Essential Pitch Deck Design for Founders

As a startup founder, your next investment round is one pitch deck away. Throughout your startup's journey, you can count on needing a pitch deck at some point.

However, investors are inundated with decks from startups. Sending one is easy, as many VCs have a dedicated submission section on their websites, but ensuring your deck stands out—that's a whole different challenge.

So, how can you make sure your pitch deck gives you the best chance of securing funding?

Having created dozens, if not hundreds, of pitch decks myself, I decided to share my insights with fellow startup founders.

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The Basics of Pitch Deck Design

The first question to ask yourself is, “What’s the goal of this pitch deck?” You might create a deck to raise funds, secure a partnership, or close a deal. This post focuses on fundraising, but these guidelines can be roughly adapted for other purposes.

Equally important to setting your goal is stating it. An investor once told me, “You’d be surprised how many decks I read and still don’t know what the startup wants.” If your purpose isn’t clear, you may lose follow-up opportunities. So, make sure your ask is explicit—both in the pitch deck and in the email you send it with.

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How to Decide the Number of Slides You Need

Another key aspect is the structure of your deck and the number of slides to include. Plenty of templates exist, and if you’re working with an incubator, they likely have a preferred format.

A popular guideline is the one from Sequoia Capital (you can find it here). It’s a great one, but if you’re aiming to stand out, you won’t achieve that by following the same format everyone else uses.

Instead, start by creating bullet points for all the topics you want to cover—aim for 20 to 30 points. Next, identify the main 2-3 insights for each point. As you do this, you’ll find you can often combine points. Narrow these down to 12-14 slides. And remember: end with the slide showing your ask.

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The Business You’re Presenting

As you tell your story, it’s important to follow a logical structure that demonstrates you understand your market and business model.

Most pitch deck advice suggests covering problem, solution, customer, etc. But in my experience, the structure should also reflect whether you’re a B2B or B2C business, as the two aren’t presented the same way.

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B2C Pitch Deck

• Customer Persona: Describe your target customer. Include not only demographics but also their pain points, desires, and the job to be done.
• Customer Experience: Show how your product or service makes their life better.
• Marketing & Distribution: Outline your customer acquisition and retention strategies.
• Competitive Advantages: Highlight what makes your offering unique.

B2B Pitch Deck

• Problem & Solution: Address specific pain points for your target customers.
• Customer Traction: Show existing customers or, if early-stage, pilots or letters of intent (LOIs).
• Sales & Distribution Strategy: Explain your sales plan and ability to execute.
• Competitive Landscape: Compare your solution to existing alternatives. Switching costs are often high in B2B, so show why customers would overcome these to work with you.
• Industry Experience: Include relevant experience or connections to establish credibility.

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Why Now?

‍Timing is crucial. Show why this is the right moment to invest in your company and the trends you’re capitalizing on. Highlight the opportunity investors might miss if they don’t get involved now.

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Team Slide

This one often goes wrong. The purpose of the team slide isn’t to list everyone’s role but to highlight your team’s ability to execute. Emphasize relevant past achievements, industry experience, or personal motivation if that’s what sets you apart.

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Financials

If you’ve ever crammed an Excel sheet onto a slide, you’re not alone.

Instead, summarize your financials. Investors want to know how you’ll allocate funds in relation to your goals. Group expenses into categories (e.g., product, marketing) and avoid vague labels like “team.” Instead, show how each team member contributes to the end goal.

Save the detailed spreadsheet for follow-up discussions.

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Pitch Deck Storytelling and Design

Your pitch deck is the first impression of your company. In a split second, it communicates your brand, professionalism, and attention to detail.

Ask yourself: What impression do I want to leave?

Your deck should tell a cohesive story, with each slide logically flowing into the next. Make sure it looks polished and professional. Studies show we’re more likely to back companies that look like winners—and a well-designed deck helps reinforce that perception.

Use impactful visuals. Be it images or graphs, use them to support text and not to add extra info. Otherwise you’ll overload the reader. When it comes to graphs and numbers, less is more. No need for too much details.

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In Conclusion

Your pitch deck won’t close the deal for you, but it can help you secure the meeting. Once you decide to approach investors, ensure that every part of your communication is consistent. From emails to your signature to your website, each touchpoint should support your narrative of success.

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Are you looking for help to make your pitch deck stand out? get in contact with us to see how we can help.

We're a design and marketing studio specialised in helping fast-growing tech companies. We've helped multiple companies raise funds thanks to great decks, fresh brands and a cohesive story line. If you want to know more about our fundraising services you can visit our dedicated page or book a call.

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