Over the years, while pitching for investment in my businesses and helping clients do the same, I refined my pitch structure and eliminated or dimed unimportant things.

Remember that investors are in the business of getting a return for their investments. So while it would be valid to talk mostly about your product to your potential clients and create a compelling story about how your company helps the world, most investors focus on their returns. So save their time and get straight to the point (their point).

While this may need adjustment for your case, here are the guidelines for an investment pitch deck that works.

1. Introduction: Start with a slide that introduces your company and the problem you are solving. Keep it brief, but make it clear and compelling.
2. Market Opportunity: Show your market’s size and growth potential, and explain why your company is uniquely positioned to capture a share of it.
3. Business Model: Explain how your company makes money, including your revenue streams, pricing strategy, and customer acquisition plan.
4. Products and Services: Highlight your products or services and explain how they solve the problem you identified earlier. Use visuals to showcase your product and its features.
5. Marketing and Sales Strategy: Outline your marketing and sales strategies and how it works to acquire and retain customers. Explain your customer acquisition cost and lifetime value.
6. Competition: Discuss your competition and how you differentiate yourself from them. Highlight your competitive advantage and barriers to entry.
7. Financials: Provide financial projections, including revenue, expenses, and profitability. Be realistic and transparent, and explain any assumptions you made in your projections.
8. Team: Introduce your team, their relevant experience and their track record of projects successfully driven to completion. Also, show how your team is uniquely qualified to execute your business plan and how passionate they are about the project.
9. Ask: Finally, make your ask. Be specific about how much money you raise and what you will use it for. Optionally, explain how the business will work regardless of the investment but how it will work much better and faster with the funds to generate significant returns. Many investors get nervous if the business can only work with the funds you are asking for. Explain your fundraising timeline and any terms you are offering investors. 

And from this moment, don’t talk; listen, answer questions and take notes. You would be surprised to know the number of people I have seen unselling their pitch because they got nervous and started talking too much in the end.

Remember, your pitch deck aims to get investors excited about your business and help them make an investment decision in their best interest; if you followed the process, that should be enough.

Here is the outline for the investment pitch deck in a format that can be easily copied and pasted into a PowerPoint:

Slide 1: Introduction

• Company name and logo
•  Brief description of the problem your company is solving

Slide 2: Market Opportunity

• Market size and growth potential
• How is your company uniquely positioned to capture a share of the market

Slide 3: Business Model

• Revenue streams
• Pricing strategy
• Customer acquisition plan

Slide 4: Products and Services

• Highlight your products or services
• Explain how they solve the problem you identified earlier
• Use visuals to showcase your product and its features

Slide 5: Marketing and Sales Strategy

• Outline your marketing and sales strategies
• Explain how you plan to acquire and retain customers
• Explain your customer acquisition cost and lifetime value

Slide 6: Competition

• Discuss your competition
• Explain how you differentiate yourself from them
• Highlight your competitive advantage and barriers to entry

Slide 7: Financials

• Provide financial projections
• Revenue, expenses, and profitability
• Be realistic and transparent
• Explain any assumptions you made in your projections

Slide 8: Team

• Introduce your team, their relevant experience and their track record of projects successfully driven to completion
• Explain how your team is uniquely qualified to execute your business plan and how passionate they are about the project

Slide 9: Ask

• Be specific about how much money you are raising
• Explain what you will use the funds for and, optionally, how the business will work regardless of the investment but how it will work much better and faster with the funds to generate significant returns
• Explain your fundraising timeline and any terms you are offering investors

It is also essential to make your pitch deck visually appealing and easy to understand and tell a compelling story about your company, your passion, and how this investment is an excellent opportunity for the investor.

Investors receive many pitch decks, so make sure yours stands out and leaves a lasting impression.

Good luck with your presentation.