The ingredients of an investor pitch deck

With growing demands for greener goods, there has never been a more crucial time to develop and launch innovative, green ideas. New Global research, carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), shows a 71% increase in the popularity of internet searches for sustainable goods. If you’re on a mission to help tackle the climate crisis but need support from investors, a pitch deck can drive your business forward and see your ideas land in the market.

What is a pitch deck?

A pitch deck is an opportunity for you to present your company or startup to potential investors, such as venture capitalists or angel investors. Typically, a pitch deck is done as a presentation consisting of slides to illustrate your points. On average, a pitch deck should be between 12 – 14 slides and be as concise as possible.

If you’re looking for tips on how to structure your very own pitch deck, then you’ve come to the right place.

How to structure a pitch deck:

Make sure your slides are clear, look good, and to the point. Graphs and graphics will help keep your audience’s attention. Below are 10 ingredients to consider.

1) Introduction

This is a chance to give a brief overview of your company and the value that you provide for your customers. Remember, first impressions are important.

2) Team

Introduce your team by presenting pictures of team members, job titles and areas of expertise. If your team isn’t completed, then identify key positions that are critical to company growth that are yet to be filled.

3) The problem and opportunity

Use this next slide to identify the problem you are fixing, and who you are fixing it for. Make it clear why solving this problem is important and explain how big the problem is. This slide should grab the audience’s attention and convince them your company has the potential to grow big. Remember, green products are on the rise and are a crucial step towards achieving the UK’s net-zero target by 2050. View this as an opportunity as green products and services are in demand and on the rise.

4) The solution

A popular example of this is Uber’s first pitch deck. Uber clearly identified an industry-related problem by highlighting issues with cabs in 2008 – more noticeably them being inefficient with technology and communication. This then led to the solution of Uber, with this idea solving the presented issues. Uber’s pitch deck was relatively simple yet effective due to the large focus of it being on the solution that Uber provided.

5) The market opportunity

In this slide, expand on who your ideal customer is and how many there are. This slide will show investors the large, untapped market there is for your product and company. It tells a story about the scope and scale of the problem you are solving, the more stats and data you can provide, the better. This slide shows the potential of your idea and shows long term sustainability for what you’re pitching. To conclude this slide, display the market size and growth rates (estimates) – leaving investors fully understanding the potential of your idea.

6) The product

Now is the time to present what your company’s product consists of and why it is unique. This slide will show investors the key features of the product and any major product milestones. Here you can add testimonials and a demo video of the product, if possible.

7) Traction

Investors are looking to invest in a company that will give them a return on their investment, it’s important to display that you will be successful. The best way to show your chance of success is to highlight any success you have had so far. This can be presented through graphs, for instance, if you’ve seen an increase in revenue this can be presented in a bar chart.

If you have limited data to present, today’s numbers can be included instead. For example:

• How many users do you have today?
• What is your current revenue?
• What are your key partnerships?
• Any preorders or letters of intent

8) The competition

Identify your competition and show what gives you a competitive edge over them. Describe how you fit into the competitive landscape and focus on key advantages you have to offer the market. Ask yourself, why would customers pick me?

9) Business Model

In your business model, you will need to clearly explain how your idea will make money. Display which revenue stream will be generating the money and provide a step-by-step plan of where your income will be coming from over the upcoming years. If you expect to generate money from multiple revenue streams, then great – include them too.

10) Investment

This is what all the pitch deck ingredients have been boiling up to, the ask. Here you’ll need to explain why you need the amount of money desired and how you plan to use it. Explain to the investors how their money is being used and highlight how it’ll help you achieve your business goals.

Summary

So, there you have it – the key ingredients of a successful pitch deck. Make sure to thank the investors for their time and leave contact details with them to follow up. View your pitch deck as your story and come ready to share yours.

Our Clean Growth Fast Track programme is tailored to your needs and includes support for getting you investor ready.