Whether you are pitching your startup idea or raising more money for your business, the experience can be very nerve-wracking, even traumatic. Imagine exposing yourself in front of a group of strangers who either know a little or not at all about your company.
Aside from introducing yourself and your company, you also need to present a lot of things. The problem is—you don’t have enough time. That’s why you need the best pitch deck design that’ll help you explain even the most complex topics.
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While quantity of slides is important, you also want a PPT deck design that presents your pitch with clarity and features your info well. These investor decks are not only presented in person to investors, but are also often emailed before, or as follow-ups to your pitch to VC’s after. So, the right design is critical. With the right PPT pitch deck design, you’ll be able to:
- Explain your most complex ideas
- Show investors how your brand will become a leader in the industry
- Share the story of how your company came to be
Let’s explore some pitch deck examples that’ll help you find the right pitch deck for your needs.
Save Time With the Best Pitch Deck Templates
Before we get into discussing our pitch deck examples, it’s important to consider the benefits of using a pitch deck template.
If you’re starting to create a pitch deck, you spend hours designing it yourself. Or, you can use one of the beautifully designed templates available on Envato Elements. With a single monthly fee, you get access to thousands of Keynote and PPT presentation templates that may land you the next investment round.
Here’s another example of an excellent template for creating a pitch deck:
Now let’s move on to looking at our startup pitch deck examples.
20 of the Best Startup Pitch Deck Examples
If you don’t know where to start, we’ll teach you how to create a pitch deck, share the essential elements, and give you examples of the most successful startup decks.
Here we go!
1. Facebook Pitch Deck
We all know that Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin created Facebook as a social network for universities. When they first tried to pitch the idea to potential investors. They didn’t have a clear business plan. So, what they used were the facts and numbers they already had, which included their customer base, user engagement, and growth metrics.
2. Airbnb Pitch Deck
The Airbnb pitch deck is also one of the most searched for, not only because it’s become one of the biggest companies out there today, but also because they’ve created a new niche in the travel/hotel industry.
Looking at the Airbnb pitch deck, you can learn a lot from it, but one of the principles that stands out is their use of the rule of three. You can see it in how they present the problem, the solution, the facts, the business model, and more:
Why the rule of three?
It’s simple, memorable and clean.
3. LinkedIn Pitch Deck
Consumers and investors are always looking for the value they can get from any company before they decide to do business with them. LinkedIn understood this when they created their pitch deck. They focused on the value they can bring their customers and by doing that, they also show their uniqueness compared to other social networks.
4. Uber Pitch Deck
Uber’s pitch deck was far from impressive, but what caught the investor’s fancy was the solution they provided. They were able to articulate the problem in a few short sentences using everyday words. After presenting the pain point, they presented their no-nonsense solution. Although Uber has found itself in hot water many times, the solution they provided at that time on their pitch deck was nothing but awesome.
5. Mint Pitch Deck
Mint, a personal financial services tool, has a simple pitch deck but the investors were drawn to it. First of all, it presented what value it can give to their users and partners. Second, they also understand that by putting their money in, each investor is exposed to different levels of risk.
They put their investors’ minds to rest by creating a number of exit mechanisms to their investments.
6. YouTube Pitch Deck
Like Uber, YouTube’s pitch deck was simple and straightforward. You cannot get anything from it design-wise. However, there are a lot of principles to learn from it when you create your pitch deck.
- The people behind YouTube knew what they wanted—to be the number one outlet for video content—and they clearly stated that in their pitch deck.
- They also know who they’re up against but were confident that they could grab the top spot.
- They also banked on the reputation and capabilities of the people who created it. It sent a message that the people behind it had the experience and skills to make the claims they had happen.
- They dropped the metrics showing that they indeed were able to do it.
7. Buffer Pitch Deck
Buffer is one of the top social media scheduling platforms that allows you to schedule your content on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and LinkedIn. What makes this pitch deck popular was the presentation of solid facts and numbers. It also included the milestones they’ve accomplished including the number of users they have, the annual revenue, and the app integrations.
This allowed investors to see that they’re not investing in a company that’s losing, but rather one that’s growing steadily over the years.
8. Front Pitch Deck
Presenting the problem and solution as succinctly as possible in your pitch deck is vital if you want to catch your potential investors’ eyes. Front not only did that, but they were able to create a simple visual without overloading the information.
They were able to distill each problem into a single phrase making it catchy and memorable. They also used the same strategy when they presented their solution and value proposition.
9. Sequoia Capital Pitch Deck Template
Sequoia Capital is one of the leading VC firms in Silicon Valley. Looking at the pitch deck they recommend, it gives a clue to any startup what they’re looking for. They recommend going straight to the point:
- what your company is all about
- the problem you see and the solution you offer
- your competition
- your product
- your business model
Including all this information in your pitch deck sends a message that you’ve indeed done your homework and you’re serious about success.
10. Copper Cow Coffee Pitch Deck
Copper Cow Coffee is a startup that offers specialty Vietnamese coffee using 100% biodegradable pour over technology. What makes their pitch deck eye-catching is that they were able to present relevant information using a few words. They were able to articulate not only the business potential, but also the expansion opportunities of the company.
11. Kickfolio Pitch Deck
Showing the growth and metrics of your company is something to be proud of. Thus, it makes sense if you highlight them to show your prospective investors how much you’ve grown. Kickfolio understood this so instead of using small graphs; it presented charts and numbers in each slide. Why hide your metrics when you all worked hard to achieve what your company has?
12. Reflect Pitch Deck
Reflect, a mental health startup, has nailed what a killer pitch deck looks like—minimal yet all the information is there. Aiming to be a leader in mental healthcare that uses data-driven matching, they were able to reflect that by using facts and data in their pitch. The data presented was straightforward and easy to follow.
13. Lexop Pitch Deck
Lexop is a startup that provides a certified email that can be tracked in real-time and has an instant legal proof-of-delivery. In their pitch deck, they started with the most critical information and closed by presenting the team behind the company. By knowing who the managing team and the advisors are, they convey not only transparency, but it also offers authority.
14. Mixpanel Pitch Deck
Mixpanel’s approach is simple—they’ve got a very clear understanding of who their target audience is, what they need, and presented a practical solution. Their target is people who have no clue what their analytics are.
15. Yalochat Pitch Deck
Pitch decks are, in one way or another, like infographics—present facts and figures and pair them with graphic icons. The result is an engaging and informative piece of content. Yalochat used this approach, and the result is a fancy startup pitch deck, but the value is still there. Plus, the color palette they used has made the figures and information even more interesting.
16. Crema Pitch Deck
Whether you’re creating a design or offering your service, being consistent is gives you a huge advantage. The design team behind Crema’s pitch deck understood this, and they’ve created a solid and consistent background in their presentation. Even though they used different images, they were all connected and had the same message and feel. Even the color and pattern all add to the cohesiveness of their theme resulting in a killer pitch deck you can’t easily ignore.
17. Mattermark Pitch Deck
Any effective product, service, and even a pitch deck always understands what their target audience wants. Mattermark knew that and used the very problem their prospect is experiencing in how they created the layout for their pitch deck. The problem they presented was how unorganized SaaS reporting is, and they used screenshots to illustrate that. After that, they offered their solution by bringing all the data in one place.
18. Dwolla Pitch Deck
Dwolla’s pitch deck banked on stories. They understood the power of stories and how they could move emotions.
Here, they tell the story of how Dwolla started allowing the audience to feel that the people behind the company identifies with their pain point. It also shows that the product was created to help them solve their problem the way it helped the developer.
19. Foursquare Pitch Deck
Foursquare was one of the first businesses to use gamification and it shines in their pitch deck. Even though pitch is text heavy, it uses graphics and illustrations to show how their points and badges hook people and never let go.
20. Intercom Pitch Deck
Intercom focused on their strong team, early traction made it very clear what they needed. Also, you may notice that their deck was simple but nicely designed, which gave them an advantage compared to all the standard looking presentations investors receive every day.
Learn More About Making Great Pitch Decks
Creating your business pitch deck doesn’t have to be stressful. These tips will help take your worries away and help you focus on what you’ll put inside your pitch deck. Take a look at these five tips and win your audience with an awesome PPT pitch deck.
1. Vision and Value Proposition
An effective pitch deck starts with your company’s vision and the value you can add to your prospective customers. It doesn’t have to be a complex explanation, but more like a short tweet or a one-sentence overview. Make it short and sweet.
You can also add your value proposition to show your uniqueness in comparison to other companies. For example, Uber presented their value proposition as the “NetJets of Car Services.”
2. Problem
We’ve said it earlier in the article, and we’ll say it again—a successful product always solves a problem. Thus, you shouldn’t fail to mention that on your pitch deck. Aside from talking about the problem, you should also talk about who has that kind of problem. Back your claims with facts and figures. You can also follow what Dwolla did by sharing their story of how their company was created to solve a problem the founder was experiencing at that time. The more you make the problem more relatable, the more you’ll attract investors to your pitch.
3. Solution
Even if you can pinpoint the problem but cannot present a viable solution, your pitch deck is nothing. Therefore, you’ve got to articulate your solution in your pitch. You can use the solution as a continuation of your story. Talk about your product and how it can solve the problem you mentioned. Your product is the hero that’ll save the day and solve the problem at hand, just like what Mattermark did in our earlier example.
4. Business Model
So, you’ve got a product that’ll solve a particular problem, but how can it make money? Who pays the bills? Aside from mentioning these points, you can also use this section to talk about how your pricing compares with similar offerings that are already in the market.
5. Team
Just like some of the sample pitch decks we presented above, featuring the people behind your company will give more weight and authority to your pitch. Include their skills, experiences, successes, and expertise. It shows investors what each of the members contribute and why they’re a critical part of the company.
There are a lot of other elements you can add to make your pitch deck engaging and interesting. Check out these resources:
PitchingThe 10+ PPT Slides Every Investor (Startup) Pitch Deck NeedsAndrew Childress
Microsoft PowerPointHow to Make Winning Pitch Decks (With PowerPoint Templates)Andrew Childress
Presentations10 Presentation Design Tips (For the Best Pitch Deck)Sven Lenaerts
Conclusion
Aside from the elements we mentioned, make your pitch deck stand out even more by creating a story. It makes your pitch deck not only powerful, but cohesive from start to finish.
If you’re ready to get started with your pitch deck, check these PowerPoint presentation templates on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver.
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