{"id":16896,"date":"2018-12-17T17:42:05","date_gmt":"2018-12-18T01:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/?p=16896"},"modified":"2021-07-03T11:24:36","modified_gmt":"2021-07-03T18:24:36","slug":"your-pitch-deck-is-done-but-is-it-ready-for-prime-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/your-pitch-deck-is-done-but-is-it-ready-for-prime-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Pitch Deck Is Done, But Is It Ready for Prime Time?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tony Clemendor has been a member of\u00a0Founders Network<\/span><\/a>\u00a0since January 2013. He\u2019s also been a prominent FN member in our\u00a0Silicon Valley Chapter<\/a>. To receive peer mentorship from Tony and over 600 fellow Tech Founders, please\u00a0request an invite<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and join our global network.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Most of the information on the Internet about investor presentations is either about how to create your pitch deck and presentation from scratch or is the usual list of slides that you\u2019re supposed to include, like \u201cProblem\u201d, \u201cSolution\u201d, etc. Founders usually get enough information from those resources to get the basics down and put together a set of slides, but not enough to really help them create an effective deck.<\/p>\n

In my pitch advisory practice, founders rarely come to me for help in building their first deck. The more common situation is that they\u2019ve already created a deck, used it in presentations to a few investor audiences, tried to figure out why they are not generating interest, and want to know \u201chow they can make their deck better\u201d.<\/p>\n

Those founders had decks that were \u201cdone\u201d but weren\u2019t really ready for prime time. Among other things, the founders tended to have committed one or more of a short list of typical mistakes that routinely got them on the \u201cThanks for coming. Keep in touch\u201d list.<\/p>\n

Some of you may be lucky enough to have access to a local accelerator where, among other things, you will have access to people that can help you hone your deck. On the other hand, if all you need help with is your deck, an accelerator is overkill.<\/p>\n

Others of you might belong to a peer to a peer founders group like The Founders Network<\/a>, who provide office hours to their members and pitch practice sessions. Both of those options offer a low-risk way to get third-party feedback on your presentation and suggestions on things you can do to improve it.<\/p>\n

Assuming that you already have a deck and you: don\u2019t yet belong to a group, don\u2019t want to join an accelerator today, or are just a Do-it-yourself type, I wanted to offer some help. I want to help you take a step back and see your deck from an investor\u2019s perspective. Among other things, I sit on the selection committee for an angel group and see pitches and pitch decks all the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an investor presentation, you are delivering the story. Your deck contains the illustrations that go with the story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than spend this post talking about how to create an investor presentation, I wanted to instead, create a checklist of sorts that you could use to see if your deck just needs a little help with the visuals or the content. I\u2019ll then suggest specific things you can do to immediately make your presentation more effective. A generic one-size-fits-all post like this can only go so far to improve your deck, but it can certainly help you avoid a total \u201cPitchWreck\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The checklist I mentioned earlier has two parts. The first is the visual checklist and the second is the content checklist. Keep in mind that presentation decks are very different from decks that you email to someone or upload when you apply for funding like you would on Gust<\/a>. In this post, the checklist is for presentation decks.<\/p>\n

The Visual Checklist<\/h2>\n

The visual checklist is about the impression that your deck makes. It helps if you understand a basic truth first: Your deck is not a teleprompter and is also not designed to be read by you or your audience. In an investor presentation, you are delivering the story. Your deck contains the illustrations that go with the story. Like the illustrations in a storybook, your deck should create some emotional response, create a connection, or emphasize something you want your audience to know or remember.<\/p>\n

Your audience can\u2019t really do two things at once well. In this case, they can\u2019t read and analyze your slides and listen to you at the same time. You want them to be impressed with you, not your slides. Your audience also can\u2019t remember more than a certain amount of information, so don\u2019t overwhelm them with complexity. Your slides are not really there to convey information. That\u2019s your job. Your slides should connect information with a feeling.<\/p>\n

For both parts of the checklist, you will have to run through your slides quickly. For the visual checklist, try and approximate the perspective of your potential audience. In other words, don\u2019t just sit in front of your computer, connect to a screen and sit in the back of the room with your remote. Try and get a sense of how your audience will be able to see your presentation.<\/p>\n

Run through your deck looking at each slide for something less than 10 seconds per slide, then close your eyes. Ask yourself:<\/p>\n