Some big events in the startup world get entrepreneurs excited. Startup week, product hunt launch, and of course, crowdfunding time! While it’s important to focus on every step along the way, there is always one event that kicks it into high gear. The main reason for this excitement is all the media attention you’ll get. Not only will you be Liked, commented on, and shared by thousands of people, but reporters from the likes of TechCrunch, Forbes, Fast Company, and many others are going to write about you. That’s where your pitch deck comes in! You’ll need a great presentation that explains what problem your company is solving, along with the details about how you’ll take on billion-dollar competitors.
You’re probably wondering how to go about building your pitch deck? Never fear. We’re here to help! There are so many great articles already out there that you could easily lose hours browsing through them. We’ve broken down the articles into the do’s and don’ts to simplify matters for ourselves. With these in mind, putting together pitch deck examples that will wow your audience should be much easier!
The Do’s
Here are some great tips to help you when crafting your pitch deck.
1. Show the problem/solution relationship in your pitch deck template
Your audience needs to understand how your product or solution will solve their problems before they can care about what you’re doing. Don’t get too technical here. Try using images of people using your product and explaining how it will solve their problems.
2. Get to the point and tell a story
Don’t try to cram everything about your company into your pitch deck. Pick out the most important points and focus on them. Remember, brevity is key! If you’re having trouble figuring out what those important points are, then go back to the drawing board. Look over your product, blog posts, or customer feedback. You’ll be able to find common patterns that people keep responding to!
3. Pictures say more than words in your presentation deck
Your audience is busy, and they don’t have time for dense walls of text. Use compelling images instead! If you’re still having trouble, hire a designer to make your deck look extra slick.
4. Visualize data for impact
When you’re trying to explain how big an opportunity is or how quickly your solution is growing, this should be done with data visualization. These images use bars, line graphs, pie charts, etc., to show information. You can use Venngage’s graph maker to make these visual aids.
The Don’ts
Here’s a list of things to avoid when putting together your pitch deck.
1. Jargon and industry slang.
Be sure to avoid using jargon or slang terms that may confuse people. Remember, you’re not trying to impress them with your industry knowledge. You’re trying to have a conversation that will lead to an eventual business relationship.
2. Buzzwords in your business pitch example.
Don’t be tempted to throw out buzzwords just because they sound good. They probably do sound good, but there’s also a high chance they don’t mean anything.
3. A picture of you or your team.
This may seem like common sense, but people still do it! Don’t ever put up pictures of yourself or your team, especially when the point is to impress people with the hard work you’ve been putting in. It makes the person feel less special and more like a number.
4. Long paragraphs on your slide deck templates.
This is very similar to “jargon and industry slang” from earlier but worth repeating because it’s still an issue many people have. Keep your sentences short or break them into smaller pieces with bullet points. Don’t use walls of text!
5. Asking for an investment.
When you’re putting together your deck, keep in mind that people could be doing different things when they come to meet with you. They may just want to try your product before making any commitments; others might need help with something right away and be willing to pay you for it. Figure out what your audience is looking to get out of the meeting. Tailor your pitch deck to that!
Bottomline
What is a pitch deck? If your business is a tech startup, you have probably been asked to put together a pitch deck at one point or another. All kinds of businesses use pitch decks, but they’re especially important in the tech space. If you want to get funding or have a potential customer take a look at your product, there’s going to need to be something compelling laid out in front of them.
No, a great pitch deck is not going to turn you into the next multi-billion dollar business overnight. But it will help get people interested enough that they just can’t ignore you anymore. You need to convince them that your solution is a must-have and that only you can solve their problems with it.
Featured Image by Photo Mix from Pixabay
