How to Pitch Your Startup

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 $1.85BN+ 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.”

Use the template below to craft your own:

Let's go through each of the items

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?

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:

1. The value of the market your business is in.
2. Your competition, and how you differentiate from them. 
3. The current state of your business or product. 
4. 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:

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:

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:

1. Market Risk: Are you addressing a large, growing market?
2. Product Risk: Do you have a sustainable competitive advantages?
3. Execution Risk: Can your team “pull it off?” 

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:

1. Does it solve a problem?
2. Does it solve that problem in a big market?
3. Is it something that has a competitive or sustainable advantage?
4. 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:

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.

6. Organization

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:

1. The Problem-Solution Deck
2. The Vision-Opportunity Deck
3. The Team Deck
4. 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 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:

1. Cover

Announce your big idea — the one thing you do better than anyone else. You have 10 seconds to engage your audience. Include:

• Title: N/A
• Name of Company
• Website
• 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.

3. Problem

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).

5. Product

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.

9. Growth

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. 

12. Team

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:

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: 

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: 

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:

Mint.com

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: 

3. Bridgr

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.

4. Climber

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.