Deck

Making a KILLER pitch deck for your early stage startup is SIMPLE.

Follow these steps and you will be 90% there:

1. Close PowerPoint / Google Slides - we won't need these for now.
2. Write down ONE SENTENCE answers to these questions:
   • 🤔 What is the problem you want to solve?
   • 🌍 How many people have this problem?
   • 💡 How do you plan to solve it?
   • 🕰️ Why did nobody solve this problem before?
   • 💪 Why are you well positioned to solve it?
   • 📈 How many people have you helped so far?
   • 🎯 How many more people you hope to help in the next 12 months?
   • 💰 How much money do you need to get there?
3. Assume the first version of your answers is only ok. Ok is not enough. We aim for AIRTIGHT.
4. Start refining your answers. Avoid these common red flags:
   • ❌ the problem is made up / doesn't feel real
   • ❌ the number of people calculation is intellectually dishonest or sloppy
   • ❌ the solution feels like a vitamin (nice-to-have), not like an aspirin (must-have)
   • ❌ the solution feels like a new paint on an old car (it's only marginally better from what we have now; you want to be dramatically better to overcome switching costs)
   • ❌ the experience you decided to highlight is irrelevant to the problem you are trying to solve
   • ❌ the people you helped so far are your friends / family - you need to test it on complete strangers
   • ❌ you are selling $100 for $90
   • ❌ it's unclear how you will get to where you want to be in 12 months
   • ❌ it's unclear why you need this much money to get where you want to be in 12 months (as a rule of thumb: raise 18 months of runway + 20% buffer, assume 12 months of focused building and 6 months for another raising mode)
5. Open PowerPoint, create 8 empty slides titled:
   • PROBLEM
   • MARKET
   • SOLUTION
   • WHY NOW?
   • TEAM
   • TRACTION
   • PLANS
   • ASK
6. Put your refined answers on corresponding slides.
7. Go slide by slide and see if there is any data point you can add (a quote, a chart, a number, a research, an insight, etc.) that makes your answer MUCH stronger.
   
   Watch out though. Each thing you add may either ENHANCE your thought, or DISTRACT from it. Most people struggle here. Usually one strong data point is better than one strong + one weak data point.
   
   NEVER deviate from your main thought. One slide = one thought. Always.
8. Now reorder your slides following AIDA. AIDA is a marketing term and stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. You want to take your potential investor on an AIDA-type journey.
   
   It's more of an art than a science, but the rule of thumb is:
   • 🎓 teach me something new / something surprising
   • 🧠 make me feel like I understand it
   • 🤑 make me feel more greedy than fearful (by showing me how big you think / how big the opportunity is)
   • ➡️ tell me what is the next step
   
   I like to write to myself a note below every slide with what type of AIDA reaction I'm trying to elicit.
9. Finally - and this is optional - you can beautify your deck.

That's it. You now have a KILLER, airtight pitch deck.