I see prices across the board, ranging from $500 to $5000+, and a lot of DIY options like Canva, but I want to make sure I am getting the right message and information across in a really good-looking presentation. Don’t want to miss anything before reaching out to investors.
The content matters far more than the design (obviously it can’t look crap)
I work at a VC with an accelerator attached, we push 10 companies every half year. Key tips 1 ycombinator has a great format for a pitch deck you can find it free online 2 1 point per slide 3 no more than 10 words per slide, don’t go smaller than 20 font size 4 graphs and real numbers 5 pace your story telling
Make sure you have a robust financial model. At our last demo day I was talking to another VC and we both agreed we could pretty much tell everything we need to know about the business from the financial model, we could theoretically bypass the pitch deck - so I interpret that to mean the pitch deck is more like a fly to attract me to ask for the financial model.
Great pointers.
Design-wise, OP could start by DIYing the deck and then hire a PPT designer just to make it look more polished
Thanks for this 🙏
Super interesting. Any chance you could point me in the right direction for how to visually display a financial model? Are they expecting tables, graphs, an equation?
How do you assess pre-revenue companies? Do you just look at other growth metrics in the model, or do you not invest in companies with free products?
exactly! and 10 words per slide is honestly too much!
why say lot word when few word do trick?
if you use too many words, the best investors will _definitely_ pass, says you don’t understand the VIBE
can you give an example of a good financial model?
I have a few, but basically they need to be custom made for each company, theres also a couple of ways to do it. i’m unable to attached in here, but if you DM me i think i can send you some files.
actually skip that, i found this - https://www.s3vc.com/resources/s3-basic-operating-model-template (no affiliation)
the SaaS one looks OK, maybe a bit too complicated - its a good financial model.
but, it lacks the detail of a Financial OPERATING Model
still, it should be sufficent.
I would agree with this. The content/story/messaging comes first, design comes second, and should add value, not distract from the content. So what is it worth to work with someone who can build compelling content? I’ve witnessed many technical founders who really struggle to translate their highly technical innovations into relatable and convincing terms in pitch decks and pitches.