Insight on Perfect Pitch Deck (PPD)
Proliferation of start-up wave in India is quite evidential and it’s not only going to be a decade but vicennial of entrepreneurship. It is also interesting to learn that only 15 percent of start-ups in India crosses the growth stage, which makes an entry for the curious case of a perfect pitch deck[1]. You must have heard about the pitch decks if you can recall the famous TV show ‘Shark Tank India.’ You must be surprising to know that only 0.1% of the start-ups could convince investors for funding their enterprises. Generally, a Pitch Deck is the ingredient of success, however, depending on its effective communication with potential investors. It’s the first pocket money a start-up can have to scale up its business portfolio. Pitch is a depiction of the idea to a set of people to bring it into realism. It is done for generating funds from investors, collaborations, etc. Ideally, it is of three types: long form, short form & elevators depending upon the nature of time period. Pitch Deck is a catalogue or a teaser of a movie that attributes brief representation of your business encapsulating data validation with strong conviction to an investor.
Secret Ingredients of PPD
Secret ingredients to prepare PPD consist of various steps and each step makes a noticeable difference in the way of look, understanding & reliability. The foundation is the critical point of a PPD as it conditions an investor’s attention for the rest of the presentation so it should be captivating enough. The problem should sound socially acceptable, and down to earth with unarguable & verified claims for plain sailing. Solving the problem by providing a solid base. The solution part captures the company and its outcome and how the company will address the problem. Here, prefer talking about benefits over features. Well-examined current market positions (market share, sales of a quarter, etc.) must be shown in chart format. Chances of growth and expansion must be cited thereafter. Product representation should be clearly visible and recognizable. Clear user traction demonstration by explaining the progressive momentum the company has achieved since its inception. Team presentation should be simple with details of only a few people and with the clarity of why this group is important to grow this company. Acknowledging the competition will bring a sense of trust and give them a sense of background homework a company performed before bringing it into the plates. Make sure that everybody understands the premise including what you have done to make your product and service unique. To discuss revenue a small portion of the equation yields here fantastic economics & the founder can elaborate on it by making a rough estimate. The estimate of the amount needed, and its further allocations must be mentioned abridging the support required from the investors. It should be clear and visionary because investors always look for lucrative returns[2].
Impressing Investors
Let’s assess the perspective of ‘angels’, yes, they are called so because they are crucial for every start-up. One should always intrigue that what investors are looking for and what is the best way to convince them. Don’t wait for Christopher Nolan to write an Inception for you. It’s a battlefield and the perfect pitch deck is the Brahmastra. Keep things simple for them, do not go into the process of re-inventing the whole wheel. It’s gameplay of only 3 minutes and you have to craft your idea beautifully into storytelling. The average time spent by investors in 2022 has been reduced to 22 percent compared to the last year[3]. However, there are various investors who would like to get convinced in a matter of 1 minute time only. As stated by popular angel investor Mr. DC Palter, ‘Your pitch deck has 1 minute to sell me on your start- up.[4] This time framed storytelling is important to integrate with winning slides. As the saying goes, ‘design is important, but the content is king.’
Highlights on important attributes covering the do and don’ts of a perfect pitch deck are illustrated here under:
Source: Author’s computation
Way forward
Capturing the right story of business and communicating it clearly is the riddle to solve and a perfect pitch deck is a solution. The lesson for start-ups is generally to keep things simple and try not to re-create the whole wheel. Keep an eye on investors’ thesis and resonate with them. It’s your story, make it beautiful, align it with the need of the investors and let them share your philosophy. One should not feel that investors
are going to release the check immediately rather it requires a perfect pitch deck. You need to earn that and PPD is the way to go.
References:
- Forbes 5 Tips to make perfect pitch deck: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/2019/05/16/five-tips-to-make-that-perfect-pitch-deck/?sh=52c8db1e403a
- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/entrepreneurship/how-to- make-a-perfect-startup-pitch/articleshow/82324312.cms
- https://medium.com/@dcpalter/the-11-slides-of-a-perfect-pitch-deck- 581e591925b2
- Techcrunch report extracted at https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/22/science-of- pitch-decks/
About the Author
Ms. Sakshi Dwivedi is an enthusiast in the domain of Start-up and Entrepreneurship and presently serving Atal Incubation Centre (AIC)- BIMTECH as a Senior Associate. She is an agricultural graduate and her post-graduate study emphasized decoding the interlinkage of incubators and start-ups. She has also a diverse skill set in content development, phygital marketing, and research interests in the field of entrepreneurship.