What investors ACTUALLY want to see in your PITCH DECK.

Summary

This video script offers essential advice for creating effective pitch presentations, highlighting eight critical slides that should be included. The speaker, a venture capitalist with experience in investing and running startups, emphasizes the importance of a strong opening slide, clearly defining the problem and solution, demonstrating market size and opportunity, showcasing traction, explaining the business model, presenting a capable team, and concluding with a clear ask. The script is a valuable guide for entrepreneurs looking to connect with investors and audiences.

Takeaways

• 😀 The importance of having a clear and concise opening slide with a strong one-liner that connects your brand and logo to your company's purpose.
• 🔎 Emphasize the problem you are solving in your pitch, making sure it is understandable to the audience even if they are not experts in your field.
• 💡 Highlight the solution you offer, using persuasive techniques to convince the audience that your solution is the right one.
• 📈 Demonstrate the size of the market opportunity with clear evidence of growth, using terms like 'Compound Annual Growth Rate' (CAGR) to show market momentum.
• 🚀 Show traction to prove your team's execution capabilities, which can include revenue growth, customer acquisition, or even assembling a strong founding team.
• 💼 Clearly explain the business model, ensuring it is understandable and realistic, avoiding overly complex financial forecasts for early-stage companies.
• 👥 Showcase the team's strengths and how they complement each other, addressing any known weaknesses by demonstrating proactive steps to hire or partner with experts.
• 🤝 End with a strong 'ask', making it clear what you need from the audience, whether it's investment, connections, or expertise.
• 👔 The significance of personal branding in pitches, where the presenter connects their name and identity to the company's logo and mission.
• 📊 A tip for finding market growth data: research competitors' presentations to find pre-existing research and CAGR figures.
• 📝 The presenter's background in venture capitalism and experience in running and selling companies, which adds credibility to the advice given.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is about the eight essential bullet points that should be included in any pitch or presentation.

What is the speaker's background that qualifies them to talk about pitch decks?

The speaker has been a venture capitalist for several years, investing in unicorns like Farfetch and Vestier Collective, runs an investor accelerator in Oslo, Norway, and has experience running and selling their own company.

Why is the opening slide of a presentation important?

The opening slide is important because it often stays on the screen the longest, allowing the audience to associate the startup's branding and logo with what the company does.

What is the purpose of selling the problem in a presentation?

Selling the problem is crucial because it helps the audience understand the importance of the issue being addressed, especially if the audience is not familiar with the specific industry or field.

How should the solution be presented in a pitch?

The solution should be presented in a way that is easy to understand, using simple diagrams or graphics, and should aim to win the audience's support by either being an obvious solution or a surprising, inventive one.

What is the significance of the market size slide in a presentation?

The market size slide is significant because it convinces the audience that the market is growing and presents a market opportunity, which is attractive to investors.

What is the 'hack' suggested for finding compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and momentum figures?

The hack suggested is to research competitors' presentations to find the CAGR and momentum figures they have likely already researched and included in their presentations.

Why is the traction slide important in a startup presentation?

The traction slide is important because it shows momentum and proof of execution by the team, demonstrating that they are making progress over time.

What should be the focus of the business model slide in a pitch?

The focus of the business model slide should be on providing a realistic understanding of how the company plans to monetize within its industry, without getting into overly complex financial forecasts.

Why is the team slide considered so important in a pitch presentation?

The team slide is important because it shows that the team has the right balance and capabilities to solve the problem they are addressing, which is a key factor for investors when considering an investment.

What is the purpose of the 'ask' slide at the end of a presentation?

The purpose of the 'ask' slide is to clearly state what the presenter is seeking from the audience, whether it be investment, connections, or expertise, providing a strong conclusion to the presentation.

Outlines

00:00

📑 Essential Slides for Pitching

The speaker introduces the topic of creating effective pitch presentations, emphasizing the importance of having a specific set of slides. As a venture capitalist with experience in investing and running an investor accelerator, the speaker shares their qualifications and dives straight into the eight key bullet points that should be addressed in any presentation, whether it's a live pitch or a shared presentation. The focus is on clarity and directness, avoiding unnecessary complexity.

05:02

🎯 Capturing Attention with the Opening Slide

The speaker discusses the significance of the opening slide in a pitch, which often remains on screen longer due to the setup time at live events. This slide should feature the company's logo and a concise one-liner that immediately communicates the company's purpose. The goal is to make the audience quickly understand and connect with the company's brand and what it does, potentially filtering the audience to those interested in the specific industry being presented.

10:02

🤝 Selling the Problem, Not Just the Solution

The speaker stresses the importance of selling the problem before presenting the solution, especially to an audience that may not be familiar with the industry specifics. The idea is to make the problem relatable and significant, using simple language that can be understood by a layperson, akin to explaining to a 10-year-old. This approach ensures that the audience grasps the importance of the issue before being introduced to how the company plans to address it.

💡 Presenting the Solution with Persuasion

Building on the problem presented, the speaker explains how to introduce the solution in a way that convinces the audience of its effectiveness. The solution should be presented clearly and understandably, potentially using visual aids like diagrams or graphics. The aim is to win the audience's support by either presenting an obvious solution that they immediately agree with or by surprising them with an inventive approach that they hadn't considered.

📈 Demonstrating Market Opportunity

The speaker highlights the importance of the market opportunity slide, which is designed to show the growing potential of the industry. This slide should include the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to demonstrate the industry's momentum, making it attractive to investors who seek out hot markets. The speaker also suggests a hack for finding these growth figures by researching competitors' presentations, which may have already done the necessary research.

🚀 Showcasing Traction and Team Progress

The speaker discusses the traction slide, which is crucial for demonstrating the startup's momentum and proof of execution by the team. Traction can be shown through revenue or customer growth, but for early-stage startups, it can also be about assembling a strong founding team or conducting early market research. The speaker emphasizes the importance of showing progress over time and using a timeline to illustrate this momentum.

💼 Clarifying the Business Model

The speaker advises on the inclusion of a business model slide, which should be straightforward and avoid overly complex financial forecasts that are unrealistic for early-stage companies. The focus should be on providing a realistic understanding of how the company plans to monetize within its industry, showing that there is a viable business case for profitability in the future.

👥 The Importance of the Team Slide

The speaker emphasizes the significance of the team slide, which should convince the audience that the team is capable of solving the presented problem. For single founders, it's important to acknowledge known weaknesses and demonstrate an active effort to find complementary team members. The speaker suggests that investors often assess whether the team has the balance and magnetism to attract and hire great people.

🤝 Ending with a Strong Ask

The speaker concludes with the importance of ending the presentation with a clear ask, which is the call to action or the conclusion of the pitch. This ask should specify what the audience can do for the startup, whether it's providing connections, expertise, or investment. The speaker warns against forgetting this crucial step, as it defines the next steps for engagement with the audience.

Keywords

💡Pitch

A 'pitch' in the context of this video refers to a presentation made to potential investors or stakeholders with the intent of convincing them about the viability and potential of a business idea. It is a crucial part of the fundraising process for startups. The script emphasizes the importance of having a well-structured pitch with specific slides that address key points such as the problem being solved, the solution offered, and the team behind the idea.

💡Presentation

The term 'presentation' is used to describe the visual and verbal communication of information, typically in a business setting. In the video, the presenter discusses the essential elements that should be included in a presentation to effectively convey the value proposition of a company or product. The script suggests that a good presentation can help in attracting interest and investment.

💡Venture Capitalist

A 'venture capitalist' is an individual or firm that invests in startups and small businesses with high growth potential in exchange for equity. The script mentions the presenter's experience as a venture capitalist, which lends credibility to their advice on creating effective pitch decks and presentations, as they have been on both sides of the investment process.

💡One-Liner

In the script, a 'one-liner' is a concise and catchy phrase that encapsulates the essence of a startup's brand and what it does. It is used in the opening slide of a presentation to quickly and memorably introduce the company and capture the audience's attention. The presenter uses the example of 'Lunacorn, a mobile media brand' to illustrate this concept.

💡Problem

The 'problem' in the context of a pitch refers to the issue or challenge that the startup's product or service aims to address. The script stresses the importance of clearly defining and selling the problem to the audience, regardless of their background, to establish the necessity and relevance of the solution being proposed.

💡Solution

The 'solution' is the method or product that a startup offers to resolve the problem identified. The video emphasizes the need to articulate the solution in a way that is easy to understand, even for those who are not experts in the field. It is a critical component of the pitch, as it directly addresses how the startup plans to tackle the identified problem.

💡Market Size

The 'market size' refers to the potential revenue that can be generated by a product or service within a specific industry. In the script, the presenter advises including a 'market opportunity slide' to demonstrate the growth potential and attractiveness of the market to investors. This helps in convincing the audience that there is a significant demand for the startup's offering.

💡Traction

In the video, 'traction' is used to describe the progress and momentum a startup has made in terms of product development, customer acquisition, or other measurable achievements. It serves as evidence of the team's ability to execute and is a key indicator of a startup's potential for success. The presenter suggests various ways to demonstrate traction, even in the early stages.

💡Business Model

The 'business model' outlines how a company intends to generate revenue and become profitable. The script advises startups to present a simplified version of their business model in their pitch, focusing on the highlights and avoiding overly complex financial forecasts. This helps to convey the viability and profitability potential of the business.

💡Team

The 'team' refers to the group of individuals behind a startup, including founders and key members. The video emphasizes the importance of showcasing the team's skills, experience, and balance in the presentation. The presenter suggests that investors often consider the team's ability to execute and attract talent as a critical factor in their decision to invest.

💡Ask

The 'ask' in a pitch refers to the specific request or proposal made to the audience, such as seeking investment, advice, or connections. The script highlights the importance of concluding the presentation with a clear and strong 'ask,' which serves as the call to action and leaves a lasting impression on the audience.

Highlights

The necessity of having 7 to 8 specific slides in any pitch or presentation.

Introduction to the ninth video in the 100-day YouTube challenge focusing on presentation slides.

The presenter's background as a venture capitalist and experience with unicorn companies.

The importance of the opening slide with a startup's logo and one-liner.

The strategy of selling the problem before introducing the solution in a pitch.

The significance of knowing and conveying the problem's importance to a non-expert audience.

Presenting the solution in a psychologically persuasive manner to win the audience's support.

The importance of illustrating the size of the market and its growth potential.

The use of the term 'CAGR' (Compound Annual Growth Rate) to demonstrate market momentum.

A tip on researching market growth rates by examining competitors' presentations.

The traction slide as evidence of a startup's momentum and proof of execution.

Defining traction for early-stage startups and the importance of showing progress over time.

The business model slide's role in demonstrating a realistic and profitable future for the company.

Advice on simplifying complex business models for live pitches to avoid confusion.

The team slide's importance in convincing investors of the team's capability to solve the problem.

The value of acknowledging and addressing a team's weaknesses to appear well-rounded.

The ask slide as the conclusion of the presentation, clearly stating what the startup seeks from the audience.

The significance of a strong ask at the end of a pitch to leave a lasting impression and prompt action.

Transcripts

hey guys before you create any pitch

presentation you need to have these

eight or it's more like seven eight

specific slides so that's what i'll talk

about today

all right everyone welcome back to my

ninth video in my

100 day youtube challenge and today i

wanted to talk about

some just you know there's so many

videos out there about different slide

presentations and you know

there's everything that you want to know

but um i just wanted to make a very

brief presentation today and talk to you

all about the

eight bullet points that you should try

to answer when making

any presentation whether you're pitching

live or this is just a presentation

you're going to share

with people who are interested in your

company all right you're wondering why

do i know what i'm talking about well

i've been a venture capitalist for

several years in london investing in two

unicorns farfetch and vestier collectif

which only recently became a unicorn

and also i run an investor accelerator

in oslo norway where i taught

investors people who wanted to learn how

to invest in startups

how to invest in startups and also of

course i've run my own company and i've

also sold one so

i think i'm relatively qualified to talk

about what to look for and what to

include in a pitch deck

so today i'm just going to go straight

to it you know no fanciness

straight to the point of the eight

bullet points that you have to answer

when creating a slide presentation all

right let's get into it slide one

uh this is a one that's often forgotten

or overlooked specifically because

uh you know hopefully when the world

unlocks and you're pitching live again

if you're pitching at a demo day or you

know you're at any event and you're sort

of you know pitching in an order of 10

to 20 startups right

one of the slides that stays on the

longest is

the opening slide because you know

you're gonna walk on stage the other

startup walks off stage is that there's

a handover of mics and things like that

so the one slide that often stays on to

the audience seeing

the longest is your opening slide it's

your slide that's your logo

and your one liner so that first slide

is really important because

you want to associate your startups

branding and logo

with what you do right so you need to be

immediately understandable so it's

really important to have a sexy

one-liner i'll give an example of what i

used to have

i'll link it up right now it was

lunacorn

a mobile media brand right so

immediately i'm associating our company

color profile

our logo with what we do so the audience

immediately connects with what you do

and the reason that one's important is

because those investors or those people

in the room who are interested in

that industry um will immediately go i

should listen to this pitch because you

know the last three have been in fintech

and i don't i'm not interested in that

but i'm interested in media and the

lunacorn is a mobile media brand so

better pay attention right so you're

just immediately

kind of filtering the audience to those

who should actually listen

that's number one number two selling the

problem and you won't have to sell the

solution right you've probably heard

this one before but

if you are pitching a medical technology

company

to an audience that aren't medical

people you should sell the problem

because they probably won't understand

the issue

that you're trying to solve right so

it's very important to sell the

importance of the problem because

i've had examples of that where people

pitched presentations to me

and it was a nurse talking about an

incredible product but i'm not a nurse

and i don't understand how

um you know er's emergency rooms work so

they were just pitching to you know a

completely ignorant audience

it was a brilliant idea but it was lost

on all of us right so we didn't invest

and you know we lost out on a great

company because the

pitcher didn't know their audience so

you should always know your audience and

sell the problem to them try to show the

importance of that issue even if it's a

complex one try to break it down in a

way that i would understand so there's a

rule of thumb i always

tell founders and i've always used

myself you're pitching specifically when

you're talking about the problem

to a room of um 10 year olds right so

they have there's not so much of a

language barrier they speak english but

there's a vocabulary limit right so you

can't go in there throwing buzz words

that are like

industry specific you want to go in

there and just be as

obviously understandable as possible all

right number three is the solution right

what are you doing to solve that problem

right now there's a really important

element here which is sort of the the

power of persuasion and the power of yes

uh where you basically psychologically

convince the audience that they're right

because

you sell them a problem and obviously

now you're going to tell them the

solution right so

and it's a win-win because if your

solution is an obvious one

then they're like oh you know why didn't

i think of that okay brilliant for these

guys and girls why are they doing that

and

oh you know now i have questions are

they the team to do it what's their

traction like right

um but even if it's a if it's a solution

that isn't obvious you're gonna surprise

the audience and actually you might put

yourself in the seat of basically

uh you know brilliant people who have

come up with an inventive idea

that's never been thought of so either

way whether your solution is obvious or

not

you're going to win the audience onto

your side so think about that one and

again

same as selling the problem uh sell your

solution in a way that's easy to

understand

um you know whether it's just using

simple diagrams simple

graphics um just remember specifically

when you're pitching live

that people's attentions are mostly

going to be on you

and then visual stimulation on so you

know your presentation should be a

visual stimulating

um support of what you're saying

verbally don't read the same thing as

the presentation

don't put too much content on the

presentation because the presentation

ultimately is meant to be there as a

visual aid

to support what you're saying all right

number four there's a problem you sold

them on

you've convinced them that your solution

is the winning solution but what's the

size of the market so number four

is the size of the market now i call

this the market opportunity slide

because you want to engineer the slide

to convince the audience that your

market is growing um investors invest in

hot teams and hot markets right so

an example of a hot market is fintech or

for example

blockchain those are hot markets in hot

sectors right now the reason

that you can show that they're hot is

their growth rates so there's one

simple term you can include in your

presentation which everyone understands

in the start of industry but

for those who haven't seen it before

it's alienating it's

kaggar let me know in the comments if

you've heard of kaggar before

it's compound annual growth rate what it

means is basically

over the next 10 years your industry is

going to grow at 25 percent

every single year so you know year one

it grows at 25 year two it grows at 25

on last year's 25 so it's compoundingly

growing every single 20 um 25

every single year now this shows that

the market has momentum

it's going in the right direction right

so this is what you want to get people

in the audience

or actually just reading this

presentation to go huh wow this industry

is really growing i should consider

looking at this company and looking at

this industry now there's a hack to this

doing research to try and find out your

numbers because

founders you should always know your

numbers trust me

um i want to ask a few probing questions

specifically when i meet founders and

i'm interested in investing whether from

a vc perspective or a personal

perspective

you should always know your numbers

because if you don't know your numbers

then i'm thinking like have you really

done your diligence your due diligence

into this

this industry do you know how fast it's

growing who are the players

all right so i wanted to share a hack

with you to find the compound annual

growth rate and the momentum figures for

this slide

as i said you might have some

competitors you should know who they are

go on their websites see if you can find

presentations that they've given

previously at different demo days and

events and things like that

a lot of videos online about this and

then they would have probably done the

research

for you they would have found those

facts and figures so before you go and

do

uh you know acres and acres and acres of

research look at your competitors and

see what they've done

all right slide five is the traction

slide now this is a super important one

because what the traction slide

basically is it's a startup buzzword

which i

have in my startup buzzword dictionary

yes i wrote the dictionary on um

startup buzzwords um i'll link the the

shop

below cartoon illustrated book of

startup 23 startup buzzwords

from bootstrapping to exit all you need

to know anyway

so what traction basically means is it's

momentum

and it's proof of execution in your team

and what you've done

so um traction over time is basically

just you know you've

you're growing over time right so the

gold standard of traction is basically

revenue or customer growth right those

are the ultimately the things you're out

there to try and get

but um often i have early stage founders

and come to me and say hey

you know we just started um we don't

have any traction

but no uh it's about phrasing the

traction so

um traction obviously the gold standard

is revenue and customers and month or

month growth week and week

growth and all that kind of stuff right

if you don't have that kind of stuff

then

traction is basically that you've found

the perfect co-founding team that's

traction you said we've gone out there

to find two co-founders

we we knew the known unknowns we knew

that we didn't have a technical

co-founder we knew that we didn't have a

marketing co-founder we went out and

found those people we brought them in

that's traction you put a willing team

together um

traction is also sort of the early stage

conversations with your audience whether

you've

um commissioned a research report

whether you've gone out there and asked

2 000 people or 200 people or just 20

people what they

want in this product area what they're

using so you've gone

that's traction that's showing that you

as a team are executing over time

because ultimately investors invest in

great teams that can execute what's the

best way to show that

a timeline simple timeline so i'll give

an example of a timeline i use in a

presentation two years ago

you know basically you know i want to

see that over a reasonable time frame

that you're showing

momentum that you're you're delivering

on what you're saying you're gonna do in

the long term goal of what you're trying

to sell me to invest in right

and number six the one thing we've

forgotten to mention already is how do

we make money right so the business

model is an important one

if you leave it out people will always

ask that question so i do want to give

you one tip if you're pitching live

and you have a complex business model um

or you know you just find it very

difficult to explain that in an easy way

leave it out because that's the first

question you're going to get when you're

pitching live they're going to be what's

the business model because

then you have engineered the questions

you're going to get which means that

you're ready and prepared with great

answers for them right

don't give me a financial model that's

five years forecast and your company's

one years old

that's all just forecast right so and

just give me a realistic understanding

of what industry

you're in and how you can monetize on

that industry do not give me

a discounted cash flow do not give me a

five year forecast that's broken down

line by line 20 lines on a single slide

when i want to see your financial models

i will ask for it right so

just give me some highlight figures that

you're being ambitious that there is a

business case

here so that's actually what you're

trying to prove in a business model

slide there's a business case here

that eventually after a year two three

four five this company will turn a

profit

and will be a profitable business

basically all right this is probably the

most important slide

uh this slide i've seen people open with

after their one-liner you know logo

pitch

vision slide um is the team

so in this slide it's so important to

show that you are the right team

to solve this problem right now here's a

tip

if you are a single founder trying to

find those people

that's a known unknown something that

investors who are um well educated look

for

is also founders who also know their

weaknesses right instead of pretending

that they know it all right so if you're

a single founder or a double founder who

have the same background

talk about the fact that okay well we

know that we're just two finance majors

or whatever

um so that's why we are trying to hire

people in the fields that we know we

have

a weakness in right one thing you can

convince me of that you're a great

team is that you've already found some

candidates but you obviously need to

raise the money to be able to hire them

right so you've already been active

to find the people uh you know to solve

the known unknowns

because the last question i asked myself

before i make any investment whether

when i was

when i was a vc and it was 10 million or

when it's now personally and it's ten

thousand dollars

i asked myself this question if anyone

is gonna do this

and if anyone's gonna pull this off is

this the team that's gonna pull it off

that's what i ask myself before i make

an investment and even if that's a

single founder i'm like is this

individual enough of a magnet

um has the grit the perseverance to

attract great people and convince them

um or is this team do they have the the

balance that's needed to be

a really strong team to hire and attract

people basically so

um that's my tip on the team and then

the last on the eighth one is obviously

a simple one like the first one it's

sort of a half slide really it's the ask

think about it this is a story right

what's the punch line at the end of it

what's the conclusion

and you've gone through everything from

you know um what's the problem how

you're gonna solve it

why the why the market is growing what

you're gonna capture in

that markets and why you have the right

team to capture that

now you're like okay but what what can

you do for me what's the audience what's

the individual looking or reading that

these slides can do for you

what are you missing do you need to are

you looking for just people

in the audience or reading this to

connect you to

industry um you know are you looking for

expertise are you looking for investment

what can they bring to the table so

always finish with an

ask a strong ask startups forget that

too often they just go thank you so much

goodbye and then connected thank you so

much

you know i'm the team why do startup

founders always pitch in bloody company

branded clothing

because you're connecting a name to a

person so you know whether you're

pitching live

and then afterwards you go in a mingling

session you're connecting hey

we're the guys in the blue tops where

the girls in the in the yellow tops you

know whatever it is you're connecting a

logo and a color to a name

to a person so that people will come up

to you afterwards um

anyway so that's really simply my eight

bullet points you have to include when

making

any presentation whether it's physical

or digital presentation

i hope you enjoyed this one thank you so

much for watching i'll see you in the

next episode

please think about subscribing to our

channel and i'll see you tomorrow in

tomorrow's vlog thank you

oh ciao