The art of the business pitch is one that takes time to learn and perfect. It’s a critical skill to develop if you want your venture to succeed. Convincing investors to take a chance on your business – especially in early-stage development – is always challenging. On average, an investor spends less than 4 minutes reading a pitch deck received by email. Whether in person, on paper, or on a computer screen, your time in front of potential financial investors is short and needs to be maximized. You only have a few slides in which to tell a clear story of the problem, how your venture is solving it, why you are the right person to provide those answers, and how the world will change for the better as a result.
Strategies for creating a great pitch deck can be inspired by the success of others. Take time to understand the impact of mindfully planning every element of each slide, from the word count to what it says, and perfecting how you convey your passion for your business through data and demonstrations. The goal is to be knowledgeable, polished, and memorable. Let’s look at quick lessons learned from the founders and teams behind 11 unicorn startups:
- Simple slides work. (Gitlab)
- Product demos are key. (Wrapify)
- Simplify charts and annotations. (Coinbase)
- Numbers matter…a lot. (Amazon)
- Don’t forget the summary slide. (Proof)
- Show that you can deliver. (Tesla)
- Tell your story with humor. (Unicorn)
- Personalize your company’s narrative. (Ro)
- Clarify with a call-to-funding slide. (Intercom)
- Make it memorable. (Mars Reel)
- Develop a precise elevator pitch. (Apollo Neuroscience)
Find details on these actionable tips to the perfect pitch in this infographic from EquityNet. The companies featured successfully raised over $21.7 billion using these pitches. Each lesson includes a link to watch the actual pitch or read the referenced pitch deck.
