When you're emailing a slide deck to potential investors, the format and content need to be structured differently than a deck used for an in-person presentation. Investors who receive your deck via email will read it independently, so the slides must include more context and detailed information to explain your business fully. Your goal is to create a compelling narrative while ensuring that investors can grasp the key points without additional verbal explanation.
Here’s how to structure each slide for an email deck and what to include to make it readable and actionable.
1. Company Logo & Overview
Keep this simple.
What to Include: In addition to your logo and company name, provide a brief overview of your company in 1-2 sentences. Highlight your vision, industry, and the core problem you aim to solve.
How to Show It: Use a clear layout with your logo at the top and a concise company description below. Avoid clutter and ensure the slide looks clean and professional. Consider adding a tagline that encapsulates your mission.
2. Problem
Investors need to understand the problem your startup is solving. This is your chance to hook them with the significance of the problem and how it affects your target audience. Be concise but impactful.
What to Include: Clearly articulate the pain point or problem your target customers face. Use a few bullet points to explain why this problem matters and how it affects the market.
How to Show It: Alongside text, include data, stats, or a quote that underscores the problem. Use visual elements such as charts or infographics to make the issue tangible without needing verbal elaboration.
3. Solution
The Solution slide is crucial in a pitch deck because it directly addresses how your startup solves the problem you’ve outlined. Investors are looking for a clear, compelling, and scalable solution to a pain point that is significant enough to create a profitable business opportunity. Here's why this slide is so important and what needs to be included:
What to Include: The explanation of the solution should be crystal clear. Explain your product or service in a concise, jargon-free way that anyone can understand. Avoid too much technical detail—focus on the key functionality and impact. Think of this as your elevator pitch for the solution.Provide a detailed explanation of how your product or service solves the problem. Highlight key features that make your solution unique.
Example: If you’ve developed a new app, provide a simple explanation like, “We’ve created a mobile app that helps small business owners manage inventory and orders more efficiently, reducing errors by 30%.”
Key Features: Investors want to see that your solution offers clear benefits to the customer. How does it make life easier, cheaper, or faster for them? The solution slide needs to clearly communicate the value proposition to the end-user, reinforcing why customers will pay for your product.Highlight 2-3 key features that make your solution stand out. Don’t try to list every feature—focus on the aspects that solve the most critical parts of the problem.
Language: “Automated order tracking, real-time inventory updates, and low-stock alerts.”
How to Show It: Include visuals of your product (mockups, photos, or screenshots). Pair these with concise text explaining how your solution addresses each aspect of the problem. Consider adding testimonials or early results if available.
4. Competition & Differentiation
Creating a Competition slide in a pitch deck is crucial for demonstrating that you understand the competitive landscape and how your solution differentiates itself. Investors want to know that you’ve thoroughly researched your market, are aware of competitors, and have a clear plan to stand out.
Why the Competition Slide Is Important?
Shows Market Awareness: This slide proves to investors that you understand the market and that there are competitors, which validates demand for your solution.
Highlights Differentiation: By showcasing how you are different from or better than your competitors, you emphasize your unique selling points (USPs) and competitive edge.
Reveals Potential Risks and Opportunities: Investors use this slide to evaluate the risks associated with competitors and assess how your solution could disrupt or innovate in the space.
What to Include: List the main competitors in your market. These can include direct competitors (those offering similar solutions) and indirect competitors (those addressing the same problem in a different way). Include well-known companies and startups to provide context.
Example: If you’re building a food delivery app, competitors would include UberEats, DoorDash, and local delivery services.
How to Show It: Competitor Matrix (Comparison Table): One of the most effective ways to present your competition and differentiation is through a competitor matrix. This table lists competitors along one axis and key features or metrics along the other axis, allowing you to clearly show how your solution compares across various categories.
Column A: List your competitors.
Column B: Add your product or service.
Rows: Key features or attributes (e.g., price, customer service, unique features, scalability).
Example:
Feature/Attribute | Competitor A | Competitor B | Your Solution |
Price | $$$ | $$$$ | $$ |
Ease of Use | Moderate | Hard | Simple |
Target Market | Large Firms | Large Firms | SMBs |
Unique Features | Basic | Advanced | AI-driven |
5. Market Opportunity (TAM/SAM/SOM)
Investors want to know if the market opportunity is big enough to provide a return on their investment. Highlight:
Market Size: Quantify the total addressable market (TAM), serviceable addressable market (SAM), and obtainable market (SOM). Investors like to see scalable opportunities.
Market Trends: Showcase relevant market growth trends and your market timing—why is now the right time for your product or service?
What to Include: Define your Total Addressable Market (TAM), Serviceable Available Market (SAM), and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM). Use specific numbers to quantify the market potential.
Total Addressable Market (TAM): This is the largest potential market for your product or service—if every person or company globally who could use your solution actually did. It’s the broadest measure of market opportunity.
Serviceable Available Market (SAM): This is a more realistic subset of TAM, representing the portion of the market you can reach based on your business model, geography, or other factors. It reflects the customers who are within your current capabilities to serve.
Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM): SOM is the narrowest and most immediate target. It’s the specific portion of the SAM that your company can capture in the short term, considering your current resources, sales efforts, and competitive landscape. This is the segment you’re directly going after in the early stages.
How to Show It: Present these figures in a chart or concentric circle diagram to make it visually clear. Add brief explanations of each segment to ensure investors understand the scope of the opportunity.
6. Business/Revenue Model (How will you make money?)
Your business model demonstrates how your company plans to make money. Investors need to see a sustainable and scalable revenue model. Address:
Pricing strategy: How do you price your products or services?
Revenue streams: Are you relying on subscriptions, one-time sales, or a hybrid model?
Customer Acquisition: How do you plan to acquire customers? Explain your go-to-market strategy and expected customer acquisition cost (CAC).
What to Include: Provide a detailed explanation of how your business will generate revenue, including pricing strategy, sales channels, and projected revenue streams.
How to Show It: Use a flowchart or diagram that breaks down the revenue streams (e.g., subscriptions, one-time sales, licensing). Include actual numbers or projections for clarity.
7. Cost of Production (If Applicable)
What to Include: Outline the costs associated with producing your product, including materials, manufacturing, and distribution.
How to Show It: A pie chart or bar graph works well to visually represent your cost structure. Provide a brief explanation of each cost component next to the chart.
8. Traction
Traction is critical to convincing investors that your business is viable. Show any progress or proof that your product or service is gaining momentum. This can include:
Revenue: If you’re generating revenue, demonstrate growth over time.
Customer/User Metrics: Highlight active users, customer testimonials, retention rates, and early adopters.
Partnerships or Pilots: If you have established strategic partnerships, this will add to your credibility.
What to Include: Highlight key milestones, such as sales, user acquisition, partnerships, or any significant metrics that demonstrate early success.
How to Show It: Use a timeline to display key events, such as product launches, partnerships, or sales milestones. Include numbers where possible (e.g., 10,000 users acquired or $50,000 in sales).
9. Marketing & Sales Strategy
Investors want to know how you plan to grow your business. This section should outline your customer acquisition strategy, key channels, and any partnerships. Address:
Sales Funnel: How do you move potential customers from awareness to purchase?
Marketing Channels: Discuss which marketing channels you’ll leverage, such as social media, content marketing, or paid ads.
Partnerships: Highlight key partnerships that can accelerate growth.
What to include:
Customer Acquisition Strategy: Detail how you plan to acquire customers. Include your target audience, key marketing channels (e.g., social media, content marketing, partnerships), and the cost of customer acquisition (CAC).
Sales Process and Growth Plan: Outline the sales strategy (e.g., direct sales, online sales, partnerships) and how it will scale over time. Include any projections for lead generation, conversion rates, and expected growth.
How to show it:
Customer Acquisition Metrics: Use bar charts or graphics to show customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), or projected growth in customer base over time. Include key metrics for year 1, year 2, etc., to visualize the growth trajectory. Highlight any key partnerships or marketing channels that will drive results.
Visual Flowchart or Funnel: Display a marketing funnel or sales process diagram to show how leads are captured, nurtured, and converted into paying customers. Include key touch points (e.g., email campaigns, sales calls, demo sign-ups) and any growth strategies (e.g., partnerships or paid media).
10. Financial Projections
To create a Financial Projections slide that presents key data clearly and effectively for investors, you want to keep the information visually clean and concise, while providing enough detail to demonstrate the strength of your projections. There is a lot of complex information that you can communicate concisely and clearly in one slide. Here’s how you can approach it:
Revenue Forecasts: Include estimated revenue for the next 3-5 years.
Profit & Loss Statement: Highlight major income and expense categories.
Cash Flow Projections: Show how money is coming in and being spent, emphasizing periods where cash flow might be tight.
Burn Rate: Show how quickly you're spending your cash, especially if you’re pre-revenue, and how long your cash runway is.
Unit Economics: Include key metrics like Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) if relevant to show sustainability.
What to Include:
Graphical Layout: Use a line chart to display revenue and profit projections across the timeline (3-5 years). A simple stacked bar chart can show the cash flow and burn rate over time, highlighting months or years where cash flow might be tight.
Tables: In one corner, place a small table with year-by-year financial data. Keep it simple with columns like:
Year 1, Year 2, Year 3
Revenue, Expenses, Profit/Loss
Burn Rate & Runway
Bullet Points: Below the graph, include 2-3 bullet points that summarize:
Assumptions behind revenue growth (e.g., based on product launch, market expansion).
How the cash burn rate and runway were calculated.
Any key notes on CAC and LTV.
How to Show It:
Left Side: A graph showing revenue and cash flow projections over time.
Right Side: A small table with key financial metrics (year-by-year numbers for revenue, expenses, profit/loss).
Bottom: A few bullet points explaining assumptions and financial insights (e.g., burn rate, runway, CAC, LTV).
This approach allows investors to grasp the core financials quickly and clearly while making it easy to drill down into details if needed. The visual balance between charts and summary text ensures clarity without overwhelming the reader.
11. Team
What to Include: Introduce your core team members, advisors, and any key hires. Focus on relevant experience and why each team member is critical to your startup's success.
How to Show It: Use headshots accompanied by a brief bio for each team member. Include their relevant experience and the specific roles they play in your company. This slide should include more text than a presentation deck, providing investors with enough background to understand each person’s qualifications.
12. Exit Targets
What to Include: Detail possible exit strategies, such as acquisition or IPO, and provide examples of companies that may be potential acquirers.
How to Show It: List a few target companies and industries where you see acquisition potential. In other words, what companies may want your company in their portfolio? Add logos or names of these companies alongside a short explanation of why they might be interested in acquiring your business.
13. Asks
This is the most crucial part of your presentation—how much money are you seeking, and what will it be used for? Investors need to know how their money will help the business grow.
Funding Amount: Be clear about how much you are raising.
Use of Funds: Break down how the funds will be allocated (e.g., product development, marketing, hiring, etc.).
What to Include: Specify how much funding you're seeking and how you plan to use it. Break down the allocation of funds (e.g., R&D, marketing, hiring). Be clear about what you are asking from investors. This includes the total investment amount, introductions to other potential investors, and other types of support.
How to Show It: Use bullet points to outline your asks. Start with the primary ask (funding amount) and follow up with secondary asks (e.g., introductions, advice). Make this slide direct but not overwhelming.
14. Thank You & Contact Information
What to Include: Conclude the deck by thanking the investor and providing your contact information for follow-up.
How to Show It: Keep the slide simple with a “Thank You” message and include your name, email, phone number, and website. If possible, include links to your social media accounts or a QR code for easy access.
Key Considerations for Email Slide Decks
When sending a deck via email, you need to provide more text and context than you would during a live presentation. Assume the investor will read the deck without the benefit of your verbal explanation, so be thorough but concise. Here are additional tips to make your emailed deck effective:
Use concise text: Ensure that each slide has enough information to explain your point clearly, but avoid overwhelming the reader with dense text.
Break up content: Use visuals, charts, and diagrams to break up the text and make the information easier to digest.
Include metrics and data: Investors appreciate data-driven insights. Whenever possible, back up your claims with real numbers, whether it's market size, revenue projections, or traction.
Ensure readability: Avoid overly complex visuals or jargon that may confuse investors. Keep the design clean and make sure all text is legible.
By structuring your slide deck in this way, you can ensure that an emailed version of your deck provides investors with all the information they need to make an informed decision, even without your in-person pitch.
Additional Resources:
Sequoia Capital’s Pitch Deck Template: Sequoia Pitch Deck
Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule for Presentations: 10/20/30 Rule
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