The steps you take creating your pitch deck depend on your ideas/ventures progress and are not as simple as most of you might think.
Creating a pitch deck is more than just putting some words in a powerpoint presentation.
It is a whole new stage of development you will go through. For most of you it even is the very first time you sit down and really think about- and examine your idea. It will be a deep rabbit hole you will go down to.
A lot of fundamental questions will come to your mind while you trying to make your way through the hole: "Is this idea really gonna work out?" "What happens, when they dont like my idea" "How the hell am I supposed to even run a company?" I bet you will feedl overwhelmed by all the stuff you have to keep in mind.
But no worries, if you follow all the steps in this guide, you will create the best pitch deck possible.
‍
Step 1. Write down your concept
This is so important. Please answer the following questions in written form before you even start building the title page of your pitch deck.
‍
‍What problem will I solve with my idea?
Before you start doing anything else, this question needs to be answered.
If you can not explain the problem shortly- and concisely, I promise you your investors will quickly lose interest in you and your idea.
You have to understand that your timeframe in which your audience will follow your words is ridiculously short.
The reason for this is the uncountable amount of pitch decks investors see every day. As a result, they are experienced in recognizing bullshit ideas quickly. It only needs a couple of seconds for your potential investor to asses your plan and finally judge it.
No wonder your idea has to solve a problem everyone in the room can identify with and be happy about a proper solution.
If you need some inspiration, you should have a look at the problem slides of this unicorn startup pitch decks.
‍
Step 2. Gather feedback
Ask friends, family and industry contacts to take a look at your pitch deck. Do they have any suggestions on how to improve your business model? Insight into the market? Would they like to see more information on one slide, or less? This step is about perfecting your business model, use the feedback from your network to adjust your pitch deck slides.
‍
Step 3. Define Your Story
The first step to creating your pitch deck is to decide which story it will tell. You will need different stories for different investors, so draft two or three; The Hero's Journey, Customers Tale and Industry Point of View we showed you in our storytelling how-to make excellent starting points.
Write each story down and, once you are happy that it is perfect, split it into sections based on the deck slide types we discussed in part three. By dividing the story in this way, we have identified the slides we need to tell it and the order they should appear in the deck.
Remember, the story will develop as you create your deck, and you may find yourself adding or removing slides at a later date.
‍
Step 4. Create Investor Deck
Use the information you've gathered in the previous steps to storyboard your pitch deck. Sketch out your story with text, pictures and charts. Choose a color scheme that complements your logo and a font that showcases the personality of your brand. Now you're ready to really design your deck with the help of a professional designer or our Pitch Deck Template.
‍
Step 5. Practice Pitching
Practicing your pitch early will give you confidence in your venture. It also keeps critical information fresh in your mind, so if you do meet an investor by chance, you know exactly what to say to them.
‍
Step 6. Approach Investors
Decide which type of investor is best suited to your venture (see our blog post for advice) and define your ask. Only approach business investors who are likely to support your startup. Create a list of the top 30 investors, any connections you have in common with them, and the conferences or industry events they are likely to attend. A personal introduction is the best way to approach investors.
‍
Step 7. Present Your Deck
Remember, the little things count. Printed decks should be printed on high quality paper and properly bound. Digital decks should be sent as a PDF file. When presenting use PDF format as well and avoid native PowerPoint or Keynote formats, unless is really important to use animation features for your slides.
‍
Step 8. Get Funded!
‍
