
• free updates and support

Use this great business pitch presentation example. Chowcase how your ideas are ready for success.

3. Fintech - Startup Pitch Deck Template PPT Presentation

Use this Fintech Startup presentation template for your startup company presentation. These slide designs have unique designs styles. They also use stand out colors and modern gradients. The pitch deck template PPT download includes:

• 40 unique slides
• 16:9 slide format
• 7 pre-made color variations

Impress investors with a revenue business model slide pitch deck.

4. Startup Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template

Are you preparing a business pitch deck for an investor? This startup pitch PowerPoint template is one of the best choices. It comes packed with all the slides a startup business plan PPT presentation needs:

• 200 total slides
• dark and light versions
• over 4000 vector icons

5. Farand - Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template

Use this great startup presentation template for your next pitch. It's a great PowerPoint pitch deck template. The PPT deck includes:

• 40 Master Slide layouts
• resizable and editable graphics
• content placeholders
• mockup devices

Trust in this investor pitch PowerPoint template!

6. Maven - Pitch Deck Template for PowerPoint

Maven is an elegant and modern creative business slide deck. Is perfect for agencies and other projects. Choose the layout that works best for your business proposal deck.

See what you'll get in this complete business pitch PowerPoint template:

• 100 gorgeous layouts
• based on Master Slides
• 16:9 aspect ratio

7. Corporate Infographic Business Plan Template for PowerPoint

Try this business pitch presentation template if you want to impress your audience. This pitch deck template comes with detailed infographics to put a powerful business plan deck together. 

This business plan template for PowerPoint includes:

• 1000+ slides
• animated slides
• over 1000 vector icons

Customize this download for your business model slides.

8. MakeIT - Business Plan PPT Template

Use the MakeIT template for both business presentations as well as to make pitch decks. The template is very customizable and features a modern and versatile design. It includes:

• 150 unique slides
• 5 pre-made color variations
• handcrafted infographics
• editable and resizable graphics

This business plan PPT template is suitable for IT startups and IT companies.

9. Sales Pitch Deck Template for PPT

This premium business pitch presentation template is great for sales and pitch presentations. Its modern and clean design makes it a versatile option. It works for an elevator pitch PowerPoint presentation. Also use it for a pitch deck with a pitch deck revenue model slide. On top of that, the template includes:

• seven color options
• 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios

10. Union - Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template

This is one of the best business plan templates for PPT. It's a top-notch business proposal pitch deck template that has what you need to create a powerful and winning presentation. This template comes with:

• 50 unique and professional slides
• 2 theme variations
• vector shape illustrations
• easy-to-edit graphs, charts, tables, diagrams

11. Business Overview - Business Plan Template for PPT

This premium template has a classic and versatile look. It comes with image placeholders to quickly customize your content. A great option for an investor pitch PowerPoint template. It has:

• 30 unique slides
• HD resolution
• elegant slide transitions
• infographics and graphs

Use this PowerPoint pitch deck template to showcase what your business is all about.

12. Subtle - PowerPoint Pitch Deck Template

Subtle is a unique and beautifully design pitch template ideal to put together and elevator pitch PowerPoint. It comes with:

• 36 fully editable slides
• easy customization options
• Google Fonts used

It's a great option for creative industries looking for investment to take their business to the next level.

13. Pitch Werk - Elegant PowerPoint Pitch Template Deck

You can create your professional slide deck quickly thanks to this easy-to-use PowerPoint template. Every object in this presentation design is fully editable in PowerPoint. Check out some of its highlights:

• more 100 unique slides
• 5 pre-made color schemes
• PDF documentation included

14. Tsaly - PowerPoint Pitch Deck Template

Tsaly is a modern startup PowerPoint template with a contemporary design. It's made for a digital startup that’s got one both feet in the future. There’s a compelling mix of simplicity and high end design. This pitch PowerPoint template is packed with:

• drag-and-drop editing
• media placeholders

15. Jozeka - Investor Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template

Are you pitching a fresh business plan and need a business model slides template? This PowerPoint slide deck is designed to appeal to investors. It features:

• 60 slides with a polished design that’s contemporary, colorful, and clean
• light and dark variations
• RGB color moders
• hundreds of icons and polished data visualizations

16. Startup Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template

With all the features in this template, you’ll have your PowerPoint pitch deck ready in no time:

• 30 slides designs and many layout options
• dark and light color theme variations
• icon variations

With this flexible design you can craft a presentation that hits all the key points. Showcase your business plan presentation. Illustrate how your company offers solutions to complex problems. Present exactly the data that'll secure venture capital.

17. Up! - Pitch Deck and Business Plan Template for PPT

If you're looking for a modern business pitch presentation template for your company, Up! is the right choice. Its high contrast color palette along with its subtle gradient applications makes it look almost futuristic. The features only add to its allure:

• 35 total slides
• free web fonts

18. Business Proposal Presentation PowerPoint Template

This business pitch presentation template is ideal to tell your company story. This classic proposal deck keeps things simple and to the point with its "to the point" layout. Its highlights include:

• 15 total slides
• based on Master Slides for easy editing
• documentation included

19. PLUSS - Elevator Pitch Deck Template for PowerPoint

This is a pitch PowerPoint presentation template bundle that includes:

• three sets of PPT designs and 32 slides
• 16:9 landscape slide forma
• fully customizable elements

If you need a number of style and presentation options, with high quality design, and minimal aesthetic, then this bundle is a great deal.

20. Startia - Business Pitch Presentation Example

Startia is an excellent proposal deck template for startups and companies looking to grow. Wow investors with a fresh business plan deck that has everything you need, like:

• 30 slide designs

Highlight the market you’re targeting and pitch your business concept to potential investors.

21. StartUp Business Plan PPT Template

This startup pitch deck template for PowerPoint offers a quick and stunning way to show off your ideas. Inspired in a 2009 pitch deck classic, this business pitch presentation template has:

• Keynote, Google Slides, and PowerPoint files
• functional and modern design
• documentation

22. Lanzo - PowerPoint Pitch Deck Template

If you need a creative deck to feature your new startup to investors, Lanzo is a stunning business presentation template design. It's got:

• 16:9 widescreen slide format
• proper documentation

This startup presentation template also has inventive design features like high contrast data charts.

23. Quint Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template

You can't help but to feel a sense of trust as your browse through Quint's slides. This is a clean slide deck template, with a unique color palette. This premium business plan deck includes:

• 30 unique slide designs
• resizable vector elements

24. Business Plan Template for PowerPoint Presentations

This modern business plan template for PowerPoint is versatile. Use it for many types of businesses that are reaching out to potential investors. This investor presentation template set has:

• more than 30 slides
• high-quality resolution
• device mockups

25. Pitch Deck Ready Business Plan Template for PPT

One of my favorite features in this pitch deck template for PowerPoint is its unique geometric slide layouts. It includes:

• 150 total slides
• 5 color pre-made schemes

This template will increase your chances of investment and support.

26. Pitchmo - Creative Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template

Pitchmo offers a unique set of ideas to approach pitch deck template design. Plus, it comes with amazing features, such as: 

• PPT and PPTX files
• more than 30 unique slides
• free support

You'll also get access to a huge library of icons that help you highlight your information. Update them easily to create a sense of visual interest in your next pitch deck presentation.

27. Business Pro - Business Plan Template for PPT

Looking for different pitch deck templates? Why don't you try a minimal and aesthetic approach to the business model slide template?

This unique PPT deck will surprise your audience. You'll get:

• over 150 total slides
• pixel-perfect illustrations

28. Pro Business Pitch Presentation Example Template

The pitch deck proposal template hits all the stops when it comes to presenting a tight business proposal. It can be used in many industries to create a beautiful pitch deck and it comes with:

This is a premium template with a well though out color palette and structure.

29. Marketing Business Plan Template for PowerPoint

Already mapping out that marketing plan for your startup? This premium elevator pitch PowerPoint template offers all the best tools to display data. The startup presentation template includes:

• 36 slide designs
• light and dark color schemes
• fully editable infographics and maps
• vector icons and elements

30. Scofe - Business Model Slide Pitch Deck

Last but not least, check out this business pitch PowerPoint template. It's a minimal business slide deck with 45 creative slides. This business model slide pitch deck download also features:

• 16:9 widescreen ratio
• gallery and portfolio slides
• 700+ pixel-perfect icons

How to Make Startup PPT Pitch Deck Template Customizations Quickly

Premium PowerPoint pitch deck templates make startup PPT presentations easier. The best of these templates includes powerful placeholders that enable almost instant customization. 

When you’re creating your pitch deck, it’s important to use visual aids to get your message across.

Show off wordy slide after wordy slide and you’ll lose the audience in no time. But by using visuals, you keep them engaged and focused on you.

1. Customize Charts

Let’s begin by looking at a chart from Pitch Werk , a business plan PPT deck from Envato Elements.

Charts in PowerPoint work by linking directly to an embedded version of Excel. That's Microsoft’s spreadsheet software.

To edit a chart like this, right-click on one of the columns and select  Edit Data . An Excel window will pop up, and you can make edits to the chart labels and data. As you type in new values, the chart will adjust to match.

2. Customize Maps

Let’s say you want to showcase your business operations across the United States. You could make a list, but those are dull. Instead, try a color-coded map. Add color fill to states where you've got offices. 

To customize a map, simply right-click on a state. Then, click  Format Shape  in the drop-down. A sidebar will open over on the right side of your screen. Click  Fill,  then  Solid Fill,  and select a color from the chooser. Just like that, you can build a beautiful custom map.

3. Customize Device Mockups

They’re meant to demo your app or website by showing how it looks on a real device. Suppose you've got a mobile website that’s key to your pitch.

 The first step is to capture a screenshot on a mobile device, then transfer it to your computer. Once you’ve done that, the process is very simple. Simply click inside the image placeholder, browse to the screenshot, and click to insert it. Just like that, the image will drop onto the phone screen. It looks real and takes only seconds!

Remember, the best pitch deck templates are incredibly easy to customize and offer stunning features just like these. It’s up to your sense of creativity to bring them to life. All the tools you’ll need lie right at your fingertips.

5 Quick Pitch Deck (Startup Business Plan) Presentation Tips

Great startups, and exciting small business ideas don’t magically get funded. You've got to get out there and work hard for every dollar of investing you bring in. It’s challenging to get funding at any stage of your company.

1. Include Only What Investors Are Looking For

Investors have a never-ending stream of pitches they review on an ongoing basis. There’s an expected framework to professional and effective pitch decks, which you need to work within.

For most early-stage startups or innovative small businesses, just 10 to 15 slides is on target, but ten or less is better. You want to keep your presentation concise: more like a 10 to 15 minute short, than a feature-length movie.

Here are a few quick-fire, pitch deck tips to keep your business presentation on point—including exactly what investors want to see. 

2. Design Simple and Direct Pitch Deck Slides

Keep in mind that you don’t want to include much more than those ten or so slides in your initial pitch. The more information you try to pack into your pitch, the quicker it becomes confusing for investors.

Move your key data points to early in your deck, so you can grab attention quickly. Avoid trying to hit every nuance of your company's expected positioning.  

A great presentation focuses on the message you’re giving. Great design and visuals need to complement your message.

Consider using a PowerPoint business pitch template. It should have easy-to-use pitch deck slides already included. Here are three templates designed for presenting your business plan to investors:

• Pitch Werk - Simple PowerPoint Pitch Deck Template . If you need a simple and modern pitch deck template, this set of over 100 slide designs is a great choice. Whether you want to make a new business plan proposal or investor pitch deck.
• Business Plan PowerPoint Infographics . This is an attractive pitch PPT template with a modern design and all the slide layout choices a compelling pitch deck needs. With it you can create a perfect pitch backed by a great design.
• Vinue Business Plan . This is a versatile business plan template for PowerPoint that can be used for many business types looking to get investor funding. Learn how to customize this PowerPoint template , so you’re able to quickly prep your deck.

3. Deliver Your Message and Startup Story

What’s that key problem that you’re solving? What’s the competitive advantage that allows you to take advantage and move quickly? What’s the innovative way you’re doing this that'll disrupt the market?

Your pitch deck should be an overall narrative that communicates your startup’s story. User stories of how your company solves a problem for its target market are great.

Hit your big points in a clear way and avoid too much detail. You don’t need to overshare.

You can include appendixes if you deliver your deck out as a PDF. Your presentation is where you paint the big picture and spice it with just enough detail to pique interest.

Bottom line, don’t forget to ask for the money. Be really clear and specific about your ask and how you plan to use the funds.

Learn more about how to craft a compelling narrative and persuade with your PowerPoint presentation:

4. Focus on Company Growth

It's often said that investors focus on growth. Basically, you're trying to create a "fear of missing out." Showcase the side of your company that anyone would want to invest in.

That's why it helps to include a growth slide, particularly one with a chart and graph. Focus on a key metrics like new subscriptions or active users increment. 

5. Make an Ask at the End

The format of a pitch deck presentation implies you're going to make an "ask" of the audience. Make sure that slide gives the audience an option to jump on board with your company. 

Examples of "asks" that you might make at the end of a pitch deck presentation include:

• apply to open positions within your company as you search for talent to take things to the next level
• investment to get the critical funding it takes to keep your company running and growing
• introductions to others who can help you achieve your growth goals

5 Top Pitch Deck PowerPoint PPT Design Trends for 2024

If you want to make sure your pitch deck stands out, it has to be professional and modern. Keep the latest design trends in mind.

We've got the top 5 pitch deck PowerPoint trends for you to use. 

1. Contrasting Colors

Color plays an important role in any design. This year, combine two contrasting colors for the most impact. Take cues from this Simple Presentation template . It combines yellow and black to make your information stand out. 

2. Slides Don’t Have to Be White

The use of background images with color overlays or full colored backgrounds is trending. This trend is sure to make your pitch deck stand out and make it look more on brand. 

3. Consider Space On Your Data Slides

Key information must stand out. Follow this PowerPoint design trend. Leave plenty of space around your charts, graphs, and infographics. This will make it easier for your audience to remember key points and important information.

This Pitch Deck PowerPoint template makes great use of white space in its slides.

4. More Than One Font or Font Weight

For example, choose a serif font paired with a sans serif font. If you’re not sure what fonts go well together, consider experimenting with regular and bold font weight to add contrast. 

5. Get Creative With Shapes

Shapes are a great way to spice up the plain white background of any slide layout. But you don’t have to limit yourself to squares and circles. Experiment with other shape types as well as the position of the shape.

The Getta PowerPoint template does an excellent job of using shapes creatively.

Important PowerPoint Slides Every Pitch Deck (Business Plan Presentation) Needs

Building a business plan presentation? There are a few slides that you should always include. Each one's designed to help you communicate crucial details to potential investors. These really set the stage for your pitch and guide you to success.

• A strong intro. Any successful business proposal presentation has to start off by introducing your company and your team. In doing so, your audience can place faces with names and make an instant personal connection.
• Outline your goals . If you’re asking for funding, chances are you’ve got a big idea. This business plan PPT slide puts that idea front and center: it's a statement of exactly what you aim to accomplish.
• Highlight plans. Once you’ve stated your ideas and goals, it’s time to detail how you’ll accomplish them. This slide should include your core competencies, elements of your team that set your firm apart. Also focus on specific actions you plan to take to reach the objective.
• The revenue model. Any investor expects a healthy return. Here, you detail your path to profit. Be specific and honest and highlight both monetary totals and timelines.
• The funding pitch. Last but not least comes the reason for the business plan presentation. Here's where you outline your funding needs and make the crucial ask from investors. Again, focus on detailed plans for use of the money, and revisit earlier discussions about forecasted returns.

Sound overwhelming? It doesn’t have to be, thanks to amazing pitch deck templates from Envato Elements. These business pitch templates come with these slides—and countless others—ready for you to use. 

They’re professionally designed, so you can be sure to get top quality throughout. All you've got to do is drop in your own content!

Let’s take a closer look at Redeem , a pitch deck presentation from Envato Elements.

The Intro Slide

As you can see, this business plan PPT has an intro slide built in. You don’t have to worry about building slides from scratch, thanks to powerful templates like this.

The intro sets the stage for the entire presentation. Break free of being simply another pitch deck. Establish strong personal relationships with your audience. If they connect with the people behind your idea, they’re more likely to invest in it.

To add an image, you can simply select the Replace Image Here box, and drop in your own photo.

To change the text, triple-click on a line and type over it. It’s that easy!

The Growth & Revenue Slide

The best business plan templates for PPT include charts and graphs built in. These are especially useful when you need to share a lot of data in a clear and concise way.

Let’s look at the Revenue slide, which can be used to outline your financial growth strategy.

The centerpiece of the slide is the colorful bar graph. Some business model slides templates include detailed charts that can be edited with PowerPoint’s embedded Excel editor. You can click and drag on the bars to precisely scale them.

Be sure to swap out the legends and axis labels to fit your needs. And then tie everything together with a strong description. Using a chart like this is far more engaging than merely talking about numbers. 

The Investment Ask Slide

Finally, we come to the true reason for a business plan presentation: the funding ask. This is the moment that counts, and that pays. Here, you ask investors to trust in your vision with their dollars.

This slide is structured as a pricing table. But it’s also perfect for pitching a two-phase venture capital effort. 

Begin by adding a title and subtitle over on the right. Continue by labeling the two boxes with the names and timelines of your fundraising rounds. Substitute funding targets for the prices and wrap up by highlighting planned uses for the money.

These slides vividly show the value of using professional pitch deck templates. You've got more time to focus on your ideas, as you leave arduous slide design work to the experts!

Apply these tips and tricks to create complete pitch deck slides. Work with premium slides for pitch decks to close your next investment deal.

Find More Professional Pitch Deck Templates 

Now you know the most important slides every pitch deck needs. Let's look at some of our best business plan templates for PPT, Keynote and Google Slides: 

Common PowerPoint Pitch Deck Questions Answered (FAQ)

Making the best pitch PowerPoint presentation can be stressful, especially if you're just starting in this area. But don't worry, I'm here to help you with some of the most frequently asked questions:

1. What Types of Presentations Are There?

Before you even start working in PowerPoint, define what type of presentation you'll deliver. There are many types, and each will give you a different result. Here are the most common:

• Persuasive . Presentations that are designed to change the mind of the audience or impart your perspective.
• Decision-driven . Often found in the corporate world, these presentations provide a recommendation or path forward. 
• Introductory . An introductory presentation is the first point of contact. It basically showcases your business and work to potential clientele.
• Informative (educational) . With no ulterior motive, informative presentations are about showing knowledge or new ideas to an audience.

2. What Mistakes Should I Avoid When Making My Pitch Deck?

Doing a pitch presentation isn't as easy as it might sound. The top mistakes you should avoid are:

• Using animation effects on the slides . They tend to slow your presentation and distract your audience. Plus, most transition effects don't look professional so it's best to avoid them.
• Doing a long pitch . On average, we've got an attention span of less than 20 minutes on a task we're not motivated to complete. Keep this in mind for your presentation. If you stick to 20 minutes, it forces you to make your message more concise and you'll keep your audience engaged. 
• Having a weak conclusion . If you want your presentation to stick, don't go for a simple ending. By giving the notion you're wrapping up your presentation, only to conclude with an amazing fact, your message will stick better.

3. How Can I Make Slide Layouts in PowerPoint?

Technically, a layout is the combination and arrangement of the objects on a slide. In practice, the layout is a one-click starting point for your presentation and a real time-saver. That's why it's important to know how to create your own layouts and not limit yourself to the ones included in PowerPoint.

Learn all about it here:

4. What's the Right Size for My PPT Slides?

When you're projecting your finished presentation, you may find the slides appear cut off on the edges or boxed in on the screen. To prevent this, consider the size and aspect ratio of your presentation. 

The first step is to figure out in what device your presentation is most likely to appear on:

• laptop screens
• conference room projectors
• iPads and tablets
• widescreen or large format displays

Each display has a different aspect ratio that describes the width versus height of the screen. The same presentation will appear differently on each device because the aspect ratio varies. Check more about this topic here:

5. How Can I Work With Others in PowerPoint?

If you're working on a pitch deck presentation, chances are it's a team effort. So, you need to make a collaborative presentation. This way, all the members can work on it at the same time. 

Thankfully, Microsoft PowerPoint has added many collaborative, online features in its recent versions. It's very easy to learn how to share a pitch PowerPoint here:

Learn More About How to Make Great Investor Pitch Deck Presentations

When you're building a business plan in PowerPoint, there are tons of tools available. Using a business pitch template is a surefire step to save time and focus on the content.

There are also helpful resources to learn from pitch deck pros, right here on Tuts+. I recommend checking out our guide. How to Make Great Pitch Decks (Startup Presentation Guide) is a comprehensive resource.

Check out the resources below for more articles and tips to build your best pitch deck yet:

Download Our Free PDF eBook on Making Great Presentations

We've got the perfect complement to a professional PowerPoint template. This will help you learn how to write, design, and deliver great presentations.

Download  The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations for FREE. Just subscribe to the Tuts+ Business newsletter. Get your ideas formed into a powerful presentation that'll move your audience. 

Best PowerPoint Pitch Deck Templates on Envato Elements (With Unlimited Use)

You can find hundreds of the best PowerPoint pitch deck templates on Envato Elements. Premium pitch deck PowerPoint templates from Envato Elements are designed for business plan presentations.

Need the best pitch deck template for PowerPoint that you can customize quickly? We've got the best ones to work with in this article.

PowerPoint Pitch Decks

These business model slide pitch decks for PowerPoint have unique designs choose from. You can use them to showcase the concepts in your PowerPoint pitch deck with pre-built slides for your:

• business plan
• product vision
• business model
• market size
• infographics

A PowerPoint pitch deck template will save you hours of design work. Add your business ideas and key data to these business plan PPT slides. Prep your business pitch template, and get ready to win over investors!

Subscribe to Envato Elements and download as many premium PPT pitch decks as you want. All for one low monthly price!

Not only that, but you get access to thousands of premium creative assets. Find logo templates, graphics, royalty-free music, and more!

Plus, now Envato Elements has introduced an AI-powered search feature ! This new tool allows you to input a description of your project to effortlessly locate the finest human-crafted resources. 

Start experimenting with this enhanced search tool! Discover the ideal pitch deck PowerPoint templates for your business plan presentations.

Grab the Best Pitch Deck Template for PowerPoint Today!

Put one of the designs above to use now. Or check out the wide variety of PowerPoint slide deck templates available for sale on Envato Elements. We've got the best PPT decks and business plan PPT templates  and innovative new pitch deck designs to choose from. 

Grab a quality business plan template for PowerPoint today. Learn how to customize it quickly, and use it to help secure the investor funding you need for your startup or small business!

Editorial Note :  This post has been updated with contributions from Lex Soto ,  Brenda Barron , Maria Villanueva and Dacia Egurrola . Maria is the Associate Editor of the Tuts+ Design channel. Brenda is a freelance instructor for Envato Tuts+. Lex and Dacia are staff writers for Envato Tuts+.

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• Write Your Business Plan | Part 1 Overview Video
• The Basics of Writing a Business Plan
• How to Use Your Business Plan Most Effectively
• 12 Reasons You Need a Business Plan
• The Main Objectives of a Business Plan
• What to Include and Not Include in a Successful Business Plan
• The Top 4 Types of Business Plans
• A Step-by-Step Guide to Presenting Your Business Plan in 10 Slides
• 6 Tips for Making a Winning Business Presentation
• 3 Key Things You Need to Know About Financing Your Business
• 12 Ways to Set Realistic Business Goals and Objectives
• How to Perfectly Pitch Your Business Plan in 10 Minutes
• Write Your Business Plan | Part 2 Overview Video
• How to Fund Your Business Through Friends and Family Loans and Crowdsourcing
• How to Fund Your Business Using Banks and Credit Unions
• How to Fund Your Business With an SBA Loan
• How to Fund Your Business With Bonds and Indirect Funding Sources
• How to Fund Your Business With Venture Capital
• How to Fund Your Business With Angel Investors
• How to Use Your Business Plan to Track Performance
• How to Make Your Business Plan Attractive to Prospective Partners
• Is This Idea Going to Work? How to Assess the Potential of Your Business.
• When to Update Your Business Plan
• Write Your Business Plan | Part 3 Overview Video
• How to Write the Management Team Section to Your Business Plan
• How to Create a Strategic Hiring Plan
• How to Write a Business Plan Executive Summary That Sells Your Idea
• How to Build a Team of Outside Experts for Your Business
• Use This Worksheet to Write a Product Description That Sells
• What Is Your Unique Selling Proposition? Use This Worksheet to Find Your Greatest Strength.
• How to Raise Money With Your Business Plan
• Customers and Investors Don't Want Products. They Want Solutions.
• Write Your Business Plan | Part 4 Overview Video
• 5 Essential Elements of Your Industry Trends Plan
• How to Identify and Research Your Competition
• Who Is Your Ideal Customer? 4 Questions to Ask Yourself.
• How to Identify Market Trends in Your Business Plan
• How to Define Your Product and Set Your Prices
• How to Determine the Barriers to Entry for Your Business
• How to Get Customers in Your Store and Drive Traffic to Your Website
• How to Effectively Promote Your Business to Customers and Investors
• Write Your Business Plan | Part 5 Overview Video
• What Equipment and Facilities to Include in Your Business Plan
• How to Write an Income Statement for Your Business Plan
• How to Make a Balance Sheet
• How to Make a Cash Flow Statement
• How to Use Financial Ratios to Understand the Health of Your Business
• How to Write an Operations Plan for Retail and Sales Businesses
• How to Make Realistic Financial Forecasts
• How to Write an Operations Plan for Manufacturers
• What Technology Needs to Include In Your Business Plan
• How to List Personnel and Materials in Your Business Plan
• The Role of Franchising
• The Best Ways to Follow Up on a Buisiness Plan
• The Best Books, Sites, Trade Associations and Resources to Get Your Business Funded and Running
• How to Hire the Right Business Plan Consultant
• Business Plan Lingo and Resources All Entrepreneurs Should Know
• How to Write a Letter of Introduction
• What To Put on the Cover Page of a Business Plan
• How to Format Your Business Plan
• 6 Steps to Getting Your Business Plan In Front of Investors

A Step-by-Step Guide to Presenting Your Business Plan in 10 Slides How the 10–20–30 rule will help you create a concise and compelling presentation.

By Eric Butow Oct 27, 2023

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

This is part 8 / 12 of Write Your Business Plan: Section 1: The Foundation of a Business Plan series.

Using a deck for your business plan is a quick, to-the-point means of providing your best-selling points while still providing the necessary details. The question is: How do you best organize and minimize the breadth of a business plan in a PowerPoint presentation?

Follow the 10–20–30 rule—ten slides, 20 minutes, and a minimum of a 30-point font. Here's how it works:

What Is the 10–20–30 Rule?

1. Your first slide is your title slide, providing the name of the business, your name and title, and contact information— plus a slogan if you have one. If you can, use one succinct sentence to describe what your business does.

2. The next slide should introduce a problem that persists and is relatable to your target market . You want the audience to relate to the problem or understand how it affects others. Use can cite statistics to help support your claims, but narrow them down to one or two.

Related: 6 Tips For Making A Winning Business Presentation

3. The third slide should get to your solution. In simple terms, briefly describe how your business has figured out how to alleviate the problem. Make sure the audience understands that you have a unique approach. You might also add a few words to support your overall value proposition.

4. Explain how you will make money. What are your revenue sources? Who are your customers? What is your pricing structure? Then, describe briefly about how you expect to profit.

5. This is the slide where you present more detail on your operating plan. How does it all work? Is it self-service? Kiosks? Personal service? Give the reader a short version of how the business operates. Provide a summary, from buying the goods to marketing them to sales and shipping. You can include a little technology, but remember to keep it in layman's terms. This is where you may need a second visual slide to show how it all works.

6. Present your marketing plan in a few short words. After all, if you want to create dynamic advertising and promotional campaigns, what better way to start than briefly explaining how you plan to market the business? Share a few specifics rather than saying "on the internet" or "on TV." Let your listeners know you have a marketing plan and can keep it within a reasonable budget .

7. Mention your key competitors—but be nice. Explain what gives you the competitive edge.

Related: Vusi Thembkwayo's 7 Rules Of Pitching

8. This is where you introduce your team, with a few very brief highlights (one line) of each member's background related to the business. Remember, people invest in other people.

9. Financials. This slide should show a clear projection with a three- to five-year forecast. Explain the method you used to arrive at your numbers.

10. Lastly, show them where your business is at present. What have you done thus far, and how are you looking to move forward sooner rather than later? Offer a positive call to action based on what you have accomplished and what you will accomplish in the future.

Should you stop at 10 slides? It depends. There are many ways to go about putting together your deck. If you need to go to twelve slides, do so, but try not to go longer.

Related: How To Pitch Your Business In Just 10 Minutes

Presentation Tips

If you are asked to present your business deck, follow these handy do's and don'ts.

• Don't talk in jargon . Not everyone is deeply embedded in your industry.
• Don't read your slides word for word . Your audience can read what's on the screen. Instead, highlight something easy for them to digest and use your comments to provide a little deeper explanation. This way, you present more information, some printed and some verbally.
• Take a breath. There's no need to rush. Remember to breath between slides so you don't start motoring along.
• Do not focus on technology. Technology is interesting in small doses, but too much can take the focus off of the human element of your business.
• Don't overload slides. You've heard the term TMI? The same goes for business decks. People can only read and digest so much.
• Less is more. Don't pack too much into a PowerPoint presentation. You want to avoid the dreaded "PowerPoint Poisoning" effect, in which and overload of information casts a spell on your audience or puts them to sleep.

Related: Crafting A Simple Business Plan

How to Write a Business Growth Plan

We highly recommend growth planning to get the most from your business plan. It's an ongoing business planning process that combines the simplicity of the mini plan (or one-page plan) with the continuing use and focus of the working plan.

It just takes four simple steps:

• Create a plan Quickly size up the potential of your idea, validate that it can be a real business, and set goals to make it work.
• Build your forecast Develop an expense budget and financial projections to understand better where your business is now and where it is headed.
• Review the results Compare your forecast against your actual sales and expenses each month to stay accountable and uncover new ideas.
• Refine your strategy Adjust your business plan and forecast based on your learnings.

Related: A Few Pointers On The Worst Way To Write A Pitch Deck

Remember, the goal of growth planning isn't just to produce documents that you use once and shelve it. Instead, it helps you build a healthier company that will outlast all the business failure statistics. It's faster than traditional business planning. You can complete an initial one-page plan that covers all of the necessary details about your business in just thirty minutes. You can revise your plan and strategy in minutes instead of hours. This means that your plan stays up-to-date and useful for identifying potential problems and opportunities. It's concise. Because growth planning requires you to document your ideas with limited text, your ideas are distilled to their essence.

More in Write Your Business Plan

Section 1: the foundation of a business plan, section 2: putting your business plan to work, section 3: selling your product and team, section 4: marketing your business plan, section 5: organizing operations and finances, section 6: getting your business plan to investors.

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• PITCH DECK DESIGN
• PITCH REVIEW & COACHING
• PITCH DECK PORTFOLIO
• CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
• STARTUP PITCH DECK
• FUND PITCH DECK
• TV / MOVIE PITCH DECK
• LOGO & BRANDING
• SALES & MARKETING COLLATERAL
• PRESENTATION DESIGN
• STRATEGIC ADVISORY
• LOGO PORTFOLIO
• VIDEO PORTFOLIO
• PRESENTATION PORTFOLIO
• CLIENT PITCH DECK
• STARTUP FUNDING GUIDE
• IS YOUR BUSINESS FUNDABLE?
• TOP FOUNDER MISTAKES
• PITCH DECK QUICK START GUIDE
• PITCH DECK TEMPLATE
• DESIGN RESOURCE TOOLKIT
• WORKSHOPS & COURSES
• VENTURE CAPITALIST NEAR ME
• STARTUP EVENTS NEAR ME
• ACCELERATORS NEAR ME
• THE IGNITE BLOG

• by Stacie Sterren
• What is a Pitch Deck

Whether you’re a first time founder, a hopeful entrepreneur or a serial startup guru, you’ve likely pondered “What is the difference between a pitch deck and a business plan?” Which one came first? Why would you use a pitch deck over a business plan? Or, why would you use a business plan over a pitch deck? Are business plans archaic? Is a pitch deck just a pretty business plan? What works best for your startup? And at what time? Do you even need either one? These are important questions. Especially when your time is limited as you are building and growing your company.

Before we can answer these questions, let’s talk about what a pitch deck and a business plan are.

THE BUSINESS PITCH DECK

A pitch deck is a presentation that contains 10-20 slides. The pitch deck presentation is either sent to investors as a pdf to get them interested in taking a meeting with the entrepreneur, or used as a visual aid during a live presentation to either investors or other audiences like pitch competitions. Sometimes pitch decks are used for both.

A pitch deck is meant to share information about your business. Who does it serve and why, the size of the market, your special sauce and how you will win in that space. It lays out clear go to market strategies, and delves into some detail on future opportunities. It relies on your research of your industry and understanding of your business’ plan for launch and growth. The pitch deck helps an investor see where you are, where you are going and enables them to decide if they want to help you get there. The goal of a pitch deck is to score an in-person meeting or to kick off the conversation with an investor about joining your funding round.

• 10-20 slides
• Highly Visual
• Used to Get Investors Attention

THE BUSINESS PLAN

A business plan is a fully researched 10-100 page document. The document is used to store and convey in detail your business’ plans for the next 1,3, 5 years. The business plan lays out the research you’ve done in your industry and competitors. It discusses your sales, marketing, and operational plans. It takes into account your financial analysis, assumptions on growth and success, and lays out a map of where your company will be and how it will get there.

The business plan goes into detail on the management team and what unique skills they bring to the table. The document usually includes a significant number of charts, depictions and pictures. But it relies heavily on text to convey the information. The business plan is used as a document that is shared with potential investors for them to use as a reference point when deciding whether or not to invest in your company. It is often used in a due diligence step in the funding process. The goal of a business plan is to lead you and your team members down the path of success over the next few years, and to show an investor how you plan to be successful with their investment.

• 10-100 Pages
• Highly Text-Based
• Used to Get Investor Buy-in

Which Came First, the Pitch Deck or the Business Plan?

The business plan is a longstanding document that has been been used in the building and planning and funding of businesses for quite some time. Possibly as long as  businesses  have been a thing. If you can believe that. It is a basic document really, it is the plan for the enterprise which you are setting out on.

To ensure that you are successful, you should carefully plan how you will be successful, and make those decisions based on thorough research. You need to understand your customers and their problems as well as your competitors and their weaknesses. Before the existence of Venture Capital firms and other now widely available forms of equity funding, banks gave out loans to businesses to help them get started. But in order to choose who to give the loans to, they needed to make sure that they would be able to pay those loans back. A business plan was required to convey to the banker the viability of the venture. It has been a staple ever since. Banks still require business plans for loan applications today. Some request or accept pitch decks too, but not usually instead of the business plan.

It is not clear who put together the very first pitch deck, or since exactly when investors have been looking for the pitch deck, but we can deduce a few things from history. Venture Capital firms really started to gain traction as a viable source of funding during or right before the tech boom of the 90’s. They played a big role in bank-rolling the launch and growth of many 90’s startup companies. Back then, it took a lot of capital to set up the infrastructure needed to start a large tech company. Websites needed to be built and coded, infrastructure (like servers, mainframes & networking components). They needed to be purchased and set up and run and maintained.

But, online companies looked nothing like traditional businesses. Like a restaurant or a manufacturer–it was all a little too uncertain and risky for banks to give out loans. So, venture capitalists and angel investors filled the void. They offered funding in exchange for equity.

The Beginning of the Business Pitch Deck

I imagine in the beginning these groups read the full business plans of potential deals. But as the venture capitalists got more busy, received more applications, and more and more founders looked to equity instead of debt financing, they likely couldn’t read a whole business plan for every applicant. One pagers and executive summaries helped, but even these were tiresome text-heavy documents to read through all day long. There was a need for a shorty, easier to digest document.

In comes graphic design tools for the masses. Microsoft PowerPoint was invented in 1987, and grew in it’s popularity through the 90’s. The appeal of PowerPoint was that you could use it to project a visual aid as you spoke to your audience. This meant they could see additional information, charts and pictures that provided more context to your speech. So founders started using these technologies when pitching to investor during those initial meetings.

Somewhere along the line, the ease and visual nature of the Slide Deck merged with the long-form business plan. And founders started sending visual documents created in PowerPoint and other slide deck design tools to investors before they met them.

So which came first the pitch deck or the business plan? The pitch deck is a child of the business plan. The business plan came first, then the pitch deck.

Why You May Not Need Both a Pitch Deck and a Business Plan

All of that said, today you may not need both a pitch deck and a business plan. It depends on your business stage and what your goals are. A business plan is a thorough document that contains “the plan” itself. If you have “the plan” itself written down in a variety of documents or sources of information than you may not need an official business plan document in the traditional sense. And at least not a 100 page one.

If you are looking to work with a pitch deck designer, it may be advantageous to have a full or partial business plan. Your pitch deck designer will most likely not assist you with business decisions and strategies. Rather, they will work with you–the expert–to tell your plan, ensure it is compelling to the investor audience, and well designed and visually appealing. You need to have a concept. And likely need to have done some level of research into your industry and competitors to work with a designer on your deck. But, you needed that anyway just to be an effective founder.

When You Need a Business Plan and Not a Pitch Deck

• If Seeking Debt Financing: Banks still review business plans, so you will need a business plan if you’re looking to get any kind of loan from a bank.
• When Raising Over $500K: If you’re raising a lot of money, you better have a plan for what you’re going to do with it. Investors will be doing due diligence, be prepared.
• When You Have Co-founders / Co-owners: When you have several cooks in the kitchen, it is helpful to have a written and agreed upon plan to make sure everyone stays on track and executes the way you intended. This should be a living document that is updated over time and as things change.

When You Need a Pitch Deck and Not a Business Plan

• When You are Seeking Equity Funding: If you’re looking for funding from venture capitalists, angel investors or saavy friends and family, you need a clear pitch deck.
• If You’re Networking with Investors: Not ready to get investment now, but have the opportunity to network with investors? You should have a pitch deck ready. First impressions are important, especially when building influential relationships.
• When Your Pitch in a Competition: In the startup community there are a lot of pitch events and competitions designed to give founders a chance to get exposure and practice pitching their company. You definitely need a pitch deck.
• When You Are Seeking CoFounders: If you’re looking for cofounders, there is no better way to convey to them your concept, and the value you can bring to the table than through a pitch deck.
• When You Apply to an Accelerator: Many accelerators require a pitch deck in order to apply. They use the deck to evaluate your company and decide whether or not you should join the next cohort.

Which is More Important, the Pitch Deck or the Business Plan?

In can be argued that the pitch deck is more important than the business plan, because it is likely to actually be seen by others. If you don’t have a good business pitch deck, you won’t get the opportunity to talk in more detail with potential investors. You won’t excite and evangelize the startup community and your early team around the company’s growth. And, it may ruin your ability to connect with key mentors and partners that could catapult your startup business.

That said, with no plan, the pitch deck will not work. Investors see pitches day-in and day-out. They can sense a snake-oil salesman, an impossible tech product, and an unprepared founder from a mile away. If you don’t know your stuff, then the best pitch may help you get the meeting, but it won’t help you get funding. But today, the plan doesn’t have to be in the form of a traditional text-based business plan.

I hope this has helped you to better evaluate the differences between pitch decks and business plans. And help why you might choose to develop one or each of them for your startup. If you’re building your pitch deck, I strongly encourage you to work with pitch deck experts. We  evaluated different options for getting your pitch deck designed here (including DIY, all the pros and cons).

Stacie Sterren

Related posts.

What is a Startup Accelerator?

What is traction?

Why You Need More Than One Pitch Deck

Can You Get Funding with a Bad Pitch Deck if your Startup is Good Enough?

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Why you should use a pitch deck?

A pitch deck is an effective way to present your startup to potential investors. It should be clear, concise, short, and persuasive. This document is used to convince potential investors about a startup idea, show how your product or service works, and the main benefits for potential customers in your target market. A good presentation is often the difference between failed ventures and successful startups.

Your presentation must be compelling enough to persuade potential investors to invest in your company. To do this, you need to provide convincing information demonstrating the value of your proposed investment. In addition to the crucial components of your business plan, it is equally important to showcase your ability to execute those plans with precision and display your growth potential within the target market.

What makes a great presentation?

A good slide deck should be engaging, informative, and entertaining. It should also have a clear message with just enough information to ensure people understand it.

The most important thing to remember when creating a presentation is to keep it simple. If you try to cram too many ideas into one slide, you risk losing your audience’s attention. Focus on telling a story instead of through images and text.

Get ready to pitch with confidence, knowing you have the perfect presentation that's sure to impress potential investors, partners, or new customers. With over  100 startup pitch deck templates  from some of the most successful venture-backed startups, you can easily customize yours to build a strong story and communicate your uniqueness. Each pitch deck includes easy-to-edit content blocks, making it super simple for you to tailor each slide to your specific needs so you can make an impactful pitch in no time!

What is a Startup Pitch?

A  startup pitch  is a concise, persuasive presentation of a new business idea, typically given to potential investors, customers, or partners. It is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to showcase their vision, unique value proposition, and growth potential. A great pitch should communicate the problem the startup is solving, the market opportunity, the team's expertise, and the execution plan. It should also highlight the competitive advantage and the potential return on investment for the investors. A well-crafted pitch can attract the attention and interest of investors, which could lead to funding, partnerships, or other opportunities to grow the business. Overall, a successful startup pitch requires a deep understanding of the target market opportunities, the audience, and the business model, as well as excellent communication and storytelling skills.

Most common Pitch Deck Format

A pitch deck typically follows a specific format that includes the essential elements listed below. The presentation should be concise, visually appealing, and easy to understand. Each slide should focus on a single idea and use images and graphics to convey your message effectively.

What's the standard structure of a Pitch Deck?

Based on the most successful startup pitch deck templates, your deck should include the following elements:

• Cover slide:  This one should include your business name, logo, and tagline.
• Problem statement:  Describe the problem your business is solving and why it's important.
• Solution:  Explain how your product or service solves the problem.
• Business model:  Describe how your business will make money.
• Market analysis:  Outline the size of the target market and the potential customers.
• Competitive analysis:  Describe your competition and how your business is different.
• Marketing and sales:  Outline your marketing and sales strategies.
• Financials:  Provide financial projections for your business, including revenue, expenses, and funding requirements.
• Team:  Highlight the key members of your team and their qualifications.
• Ask:  Clearly state how much funding you seek and what you plan to do with the funds.

Can I Create a Pitch Deck with PowerPoint?

Yes, you can create a successful pitch deck using PowerPoint. PowerPoint is a popular tool for creating PowerPoint pitch deck, pitch deck use high-quality images, clear and concise language, and a consistent design throughout the presentation.

How Do You Layout a Pitch Deck presentation?

The order of slides in a pitch deck depends on your goal and company stage. When laying out your pitch deck, consider the following tips:

• Start with an attention-grabbing cover that includes your business name and logo.
• Use a consistent design throughout the presentation, including font type, color scheme, and layout.
• Use high-quality images and graphics to support your message.
• Keep the text on each slide to a minimum and use bullet points to convey key information.
• Make sure your presentation is easy to follow and understand, even for those who are not familiar with your industry or business.

How Many Slides Is a Pitch Deck?

A pitch deck presentation typically consists of 10-20 slides, depending on the complexity of your business idea and the amount of information you need to convey. The most important thing is to keep your presentation concise and focused on the essential elements of your business plan.

Use Slidebean pitch deck builder and presentation templates

Slidebean makes creating presentations easy. We believe that great design should be available for everyone. Simply choose a pre-designed slide deck template and customize it however you'd like. Our allows you to create your own unique theme if none of ours suits your needs. Once you're done editing, just upload your files and start sharing them with friends and colleagues. We also provide  design services  if that's something you need.

Pitch Deck presentation insights

Our Presentation Insights let your track individual viewer activity on your slides and helps you determine which ones they saw, how much time they spent on each one and what percentage of the presentation they engaged with. By knowing an investor's activity on your pitch deck, you could have a crucial advantage to determine their interest in your business!

Startup Pitch Deck Examples: Customizable Template redesigned by Slidebean

We  redesigned the presentation that Airbnb  used back in 2009 to raise their first $600,000 round and turned it into a fill-in-the-blank template. It's become a reference for startups worldwide because of it's simple, straightforward approach to the business model and market opportunities.

Our  Investor deck template  by  500 Startups  is truly the Silicon Valley deck standard. Originally published by the program Founders, this presentation outline serves as a perfect storytelling canvas for a startup, from problem to traction.

Slidebean's Pitch Deck Services

If you're looking for a more professional and polished pitch presentation, consider using Slidebean's pitch deck services. Slidebean offers a range of pitch deck services, including custom design, content creation, and pitch deck presentations coaching. With Slidebean, you can create a high-quality pitch deck that stands out from the competition and helps you raise funding for your business.

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Pitch Deck vs Business Plan: Differences and Which to Use

Table of Contents

Have you ever spent time deciding between creating a pitch deck vs business plan? For startups and new business owners, where every minute counts, it’s crucial to concentrate on activities that deliver the most significant impact.

This blog article demystifies the pitch deck vs business plan, whether you aim to attract investors, secure a loan, or win over partners and clients. We’ll start with pitch decks, followed by business plans, with the goal of helping you choose wisely – so you can spend less time on paperwork and more time building your business.

1. What is a pitch deck?

A pitch deck is a slideshow that concisely conveys your business idea, market opportunity, and value proposition in a presentation format. Also known as a business or investor deck, they are used to quickly present business ideas, products, or services in 10 to 20 slides.

Purpose of a pitch deck

The purpose of a pitch deck is similar to that of an elevator pitch: tell a compelling story to grab the attention of potential investors, partners, or clients.

The goal isn’t to seal a deal on the spot but to spark sufficient interest to secure follow-up meetings and negotiate potential funding.

How long should a pitch deck be?

Your pitch deck should pack a punch, not bore your investors. Aim for 10-20 impactful slides . For complex ideas or specific industries, slightly more might be okay.

The 10/20/30 rule is your friend: make a 10-slide deck that grabs attention. Investors see hundreds of pitch decks a year. Choose quality over quantity – make each slide count!

💡 Related article: How many slides do you need for a 10-minute presentation?

What should be in a pitch deck

Most successful pitch decks follow a similar flow to keep investors hooked. The tried-and-tested 10-slide pitch deck format is a great starting point but be prepared to adjust or add slides for emphasis.

These are the 10 core slides for a pitch deck based on Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule:

• Problem slide
• Solution slide
• Market size and opportunity
• Product/service
• Business model
• Competition
• Financials and key metrics
• Ask (funding needs)

Here are additional slides you may include based on specific business and investor preferences:

• Introduction
• Go-to-market (GTM) slide
• Sales and marketing strategy
• Use of funds
• Exit strategy

💡 Learn more about the 10/20/30 rule: How to create a pitch deck (and the 10 slides you need)

Pitch deck examples

Curious how some tech unicorns have pitched their ideas in the early stages? Here are two examples that have proven successful.

✅ Snapchat pitch deck (2013, Pre-seed)

✅ Tinder pitch deck (2016, Seed)

Examples from Best Pitch Decks

2. What is a business plan?

A business plan is a written document with detailed information that acts as a roadmap for your business. A traditional business plan is a formal document that outlines all aspects of your business, including its goals, strategies, market analysis, operational structure, and financial forecasts for the next 3 to 5 years. Most business plans are created in a Word document or report format, ranging from 10 to hundreds of pages long. 

There are other types of less formal business plans used by startups or for internal alignment:

• Lean startup plan/Lean canvas: Summarizes the value proposition and business model into a single page, with a focus on the problem-solution fit.
• One-page business plan: Fits the essential information of a business into one page. Great for quickly testing an idea’s viability or getting immediate feedback.
• Internal business plan: Less formal, designed for use within an organization — for example, a feasibility business plan, operations plan, strategic, or expansion plan.

Purpose of a business plan

Business plans aren’t just for paperwork – they drive action and results. Think of your business plan as a multi-purpose tool that serves several vital functions:

• Attract investors
• Fundraising or securing loans
• Map your strategy
• Provide a strategic roadmap
• Track business progress or provide a performance benchmark
• Win over partners, talents, and potential hires

Components of a business plan

Business plans don’t have a right or wrong format; only different situations call for other formats. You can mix different plan types to prioritize components that directly support your objectives.

What to include in a traditional business plan:

• Executive summary: A concise overview of your entire business plan, highlighting the most critical points.
• Company description: What your business does, the problem it solves, your target market, and competitive advantages.
• Market analysis: Research data like market size, trends, competitors, and customer demographics.
• Organization and management: The business structure, roles, and experience of key team members.
• Products or services: Details on your offer, including features, benefits, pricing, and any intellectual property considerations.
• Sales and marketing strategy: How you plan to reach your target customers (market) and tactics to promote and drive sales.
• Financial projections: Forecasts of your income, expenses, cash flow, and profitability for the next 1 to 5 years.
• Funding request: If you are fundraising, state the amount, how it will be used, and the terms you offer investors.
• Appendix: Include any supplemental information and documents.

💡 Pro tip: Customize your plan! Add, remove, or rearrange sections to achieve your goals.

How long should a business plan be?

Think about your reader and your goal.  Need a detailed plan for a bank loan? That might be 15-25 pages. Want a quick internal roadmap? A one-page Lean Canvas could work. Consider your industry, who’s reading it, and what you need the plan to do.

💡 Pro tip: Choose quality over quantity. Focus on clarity, regardless of length.

How long does it take to write a business plan?

It can take anything from 20 minutes to 20 weeks. The whole process of creating a business plan can be time-consuming (if opting for a long format), and it can also be quick (for example, the Lean Canvas).

The general advice is: Don’t overthink your first business plan. Start simple, move fast, and build as you grow. Business plans aren’t static, so be prepared to refine and expand your plan as the business evolves.

💡 Pro tip: It’s not uncommon to uncover some challenging sections while writing the plan – the key is to show awareness of these issues and ways to overcome them.

Business plan templates

Not sure where to start? Use these example plans and templates from these reputable sources to get you started: 

• SBA.gov: Write your business plan –  Has the traditional business plan and lean startup business plan templates
• SCORE.org – Has business plan templates for a startup , an established business , and the Business Model Canvas
• Bplans has over 550 business plan examples across multiple industries, which you can use for inspiration.

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3. Pitch deck vs business plan: the differences

Now that you understand pitch decks and business plans, let’s dive into their key differences.

• Pitch decks are short and punchy, designed to grab investors’ attention and get you that crucial meeting.
• Business plans are thorough and detailed documents, perfect for in-depth analysis or large funding requests.

💡 Think of it this way: Pitch decks are the attention-grabbing movie trailers that sell the whole project. Business plans are your complete blueprint.

Both documents can serve you, but understanding their differences helps you select the best tool for attracting investment or charting your company’s path.

4. Do you need a pitch deck or a business plan?

In the past, business plans were the standard document to present a business idea to investors. However, simple business plans and pitch decks are increasingly popular, especially in startups.

Here’s how to choose the right tool for the job:

🎯 Pitches and investor meetings

Pitch decks provide a snapshot of your business or idea’s potential to spark interest and secure future investor meetings.

🎯 Early stages or for idea validation

Use a simple business plan or Lean Canvas, as the format forces you to focus on the core problem you’re solving and the solution.

🎯 Internal roadmap and planning

Formal business plans will aid in longer-term strategic planning, or they can be shorter since they are for internal use.

🎯 Complex business model

Create a thorough business plan with intricate details; short plans and pitch decks wouldn’t cut it for specific industries or complicated business models.

🎯 Fundraising, loans, or traditional financing

Banks, investors, and government-funded grant applications often require a detailed business plan. Whether you seek debt or equity funding, angel investors, VCs, and banks need compelling reasons to support your venture.

💡 Pro tip: You’ll still need a traditional business plan for detailed strategy or significant funding!

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• Don’t need to learn a new software

5. Conclusion

Pitch decks and business plans aren’t simply documents – they’re essential tools for driving your business forward. Now that you know the difference, consider your current needs. Ready to capture investor attention? Start crafting a compelling pitch deck. Need a detailed roadmap? Begin writing a winning business plan. Use the resources in this guide to get started and put your business on the right track toward success!

When should you write a business plan?

According to research by Harvard Business Review , between six and 12 months after deciding to start a business. For various reasons, crafting a comprehensive business plan either earlier or later doesn’t necessarily impact business success:

• Most startups pivot from their original ideas and plans.
• The time needed to create a thorough plan is better spent on other business activities (at least initially).
• Creating an elaborate plan may distract entrepreneurs from seeing opportunities in real time and responding to real customers’ needs.

Planning is valuable, and entrepreneurs who plan are more likely to start a successful business. However, you don’t need a complex business plan to begin working on your business. It’s okay to create a plan early on but remember; it’s more about being strategic with your time than trying to forecast the future from the start.

What’s the difference between a business plan and a canvas?

They differ in complexity and length. Business plans are longer and more detailed and are typically used to secure funding from investors or financial institutes.

A canvas, Lean Canvas , or business plan canvas, is a 1-page business plan. The Lean Canvas template helps you deconstruct your idea and focus on finding customer problems worth solving without a significant time investment. 

It is popular as a direct replacement for traditional business plans within startups. The canvas can be used for quick and efficient brainstorming of multiple business models in a few hours or less.

How do I turn a business plan into a pitch deck?

Once you’ve done the groundwork of creating a business plan, you can reuse some of the insights, data, and information for a pitch deck. 

• First, extract the core details from the business plan, such as the problem you solve, the solution, the size of the market, team strengths, and financials.
• Translate that information into your chosen pitch deck template (for example, the 10-slide pitch deck ) or use an AI presentation generator tool such as SlidesAI to structure your slides. 
• Add and emphasize visuals. Replace some text with charts, diagrams, and graphs whenever applicable.
• Edit and keep the pitch deck focused and clear. Quality over quantity!
• Get feedback, practice your pitch, and then iterate on the deck until you are ready to show it to investors.

💡 Related article: 5 best free AI pitch deck generators 2024

Is a pitch deck only for investors?

No, while the primary purpose of a pitch deck is to attract funding, it can be adapted for various audiences and goals, such as partnerships, customers (especially enterprise customers), grant applications, startup or pitch competitions, or even for internal alignment within your team.

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Home / Blog / Pitch Deck vs. Business Plan: What is the Difference?

Pitch Deck vs. Business Plan: What is the Difference?

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Deciding between a pitch deck and a business plan for your next fundraiser? In reality, both documents play an important part in your fight for the next round. 

• Research shows that a clear, concise pitch deck can increase the chances of securing an initial meeting with investors by up to 72% .
• A business plan reduces internal confusion by 25% by clearly outlining the goals, strategies, and financial projections, leading to a 30% increase in team collaboration .

Both documents require heavy research and are designed to convince investors to back your venture. However, they accomplish it in different ways.

Having raised over $505M in 2023 for startups with our pitch decks and business plans , we’ll walk you through a detailed Pitch deck vs. Business plan comparison and their role in the fundraising game.

What is the pitch deck?

A pitch deck is a 10-20-slide presentation showcasing the potential of your business idea and startup to investors. Briefly and compellingly, it introduces your company, product, market, business model and overall strategy. 

An effective must showcase your market research, traction to date, and a roadmap to where you want to get. No one-sized pitch deck exists, so you can even pitch someone in the elevator .

Think of it as an introductory sales document designed to pique investor interest and encourage further dialogue.

Components of a pitch deck:

• Introduction: Brief overview of your company and its purpose.
• Problem Statement: Clearly define the problem your product or service solves.
• Solution: Describe your product or service and how it addresses the problem.
• Market Opportunity: Showcase the potential market size and target audience.
• Business Model: Explain how your company plans to generate revenue.
• Traction: Highlight any milestones, achievements, or user statistics.
• Market Strategies: Outline your marketing and sales approaches.
• Competitive Analysis: Identify and analyze your competitors.
• Team: Introduce key team members and their roles.
• Financial Projections: Present forecasts for revenue, expenses, and profitability.
• Ask/Investment: Clearly state what you’re seeking from potential investors.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a 30-100-page document showcasing an in-depth analysis of your business idea to potential investors to convince them to invest. It elaborates on things like:

• Your sales, marketing, and operational plans for growth
• Where your company will be in the next 1,3 or 5 years
• A step-by-step plan of how you’ll get there.

The business plan is the first part of the investor’s due diligence process before finalizing the deal. It lays out more detailed research on your industry and competitors, contains many charts, graphs, and pictures, and is very text-heavy. 

Think of it as a comprehensive blueprint of your venture designed to persuade interested investors to pull the trigger and invest.

Components of a business plan:

• Executive Summary: A brief business overview, goals, and plans.
• Company Description: Details about your business, mission, vision, and structure.
• Market Analysis: Research your industry, market, and competitors.
• Organization and Management: Information about your team, structure, and key personnel.
• Product or Service Line: Description of your offer and its benefits.
• Marketing and Sales: Your strategies for promoting and selling your product or service.
• Funding Request: If you seek funding, outline your financial needs.
• Financial Projections: Projected financial statements, like income statements and balance sheets.
• Appendix: Additional supporting documents, charts, graphs, etc.

What are the differences between a pitch deck and a business plan?

While the business plan and pitch deck give a view of your venture, they serve different goals, reach different audiences, and build the story differently. These distinctions manifest in the length, format, target audiences, and funding stages. 

Length and Format

• Pitch Deck:

Brief and eye-catching 10-20 slides with engaging visuals, like images, charts, and minimal text. Generally highlights critical points, like product or service, target market, business model, and future potential.

• Business Plan:  

Detailed 30-100 page text-heavy document armed with visuals like charts and graphs. It typically emphasizes projected revenue, expenses, and profitability through financial statements and forecasts. The document details strategies for sales, marketing, operations, and human resources, along with a description of team members’ expertise, experience, contributions to the company’s success, etc.

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Targeted Audience

• Pitch Deck: Investors (initial stages)
• Business Plan: Investors (due diligence), internal team

Stages and Objectives

• Pitch Deck: 1. Shines in early stages: Pre-seed, seed, Series A. 2. Captivates investors: Concisely delivers the problem, solution, market, and team.
• Business Plan: 1. Dominates later stages: Series B and beyond. 2. Secures substantial funding: Demonstrates viability and potential return on investment (ROI).

Frequency of use

• Pitch Deck: 1. High Frequency: Used frequently and repeatedly throughout the fundraising process. You might prepare several variations tailored to different investors or stages of funding. Examples: Initial investor meetings, pitch competitions, and conferences seeking investment opportunities.
• Business Plan: 1. Lower Frequency: Typically used once during the later fundraising stages, specifically during due diligence. 2. Focus: Providing detailed information for investors to thoroughly assess your business’s viability.

Pros and cons: Pitch Deck vs. Business Plan

Advantages:

• Comprehensive: This thoroughness is crucial for investors, lenders, and internal stakeholders.
• Strategically complete: Aids decision-making, resource allocation, and risk management.
• Supportive fundraising: Studies suggest that companies with a well-crafted business plan are 18% more likely to secure funding than those without one.

Disadvantages:

• Time-consuming: Requires potential expertise in areas like financial modelling and market research.
• Outdated quickly: Market dynamics and business strategies can evolve rapidly, necessitating regular updates to the plan to maintain its accuracy and relevance.
• It may not be read: Lack of time and poorly structured info can push away the potential investor.
• Concise and engaging: Studies reveal that audiences lose focus after 10-20 minutes of presentations. Pitch delivers a clear and quick message.
• Easy to adapt and share: Adapting the pitch deck for various audiences and situations is simpler due to its brevity.
• This can lead to meetings: Engaging presentations foster positive connections with potential partners and lay the groundwork for long-lasting collaborations.
• Sometimes limited information: By definition, it does not provide the in-depth financial analysis, operational details, and market research needed for comprehensive due diligence.
• Less suitable for later stages: As funding requirements and investor expectations increase, a pitch deck alone may not be sufficient for securing more significant investments.

Which is more important, the pitch deck or the business plan?

There is no one-size answer; in most cases, you need both. The importance of each depends on your industry and fundraising stage. The pitch deck is crucial early on , but investors scrutinise the business plan for details as you progress . 

The pitch deck is vital for visibility. Without it, you may miss opportunities with investors and hinder connections with mentors and partners essential for your startup’s success.

On the other hand, the business plan is crucial to validate everything you’ve outlined in your pitch deck. Investors can quickly spot unprepared founders or unrealistic propositions. While a compelling pitch may secure a meeting, a thorough plan will convince investors to back your venture.

Important: A well-crafted pitch deck often stems from a strong business plan.

When to use a business plan and not a pitch deck

• If you seek debt financing: Banks rely on business plans, emphasizing their importance for loan applications.
• If you fundraise above $500k: Careful planning is crucial for substantial fundraising. Investors will scrutinize your venture, so be thoroughly prepared.
• If you have cooperative ownership planning: A written plan is essential for co-owners to navigate challenges together, staying true to the initial vision while embracing necessary changes.

When to use a pitch deck and not a business plan

• When attracting equity investment: A concise pitch deck is essential to secure funds from venture capitalists, angel investors, or knowledgeable friends and family.
• When looking for networking with potential investors: Crafting a positive initial impression is paramount.
• For pitching opportunities for founders: Explore pitch competitions in the startup community, seizing opportunities for exposure and honing your pitching abilities with a solid pitch deck.
• When seeking co-founders: If you’re looking for cofounders, there is no better way to convey your concept and the value you can bring to the table than through a pitch deck.
• When applying to accelerator programs: A well-crafted pitch deck is typically required. It is a critical asset in the assessment process for entry into the accelerator’s next cohort.

You need both 

Need to grab attention and lock connections? Use a pitch deck. Need to showcase in-depth details and long-term potential? Use a business plan. Both tools are paramount in navigating your fundraising journey effectively.

Want to know how to craft pitch decks that secure investor interest? Check our pitch deck hub to learn all about it straight from the trenches.

CONTENT WRITER

Hey there! I'm Anastasiia, a Content Writer at Waveup. With my marketing expertise and storytelling magic, I turn complex data and industry insights into your startup playbook, making the business world a breeze for you! At Waveup, I work with brilliant folks who make insights a never-ending flow. So, join, read, and enjoy!

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Business Plan vs Pitch Deck: The Differences and When You Need Them

Starting a new venture involves navigating numerous challenges, one of which is effectively communicating your business vision. Two essential tools in this process are the business plan and the pitch deck. While both are crucial, they serve different purposes and are used at different stages of your startup journey. In this article, we'll explore the key differences between business plans and pitch decks, what each includes, the level of detail required, the creation process, and specific use cases. Understanding these distinctions will help you use each tool to your advantage, ensuring you’re well-prepared to impress investors and guide your business to success.

Business Plans vs Pitch Decks - An Overview

When raising capital for your startup, both business plans and pitch decks are essential tools, each serving distinct purposes.

A business plan is a detailed document outlining your business’s objectives, strategies, market analysis, and financial projections. It provides a comprehensive roadmap for your business, guiding long-term strategic decisions and demonstrating viability to stakeholders such as banks and grant providers.

In contrast, a pitch deck is a concise, visually-driven presentation designed to quickly capture the interest of potential investors. It typically includes key highlights of your business, such as the problem you’re solving, your solution, market opportunity, business model, and team. The goal is to secure meetings and generate interest from venture capitalists, angel investors, and during startup competitions.

Both tools are crucial in fundraising, but they are used at different stages and for different audiences.

Business Plan

A business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines your business's objectives, strategies, market analysis, organizational structure, and financial projections. Its primary purpose is to serve as a detailed roadmap for your business, guiding strategic decisions and demonstrating the viability and potential of your venture to various stakeholders.

The business plan is essential for several key reasons:

• Securing Funding : It provides potential investors, banks, and grant providers with an in-depth understanding of your business model, financial forecasts, and strategic plans, helping to secure necessary funding.
• Strategic Planning: It acts as a guide for internal decision-making, helping founders and management teams align on goals and strategies.
• Attracting Talent: A well-articulated business plan can attract co-founders, key hires, and partner s by clearly outlining the business's vision and potential.

Use cases for a business plan include applying for loans, pitching to investors, and guiding internal strategy development. Each of these scenarios relies on the detailed and structured information that a business plan provides, making it an indispensable tool for startup founders.

Related resource: Startup Business Plan

A pitch deck is a concise, visually-driven presentation designed to quickly capture the interest of potential investors. It typically consists of around 10-20 slides that highlight the key aspects of your business, such as the problem you’re solving, your solution, market opportunity, business model, and team.

The primary purpose of a pitch deck is to provide a snapshot of your business that is engaging and easy to understand, aiming to secure meetings and generate interest from potential investors. Unlike the comprehensive nature of a business plan, a pitch deck is meant to be high-level and visually appealing, making it an effective tool for initial presentations.

Use cases for a pitch deck include:

• Investor Meetings: Pitching to venture capitalists and angel investors to secure funding.
• Startup Competitions: Presenting at demo days and competitions to gain exposure and interest.
• Partnership Discussions: Engaging potential partners and stakeholders by providing a clear and compelling overview of your business.

The pitch deck serves several important functions:

• Generating Interest: It is designed to grab the attention of venture capitalists, angel investors, and other stakeholders, encouraging them to seek more detailed information.
• Communicating Vision: The pitch deck helps convey your business idea succinctly, showcasing the problem you’re solving, your solution, and your unique selling points.
• Facilitating Meetings: A compelling pitch deck can lead to follow-up meetings, providing opportunities to delve deeper into your business plan and financials.

Related resource: Building Your Pitch Deck

What is Included in Each One

Understanding the structure and key components of business plans and pitch decks is crucial for effectively using each tool in your fundraising efforts.

A detailed and comprehensive business plan covers elements such as market analysis, financial projections, and strategic planning. In contrast, a pitch deck is concise and visually engaging, highlighting key aspects like the problem you’re solving, your solution, and your business model.

This section will provide an overview of what to include in each, highlighting the differences to help you tailor them to your needs.

A business plan is a detailed and comprehensive document that covers various aspects of your business. Key components typically include :

• Executive Summary: A brief overview of your business, including your mission statement, product or service offering, and basic information about your company’s leadership, employees, and location.
• Company Description: Detailed information about your business, including the problems you’re solving, your target market, and what makes your business unique.
• Market Analysis: An examination of your industry, market size, expected growth, and competitive landscape.
• Organization and Management: An outline of your business’s organizational structure, details about the ownership, and profiles of your management team.
• Products or Services Line: Detailed descriptions of your products or services, including the lifecycle of each product, and how they benefit your customers.
• Marketing and Sales Strategy: Your plan for reaching your target market, including pricing, advertising, and sales strategies.
• Funding Request: If you’re seeking funding, this section outlines your current funding requirements, future funding requirements over the next five years, and how you intend to use the funds you receive.
• Financial Projections: Detailed financial forecasts, including income statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets for the next three to five years.
• Appendix: An optional section that includes resumes, permits, lease agreements, legal documentation, and other pertinent information.

A pitch deck is a more concise and visual presentation focusing on highlighting your business's key aspects. Key components typically include :

• Title Slide: The name of your business and a tagline or short mission statement.
• Problem Statement: A description of the problem your business aims to solve.
• Solution: An overview of your product or service and how it addresses the problem.
• Market Opportunity: Information on your target market and the potential market size.
• Business Model: An explanation of how your business will make money.
• Traction: Evidence of your business’s progress and momentum, such as sales figures, customer testimonials, or user growth metrics.
• Competition: An analysis of your competitors and your competitive advantages.
• Go-to-Market Strategy: Your plan for attracting and retaining customers.
• Financials: High-level financial projections and key metrics.
• Team: Information about your founding team and key advisors.
• Use of Funds: How you plan to use the investment you’re seeking.
• Closing Slide: A summary of your pitch and a call to action, often including your contact information.

Related resource: Key Slides In Your Pitch Deck

Each of these components plays a crucial role in communicating the essential aspects of your business to different audiences. While the business plan is thorough and detailed, the pitch deck is designed to be engaging and to the point, helping you quickly capture the interest of potential investors.

What Level of Detail is Needed for Each One?

Business plans and pitch decks differ significantly in the level of detail they require. Business plans are comprehensive and detailed, covering strategic projections and in-depth analyses. In contrast, pitch decks are high-level, focusing on engaging visuals and key highlights to quickly capture investor interest.

A business plan requires a high level of detail to comprehensively outline your business’s strategic vision, operational structure, and financial projections. Each component must be thoroughly developed to provide a clear roadmap for the business and demonstrate its potential to stakeholders. Here's a breakdown of the required level of detail for each key component:

• Executive Summary: This section should offer a concise yet comprehensive snapshot of your business, including your mission statement, the products or services you offer, and basic company information such as leadership, employees, and location. While brief, it should be compelling enough to attract further interest.
• Company Description: This part should delve deeply into your business, explaining the problems you're solving, your target market, and what makes your business unique. It should provide a clear picture of your business’s purpose and the value it offers to customers.
• Market Analysis: This section should include in-depth research on your industry, including market size, expected growth, and trends. A detailed competitive analysis is also crucial, highlighting your competitors' strengths and weaknesses and how you plan to differentiate your business.
• Organization and Management: Provide detailed profiles of your management team, including their backgrounds, expertise, and roles within the company. An organizational structure chart can be helpful here, showing how different roles and departments interrelate.
• Products or Services Line: Offer detailed descriptions of your products or services, including their lifecycle, development stages, and benefits to customers. Explain how your offerings meet the needs of your target market and any plans for future development or expansion.
• Marketing and Sales Strategy: This section should outline your strategies for reaching your target market, including pricing models, advertising plans, sales tactics, and distribution channels. Be specific about how you will attract and retain customers, including any partnerships or collaborations.
• Funding Request: If you are seeking funding, clearly outline your current and future funding needs, specifying how much you need, how you plan to use the funds, and any future funding requirements over the next five years. Provide a clear plan for how the funds will help achieve your business goals.
• Financial Projections: Provide detailed financial forecasts, including income statements, cash flow projections, and balance sheets for at least the next three to five years. This section should demonstrate your business’s financial viability and growth potential, with assumptions clearly stated.
• Appendix: Include any additional documents that support your business plan, such as resumes, permits, legal documentation, market research data, and any other relevant materials. The appendix should provide supporting evidence for the claims and projections made in your business plan.

Each of these components should be well-researched and thoroughly explained, offering a clear and detailed picture of your business and its potential. A comprehensive business plan not only helps in securing funding but also guides strategic decision-making and helps attract key partners and talent.

A pitch deck requires a concise yet engaging level of detail to capture the interest of potential investors and stakeholders effectively. Each component should be clear, visually appealing, and focus on the key highlights of your business. Here’s an outline of the necessary components and the level of detail required:

• Title Slide: Include your business name, logo, and a brief tagline or mission statement. This slide should set the tone and provide a quick grasp of your business identity.
• Problem Statement: Clearly and succinctly describe the problem your business aims to solve. Use visuals or anecdotes to illustrate the problem’s significance and relevance to your target market.
• Solution: Provide an overview of your product or service and explain how it addresses the problem. Highlight the unique aspects of your solution and how it stands out from existing alternatives.
• Market Opportunity: Present key information about your target market, including market size, growth potential, and trends. Use charts or graphs to make the data visually compelling and easy to understand.
• Business Model: Explain how your business will make money. Include details on your revenue streams, pricing strategy, and any monetization plans. Keep it straightforward but comprehensive enough to show viability.
• Traction: Highlight your business’s progress and milestones. This could include sales figures, user growth, partnerships, or any significant achievements. Use visuals like charts or graphs to showcase your momentum.
• Competition: Provide a brief analysis of your competitors and articulate your competitive advantages. Use a comparison chart to highlight how your business outperforms or differentiates from others in the market.
• Go-to-Market Strategy: Outline your plan for attracting and retaining customers. Include marketing and sales strategies, distribution channels, and any partnerships that will help you reach your target market effectively.
• Financials: Summarize your key financial projections and metrics. Include revenue forecasts, profit margins, and break-even analysis. Use simple charts or graphs to make the data accessible and impactful.
• Team: Introduce your founding team and key advisors. Highlight their relevant experience and roles within the company. Use photos and brief bios to humanize your team and build credibility.
• Use of Funds: Explain how you plan to use the investment you’re seeking. Provide a clear and specific breakdown of how the funds will be allocated to drive growth and achieve your business goals.
• Closing Slide: Summarize your pitch and include a call to action. Provide your contact information and invite investors to follow up for more detailed discussions.

Each component should be crafted to deliver maximum impact with minimal text, using visuals to convey key points effectively. The goal is to engage your audience, provide a compelling snapshot of your business, and secure further interest or meetings.

What Does It Take to Create Each One?

Creating a business plan and a pitch deck requires different approaches due to their distinct design, data, and storytelling requirements. Understanding the process for building each will help you allocate the necessary resources and time effectively.

Building a business plan is a detailed and collaborative effort that involves:

• Extensive Research: In-depth market analysis, competitive landscape assessment, and financial forecasting.
• Cross-Department Collaboration: Input from finance, marketing, operations, and management teams to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness.
• Detailed Documentation: Crafting a thorough narrative with strategic projections and detailed analyses.

The process is time-intensive, typically taking several weeks to a few months, depending on the business complexity and data availability.

Creating a pitch deck is a more streamlined process that emphasizes:

• High-Level Research: Gathering essential data on market size, competition, and key financial metrics.
• Visual Design: Collaborating with designers to create engaging and visually appealing slides or using templates that make designing easier such as canva or pitch .
• Concise Storytelling: Developing a compelling, succinct narrative highlighting the business’s value proposition and growth potential.

This process is quicker, usually taking a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on the need for iterations and design work. Understanding these differences ensures you allocate the right resources and time for each document, aligning with their specific purposes and audiences.

Use Cases for Business Plans and Pitch Decks

Understanding when to use a business plan versus a pitch deck is crucial for effectively communicating your business vision and securing stakeholder support. Here are specific situations where each document would be most effective.

• Securing Bank Loans: A detailed business plan is essential when applying for a bank loan . It provides lenders with comprehensive information about your business model, financial projections, and market analysis, demonstrating your ability to repay the loan and manage financial responsibilities effectively.
• Internal Strategic Planning: A business plan guides internal decision-making and strategic planning . It helps align the management team on long-term goals, operational strategies, and resource allocation, ensuring everyone is working towards the same objectives.
• Attracting Key Hires and Partners: A well-structured business plan can attract top talent and potential business partners by clearly outlining the business’s vision, growth potential, and strategic direction. It provides a detailed understanding of the company’s mission and future prospects, making it an attractive opportunity for skilled professionals and collaborators.
• Investor Meetings: A pitch deck is perfect for pitching to venture capitalists and angel investors. Its concise, visually engaging format quickly captures the interest of potential investors, providing an overview of your business, the problem you’re solving, and your market opportunity, leading to follow-up meetings and deeper discussions.
• Startup Competitions: During startup competitions and demo days, a pitch deck is essential. It succinctly presents your business idea, traction, and competitive edge, helping you stand out in a crowded field and attract potential investors or partners who attend these events.
• Initial Partnership Discussions: When initiating discussions with potential partners, a pitch deck effectively communicates your business’s value proposition and strategic fit. It offers a compelling snapshot of your business, encouraging partners to explore collaboration opportunities further.

By understanding these use cases, you can strategically utilize business plans and pitch decks to engage different audiences and achieve your business objectives effectively.

Tailor Your Business Plan and Pitch Decks to Your Needs with Visible

Both business plans and pitch decks are essential tools for startup founders, each serving distinct purposes and requiring different levels of detail. A business plan provides a comprehensive roadmap for strategic planning and securing funding, while a pitch deck is a concise, visually engaging presentation designed to capture investor interest quickly.

Share your pitch deck confidently with Visible, a purpose-built platform for fundraising. Our pitch deck sharing tool is completely integrated with our fundraising CRM and investor updates platform. Founders can also leverage their brand by hosting decks from their own domain and highlighting brand colors.

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