Crafting the Perfect Pitch Deck

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Darren Menabney @ Samurai Startup Island

Tokyo 10.07.2015

Crafting the Perfect Pitch DeckPitching Perfectly Session 1

30 seconds!How much time you have to give a good

impression to the audience

DARREN MENABNEY

-2011, Toronto

BSc Astrophysics, U of T

Government of Canada Revenue, Industry, Foreign Affairs, Defence

2011+, Tokyo

MBA, GLOBIS University

Global HR, Ricoh Co. Ltd.

Part-time Faculty, GLOBIS University

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Connect People to People Connect People to Ideas Create Value for Everyone

“Sunrise Over the Pacific Ocean" by NASA. Image in the Public Domain

© Javier Montano / TEDxKyotoUniversity

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Judging pitches

Attending a LOT of pitch contests

Writing & delivering pitches

Coaching startups

Teaching entrepreneurs at MBA program

Public speaking

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Start With Some Basics

Elevator Pitch?

Pitch contest to a large group?

Boardroom pitch?7

Different pitch deck for each of these situations

No “one-size-fits-all” pitch decks8

Pitch contest to a large group

1. What is your goal?

3. What are your constraints?2. Who is your audience?

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1. What is your goal?To make a pitch

To get interest in your solution

To win the pitch contest

To get interest in your company10

Winning is great, but getting VCs or Angels interested should be your main goal

Goal = Getting A Meeting & Boardroom Pitch

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2. Who is your audience?Research the judges

Find out what kind of pitches they like & don’t like

Tailor your slide deck to them12

Skills Money

Specialist Audience

General Audience

VCAngel

Talent

BankMixed

FFF

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Pitch Contest Judges…Have limited time

Need to make a group decision

May not know your industry

BUT even if you don’t win the pitch contest, may still be interested in your company

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3. What are your constraints?Usually limited by fixed time

May be limited by use of video, demos

BUT nobody will interrupt you!

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Today’s Goal

Guide you on developing a pitch deck

Can be delivered in 5 - 10 minutes

To a large group during a pitch contest

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What I will provide today

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DOGMA

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Four Steps to a pitch deck that’s

perfect for your venture

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Step 1: Design your Minimum Deck

Step 2: Create your Storyline

Step 3: Populate the Slides

Step 4: Make it Pretty

Four Steps

Step 1 Designing your Minimum Deck

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The Perfect Pitch Deck?

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Do it in 10 slides!

10 / 20 / 30 rule!

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Talk about team first! Talk about team last!

Do it in 13 slides!

Stress financials! Stress proprietary IP!

10 minute rule!

Everyone has an opinion…

Company The team The problem (opportunity) Your value proposition (solution) Competitive landscape Market Size Go To Market plan Financials analysis & projections What you need

Startup gurus agree you need to describe

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Number of slides

Order of slides

Definition of “Market Size”

Definition of “Financials”

Other content (e.g. elevator pitch, IP, summary)

Startup gurus do not agree on

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The Problem & Your Solution

General agreement on three parts to deck, in this order

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= Where to Start Designing Your Deck Ensuring Consistency Between Each Part

Market and GTM Plan

Resources you have, what you need for GTM Plan

The Problem & Your Solution

Market and GTM Plan

What you have, and what you need for that GTM Plan

and let’s add in…

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Elevator Pitch

Summary

The Problem & Your Solution

Market and GTM Plan

What you have, and what you need for that GTM Plan

= Minimum Viable Pitch Deck

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Elevator Pitch

Summary

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First thing you do…

Who is your audience?

Turn Off Your Computer

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Go Analog

Write Out Your Minimum Viable Pitch Deck

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Prototype your Minimum Deck

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As a Team, create the Minimum Viable Pitch

Deck as a Starting Point

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Step 2 Create Your Storyline

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Build on Your Minimum Deck

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Structure your pitch deck

around the story of your venture

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“In a business presentation, you’re telling the story behind your campaign, company, or product…we’re all storytellers and we’re telling stories in business each and every day.”

– Carmine Gallo

Author, Talk Like TED

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Facts Emotion Logic AND Passion

Audience Memory and Motivation

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Outline Your Company Story With Post-It Notes

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Storyboard It

How I Created my PechaKucha Tokyo Talk@ http://www.pechakucha.org/presentations/discovering-tokyo-through-yamanote

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Mindmap It

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Create an outline of what each slide in your deck will

say as part of your storyline, building on Minimum Deck

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Time you are given You have 5 minutes, do you try 10 slides or 20?

Number of slides?

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Dependent on…

Your delivery style and the story you want to tell

Minimum? At least 10 slides to tell your company’s story and meet your objective

Maximum? Depends on time and your story, however 2015 study of 200 startups who raised $300M found average number of slides was 19

My synthesis…

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https://docsend.com/view/p8jxsqr

So let’s say 10-20 slides for your deck

If your team includes super-talent or serial entrepreneurs, describe Team near the beginning

Where do you describe your Team?

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If your team is talented but your solution is your company’s strength, describe Team near the end

Title Page with Company’s Purpose Elevator Pitch The Problem (Opportunity) Market Sizes Your Value Proposition (Solution) Why Now? Go To Market Plan Competitive Landscape Business Model Your Team Financials analysis & projections What You Have, What You Need Summary

A Possible Storyline…With Logical Flow

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Where and how to describe your team, your solution, your history, are

part of your company’s story and that’s your

decision

…But Remember

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Step 3 Populating The Slides

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Title Page with Company’s Purpose Elevator Pitch The Problem (Opportunity) Market Sizes Your Value Proposition (Solution) Why Now? Go To Market Plan Competitive Landscape Business Model Your Team Financials analysis & projections What You Have, What You Need Summary

Filling in each section (1+ slides each)

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Company name (and say it)

Company Logo (a nice one!)

A short, memorable sentence describing why you exist

Title Page with Company’s Purpose

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Memorize this until you can say it in your sleep!

Elevator Pitch

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“We solve [problem] by providing [advantage], to help [target] accomplish [target’s goal]. We make money by charging [customers] to get [benefit].

Follow the 500 Startups Formula

Describe the customer’s pain

Describe how the customer currently resolves that pain

Relate it to an everyday experience if very technical

The Problem (Opportunity)

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Keep the language simple here, especially if you are an engineer!

How much is that problem costing?

How much will people pay to fix that pain?

Validate your estimate by using top-down public data, combined with your own bottom-up research

Differentiate Total Available Market (TAM) Serviceable Available Market (SAM) Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM)

Market Sizes

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How does your company fix the problem?

What products and services can you offer?

Pictures or screenshots

Show actual user cases or the customer’s journey

Proprietary technology & protected IP?

Your Value Proposition (Solution)

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Remember it’s your Company you’re trying to sell

Don’t focus too much on product features, don’t get technical

Describe historical and recent trends which show why NOW is the right time in the market for your solution to succeed

Show that you’ve done your homework and understand what’s going on out there

Why now?

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How will (or has) your company enter the market?

How will your company grow in the market?

What conditions are needed to scale up?

Back up plan with data

Go To Market Plan

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Never talk about how you only need to reach 1% of the Chinese market to succeed…

Competitive Landscape

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NEVER say you “Have no competitors” even if you really believe that

Who?

Why are you better?

YOU!A-Co

B-CoC-CoD-Co

Lo Cost

Hi Cost

Pre-set Customisable

Business Model

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How will your company make money?

Pricing

Sales & Distribution Channels

Give an example, tied to your Value Proposition

Your Team

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Good chance to talk about talent gaps and tie that into “the ask”

Establish credibility

List relevant experience

Photos!

Include mentors and advisors

Financial Analysis & Projections

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No hockey sticks!

Must be realistic!

Must be defensible!

Should summarise financing already received

This is the slide which will get the most scrutiny

What You Have, What You Need

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How have you survived so far?

How much have you raised so far?

What are you looking for, how much?

How will you spend it?

MUST connect logically to • Go To Market Plan • Team

Many pitches forget to ask for something!

Summary

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…and say “Thank You”

May stay up on screen during Q&A for 5+ minutes, take advantage of that!

Company Logo

3 - 4 key takeaways for audience

Contact details

Step 4 Make It Pretty

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Two Options for Deck Design

1) Buy

2) Build

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1) Buy

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2) Build

i) Use automator

ii) DIY

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i) Use automator

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ii) DIY?a) Watch the amount of text

b) Have a consistent look & feel • Colors, logo, font, background

c) No slideuments!

“No more than six words

on a slide. EVER”

-Seth Godin

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Easy on the eyes? 12

Easy on the eyes? 24

Easy on the eyes? 32

Easy on the eyes? 40

Easy on the eyes? 48

Easy on the eyes? 60

Easy on the eyes? 7270

Arial

Time New Roman

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Sharp, Modern

Serif, Traditional

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Avoid colourful text and

Comic Sans MS

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Consistent Color Theme in Slides Monochromatic Tones of the same color

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Complementary Opposite colors

Analogous Similar colors

…add a photograph, and you’ll remember 65% of it

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Three days after hearing some information, you’ll remember 10%

Three days after hearing some information, you’ll remember 10%

…add a photograph, and you’ll remember 65% of it

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White space is necessary

Big text!

Excessively colourful text hurts the audience’s eyes eyes More visuals, fewer words

Clarity, Simplicity

The slides should support your words, not vice versa77

General Design Tips

Slideument

= Slide which should be a document

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Animation

Carefully

Use

Use it for simple transitions and builds

Very

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Final Thoughts

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簡素

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かんそSimplicity, plainness

"Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful”

- MIT Design Professor John Maeda

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The Five Minute Pitch DeckTitle Page with Company’s Purpose (0:15) Elevator Pitch (0:15) The Problem (0:30) Market Sizes (0:20) Your Value Proposition (0:30) Why Now? (0:20) Go To Market Plan (0:30) Competitive Landscape (0:20) Business Model (0:30) Your Team (0:20) Financials analysis & projections (0:30) What You Have, What you need (0:30) Summary (0:10)

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Next Time…Oct.14

Delivering Your Pitch With Passion

Voice Control & Body Language Being Persuasive & Energetic Making The Audience Care Live Demos & Videos

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Next Time…Oct.14

Delivering Your Pitch With Passion

Voice Control & Body Language Being Persuasive & Energetic Making The Audience Care Live Demos & Videos

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APPENDIX

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Some Great Reads on Storytelling, Presentations, and Public Speaking

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Some Pitch Deck Archives

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http://bestpitchdecks.com/Airbnb, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. decks

http://startupbeat.com/category/features/startup-pitches/Featured decks from current startupshttp://www.pitchenvy.com/Mix of unicorns and lesser successes

With the expected of photos which have been attributed, all other photos used come from http://startupstockphotos.com/

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