best business plan pitches

• Business Essentials
• Leadership & Management
• Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB)
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• Digital Transformation
• Finance & Accounting
• Business in Society
• For Organizations
• Support Portal
• Media Coverage
• Founding Donors
• Leadership Team

• Harvard Business School →
• HBS Online →
• Business Insights →

Business Insights

Harvard Business School Online's Business Insights Blog provides the career insights you need to achieve your goals and gain confidence in your business skills.

• Career Development
• Communication
• Decision-Making
• Earning Your MBA
• Negotiation
• News & Events
• Productivity
• Staff Spotlight
• Student Profiles
• Work-Life Balance
• AI Essentials for Business
• Alternative Investments
• Business Analytics
• Business Strategy
• Business and Climate Change
• Design Thinking and Innovation
• Digital Marketing Strategy
• Disruptive Strategy
• Economics for Managers
• Entrepreneurship Essentials
• Financial Accounting
• Global Business
• Launching Tech Ventures
• Leadership Principles
• Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
• Leading Change and Organizational Renewal
• Leading with Finance
• Management Essentials
• Negotiation Mastery
• Organizational Leadership
• Power and Influence for Positive Impact
• Strategy Execution
• Sustainable Business Strategy
• Sustainable Investing
• Winning with Digital Platforms

How to Effectively Pitch a Business Idea

• 27 Aug 2020

You’ve identified an underserved need and validated your startup idea . Now it’s time to talk about your business to potential investors. Yet, how do you effectively communicate your idea’s promise and possible impact on the market?

Pitching a business idea is one of the most nerve-wracking parts of any entrepreneur’s journey. It’s what stands in the way between your vision and the financing needed to turn it into a reality. Although daunting, there are steps you can take to ensure a greater chance of success.

Access your free e-book today.

What Makes a Great Pitch?

To make a successful pitch, entrepreneurs must exhibit several characteristics to convince investors to fund their innovative ideas .

Every entrepreneur needs an intricate understanding of their idea, target market, growth strategy, product-market fit , and overall business model . This differentiates your business concept and solidifies the steps needed to make it a reality. The perfect pitch shows investors your proof of concept and instills confidence that they can expect a return on investment .

Check out our video on pitching below, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more explainer content!

Another crucial component of a successful pitch is understanding the venture capital (VC) ecosystem.

“It’s critical for entrepreneurs to understand the background and motivations of venture capitalists so when entrepreneurs seek them out to help fund their venture, they know what to prioritize in a firm and how to build a strong, trusting relationship,” says Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Jeffrey Bussgang in the online course Launching Tech Ventures .

To secure funding and support, here are essential steps to ensure your pitch is effective.

How to Pitch a Business Idea

1. know who you’re pitching.

Some entrepreneurs try to get in front of every investor, despite their industry expertise or firm’s investment stage. Consider that, when you accept an investment, it’s about more than money; you enter a partnership. You must perform your due diligence and research potential investors before making your pitch.

When researching, ask yourself:

What industries do they invest in?

A VC firm’s industry focus depends on what the partners’ niche is and where their passions lie. Some firms specialize in a particular sector, such as financial technology (fintech) or education technology (edtech).

For example, Rethink Education is a venture capital fund that invests in early- and growth-stage edtech startups, while Blockchain Capital is dedicated to financing companies innovating in the crypto market. Others are generalists and span several industries.

Knowing the types of companies the firm invests in can help you tailor your pitch and zero in on their presumed priorities.

What stage do they invest in?

If you’re in the earliest stages of business development, you won’t receive growth equity, which is reserved for mature companies that need capital to expand operations, enter a new market, or acquire another business. Before making your pitch, have a rough estimate of the money and resources you need to launch, and then align yourself with investors who can help at that particular stage.

What’s the investor’s track record?

Dig deeper into the investor’s experience and investment history to determine the types of companies they typically finance, the background knowledge they might already have, and whether your personalities will mesh. This information will enable you to modify your pitch and determine if this is the right person or fund to partner with.

“The best venture capitalists become trusted partners and advisors to the founders and team,” says HBS Professor William Sahlman in the online course Entrepreneurship Essentials . “They help recruit key employees. They introduce the company to potential customers. They help raise subsequent rounds of capital. In some cases, they signal that the firm they've backed is a winner, which helps make that assertion true.”

Given the benefits and high stakes, the more you know going into a pitch, the better.

2. Consider How You Present Yourself, Not Simply Your Idea

Although your ideas and skills matter , your personality is equally as important. According to research published in the Harvard Business Review , venture capitalists’ interest in a startup “was driven less by judgments that the founder was competent than by perceptions about character and trustworthiness.”

Investors also want to know they’re entering a partnership with the right people. Jennifer Fonstad, co-founder of Aspect Ventures , acknowledges in Entrepreneurship Essentials that her investment firm “thinks about team and team dynamics as being very critical.”

Investors want to know whether the founders have worked together before, if your startup’s early hires have complementary skill sets, and whether you’ll be flexible, open-minded, and willing to embrace different perspectives.

Think about this as you prepare your pitch. If investors poke holes in your idea, will you get defensive? When they ask for financial projections, will you exaggerate the numbers? Hopefully, your answers are “no”—firms want to partner with founders they can trust who are open to guidance and mentorship—but if you’re second-guessing your reactions, consider what you might be asked and practice your responses.

As Sahlman reinforces in Entrepreneurship Essentials : “Most experienced investors look at the people first and the opportunity second. Even when a team is young and inexperienced, an investor depends on them to make the right decisions.”

3. Tell a Story

When describing your business idea, zero in on the problem you address for your target audience and how you solve it better than the competition. You could do this by presenting a real-life scenario in which you describe the pain point a current or prospective customer faced and how your product or service fixed the issue. This can help engage investors on a personal level and inspire them to see your idea’s potential.

By complementing your spreadsheets and charts with a compelling story, you can paint a fuller picture of your startup’s future and more effectively highlight its business opportunity.

4. Cover the Details

While it’s important to set the stage, you also need to cover the specifics. In your pitch deck, concisely define your value proposition and share a memorable tagline for investors to leave the meeting with.

According to Bussgang in Launching Tech Ventures , every pitch to an investor should contain the following:

• Intro: Focus on answering important questions like who you are, why you’re asking for funding, and what your founder-market fit is.
• Problem: Talk about your ideal customer’s pain point and how you plan to solve it.
• Solution: Explain how your idea is a compelling solution and why it’s better than existing solutions.
• Opportunity and Market Size: Provide your total addressable market (TAM), serviceable addressable market (SAM), and serviceable obtainable market (SOM) through research.
• Competitive Analysis: Understand your unique differences in the market that can help you sustain a competitive advantage.
• Go-to-Market Plan: Clarify how you’re going to reach your customers.
• Business Model: Describe how you’re going to make money.
• Financials: Define what your financial projections are and how you’re going to provide returns for investors.
• The Ask: Detail how much funding you need, how long it will last, and what milestones you hope to achieve.

“VCs will expect entrepreneurs to clearly define the milestones they need to achieve with each round of funding,” Bussgang continues. “Entrepreneurs should know what experiments they will run to reach these milestones and what they expect the results will be.”

5. Show the Roadmap

Although you’re in your business’s early stages, investors want to know how they’ll cash out in the end.

“To truly understand the motivations behind VC firms, remember that they are professional investors,” Bussgang explains in Launching Tech Ventures . “Their objective is to generate the maximum return for their limited partners with a dual fiduciary duty to their investors and the company.”

To clinch your pitch, highlight your exit strategy and the options available.

The most common exit strategies include:

• Acquisition: When one company buys most or all of another company’s shares to gain control of it
• Merger: When two existing companies unite into one new company
• Initial Public Offering (IPO): When a private company issues its first sale of stocks to the public and can start raising capital from public investors

Related: What Are Mergers & Acquisitions? 4 Key Risks

3 Kinds of Pitches for Entrepreneurs

While all effective pitches share foundational elements, you should use different types depending on the scenario. To increase your chances of success, tailor your pitch to your audience and the available time frame.

1. The Elevator Pitch

This is one of the most popular pitches. Use this when you need to communicate their startup’s value in 60 seconds or less.

An effective elevator pitch should be concise, convincing, and convey your startup’s value proposition and differentiators. For tech business ideas, mention the innovative technology that sets your concept apart. At the end, include a call to action, such as the amount of capital required to launch.

2. The Short-Form Pitch

You should portray your business idea’s value to prospective clients and investors as efficiently as possible. This means summarizing the most important elements of your idea in a way that makes them want to hear more. Highlight the market size, how you’ll create barriers for competition, your plan to monetize the business, and how much financing you need.

Short-form pitches can run from three to 10 minutes; if you’re pitching in a competitive setting, note any length requirements. These shorter pitches can pique investors’ interest and earn you the chance to present a long-form pitch.

3. The Long-Form Pitch

Sometimes, you’re fortunate enough to have more than a few minutes to pitch your idea. If this opportunity presents itself, it’s crucial to make the most of your time and address every aspect of your business plan.

“You’re not just trying to start any business,” Bussgang says in Launching Tech Ventures . “You’re trying to create a business that’s profitable, sustainable, and valuable.

Zero in on your story and share a real-life scenario. Detail the market size to illustrate demand and clear examples of how you’ll attract and retain customers, particularly in light of competitors. This will show you’re planning for—and ahead of—future challenges.

You should also have a blueprint for testing product-market fit and early results, along with a detailed monetization plan. Lastly, share your exit strategy and the amount of capital needed to, one day, achieve it. Your long-form pitch should communicate your business concept clearly and concisely, open the possibility for follow-up questions, and capture the investors’ interest.

Consider preparing all three pitch lengths to be ready for any opportunity. It’s important to stay agile so you can modify your pitch to fit specific length requirements.

Landing the Pitch

Every investor prioritizes different data and information. Yet, if you start by choosing the right investor and then align their needs with your proposed market opportunity, value proposition, and exit strategy, you have a chance at landing the pitch.

“In some ways, startup success depends just as much on whether your hypothesis about the future is right, as it does on whether your idea is a good one,” Bussgang explains in Launching Tech Ventures .

As a result, it’s important for you to do your due diligence before pitching your business idea to investors.

If you’re interested in learning more about what investors look for and how you can create value, explore Entrepreneurship Essentials and Launching Tech Ventures , two of our entrepreneurship and innovation courses . Not sure which is the right fit? Download our free course flowchart to determine which best aligns with your goals.

This post was updated on July 28, 2023. It was originally published on August 27, 2020.

About the Author

Video Editing

• Animation Tips
• Website Tips

30 Inspiring Examples of the Best Pitch Decks + Templates

Renderforest Staff

02 Sep 2023

13 min read  

2022 unfolded new rules for startups who chase raising investments.

Global stats showed us VC time spent reviewing pitch decks dropped by 24% compared to 2021 . Converted to minutes – investors are ready to spend less than 3 minutes ( 2:42, on average ) on your submitted pitch deck samples now.

We can almost hear the faint echo of Scooby-Doo’s “ Ruh Roh! ” from the startup scene.

But worry not. Renderforest knows the reliable formula for creating a winning pitch deck – even if you have only 2:42 minutes to present the whole thing.

In this thorough guide, we’ve collected everything you need to nail that pitch deck – from the ABCs to the actual examples of winning decks and templates .

We cover…

• the best pitch decks of all time and their recipe for success, 
• unbreakable rules for creating the best investor pitch decks,
• stellar pitch deck templates from Renderforest that make deck creation easy as pie. 

Keep scrolling down for more!

Anatomy of an Effective Pitch Deck for Startups

Investor and serial entrepreneur Alejandro Cremades claims around 10 slides are enough for a winning investor pitch deck . Among these, the three most crucial slides that investors usually pay attention to are Financials, Team, and Competition – the core aspects that help them understand your startup’s potential for success.

This can be considered the raw ingredients of a successful pitch deck. However, your recipe might have different proportions and additives depending on the round of financing you’re raising, the sector you’re pitching in, the size of your business, and the current market trends.

Here’s how you should approach the process to find out what to include in the deck to match your specific needs.

Understanding the Purpose

Switch off your marketing hat and put on the investor one. Ask yourself: “ What’s in it for them? “, “ Would I be impressed with this idea as an investor? “

If you feel your initial pitch deck structure can leave investors on the fence, and if the hook is not strong enough, it’s time to rework the structure and add more relevant details that will make them feel invested.

There’s a formula that works in 99.9% of cases. It’s called being concise, relevant, and clear .

You should cut to the chase and transfer the most important information with a few words.

• What’s the problem your startup is trying to solve? ( Think twice, triple, or more to be absolutely confident the problem touches a wider audience )
• How is your startup going to solve this problem? ( Ensure it’s not a “We think that’s going to work” type of solution but rather a “This is how we are going to do it” approach )
• Spice up your declarative statements with numbers . ( Nothing personal, but if numbers don’t back up your statements – your statements won’t back you up )

To recapitulate, find that hook, that point that will make investors believe in the potential of your startup and the necessity of your product. Then formulate it in the clearest way possible.

Here’s how AirBnB once did it .

Structuring Your Pitch Deck

As said before, the best pitch decks rotate around 10 slides. Usually, the must-haves include the following.

• Introduction
• Problem and solution (can be merged or separate)
• Numbers, Figures, Statistics
• Competitive Analysis
• Market Analysis
• Financial Projections
• Team Profile
• Conclusion/Thank You Page/Contact

Structure your pitch deck now

The business world considers these to be the key elements for a successful pitch deck, as by including them all, you cover the entire story of your startup. So, while you can modify your brand deck structure according to your needs, take advantage of everything crucial.

On top of that, feel free to restructure your order of slides if it helps you to make a better flow. 

For example, if you’re raising money for a product already on the market, it might be better to start with your product and team info instead of the problem. On the contrary, if you’re pre-launch, it is better to start with the problem and focus on your product afterward, as investors need to understand why your solution is necessary and how you will solve the problem before they even learn what the solution is.

Design Principles and Best Practices

Because human brains are wired to process visuals faster than text, visuals are considered to be 50 times more memorable than textual content . So, your key figures and core messaging should be presented as infographics, charts, diagrams, and illustrations to capture the necessary attention.

We won’t go into much detail about styling pitch deck visuals here, as you already have a huge library of pitch deck templates by Renderforest already designed according to the best practices of corporate design.

Instead, here are some tips on which colors and fonts work best based on the most effective pitch deck examples.

White, gray, and blue are considered to be one of the most suitable color palettes for corporate-style presentations . Best pitch decks use these colors as a background and accentuate the key points with bright or dark accents, as these neutral tones are associated in human brains with reliability, trust, intelligence, balance and other positive features.

Scientists have found the highest correlation between Times New Roman and Helvetica fonts and the formal, legible perception of the text . And the font psychology says Sans Serif fonts such as Square, Humanist, Grotesque, Geometric and similar are very suitable for modern devices . These fonts associate with clean-looking, clear, and efficient content. Meanwhile, San Serif fonts’ letters require less space and are better displayed on desktop and mobile screens.

These rules are not set in stone, but the best pitch decks follow them, so it’s recommended to keep them in mind.

Find Your Ready-to-Use Pitch Deck Template Below!

If you’re sitting in front of an empty slide trying to figure out how to structure your pitch deck, we suggest you close it and try a more efficient way.

Renderforest offers you a wide range of corporate-style pitch deck templates for any sector and purpose. If you can harness the power of pre-designed templates inspired by the best pitch decks, why not try?

Our introduction to the startup pitch deck article can help you to understand how Renderforest can assist you in creating a successful presentation tailored for a specific investor or accelerator.

You can also review other helpful resources like our Startup Pitch Deck Intro or another Pitch Deck Introduction .

Meanwhile, we share the ready-to-use templates below to create the best startup pitch decks with zero design or coding knowledge.

Just choose the template you like , customize it , and export it in one click from Renderfores t to use it for any purpose.

Best Startup Pitch Decks

Here’s a classic version of the startup pitch template with a minimalistic design with a white background and turquoise-green accent. This pitch deck pack features 24 scenes you can filter to collect the needed slides.

The font color is dark blue – the ideal color for presentation titles and subtitles, as it is associated with intelligence and trust. Scenes include minimum visuals, yet the arrangement of elements and the font choice is completely eye-catching, leaving you enough space to focus on the content.

There are all standard pages that the best agency pitch decks are expected to have – competitor analysis, team, user feedback, service popularity with numbers, etc. So, this could be a great choice if you need to create a comprehensive yet classic and minimalistic presentation. You will have no shortage of slides to present your entire story. Meanwhile, slides are not visually heavy, so you can be sure the audience won’t get overwhelmed with information.

A minimalistic cover with dark blue background features the project title and a short description. If your company is established and has already made some noise, you can add the company logo here. If you need to showcase anything more, you can upload it on the cover – the overall formal impression will remain intact.

Corporate Pitch Deck

If you need a more customizable pitch deck template that gives you more creative opportunities, this is your best choice. This pitch deck corporate presentation includes 235 scenes ( no typo, the number is real ) for companies with a lot to share or those needing a huge pool of design ideas to mix elements until they come up with the best look.

This pitch template is more dynamic in terms of colors – white background, green and purple accents – a combination that works perfectly for creative industries. This color blend catches the eye and adds some playfulness to the formal corporate look.

The pack includes different styles of pitch deck examples to choose from. There are text-heavy slides, image-heavy pages, and more balanced, minimalistic designs that leave space to relax the eyes of the viewers.

As the best pitch decks are about the right balance between text and visuals, you’ll have plenty of choices here to create the perfect look for your presentation.

The cover is very minimalistic – plain white background and the company title. This simplicity can make an even bigger statement about your startup.

Professional Pitch Deck

Need a more pastel-colored, creative investor pitch deck that features soft colors and is not afraid to have many team members’ photos? This professional pitch deck includes 120 scenes with a light pink and blue pastel color palette that works great for creative industries and startups.

Thanks to a milder design, this pitch deck template is attractive to the audience but still keeps the professionalism and trustworthiness of a corporate presentation. However, though the common rules of formal approach are kept, these brand decks will better suit companies in creative industries or services closer to consumer psychology.

Why? Because pink usually speaks about playfulness, nurturing, and romantic feelings, and these are hardly the feelings you want to evoke if your startup, let’s say, is in the AI industry. However, if you are in the fashion industry, for example, this pitch presentation will work perfectly!

120 scenes are more than enough to collect your desired pitch deck structure. And with the cover design options focusing on the startup’s team photos, you can emphasize the human side of the business and build trust among potential investors.

Business Plan Pitch Deck

Closing the list of the best investor pitch decks from Renderforest with a business plan with a deck pack that features a gradient purple and peach color palette that softens the visual impression. That’s a basic pitch template – consisting of only 17 scenes and containing only the very necessary slides, such as vision, mission, goals, business plan, and questions.

Who can this brand deck be most useful for? It’s a great choice for those who don’t have so much content to share yet need a full-fledged presentation. Short but informative, this business plan is best used for sharing an idea with potential investors at the early stages of the product.

A potential drawback is the lack of slides with rich figures and data, as other pitch deck samples of this list have. However, if you’re still in the early stages of your project and still need to get all the data to share, this template can be your best choice.

Get Inspired with Real-World Examples of The Best Pitch Decks

What about delving deeper into the world of the best pitch decks? 

We invite you to join us on the exhilarating journey of reviewing the most successful pitch decks! Our editorial team cherrypicked the most inspiring presentations of the worldly known companies ( once startups like yours that managed to make a real success story ) and learned how the best agency pitch decks are made.

Take this opportunity to observe, get inspired, and apply the knowledge to your business!

1. Facebook

Back in 2004, when Facebook was not what it is today, the company owners had a crystal-clear understanding of their potential customers. Who are they? What’s their purchase power, and which part of their budget is reserved for the service? All these questions were answered in their pitch deck in great detail, awakening trust in the company’s success.

Additionally, Facebook had a clear action plan of what they were going to do and how. That’s one of the best pitch decks for a reason – it ensures the investors that their money isn’t going to be lost on a project without an action plan.

• Even if and especially if your startup is bringing an innovative product, be confident in your statements and ensure you transfer your detailed plan of action to make that revolutionary idea well-accepted by the public .
• Have detailed and realistic calculations behind your statements. Let data speak for itself.

The first slide is a brilliant trigger for an investor pitch deck. Storage is a mess – at times, Dropbox was launching its solution, and this messy picture was relatable to almost everyone. The rest is even more convincing – as the company has a very detailed analysis of the current market situation – what consumers are looking for and what currently exists from the competitors’ side.

We especially loved how clearly Dropbox explains its features – no extra words to distract the attention, just a few points that make them stand out. That’s a great way to present your unique selling propositions and add more weight to the investors’ decision-making.

• Work well on your brand deck hook. Ensure your highlighted problem triggers people at once .
• Know your customers and competitors well. Be fully acquainted with every nuance of your niche to prove you can improve it.

Did we already say Airbnb has one of the best pitch decks of all time? We want to state that again!

Showing 560M serviceable available market out of 2 billion + available total market is an undeniable statement of how great a potential Airbnb has. It also has an impressive competitor analysis – a creatively pictured visual graph with few words which clearly highlight the gaps Airbnb is going to fill.

And we loved the closing. Here they have a clear dialogue – we need a precisely estimated amount of money for specifically planned results.

• Try to present your research results and findings in a format other than words – be creative and use original graphs, charts, or any other visual tools.
• Be absolutely precise about the capital you need and estimate which real results you can show investors with that money .

The famous taxi company did a good trick. It looked at the market gaps and inconveniences from two sides – from the perspective of clients and drivers. That’s one of the best pitch decks that justifies the urgent need for the product from both sides.

What’s unique among the best pitch decks presented in this list so far is that Uber presented potential outcomes of their business plan – best-case scenario, realistic scenario, and worst-case one. That’s an inspiring way to demonstrate how well the team thinks through their idea and is ready for any possible outcome.

• Try to have a comprehensive look at all the stakeholders that are going to be impacted by your product – clients, employees, affiliates and the public.
• Show your responsible approach by having your action plan’s possible outcomes well estimated . Be prepared to act in any situation.

One of the best SaaS pitch decks –  Buffer’s one is the closest to what we describe as a golden standard of modern-day presentations. It has 13 pages, is well structured, and contains only the key points needed to put the idea out there.

One of the best startup pitch decks – Buffer’s presentation- contains detailed milestones of what the company has achieved and intends to do next. This detailed timeline with dates and numbers helps to build trust in the team’s proficiency and the journey they have ahead.

• Try to accommodate all your important points in 10-15 pages at most. If you can say it in fewer words, do it . Short pitch deck examples are more inviting to read.
• Clearly document all your important achievements so you can further present a clear and detailed history of your progress. Record dates of important events and the results you achieved.

Tinder wasn’t always called Tinder. When it started as a Match Box, the company made one of the best startup pitch decks, which is out of the ordinary in its structure and flow.

Instead of the standard problem-solution scheme ( the effectiveness of which we do not underestimate ), the company starts its brand deck with the story of Matt – a guy that’s a prototypical representative of Tinder’s target audience. He wants to talk to a girl at the party, but he’s shy – all the traits that this niche audience can easily relate to.

• Don’t be afraid to go out of the box with your brand deck structure . If your creative juices are flowing and you can describe your suggested product and why it’s so necessary for a specific target audience group with an inventive approach, don’t limit yourself to standard slides.

Well, WeWork is considered one of the best pitch decks due to its robust analytical and research data. It’s very detailed in its explanation of how it is going to change the office rental industry as a whole and what kind of services it will provide.

WeWork has done an excellent job of outlining the global market for co-working spaces and how it is set to grow exponentially. Just looking at this investor pitch deck is enough to realize this company knows what it’s doing. It also shows a detailed plan with costings and the 5-year projection.

• That’s not a common rule for every company ( and actually, you need a company with a good history to do it ), but if you can thoroughly analyze all data pertaining to your business, do it . Not only will you impress investors, but the company will have a clear path for the next years with a good chance of success.

Recommended Reading

• 10 Business Presentation Examples | Say Goodbye to PowerPoint!
• Here’s Your Guide to Creating a Proposal Template Design in Seconds!
• The Power of Data: Annual Report Format Explained with Templates

The widely embraced social media phenomenon, TikTok, had its product developed in every detail when preparing this investor pitch deck. This allowed them to focus on the user experience and present a detailed explanation of how their product works and why it has the potential to become one of the most popular apps on the market.

Having screenshots of the final product with elaborate descriptions of the design and features is a winning play as it gives investors a taste of what the app offers and how it can be profitable.

• Again, this depends on which product development phase you apply for the investor’s pitch. If you have a finished product or can include at least a prototype for investors to see , that’s a great way to show the potential of your product.

9. BuzzFeed

The next on our list of the best pitch decks is BuzzFeed. What we loved about their investor pitch deck was the competitor analysis presented with the Venn diagram. This approach is a great way to compare the company’s product with similar products already on the market and show their intersecting points.

BuzzFeed also does a great job explaining its key differentiators and the development perspectives – where we are, where we are headed, and how big this can become. This cascading down from a big picture to the specifics is very helpful for investors to understand how this product can become profitable.

Lastly, they didn’t mention only founders or CEOs in the team slide as many others do. The list goes down to advisors, developers, designers, and editors, which, in our view, shows a more human-centered approach that is very inviting.

• Get creative with competitor analysis. Use diagrams and charts to cut through the noise and clearly present all positions.
• Go beyond the founders and CEOs of your startup when introducing the team .

We are in love with the initial statement on Moz’s pitch template’s cover. This brief sentence conveys a wealth of information about the company’s previous journey and where it’s heading now + it adds much confidence to the team and their project.

Further, they did a great mix of storytelling and a truly deep analysis of their industry, competitors, and the existing market. We especially liked the detailed breakdown of Moz’s target market and its distribution.

And the unique point – Moz presents potential acquisitions that could take place in the future as part of their roadmap.

• Work hard on how you first introduce your startup to investors . Start your brand deck with an impressive statement that succinctly introduces you and awakes interest.
• Some say storytelling is dead – but it’s only if there’s no data to back it up. Moz did a great analysis of all the aspects that investors must consider .

11. LinkedIn 

What a brilliant problem slide – LinkedIn lists three popular ways of professional people search at the moment and how they are inefficient. Further, they nailed it by presenting LinkedIn as a Professional People Search 2.0, comparing it to the successful companies of other fields that transformed how things worked before.

These parallels are drawn throughout the whole pitch deck that makes its main point clear: LinkedIn will be the next generation of professional people search focused on user-based networks, a model that is already proven to work in the examples of Google, eBay, and Paypal.

We also loved how detailed and structured LinkedIn presents its superiority over its competitors. No loud words – just realistic calculations and comparisons showing their leading position creates high barriers to entry for the competition.

Key Points 

• Proving your chosen model works as others do is a great way to convince investors . Of course, you must ensure this comparison is accurate and relevant to your product.
• Don’t get unnecessarily shy when it comes to bragging about your achievements. Highlight your competitive advantages and put them in the context of real numbers that investors can understand.

12. Coinbase

Here you can see one of the most concise pitch decks where the team is super laconic in presenting their project. The winning maneuver here is tying the first part of the brand deck to Bitcoin – a global currency, the popularity of which is growing exponentially.

Further, the company merges the Bitcoin potential and its product by presenting Coinbase as the easy-to-use Bitcoin wallet compared to all other complex solutions existing in the market.

And the cherry on top? It draws a parallel between the connection of Coinbase and Bitcoin and iTunes and MP3 to create associations of success and reliability.

• Less is more, and we can’t state that enough. Your presentation can become one of the best pitch decks, even if it’s very simple and succinct in its wording .

13. Foursquare

We give the awards for the “most detailed and clear explanation of the product” to Foursquare. This is one of the best startup pitch decks if your startup is at the beginning of its journey and has just released the product’s first version.

If you are at your starting point, this type of detailed brand deck can help you fully reveal the whole idea of the company. We recommend you take their writing style and the construction of the slides if there is a need to present your idea from scratch, and the lack of details can work against you.

• If your startup is a complete novice and needs to build its reputation from scratch, create a detailed deck that will fully explain your vision .

14. Snapchat

More a user-centered presentation of how the product can be used rather than a pitch deck for investors, Snapchat’s presentation anyways finds its place in our list of best pitch decks. Why? Because they are mastering the art of product demonstration – you feel like you are about to use the product already when you see their slides.

What’s the secret behind it? Very personal and honest style of sharing information + the team behind Snapchat developed a great philosophy before they launched the product – embracing the moment and unguarded conversations.

• Come up with a deep and well-thought-out idea that will support your product. It will create a strong foundation for your communication with potential users or investors.
• Tie your tone of voice to the philosophy of the product to create a comprehensive picture and make users feel like they are a part of the story.

15. YouTube 

Well, YouTube’s early-stage presentation is not as visually appealing and modern-looking as others in our best pitch decks list. But we want you to look at it from another perspective – how with just an idea and a few slides, the YouTube team managed to convey their vision of how the product will look at its full capacity. 

Here, the emphasis is mostly on the genius idea behind the startup – videos exist as isolated files, and something should be done with that. The team behind YouTube managed to find the right pain point that triggered many in the gradually growing digital era. And if your idea is worthy, it can win over investors even without an outstanding presentation. Just a clear presentation of a great idea.

• Without underestimating the importance of a good presentation, don’t forget that a worthy idea is what lies at the core of success . So be sure to think it through and come up with something unique that will spark interest.

16. Crunchbase

Well, here’s another great example of mixing creative and analytical approaches – the Crunchbase pitch deck. They perfectly promote their value as a private company prospecting space with a hook – the public company market is shrinking, while private companies are the way to go. Meanwhile, many professionals strive to get opportunities in the private market. Added the thoughtfully picked visuals of ice fissure – and the viewers fall into the feeling of the cold inaccessible world of private companies where they need help.

It’s also worth mentioning Crunchbase is the first in our list of best pitch decks of all time that presents a growth engine. It’s a great way to demonstrate the effectiveness of your project and show investors how it can reach its full potential.

• If your muse just woke up, complement your statements with visuals that strengthen the emotional impact of your project . Visuals are a universal language that can help you win the hearts of many.
• Design a growth engine that is achievable and based on real numbers and projections.

17. Peloton

Here’s something new we haven’t talked about before. Peloton has one of the best investor pitch decks due to the detailed brand wheel on which they built their whole presentation.

The brand wheel is a clear graph showing the core four aspects necessary for investors to understand the whole idea of the product and how it fits into the market. In more simple terms, the brand wheel shows the brand-customer relationship from many angles – from what the startup team tries to convey to how it’s perceived by their customers.

We liked the brand strategy Peloton has – they have very detailed demographics and psychographics of their target audience. Consequently, they know which messaging and visuals are the most suitable for their potential customers.

• Have a brand wheel to track the unnoticed areas of your consumers’ behavior . Knowing what your target audience wants and needs is the key to success in many marketing campaigns. And if you can prove to investors you have the key to your target audience’s hearts, the chances your startup will get investments are much higher.

18. Wayfair

The pitch deck of Wayfair awakes emotions of comfy home life, as the colors and visuals bring a feeling of warmth and coziness to the viewer. That’s this investor pitch deck’s first success as Wayfair transforms how people shop for home furnishings and decor. So, if their presentation design alone can set the right emotional background, their desired impression is half made.

What further caught our attention were the detailed financials. Reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, and illustrative customer acquisition cost – all of these elements are a great way to demonstrate how the company is developing and growing in the language of numbers that investors understand the best.

• Leverage the power of financials to give the most real-life demonstration of the development and success of your company.
• Play with colors and design elements in the background to convey the desired impression of your project.

19. Walmart

Another one of the best startup pitch decks – Walmart shows the effectiveness of their investment in Flipkart Group. This eCommerce company can open new doors into an online market for Walmart.

This presentation demonstrates the effectiveness of the synergy between the two companies – Walmart brings its offline network and expertise. At the same time, Flipkart Group provides an online presence and knowledge of the market.

Slide 7 is a good way to present your startup’s growth opportunity in a specific market. You can see Walmart included all the key metrics that comprehensively overview current and future opportunities. It’s a good example of deep analytical data that shows the growth rate in the market, added detailed data about potential customers and their characteristics.

• If you aim to show the investment potential of your company or project, break down all the key metrics into small pieces and demonstrate them clearly. Your investor pitch deck should show what each cooperation party brings to the table .

Coming to Bliss, here’s one of the pitch decks with a great approach to justifying why they need the finance they need and why investors should pay attention now and not later.

Their financing slide is a good example of giving investors the WHY behind their investment. Here, Bliss provides precise data on when they can reach certain milestones and how their decisions will affect the company’s future. Isn’t it more impressive than just showing the number of cash they need?

We also love Bliss creating urgency by emphasizing engineering talent’s poor adaptability to the increasingly remote world. They provide investors with a clear understanding of how their investment can help them to bridge the gap between current and future states.

• Create a sense of urgency explaining why the specific project is the right one to invest in at this particular moment .
• Give the investors an understanding of what their investment can bring to the company and how it will lead to success. Show how your raised money will help you to reach the desired future state .

21. Launchrock

Best pitch decks can break the rules of standard structures, and Launchrock’s example is great proof of it.

There is no standard problem/solution slide that explains the pain point and how the product solves it. Instead, Launchrock used an unconventional approach – they just listed their key achievements so far (users, shares, etc.) and some examples of how customers use them.

Actually, it’s not about the standard structure that matters but the effectiveness of presenting your value and how it can be used. Launchrock was a successful example of this approach – they showed what they did and how it worked.

This investor pitch deck is wrapped up by a large team of investors and advisors – a great way to show the engagement of people who believe in your idea.

• Rethink the structure of your pitch deck – don’t limit yourself to the traditional structure . As long as your presentation effectively conveys your project’s value, it’s all good.
• If investors already believe in your project, include them in your brand deck to create a feeling of community .

22. Intercom

In contrast to the previous brand deck, Intercom’s presentation is a very standard one. That’s one of the best pitch decks that helped them raise funding for further development. Though you may find the content too plain and simple – that’s what made it effective.

The startup team tried to avoid overwhelming investors with complex information. You can see only the most critical information without further details or explanations.

What we loved a lot ( and that’s not the first time it proved effective ), they included very detailed expectations from investors in the presentation. There is a clear amount of money needed, a timeline, and even special conditions if the company can meet its own goals.

• Investors make decisions easier if they see a clear structure and expectations from the team. Plan how your expected sum will be used and how long it will take to show some results to investors . With that roadmap at hand, they are more likely to trust you.

23. Shopify

It seems it’s the first investor pitch deck that includes a success story of an existing client who already benefits from their product. DODOCASE’s use case illustration reveals Shopify’s value and effectiveness without any further explanations from the startup team. And what was a smart move, in our opinion, is that Shopify showed the gradual success of their client when they first Shopify’s standard version and then moved to Shopify Premium, boosting their results even further.

That’s a good trick to show well-structured subscription models and which benefits each user level gets.

What else? We also loved growth vectors, a specific way to demonstrate the key directions for the company’s development in terms of products and markets.

• Have success stories of clients? That would be your best proof that the product is working and delivering results . If your startup doesn’t have one yet, you can run a few pilot projects and tell the stories of these clients in your pitch deck.
• If your project is multidimensional and there are different stakeholders ( buyers, merchants, etc., like in the case of Shopify ), have clear growth vectors that show which areas you’re focusing on .

24. Mattermark

Oh, how much we love clearly formulated slogans. Mattermark presents itself like a Google for business people, and that first-slide-first-impression vibe is hard to forget. Further, they show how Google addresses business people’s needs regarding information about investments, partners, and competitors, emphasizing the gaps in the market. That’s a good way to present a problem your startup is trying to solve.

This brand deck contains robust graphs and charts – something that shows the deep financial expertise of the team. The company’s previous performance and future development plans are illustrated with the help of very informative visuals.

• Have advanced financial analytics to show a deep understanding of the market and your ability to forecast . Elaborate charts and graphs will leave no investor indifferent.

25. Biogrify

Another nonconformist pitch deck example – no financials to demonstrate the company’s performance, no case studies, and no detailed problem statements.

Instead, Biogrify made a nice presentation with real examples of how the product looks and works in different scenarios. You can get the first impression of the product and how it works without a single word – just an example of posts shared on their social network.

We liked the colors and the creative examples of the platform, which were picked carefully to show the universal nature of the product. Overall, a great way to hook investors in the first slides – even without many statements about the potential of your startup.

• We have talked about it before. Real examples of a product’s usage are better than any words as they provide real context and show how the product works without further explanation.

Did we say short and concise? Piccsy heard that. This investor presentation has only four slides with the most straightforward structure.

First, what’s the problem? The problem slide is very comprehensive. A detailed bubble chart shows all the possible directions where the Piccsy team can move, and the simple pictorial illustration of each direction makes understanding easy. This slide shows the team’s clear vision and understanding of the market they are entering.

What’s coming next? Solution! That’s not as robust as the problem slide, but quite impressive in its way. There is a straightforward intro of the main directions where this social network can help users stream their desired content.

The last slide is about the team behind Piccsy. Short. Quick. That’s all you need to know.

Well, it would be honest to say that presentations this short are not the best idea for early-stage startups. And don’t forget about the +- 10 pages standard that prevails among investor pitch decks.

Still, that’s one of the best pitch decks in history, thanks to its straightforward language and the ability to say more with less.

• We probably highlight here the problem’s slide structure which can be very useful for any startup . Show the market you’re entering and what possible directions your team can take in an advanced way.

27. Fyre Festival

Fyre comes with a big announcement. Their pitch deck promotes and announces the Fyre Festival along with product marketing, showcasing how deep the company’s roots are with music and influencers and the community-driven approach they had from the very beginning.

The style of the presentation deserves special attention. The slides are very minimalistic and with all the elements of high-class aesthetics. They perfectly translate the niche where Fyre positions itself – confident, stylish, and up-to-date.

And Fyre’s community of the most renowned artists of the time presented in the beginning. That’s a boom – speaking louder than any words.

• Choose font colors, tone of voice, and composition of each slide with extra care to position your brand correctly . The correctly chosen design and writing style can hypnotize your investors, making them instantly feel the vibe you want to create.

28. TouristEye

Hmm… Not sure if we recommend you opt for the aggressive competitor comparison TouristEye did in its first slides, but they could display what they do unique in the competitive market, which is one of the key tasks of a good pitch deck.

The app’s screenshots demonstrate its features and user-friendly design without benefits-driven language. This approach is proven to be effective, and that’s not the first time we see it in successful startup presentations.

There is no team slide here, and that can be the approach that drives investor attention more to the product than to the team behind it.

• Screenshots of the app in action are one of the most obvious and effective ways to demonstrate how your product works and what problems it solves . That kind of insight can instantly attract investors without explaining a lot.

29. Kickfolio

What about listing only the key things you want to share about your company without much detail? Kickfolio makes it, and that’s a good example to show how best pitch decks can also be concise.

It has a unique structure – very short in words and explanations; this investor pitch deck looks like an infographic with the key points about the company’s performance, team, and product features.

They start with the problem statement, continuing with the progress and reviews of users after Kickfolio’s launch and first success, and wrapping up with a laconic statement of how much money Kickfolio is looking to raise.

Though there are no case studies or detailed analytics, this pitch deck is still very powerful. It conveys the essence of Kickfolio and provides enough information for investors to get a general idea about the project.

And what we like about it the most – there are many user reviews about the product, which is not typical for a pitch deck – yet they speak louder than many case studies or graphs.

• Include customer reviews or peer testimonials if you have them . If your product already has positive feedback, it will make the perfect addition to any startup pitch deck.

30. Mixpanel

Two problem statements – one better than the other – catch the attention from the very first slide. Mixpanel pitch deck clearly explains its mission and its product’s place in the market by touching on the pain point we all can relate to this or that way – making business decisions underlooking the importance of data.

Mixpanel’s brand deck has one of the most detailed performance slides we have ever seen. They show their sales and marketing KPIs and have a great expansion plan showing their way to conquer the market.

Seeing forecasted metrics, a timeline of their product development, and the relevance of their product to the industry make this pitch deck worth every second.

• As much relevant data as possible – numbers, metrics, graphs – can help investors decide whether it’s worth investing . Show your product’s progress and forecasted performance through the years to impress investors.
• Have an achievable expansion plan to show that you can grow and develop your product in a way that will get you more investors and customers.

Key Takeaways

Well, let’s wrap up this journey through the best pitch decks.

• Though there are established standards that best pitch decks follow at some point, the most important standard for each investor pitch deck is to be comprehensive and convincing . Whatever creative approach you take, ensure your pitch deck leaves investors with an understanding of who you are and what you do. Make investors believe in your mission enough to make an investment decision.
• Spend most of your time on what you want to convey with your brand deck, and leave the rest to Renderforest. With the ready-to-use pitch deck templates and our intuitive editor, you can create a perfect investor pitch deck in no time.

Dive into our Forestblog of exclusive interviews, handy tutorials and interesting articles published every week!

Create Professional

Presentations, Graphics,
Videos, and more

with Renderforest
All-In-One Branding Platform.

The 9 best InVideo alternatives in 2024

13 min read

11 Jul 2024

How to make a video ad in 3 steps

How to make a tutorial video in 3 steps

12 min read

10 Jul 2024

We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

Manage Cookies

Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how you’re using our website. Some of them are essential, and without them you wouldn’t be able to use Venngage. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are always on, as they’re essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. Without these cookies, services you’ve asked for can’t be provided.

Show cookie providers

• Google Login

Functionality Cookies

These cookies help us provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, and remember your settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers.

Performance Cookies

These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. If you opt out of these cookies, we can’t get feedback to make Venngage better for you and all our users.

• Google Analytics

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are set by our advertising partners to track your activity and show you relevant Venngage ads on other sites as you browse the internet.

• Google Tag Manager
• Infographics
• Daily Infographics
• Popular Templates
• Accessibility
• Graphic Design
• Graphs and Charts
• Data Visualization
• Human Resources
• Beginner Guides

Blog Business 10 Business Pitch Examples for Your Next Client Meeting

10 Business Pitch Examples for Your Next Client Meeting

Written by: Letícia Fonseca Oct 30, 2023

We tell presenters that it’s okay to feel scared during your upcoming sales pitch because investors will always be a pressing and intimidating bunch.

Great elevator pitches are similar to memorable stories. They intertwine visuals and narrative to keep the audience engaged. And it needs to be completed in the duration of an elevator ride.

In this guide, we share 10 business pitch examples you’ll want to use in your next investor or client meeting.

You don’t need design experience to create a business or sales pitch. Create an engaging presentation in just minutes with Venngage’s professionally designed pitch deck templates !

What is a business pitch?

A business pitch is a concise and compelling presentation that is delivered to potential investors, clients or partners to communicate the value proposition of a business idea , product or service.

The main goal of a business pitch is to persuade the audience to take a particular action, such as investing in the business, partnering with the company or purchasing the product or service.

When creating a business pitch, always remember that a well-crafted business pitch should be clear, concise and tailored to the specific needs and interests of the target audience. It should effectively communicate the value proposition and potential of the business idea, leaving a lasting impression on the audience.

To help smoothen the process for you, I’ve curated 10 business pitch deck examples you can use for your next client meeting. Keep scrolling to find out!

10 business pitch examples you can use:

Choose a simple and short elevator pitch template, guy kawasaki elevator pitch examples for business, modern pitch deck example, effective startup elevator pitch examples.

• Business idea pitch deck

Dark marketing pitch deck

Classic airbnb pitch deck.

• Statement yellow elevator pitch example
• Short franchise elevator pitch example

Nonprofit pitch deck

Your elevator pitch needs to address the biggest business concern: the sales funnel .

This simple pitch deck example gets to the heart of the business problem within just 12 slides. It’s short, sharp and to the point, enough to keep prospective clients interested.

This is a great sales pitch deck template to accompany a brief presentation. You can easily share your business model with investors or clients.

Customize this template by adding your branding and business information. Include data about your target audience and team members. This is information that potential investors need to know.

With a Venngage business account, you can access the My Brand Kit feature, including the Autobrand tool.

Add your website when prompted and the editor will import your logos, fonts and brand colors . You’ll be able to add your branding to all your designs with a single click.

Related:  How to Create an Effective Pitch Deck Design [+Examples]

The Guy Kawasaki method for elevator pitch templates has been successful for numerous businesses. The minimal text keeps investors focused during the entire pitch.

Presenters can fully concentrate on sharing the key metrics and pain points of their target market. The pitch deck includes overviews that guide investors’ thoughts.

Venngage has two versions of the conventional Guy Kawasaki elevator pitch format. This gradient version is a bit more modern. It certainly draws the eye without overwhelming the design.

The template’s simple and minimalist-inspired design makes it easy to customize for any brand completely. You can swap out the gradient panels and add brand-relevant product images instead.

You can also use this non-gradient pitch deck template. This is an ideal way to highlight your brand colors.

Make the easily customizable pitch deck examples shared above your own by adding your text, data and graphs.

Creating a pitch deck  just got easier. Venngage’s real-time collaboration  allows multiple members to work on a design at once. Share instant feedback and design a winning sales pitch.

This unconventional pitch deck uses icons to tell a compelling narrative. Visuals can spice up presentation decks and give make them aesthetically pleasing.

This template works well for startups and small businesses demonstrating to investors their brand’s potential.

If the deck is too dark, you can switch out the panel colors and icons. Add your own research to make your sales pitch convincing.

Related:  Everything You Need to Know About Picking and Using Brand Colors

Elevator pitch decks focus on quick, one-minute proposals to convince potential investors that you have something valuable.

This investor pitch deck example is excellent for a startup elevator pitch. With just five slides, this deck makes it easy to breeze through your business model.

The added charts make the proposal and presentation much more convincing. You can share the necessary details that investors will want to know about.

Import your data from Google sheets into the Venngage editor and easily create charts for your presentation.

Related:  Everything You Need to Know About Pie Charts

Business idea pitch deck

How do you highlight your business model to a potential customer? You start with your value proposition.

The below pitch deck example opens with the business’ value proposition in the first slide. It also includes many elegant ways to showcase the brand. Plus, it provides essential business data to investors simultaneously.

You can use the business idea pitch deck template above as a guideline for a good sales pitch of your own or modify and adjust it to your branding needs.

The marketing pitch deck example below has a dark but unique personality. It works well in a product launch setting or as an elevator pitch deck for marketers.

The color combination is unusual but striking. Not to mention, on-trend. Bold colors are one of the resurgent graphic design trends  of the past few years.

You can use the above marketing pitch deck example as inspiration for numerous business presentations.

Art and multimedia businesses can also use it as a template for client presentations.

Related:  20+ Business Pitch Deck Templates to Win New Clients and Investors

We all know what Airbnb is and how much the business has grown over the past few years.

One of the best pitch deck examples you’ll see is Venngage’s version of the Airbnb pitch deck.

It uses sample data, addresses the core customer problem and outlines the business plan to capture the audience’s attention.

The pitch deck example above is one of the standard elevator pitch decks but manages to be sophisticated. There’s a finesse to this pitch deck design . That’s why it was so successful.

Statement yellow elevator pitch example

The yellow motif of this artistic pitch deck will immediately hold the audience’s attention.

The color is bright and bold but isn’t overpowering. Instead, only two slides use the background color across the whole slide.

The majority of the slides only include hints of yellow or use it as a highlight.

This template works for companies that use one prominent color across their branding. It’s also a professional pitch deck for small businesses, startups, or software companies.

Short franchise elevator pitch example

Pitch decks don’t depend on length to make a point. Instead, it uses fewer headers as overviews and depends on presenters to share pitch details with investors.

This is one of the best pitch deck examples for a short and classy presentation. It uses a small number of icons and bullet points to draw the eye and keep the presentation flowing.

As an elevator pitch, this is an effective method for maintaining the audience’s focus.

Related:  A Complete Guide to Line Charts

This elevator pitch example for nonprofits uses minimalism and icons to keep potential investors engaged throughout the presentation.

The subtle use of color and icons asserts the brand’s personality. This template can work for businesses in the graphic design sector.

Alternatively, the nonprofit pitch deck example above can also work for digital marketing agencies that want a cutting-edge appeal to make themselves attractive to clients.

Famous sales pitch decks to inspire your pitch

Minimalist airbnb pitch deck.

This minimalist design of the Airbnb elevator pitch example shared above is perfect for startups.

You can easily add product or location photos and adjust the colors to suit your branding, alongside your logo and fonts.

Buffer pitch deck

The real Buffer pitch deck was confusing for investors. You can read more about it in our round-up of the best pitch decks .

Venngage designed a cleaner version using icons and charts. This makes the information easier to understand. You aren’t bombarding your audience with too many details.

Facebook pitch deck

The winning Facebook pitch deck was text-heavy. But what made it stand out was how many popular schools had already signed up with it.

Plus, the deck was nothing short of ambitious, with a clear expansion plan. It is no surprise that Facebook is the behemoth it is today.

How to write a business pitch deck

Creating a compelling business pitch deck is essential for effectively conveying your business idea to potential investors or partners. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you write a business pitch deck:

• Cover slide: Include the name of your company and a visually appealing image that represents your business.
• Problem statement: Clearly define the problem your product or service solves. Use statistics or real-life examples to emphasize the significance of the problem.
• Solution: Describe your product or service and how it addresses the identified problem. Use visuals, such as product images or diagrams, to help illustrate your solution.
• Market opportunity: Present market research data to showcase the size, growth potential and trends of the target market. Use graphs, charts, or infographics to make the information more engaging.
• Business model: Explain how your business will generate revenue. Describe your pricing strategy, sales and distribution channels and any key partnerships or collaborations that will contribute to your business model’s success.
• Traction and milestones: Highlight any significant achievements, milestones, or partnerships that demonstrate the progress and potential of your business. This can include user metrics, revenue growth, or notable endorsements.
• Competitive analysis: Analyze your competitors and illustrate how your product or service stands out in the market. Highlight your unique selling points and any barriers to entry that provide your business with a competitive advantage.
• Go-to-market strategy : Outline your marketing and sales plan. Describe how you will reach and acquire customers, including your marketing channels, customer acquisition strategy and sales approach.
• Financial projections: Present your financial forecasts, including revenue projections, cost structures and expected profitability. Use charts or graphs to display key financial data and assumptions.
• Team: Introduce your team members and highlight their relevant expertise and experience. Emphasize how the team’s skills and strengths contribute to the success of the business.
• Use of funds: Explain how you plan to use the funds you are seeking. Provide a breakdown of how the investment will be allocated across different aspects of the business.
• Conclusion and call-to-action: Summarize the key points of your pitch and clearly state what action you want the investors to take. Encourage questions and provide your contact information for further discussions.

Remember to keep your pitch deck concise, visually appealing and easy to understand. Use high-quality visuals and compelling storytelling to make your business pitch deck engaging and memorable for your audience.

Four tips for creating a great elevator pitch

Here are four easy ways to recreate the pitch deck examples above or build your own pitch from a template.

Create a visual style for your sales pitches

A visual style or theme creates flow and sophistication in any presentation. These involve using recurring elements in a subtle and obvious manner.

For example, this Venngage template uses our color gradient along with elegant and bright icons.

Choose visual elements whose characteristics become the pitch deck’s focal point. Great pitch decks use the brand’s colors and visual motifs to keep the brand top of mind.

Give an overview of your business model

Pitch decks act as content anchors that guide your client toward your topic’s main points.

All the other information in your pitch deck or the explanations in your presentation will be aimed at supplementing that data.

Like this Uber elevator pitch template that emphasizes customer pain points and how the business will solve them.

Examples of added data include situational examples, charts and graphs and case studies .

Focus on your unique proposition

Your pitch deck has a central idea that is its unique selling proposition. Pitch deck creators build their pitch ideas around this aspect.

As a result, they’ll have a solid, communicative and persuading pitch deck that convinces investors.

Simplify hard concepts in your sales pitch

Scientific knowledge is enriching to those who understand its meaning.

Hard concepts, long-running and poorly constructed sentences and jargon make reading challenging for investors who have a very short time to spare.

This deck ensures that information isn’t overwhelming, either in the overview or the traction slide.

Make sure to simplify hard concepts and use simple words. That’s what the best pitch decks do.

Use templates to create successful pitch decks and win over investors

Delivering a good elevator pitch can be overwhelming. The pressure to get the tone right and impress investors is huge.

We’ve shared 10 elevator pitch examples that you can use as inspiration.

And with Venngage’s pitch deck templates, you get a competitive advantage. With no design experience, you can create elevator pitches that win over investors.

Discover popular designs

Infographic maker

Brochure maker

White paper online

Newsletter creator

Flyer maker

Timeline maker

Letterhead maker

Mind map maker

Ebook maker

Creating the perfect pitch deck and business plan: Examples and best practices [2022]

• January 7, 2022

I know you’ve probably been told that a good pitch deck and business plan are essential in the world of startups. It’s true — they are — but there is a LOT of conflicting advice out there on how to create them. (Hint: There isn’t just one right way.) I want to share some ideas based on solid research and real-world experience so you can create something that works for you.

What is a pitch deck?

What is its purpose, do you need a pitch deck and a business plan, who should create the pitch deck, how do you create a pitch deck, what is a financial model, what is a financial forecast, how accurate does a startup financial model need to be, what to include in an early-stage pitch deck, what should i avoid putting into my pitch deck, slide #0 – title, slide #1 – executive summary, slide #2 – trends, slide #3 – problem, slide #4 – solution, slide #5 – business model, slide #6 – market, slide #7 – competition, slide #8 – go to market, slide #9 – traction, slide #10 – team, slide #11 – investment proposal (the ask), keep it simple, stick to a consistent layout, make it easy to read, use a pitch deck template, beautiful.ai, key takeaways.

In this article, I’ll discuss what a pitch deck is, explain its purpose and its importance in the outreach process, give you tips and practices to create your perfect pitch deck, and what to include in it. We’ll also look at an example of a pitch deck template, using slides from startups that have raised hundreds of millions from VCs. We’ll also explore why you must build a financial model alongside your pitch deck.

Before we get started, remember that pitching on stage and building your pitch deck are two very different things. Pitching is a form of art. Anyone can present a business plan or startup idea to another person, but only a few pitches are memorable and truly capture the interest of investors.

Practice makes perfect, and the better you get at pitching, the more likely you are to succeed. So sign up to pitch competitions, put yourself out there, and get feedback. The more you pitch, the better you will become at it. It’s better to make mistakes when it doesn’t matter than pitch unprepared to critical investors and risk disaster.

Now let’s dive into what it takes to build a great pitch deck!

Pitch decks are an essential document for every founder to master, but there is a lot of conflicting information out there, and no one-size-fits-all template.

To help you get started, we’ve pulled together pitch deck examples and best practices for new founders and early-stage startups.

Using this information to guide you, you’ll be able to create a pitch that will wow investors and get you the funding that your business needs.

A pitch deck is a condensed business plan that communicates your business idea to investors or partners. It should be clear, concise, and well-organised so that it promotes a conversation, not just information that needs to be digested. The pitch deck is used as an elevator pitch during your outreach process and should highlight the key aspects of your startup in a way that gets investors excited about working with you.

The pitch deck itself isn’t going to fund or run your startup — it’s just one piece of the puzzle — but it’s an important one. As Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist at Canva, former Chief Evangelist at Apple, and author of The Art of the Start puts it .

The purpose of a pitch is to stimulate interest, not to close a deal.

While the pitch deck is an information-packed overview of your startup, it should be more than just numbers and figures. A winning pitch deck also captures the imagination by telling a story and getting the audience emotionally involved. People don’t buy products, they buy stories — pitch decks help people to see your startup as a compelling narrative instead of just an idea on paper.

A pitch deck helps you generate interest from investors so that they will fund or work with your company in some way. It is a way to quickly pitch your business idea and get feedback, without having to go through the entire business plan. The pitch deck should be used as a tool to start a conversation with potential investors so that you can get their feedback and determine if they are interested in what you’re doing.

For an early-stage startup, the pitch deck and financial model are the business plan. There are too many uncertainties to waste time writing a 100-page business plan. Founders should use tools like the Lean Canvas to help them think through the different aspects of their business, but a pitch deck and financial model are essential when trying to raise money and get investment.

The pitch deck should be created by the founder or co-founder of the company. They are the ones who know the most about their business and can best pitch it to investors. Remember, the pitch deck isn’t what wins you the investment, but it will start the conversation and get people interested in what you’re doing.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer for this question, as the pitch deck needs to be tailored to your specific startup and its investors. However, there are some best practices that you can use to make sure your pitch deck is as compelling as possible.

Financial Model

The pitch deck should always include a financial model, typically as a supporting document, that shows financial projections for the next three to five years. This will help investors understand how you will manage the financial risks associated with your startup.

A financial model is a document that shows how your business will make money and what kind of return investors can expect on their investment. It includes projected revenue, expenses, and profits over a specific period of time.

Investors will expect to see a three to five-year financial forecast, broken down by year and month.

The financial model should also include a section on the startup’s burn rate – how much money the company is spending each month and how long it can continue to do so before running out of funds.

A financial forecast is a projection of future income, expenses, and profits. It typically covers a period of three to five years and breaks down revenue, expenses, and net cash flow by month.

The financial model doesn’t need to be complex, but it should show a realistic understanding of the numbers behind your startup.

It is important to remember that venture capitalists and angel investors do not expect your financial forecasts to be 100% accurate – they simply want to see that you have put thought into your business, that your operational plans are accounted for, and that you understand the basics of financial forecasting.

Pitch Deck Structure

As a founder, you’ll quickly learn that you’ll need more than one pitch deck. Different pitch decks are used for different purposes, and you may end up using a pitch deck that is specific to your target investor, the stage of investment, or the format in which you’ll be pitching.

This means that there is no magic formula for your pitch deck structure. However, there are a few essential slides that should be in every business pitch deck.

• Title or cover slide
• Market size and opportunity

These slides will give the pitch deck a good structure and focus on the key elements that you want to talk about. There may be more slides depending on your company, but those are the main ones that should always appear somewhere in every pitch deck.

Early-stage startup pitch decks are used to spark interest in your idea and the founding team. Venture capital firms and angel investors will be comfortable with greater uncertainty and higher risk in this pitch deck, so there is more leeway to experiment with different ideas and concepts. This doesn’t mean that you should just throw in everything without a thought though!

At this early stage, there will be multiple unknowns that you are setting out to solve, including exactly how you’ll build your solution to the problem, how you’ll find your scaleable route to market, and maybe even how you’ll convert users to paying customers.

It’s normal to not have all the answers to these questions, and that’s OK! It doesn’t mean that you should pitch an idea if you don’t know how it will work yet. All of this is just a reality check for potential investors — they need to see that you have a realistic idea of what you need to do and a plan for how you might do it.

It’s a common mistake for first-time founders to try to put too much information into their pitch decks. This can include everything from detailed financial models to a full history of the company’s founding story. While it’s important to have all this information ready, it’s best to save it for when you’re actually speaking with investors.

Your pitch deck should be focused on your idea and the current state of your company. It should be set up in a way that clearly lays out who you are, what problem you’re solving, and how you plan to solve it. You want investors to see the actual value in investing in your startup so avoid including anything that’s not absolutely necessary for them to understand this concept.

– Do not include unnecessary information or graphics

– Keep your pitch deck to a maximum of 20 slides

– Stick to clear and concise language

– Make sure all the data is accurate and up to date

Be cautious about adding in anything that doesn’t support your pitch deck theme or the key points you want to make. If it isn’t relevant, remove it! You don’t have time for extra fluff when pitching investors; be direct and focus on what matters most.

Early-Stage Pitch Deck Example

The following pitch deck template is a good example of how you can tell a story that builds investor confidence in your startup idea. Using this format will set a great first impression and can help you with raising capital.

This is the most important slide in the whole deck, you need to grab the attention of the investor with a title slide that convinces them to keep reading. Your title slide must:

• Showcase your logo and brand name.
• In one phrase, state your value proposition.
• Engage the reader by promising them an interesting pitch.

It’s important to make your startup feel credible and trustworthy. Just as people will judge a book by the cover, investors will judge your pitch deck in less than five seconds, so make sure you have a strong first impression!

A common mistake that founders make with the title slide is not making the most of the opportunity. Taking inspiration from other industries, a prize-winning sticker on a book cover or a wine bottle has a tremendous impact on sales. What can you do to make your pitch deck stand out?

After catching your audience’s attention, you should include a company summary on slide one. Investors are unlikely to know anything about you or your company, so this is where you need to tell them what you do, where you’re going, and why they should care.

In just a few sentences, you should be able to concisely state the following:

• What your company does
• The stage you’re at
• The traction you’ve made so far
• Where you’re heading

If the title slide is about grabbing attention, the executive summary is about keeping it.

You need to get investors hooked and hungry for more information.

With the investor’s attention now captured, it’s time to give them some context. What industry are you in? What trends are happening in that industry?

Trends are the market conditions that you have zero influence over. But, by showing how you understand them and how they impact your startup, you can demonstrate that not only is your startup inevitable, but that the risk of failure is also reduced.

Your goal with the trends slide is to show that your startup idea isn’t some crazy gamble, it’s obvious and inevitable, and that the market is about to change in a big way.

In the context of startup ideas, the important things to consider about trends are whether they are weak or strong, societal and cultural, or technological.

Weak Trends: These are usually easy to spot and include things like the aging population, increasing internet penetration rates, or a growing demand for a new product or service.

Strong Trends: These are hard to argue against. They will be big and happening quickly. They could be something like the rise of mobile payments, a technology reaching critical mass, or a new way of thinking about an old problem.

Technological Trends: These trends focus on the development of new technologies. For instance, the rise of drones, Web3, and artificial intelligence technologies are all technological trends that would be relevant to an investor pitch deck when combined with a startup idea.

Societal and Cultural Trends: These trends are about the way people are living their lives, and integrating new technologies into them. A good example of this is the trend towards health and wellness. This could be anything from the increasing popularity of mindfulness to people taking more interest in their food.

It’s important to consider societal trends alongside advances in technology, just because a technology is possible, doesn’t mean that people will want to use it (remember Google Glass?).

Building into emerging trends can lead to you raising millions without even having a pitch deck , like Hopin, or still whilst the world is in lockdown and your app is still in beta – like Clubhouse.

Now that you’ve got the pitch deck rolling, it’s time to talk about your startup idea. What problem are you solving? What is happening right now? What are people not happy with?

When it comes to the problem slide, be specific. Don’t just say that there is a problem. Tell them what it is and make your audience feel the pain; they should be able to recall having had it themselves or easily empathise with those that do.

As a founder, you need to prove that you have a deep awareness and understanding of the problem you’re solving. You need to demonstrate that you can stand in the shoes of your customers and see the problem as they do.

Ideally, you should be able to summarise all of this into a problem statement. This is a simple one or two-sentence explanation that describes the problem, identifies the pain points, and explains why it needs solving.

Providing data to back up your problem statement is also important, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. You’re not trying to show the size of the market, just the severity of the problem.

Having built up an understanding of the problem, you now need to explain how you plan on solving it. What is your solution? How will your startup solve this problem? What makes your product or service different?

Your solution slide should be clear, concise, and easy to understand. You should have a brief paragraph explaining what your startup does, followed by supporting information in the form of screenshots, images, or diagrams.

Remember, during live pitching or conversations, you may be able to talk about your solution in more detail – maybe even showcase a live demo – but in your pitch deck, you need to keep it simple.

If you’re having trouble boiling down your complex solution then consider how you would sell it to a potential customer. If you can pitch it to them in a way that they understand and see the value, then your pitch deck will be able to do the same.

With the problem and solution explained, it’s time to move on to your business model. This is a critical slide for any pitch deck as it demonstrates how you plan to make money from your startup idea. It’s showing your investors that you understand the business side of things and that you have a plan for growth.

This slide can be a little tricky to get right, as you don’t want to overload your audience with too much information (especially at idea stage, when you don’t have a fully formed business model). However, you need to convey that the unit economics make sense and that there is a path to profitability.

There are lots of different ways to structure this slide, but the most common model breaks it down into a one-paragraph pitch of your business model, followed by one or two diagrams showing the relationships between your costs and revenue. By using simple visuals, you can convey complex ideas far more effectively than words alone.

Unfortunately, pitch decks don’t have the space to explore every aspect of your business model. It’s a good idea to create a separate document for this, which you can then share with interested investors or partners.

Now it’s time to move on to the all-important question of market size. Market sizing for early-stage startups can be a contentious issue.

Many entrepreneurs think that they need to show huge total addressable markets (TAM), and pitch themselves as the next billion-dollar startup. However, most sophisticated investors how that for most early-stage startups this is not appropriate.

Pitching a large TAM isn’t going to impress investors, they’ve seen it all before, but pitching yourself as the best company in your segment will demonstrate that you have a great understanding of your industry and the opportunity at hand.

It’s most important to be able to show that there is a market for your product or service, that it’s growing, and that there is room for you to compete. You don’t need to pitch yourself as a billion-dollar company, just pitch that you have a good understanding of the market segment, that people are spending money solving this type of problem, and that you’re going to be one of the best companies in your space.

For example, if your idea is to launch the next big analytics platform, don’t pitch a market size that includes every business in the world. Instead, focus on a specific industry or sector and show how behaviours in that industry are changing, paving the way for your product or service.

Again, you don’t need to go into too much detail in your pitch deck. A one-paragraph pitch of your market size is usually enough, followed by a simple diagram showing the trends that are opening up opportunities for your startup.

This is another key slide for any pitch deck, as it demonstrates that you have done your research and that you understand the competitive landscape.

Start by defining the market segment you are targeting, and then show the key points of differentiation when compared to your primary competitors.

Describe how they fit into the customer’s perspective of the market, show where their strengths and weaknesses lie, and how you plan to compete with them.

This isn’t the place for a full analysis of your competitors, but you should be able to pitch yourself as the best company in your space, with a clear understanding of how you’re going to win.

There are two common ways to visualise your competitor analysis, the magic quadrant (or 2×2 matrix) and a comparison table.

The magic quadrant is a way of plotting your competitors on two axes, based on two factors that you’ll pluck from thin air. These visualisations are rarely credible unless you have a lot of experience in the market you are analysing, or they’ve been produced by large consultancies like Deloitte or Gartner.

On the other hand, comparison tables can be very effective as they’re easy to digest, position you alongside recognisable brands, and allow you to highlight the key differences between your company and your competitors. By comparing factors that are demonstrably important to customers, you’ll come across as more credible and able to back up your pitch with cold, hard facts.

Now it’s time to talk about marketing and sales strategy, or how you’re going to get your product or service in front of customers. This is where you’ll pitch your go-to-market strategy. Your go-to-market slide should include the following elements:

• The channels you will use to reach your target audience
• The actions you will take to put your product in front of potential customers
• The milestones you will hit as you progress through your go-to-market plan
• The resources you will require to reach your target successfully

Start by describing your target market and how you plan to reach them. This might include explaining your distribution channels, sales strategy, or marketing approach. You can also use this slide to talk about any partnerships you have in place, or how you plan to leverage them.

Next, explain the actions you will take to reach your target audience, and how you plan to measure success. These actions should fit within each of the channels that you’ve already identified. For example, if you’re using digital marketing, your actions might be things like website development, SEO, or social media campaigns.

Lastly, list the key milestones you will hit as you progress through your go-to-market plan, and identify the resources you will require to achieve them. You can include your team, budget for marketing activities, or specific assets like signage.

As a startup, traction is key. Investors want to see that you’re making progress and that your product is resonating with customers. This slide is often one of the trickiest for startups at idea-stage, as it can be difficult to show commercial progress and it will be too early for product-market fit.

There are a few different ways to pitch traction, and you need to choose the one that works best with your company and the stage you’re at. Some options include user base, revenue growth, or market validation.

If you’re focusing on your user base, you’ll want to pitch a clear and compelling story about your customer base. If you have a small data set, it’s worth showcasing your first 100 customers as this makes the numbers seem more real.

If you have a large customer base, pitch your exponential growth in terms of percentage or absolute figures. For example, pitch how many customers you signed in the past quarter or year.

Revenue Growth

If you’re focusing on revenue growth, pitch your current (or projected) sales figures. You can also pitch the average ticket size or value of your deals. Alternatively, pitch your revenue growth (in terms of percentage or absolute figures) over the past year.

Market Validation

If your product is still at idea-stage and still has a long way to go before it’s ready for market, pitch your progress in terms of real-world validation. For example, pitch the number of people who have registered to use your product or service, or pitch the number of companies that have expressed interest during interviews.

Most importantly, be honest about your progress. If they are interested, investors will dig into your traction claims and you’ll need to back them up with data – if it turns out that you’ve lied or embellished the facts, you’ll not only lose trust and credibility, you’ll probably lose the investment too.

Having set the scene in which your startup operates, it’s time to introduce the management team behind your startup. Investors will be keen to learn about who is leading your company and how they will transform your idea into a profitable business.

The focus here must be you and your co-founders. People invest in people, so you’ll need to show how you have the vision, experience, and motivation required to deliver on your pitch.

Keep your team slide short and sweet. You’ll want to include the founding team, highlighting their relevant experience in the industry or field that you’re operating within.

Pictures help to make your presentation more personal, so make sure you have a good quality headshot of each team member, consistently formatted so that everyone appears the same size and in focus.

The team slide should only include the founding team, though it is acceptable to include key team members, as well as notable advisors or investors if beneficial. If you do this, ensure that there is a clear visual separation between the two groups.

This is the big one. The pitch deck wouldn’t be complete without a clear proposal of what you’re asking for from your investors. This slide should clearly state the amount of money you’re seeking, as well as what you plan to do with it.

It’s important to remember that investors are looking for a return on their investment (ROI), so your proposal must be realistic and demonstrate how you will use the funds raised to reach key growth milestones.

To convince investors, your “Ask slide” will need to answer these three questions:

• How much are you seeking to raise?
• What will you do with the money?
• What do you intend to accomplish with the funds?

Always remember to pitch the ask in terms of how it benefits the investor – not just you. For example, if you’re seeking a £100,000 investment, explain how that money will help you reach a specific milestone that will create value for your investors.

Be specific about how much you need to raise, and where you plan to deploy the money. This will show that you’ve done your homework and understand how you will grow your business.

A simple pie chart with the breakdown of how you plan to use funds can go a long way towards demonstrating to investors that you’re serious about using their money wisely. For example, if 25 percent goes towards marketing spend, 30 percent for technology development, and 45 percent for new hires, that’s a good indication you have your priorities straight.

It’s unlikely that you will be profitable before the next round of funding, but it is usually worth highlighting the key numbers from your financial projections to give investors an idea of the scale and trajectory of your business.

Perhaps the most important factor in your investment ask is demonstrating that you understand how much capital you require to hit key growth milestones without requiring further funding rounds for at least 12-18 months. This is something that almost every investor will expect you to have a solid plan for.

Pitch Deck Design

Whether you’re sharing your deck by email or presenting on stage, the design of your pitch deck matters. However, you can’t afford to hire a professional pitch deck designer to help. So, what do you do?

KEEP. IT. SIMPLE.

Your pitch deck is not the place to show off your design skills – or highlight any lack of expertise in this department! The only goal of your pitch deck is to communicate information clearly and concisely so that investors understand what you’re pitching and can get excited about it.

Keep your presentation simple, use bold typography, highlight key information, and stick to a maximum of two or three colors. Resist the urge to use lots of graphics and animations, as these can be distracting and take up valuable space on your slides.

How to design a better pitch deck

There are a lot of things to consider when designing your pitch deck presentation. Below are some tips on how to make your pitch more effective:

The average investor has a short attention span, so keep your deck concise and easy to follow. Use clear language, avoid complex graphs and charts, and stick to a maximum of 15 slides.

Use the same fonts, colors, and layouts throughout your pitch deck to create a cohesive look.

Slides that are crowded with text and images will be difficult for your audience to read and comprehend.

A pitch deck template is a great way to ensure that your pitch deck looks professional and follows the proper design guidelines.

Pitch deck design tools

Today, there is a huge selection of online design tools and no-code builders to help you build your perfect deck. Below are just a few of the design platforms that can help you craft your pitch.

An easy-to-use platform that allows startups to build a beautiful slide deck without any special design skills. Start from scratch or create your slides using predefined pitch deck templates.

https://slidebean.com/

Offers a wide range of design tools and templates for creating professional pitch decks. The free version includes limited features, while the paid plans start at $12/month.

This pitch deck design app is great for startups and entrepreneurs who need to create a pitch deck quickly. The basic plan starts at $12/month (billed annually) but there is a 14-day free trial.

https://www.beautiful.ai/

The tools provided by Pitch allow you to quickly produce a high-quality pitch. Even if you’re not a designer, you can create a strong pitch deck that looks great. The basic plan is free, but you’ll need to upgrade to the paid plans for more features.

https://pitch.com/

While these design tools can be extremely powerful, it still pays to follow the same basic guidelines to ensure that your pitch deck is easy for investors to understand; Keep it simple, avoid animation, stick to a consistent layout, and make sure your text and images are easy to read.

When you’re trying to capture investors’ attention and raise equity funding, you need to show them that you have a good plan. But startups aren’t traditional businesses and they don’t use traditional business plans.

like the Holy Grail, the business plan remains largely unattainable and mythological. Most experts wouldn’t agree, but a business plan is of limited usefulness for a startup because entrepreneurs base so much of their plans on assumptions, “visions,” and unknowns. Guy Kawasaki

This is why pitch decks are the perfect approach to sharing a startup business plan.

Fundamentally, your pitch deck is used to share your vision, attract investors, and start conversations. As a founder, you should be prepared for investors who may not “get” your pitch deck right away — this doesn’t mean that they aren’t interested in what you’re doing.

Be prepared to answer questions and have an engaging conversation about your startup. Investors want to see that you have a clear understanding of your business, the problem you’re solving, and how you plan on making money. They also want to know that you’re capable of executing your vision.

Remember, pitch decks are just one part of the overall investment process. If you’re able to create a pitch deck that effectively communicates your idea and leaves investors wanting more, then you’re on the right track!

👀 Turn any prompt into captivating visuals in seconds with our AI-powered design generator ✨ Try Piktochart AI!

How to Make a Successful Business Pitch: 9 Tips From Experts

You’ve just had your lunch, and you’re about to get back to work. 

While making your post-lunch tea (or coffee), you can’t stop thinking about being your own boss. 

You wonder if it’s about time for you to turn your side hustle into a full-time business and become an entrepreneur. 

Or perhaps you want to propose the idea of a four-day workweek to your CEO. 

If you want to introduce investors and prospects to your business idea and convince them to take the plunge with you,  you need a strong and persuasive business pitch. 

How to create a persuasive business pitch according to experts 

The good news — it’s possible to craft a convincing and successful business pitch. 

Even better news: This Piktochart business pitch guide shows you how. 

Grab your drink of choice and take notes as we explore the different ways to pitch business ideas (from a sales-style elevator pitch to an innovative workplace pitch), as well as understand what makes a great business pitch. You’ll also get a glimpse into our business pitch templates, and learn expert advice from those who have pitched their way to success (and failure too). 

You can also watch the video below if you don’t have time to go over this guide. It’s also easier to follow along if you sign up for a free Piktochart account and edit the templates yourself (learning by doing).

What is a business pitch? 

A business pitch is a presentation of a business idea to a group of people who can help turn your idea into a reality.

You can pitch to: 

• Investors who can help fund your idea
• Potential customers who will pay for your product or service
• Advocates who will support your idea

In some cases, a business pitch doesn’t have to be all about presenting a new idea. You could be asking for more funding or continued support for an already established business venture. 

Whether through an investment, purchase, or advocacy, a business pitch becomes successful if you can convince people to believe in your idea or pique their interest and get them to learn more. 

Now that you understand what a business pitch is, let’s take a closer look at the different types of business pitches. 

Types of pitches in business

Your business pitch can be narrowed down to the following five types of presentations: 

1. Investor pitch

In this type of business pitch, you present a  persuasive presentation or pitch deck to a group of potential business partners and/or investors. 

Sign up for a free Piktochart account to get started on creating professional-looking pitch deck templates that you can edit in minutes.

An investor business pitch should typically last for 45 minutes . The best practice for this type of pitch is 20-30 minutes of presentation followed by discussion or a Q&A afterward.

Alternatively, business pitch competitions follow a different best practice. These presentations should last around five to 10 minutes and focus on pitching to investors.

Lastly, the most stringent type of business pitch is most commonly referred to as an ‘elevator pitch’, and should only last around 30-60 seconds.

Let’s dive in so you can learn how to make the perfect business pitch!

2. Sales pitch 

The goal of a sales pitch is to answer the question “What’s in it for me?” from the lens of the potential customer. 

The best and most effective salespeople can make a sales pitch in as short as one minute. Also known as the ‘ elevator pitch ‘, this type of business pitch should be able to be delivered in a single elevator ride (30-60 seconds on average). In this format, a short sales pitch should include four key components:

• Your unique product name and category
• The specific problem you are trying to solve
• The innovative solution you offer
• the unique selling point of benefit to your solution

3. Product pitch 

A product pitch is similar to a sales pitch, however, the spotlight should be on the product and/or solution itself. 

For example, a sales pitch for an email automation software will highlight one or two of its benefits. Meanwhile, a product pitch of the same automation software will focus more on its features, how it works, and how you can integrate the software into your existing setup. 

In a product pitch, you should aim to:

• Explain your product or offering clearly and concisely
• Identify and address the target audience and/or industry your product supports
• Specify the problem the aforementioned faces and how your solution can solve it
• Provide a realistic example of your solution in action
• Make sure to use accurate facts backed up by relevant and recent data

4. Job pitch 

If you’re applying for a job or internship and you’re wondering how you can stand out from the crowd (consisting of your peers and other qualified applicants), consider pitching yourself to a prospective employer. 

Applying the same logic used for a sales or product pitch deck; sell yourself!

A job pitch or personal summary pitch should be concise, personalized, and consistent. In a job pitch you should include:

• A brief introduction to you
• An explanation as to why you’re a great fit for the company and role
• Relevant experience and achievements
• Your goals and career aspirations

“It’s not about bragging or showing off — it’s about giving the other person evidence that you can actually do what you say you can do,” assures Starla Sampaco , TV news anchor at KCTS 9 and founder of Career Survival Guide .

5. Workplace pitching 

Do you have an idea or initiative that will help your colleagues and help boost the company’s profitability?  Pitch it internally within your workplace, to your team or boss! 

For example, you can pitch a  remote-first culture  or the four-day workweek to your HR, and/or the rest of the leadership team.

Another workplace pitch example? Maybe you might want to propose the creation of a new role in your team which can help advance your career and address a challenge in the organization at the same time. 

To do this, simply create a pitch deck including your main points, the benefits, and proposed next steps to turn your idea into a reality. Piktochart’s workplace pitch decks can help you get your point across through our workplace templates.

The structure of a successful business pitch 

If creating a business pitch sounds intimidating, the team at Piktochart has your back. 

You can address this worry by making sure that you have a business pitch structure that is sure to succeed, using our tips & templates. 

When you have a formulated pitch deck structure, template, and agenda, you’ll know exactly what you’re going to say next, taking the bulk of the stress out of presenting. Additionally, these best practice presentation structures make your business pitch more memorable to your audience and leave a lasting impression. Statistically, it turns out that people retain structured information up to  40 percent more accurately  than information presented in freeform. 

The WHAC Method

Whether you’re pitching to a group of potential investors or you’re selling real estate, use the WHAC method when structuring your perfect business pitch. 

The WHAC method is introduced in  The 3 Minute Rule   by Brandt Pividic, an award-winning film director and television producer. He wrote the book to detail his experience and tips as he made hundreds of pitches in Hollywood. 

This well-known WHAC method stands for: 

What is it and what do you offer? 

You start your business pitch by answering the questions: what is it, and what do you offer? 

At this point, you share your business plan and quickly outline the problem and solution you offer. For example, let’s say that you want to pitch the idea of having a UX researcher on your product team. 

You list down existing problems and challenges that your team and/or organization are currently experiencing without a dedicated UX researcher. Afterward, you propose your solution — hiring someone who can step in and do user research. 

How does it work? 

Next, explain your proposal. Provide a quick summary of the benefits of your solution. In our example, share how the UX researcher will help the product team accomplish its objectives.

It can be tricky explaining how your business idea works. Figuring out how to deliver this information in an entertaining and simple manner can turn potential investors into partners, as we’ve seen from some of the best startup pitch decks .

Since you don’t have much time and attention spans are short, the key is to boil down how your idea works into a few key points. Explain how it works from a high-level overview and weave this in as part of your compelling story.

Are you sure? 

Once you have provided the solution, the people listening to your elevator pitch are likely saying to themselves, “will it really work?”

This is the point where you have to provide solid proof in your pitch. You can use testimonials, a short case study, or statistics.

You should also mention financial projections in order to leave a positive impression. If your manager or potential investors will provide funding for your idea, they’ll want to know what the ROI is.

Can you do it? 

The final part of your pitch should answer this question.

Now that your audience has heard you talk about the problem, solution, and proof that it works, you need to show them how you’re going to implement the solution. Think of this point as the “actionable” part of your pitch. You can even provide steps to break down how this can be achieved in a certain timeframe.

“Show how you have thought about how to turn your idea into a commercial outcome or true partnership. This is really an opportunity to start or continue building trust and showing that you care about creating real value for the people in the room is the best way to put you on the right foot,” shares Michael Rosenbaum , CEO of Spacer ,  one of the biggest parking marketplaces in the U.S. 

Like any good sales pitch, you need to show how achievable the results are. At this particular stage, you need to tie in any additional information to show what resources or specific and unique skills are required to make it happen.

Being transparent about what’s required can build trust with potential investors.

How to persuade your audience with your business pitch 

Now that you know the best practice structure of a successful business pitch, take note of the following tips to help make your business pitch more interesting, relatable, and most of all, convince your audience to say “yes”. 

1. Understand what your audience wants from you 

It’s standard advice across all facets of industry to “know your audience”.  

However, if you’d like to become better at your business pitches, go the extra mile by understanding what your audience wants from you. 

There’s a  difference between understanding and knowing  your audience. Instead of just  knowing  where your client comes from, try to  understand  their pain points, goals, and motivation. 

How do you do this? 

Talk to them in advance, read about the things they publish online (tweets, blog posts), and understand what excites them. By doing so, you’ll be able to tailor your business pitch to their needs, wants, and preferences. 

For example, if you’re pitching to potential clients and investors who are eco-conscious at the same time, it makes sense to highlight how your idea can positively impact the environment. 

Stephen Keighery , CEO of Home Buyer Louisiana and Founder of Bald Eagle Investments USA, shares this tip when it comes to customizing your pitch to your audience: 

“Learn ahead and research about the company or the client you’ll be pitching to, just be sure that every information you obtain is for public knowledge. You can also observe their behavior and their words during the transaction; and perhaps while pitching, use the jargon they use to establish connection and a favorable impression to them.”

2. Have your elevator pitch ready 

Imagine this. You just bumped into Mark Cuban of Shark Tank at the airport lounge, and you can’t believe that you’re sitting next to him! He looks at you and asks you about yourself and what you do. 

This is when you need your elevator pitch handy! 

The Asana team recommends the following  elements of a good elevator pitch : 

• Introduction
• Value proposition
• CTA (call to action)

You don’t have to follow the exact formula. You can mix it up based on the situation, your personality, and the audience you’re pitching to. 

It’s also worth noting that you might not immediately notice the benefit of your elevator pitch.  Think of it as an opportunity for you to make a great first impression. 

3. Use visual aids

If you have the chance to present beyond the elevator pitch, you should never pitch with a presentation that’s filled with texts, numbers, or endless rows of data. 

As humans, our  brains are hardwired to love visuals   — from photographs to infographics to icons. 

When pitching an idea, product, or service, get your audience’s attention (and support!) by telling a story visually and adding a bit of creativity to your PowerPoint slides. 

Images trigger empathy  which in turn can make your audience understand your pitch better. 

The more they understand your idea, the greater the likelihood of angel investors, venture capitalists, and potential customers supporting or advocating for you. 

Another added benefit is that  visuals can elicit emotions  and emotions play an important role in decision-making. 

Watch these 10 legendary pitch decks for visual inspiration.

4. Explain your business model clearly

When pitching to investors, imagine them asking, “what’s in it for me?”. 

After learning about how your idea can help solve a problem, they’re interested in how you’re going to advertise to your target market and generate revenue consistently. 

Johannes Larsson , CEO of  Financer.com  explains that being able to articulate their business model was what made them successful in getting business partners on board. 

“We were relatively unknown in the industry, so it took us quite a few tries before we signed our first deal. After that, however, things became much easier — not just because we were building up a name for ourselves but also because we improved our approach. We learned that being able to clearly explain our business model was the key to earning potential partners’ trust. Once we mastered that, we focused on providing proof of fruitful partnerships. It was obvious that this information was what our affiliates cared about, so we made sure to gather evidence of our success and present it in every pitch.”

5. Weave your passion or story with your pitch

Your business pitch doesn’t have to sound like you’re reading it straight from a script that someone else wrote for you. 

When appropriate, add a bit of your personal touch.  In short, humanize your pitch and slide deck. 

It will not only improve your relatability factor but also make you feel less nervous. After all, you’re talking about something that you’re passionate about. 

Take it from Debbie Chew, an SEO Specialist at  Dialpad .

“As part of my hiring process, I had to pitch a marketing campaign idea. I started brainstorming a list of potential ideas and their projected impact to decide which one to go with. While doing this, one idea kept coming back to me, and I realized I was most passionate about pitching a campaign related to video meetings. People now spend so much of their time in video meetings, but how much time? And how can we have better meetings? So I built my pitch around this concept and really enjoyed pitching my idea (which also helped me feel less nervous),” shares Chew.  If you can share a personal story or something you’re passionate about in your pitch — while also tying it back to your audience — they won’t forget it. And yes, I got the job!” 

6. Put the spotlight on benefits

Once you have your audience’s attention, circle back to how your product or service will address customer needs and benefit business partners. 

For  Carsten Schaefer  of  Trust.io , it boils down to being able to share the benefits of your product or service from the get-go. 

“When I first had to get funding for my product, I had to deliver a sales pitch in front of a board of investors. It didn’t succeed, and I learned a lot from it. “Investors want cold, hard facts and the benefits to the end-user. In the end, they want to see if it makes money for them or not. I’m glad I failed because I learned that for an effective sales pitch, you really need to put yourself in the shoes of someone thinking about profit and pure common sense from a business perspective.

7. Highlight why you’re different from the competition

Your business pitch is also an opportunity for you to explain what sets you apart from other businesses or organizations, and essentially explain your unique selling point. What makes your idea different? Why is your business model unique? 

It also helps to address relevant competition head-on in your pitch. For  Brogan Renshaw  of Firewire Digital, this tactic shows clients and investors that you’re an expert on what you are talking about, giving them confidence in your offering.

“I notice that this is a part of my business pitches that completely wins the client over because it answers their questions and concerns on the market position of competitors,” says Renshaw. 

8. Share the story behind your team

Investors and business partners are also curious about the people, employees, as well as the team behind your idea. When creating this presentation slide in your pitch deck, don’t forget to include information highlighting your team and each team member’s relevant skills. 

“Investors want to know whether the founders have worked together before, if your startup’s early hires have complementary skill sets, and whether you’ll be flexible, open-minded, and willing to embrace different perspectives, “  writes  Lauren Landry ,  associate director of marketing and communications for Harvard Business School Online.

9. Have an impressive one-pager

As its name implies, a one-pager is a one-page document outlining your business plan and mission. Think of it as a business brochure . With Piktochart’s online brochure maker , you can easily create one within minutes.

Imagine that an investor or client is too busy to listen to your pitch, you can simply email or hand out your one-pager; your entire business pitch in an easy-to-digest format.  

According to Greg Cullen , Sr. Account Executive at Dialpad, your one-pager should have these three components: 

• What is the business pain?
• How the solution you’re positioning can solve said business pain
• The value of the solution accompanied by the resulting positive impact by moving forward with the platform

“This one-pager condenses everything that is important succinctly into an easy-to-digest easy to digest format for everyone to read – and it ensures that all parties are on the same page. And most importantly, this can be used by the champion you’re working with to sell this internally, whether it’s to the CEO, procurement, etc. The better you make this one-pager, the better the result you’ll have,” recommends Cullen. 

Get funding, win clients, and gain support with Piktochart’s pitch deck creator 

While it may be nerve-wracking, particularly if it’s the first time that you’re creating a business pitch, use the expert tips above as your guideposts for a successful pitch. 

You’ll eventually find your very own unique style and approach to business pitching as you do it more frequently.

If you need help creating any type of business or personal pitch deck, create your pitch deck quickly with Piktochart’s pitch deck creator. The first step is to get your free Piktochart account .

Want additional insight on how to better prepare and deliver a business pitch that you’ll be presenting online? Go to our guide to stress-free, engaging Zoom presentations .

We’re rooting for you and your business!

Other Posts

How to Write a Business Proposal in 2024 (Tips, Examples, and Template Included)

Competitor Insights 101: The Best Template for Mapping Industry Players

Understanding TOWS: A Deeper Dive into Advanced SWOT Analysis

12 Startup Pitch Deck Examples [+ Template]

A great startup pitch deck is an integral part of launching a business. This deck is presented to prospective investors to convince them to invest and help you grow your startup . The trick to having the best pitch deck possible is to include enough information to explain your goals and methodology without losing your audience’s interest.

Pitch decks are usually in PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, or Google Slides to make them easier to present to potential investors. However, the deck can also have an alternative format like a Word document or even a video. For inspiration, let’s go through some successful startup pitch deck examples and discuss what they got right. 

Pitch Deck Basics

There are some overarching characteristics that make for a great pitch deck. While we’ll go through what a deck typically includes and some relevant business pitch examples, you can pick and choose certain elements as long as your startup pitch deck has the following basic qualities:

• Design-forward: Customers expect a better experience with your product and that’s achieved through better UX and graphic design. Show your team’s design chops with thoughtful deck design and mock-ups.
• Comprehensive: Be prepared to answer any questions from potential investors. Your slides should cover enough so if they check back for reminders after the presentation, they’ll find the most important information.
• Engaging: A startup pitch deck inevitably includes some boring elements. Your job is to keep it exciting and break up information-heavy slides with features like illustrations and block quotes.
• Straightforward: It’s easy to get caught up with sharing every detail, but it’s more important that your potential investors understand your pitch. For more complicated slides and ideas, pare down your pitch to make it easier to understand.

1. Problem Slide

Your pitch deck should open with a key problem — this is the whole justification for your business and why consumers will find it valuable. A common structure for this slide is to bullet pain points and create a story your potential investors can relate to.

The problem slide is the basis for your presentation. Creating a relatable story makes for an engaging presentation that’s easy to follow and understand.

Uber Example

Why it works : Although it’s not the most visually engaging, Uber’s business pitch example clearly explains how Uber solves key issues with traditional cabs. Uber’s deck is broken down into multiple slides to deliver all the necessary information without overwhelming the audience.

2. Solution slide

After presenting the problem, you should follow up directly with a solution. An effective solution slide structure covers current industry solutions and identifies the gaps your startup fills. This slide has a general overview of any proprietary technology, covers basic product features, and includes relevant interface mock-ups to show investors what your product will do for consumers.

Intercom Example

Why it works : Intercom’s solution slide is simple but effective. While some extra design could elevate this slide, the bullet points are easy to understand and effectively explain Intercom’s unique selling proposition (USP) in the SaaS market.

3. Market validation slide

Market validation is especially important to investors because it shows proof that there are people who will purchase your product. This slide should include any relevant statistics for current sales if your startup has launched or competitors’ sales if it hasn’t. Don’t forget to cover basic information about your target market, their purchasing power, and their habits in your industry. This slide is especially important if your prospective investors aren’t familiar with your product or industry.

LinkedIn Example

Why it work s: At 37 pages, LinkedIn’s pitch deck is longer than we’d recommend.  But what it lacks in brevity it makes up for with powerful market validation using clear data from top competitors. It also breaks down barriers to growth and revenue for these competitors and shows how LinkedIn would improve their models.

4. Market size slide

Market size goes hand in hand with market validation. Once you’ve confirmed your target market has enough purchasing power, you need to justify your product’s longevity.

Focus on continued sales. The two most common elements to ensure your startup brings in long-term revenue are:

• A very large market
• A business model built for continuous purchases (e.g., subscription models)

Facebook Example

Why it works: Facebook is the poster child for successful startups. Its market size slides effectively communicate how Facebook’s initial launches succeeded and justify further growth. The slides with market statistics about college students also explain clearly how Facebook will create revenue.

5. Product slide

The product slide is your chance to nail your pitch and sell your vision to investors. This slide should center your value proposition. A popular strategy for this section is to pose a few questions about your industry and show how your product is the answer. Take the time to craft this slide carefully, polishing it up from the copy to design details.

Dropbox Example

Why it works: Dropbox’s product slides are effective because they show how Dropbox truly innovates over other file sharing services. They justify why now is the time to launch and why consumers will choose Dropbox over competitors.

6. Business model slide

The business model slide covers how the startup will run and launch its product for sustainable growth. This section can compare your startup to other businesses or use internal data if the product has launched.

Moz Example

Why it works : While some of these slides can look busy, Moz’s business model was ahead of its time by calling out why organic marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) have untapped potential. This deck does a good job of explaining the business model to investors who might not be SEO savvy.

But wait...there's more!

7. market adoption slide.

It’s important to show some proof that your target market has interest in purchasing your product, especially if there are other competitors in the market. This is a lot easier if your product has already launched because you can include sales data. If your startup is pre-launch, showing potential market adoption can be tricky. In this case, you can use social proof from similar competitors. If you do this, it’s also important to note how your product differs from these competitors, especially if you can resolve a customer’s complaint. If possible, include case studies in the market adoption slide. These show proof that you can use investments to increase the reach of your startup.

Buffer Example

Why it works : Buffer’s market adoption slides show social proof through key statistics outlining Buffer’s success so far. With an extremely high profit margin and growth rate for their user base, Buffer shows off why their product will offer a larger ROI for potential investors.

8. Competition slide

Many investors look at your competition to help contextualize your startup. If an investor has little or no experience in your vertical, showing competitors they’re familiar with gives them real examples of success. This slide should cover the following topics related to your competition:

• Revenue data
• What competitors do well
• What competitors don’t do well
• How your startup bridges product gaps

Mint Example

Why it works : Mint’s competitor slides are effective because they show current competitors along with future projections for these competitors. This slide effectively shows how Mint creates more value for customers over time and uses competitors as inspiration in their defensive strategy.

9. Team slide

A team slide helps investors get to know the minds behind your startup. Include information about founders, leadership, and top existing investors to show why your team is qualified to launch this startup. Any evidence of past successes with your leadership, consultants, or investors is important to include, as it shows new investors that you have relevant experience to launch your startup. If there’s any relevant history about your startup, such as a higher ROI than expected for a former investor, be sure to include this in your pitch deck.

Contently Example

Why it works : While Contently’s team slide has a lot of information, it’s all relevant to potential investors. In addition to founders and investors, Contently includes top employees, proprietary technology, advisors, and the amount they’ve raised so far. This, along with their financial model slide, show potential investors that Contently will make good use of their investment and even make them some profit.

10. Press slide

The press section of your startup pitch deck is a great opportunity to show off any buzz and get your investors excited about your business. Focus on positive reviews or attention related to your product. Stay away from negative press unless you can show you’ve changed those negative opinions. Make sure to keep these slides focused and succinct. It’s easy to get caught up in showing off product buzz, but press slides should always demonstrate potential for a more widespread product adoption.

Snapchat example

Why it works : Snapchat was in a unique position at the time this deck was created, as its press slide has strong social proof. Snapchat calls out popular users, including press and media sources, that are already using the app. The wide variety of users, including household names like MTV, shows how Snapchat is a well-known social media platform.

11. Testimonial slide

Testimonials give investors insight into what existing customers really think about your product. Testimonials can also shed light on the public perception of your product, especially compared to competitors.

Seventy-two percent of consumers only take action after reading positive reviews. You can use this logic with your potential investors, too.

Positive testimonials show that your customers have brand loyalty and that users are satisfied with the product and customer service. This section of the startup pitch deck is only possible for startups that have launched their product.

AirBnB Example

Why it works : Not every pitch deck includes testimonials, especially if the startup hasn’t launched, but it makes sense to include feedback for Airbnb. Showcasing new users makes this slide simple yet effective. It could also benefit from including average Airbnb ratings for stronger evidence of positive reception.

12. Financial model slide

The financial model slide shows how your product creates revenue. For example, if your product is a subscription-based service, has premium features, or other horizontal integration, you’ll explain that model on these slides. Potential investors should walk away from your presentation knowing exactly how your startup creates revenue and understand any plans to ensure a steady stream of income.

Shopify Example

Why it works : Shopify offers a great pitch deck example of when breaking some pitch norms can work in your favor. Although it’s nearly 30 slides, the entire deck is informative and engaging. The financial model slides work well because they show how Shopify and its past investors turned a profit. Not only do they explain their current financial model, but Shopify also covers their plans for future growth to reassure investors they’ll make a profit, too.

What should you avoid putting in a startup pitch deck?

The best pitch deck is completely tailored to your startup. While there’s no hard-and-fast rule about what you shouldn’t include, make sure everything you’re presenting is relevant to potential investors. 

How do I present my startup pitch deck to investors?

It’s almost always better to present a pitch deck live to investors. Designate one member of your leadership team, ideally a founder, to present your deck to investors. 

Following a script can come across as disingenuous, but using notes is OK, so get lots of practice in before you present to investors.

What should a startup pitch deck include?

A typical startup pitch deck template includes the following slides:

• Market validation
• Market size
• Business model
• Market adoption
• Competition
• Testimonials
• Financial model

However, every pitch deck is different, so your final pitch might skip some of these topics or use multiple slides to expand on certain sections.

Built to scale with HubSpot for Startups

It takes some time to put together a startup pitch deck that works, but once you’ve nailed your presentation, you can reuse it for multiple pitches with just a few tweaks to update any data or statistics. HubSpot for Startups helps you track marketing and sales data to make this process easier. New investors can rest easy knowing you’ve got the support of HubSpot’s powerful CRM at your fingertips.

Get the pitch deck template

The Art of Creating a Pitch Deck Team Slide

The Startup’s Guide to Hiring a Pitch Deck Writer

The Airbnb Pitch Deck: An Expert Breakdown

Expert Tips: How To Launch A Startup

• Business Planning

30 of the Best Pitch Decks That We’ve Ever Seen

Every founder hopes to launch the next unicorn startup . However, billion-dollar businesses usually require millions of dollars in funding to scale. Creating the best pitch deck possible could be the difference between fundraising success and failure.

A pitch deck is a critical tool in a startup’s fundraising journey. However, not every pitch deck is equally effective. The best pitch decks strike multi-million deals, while the worst fail to capture investors’ interest.

I’d bet that you’ve already searched on Google and realized that hundreds of presentation and pitch deck templates are available. However, when approaching investors, the goal is to stand out. Unfortunately, most pitch decks fail in the fundraising process. Instead of standing out, they blend into the crowd like a drop of water in the ocean.

By studying examples of successful startups that raised millions, you can learn what investors look for in the best pitch decks. In this article, we’ll introduce you to 30 of the best pitch decks we’ve seen over the last few years. Furthermore, we’ll explain why we believe they were successful and what you can learn from them.

Dropbox is a cloud storage service that lets you save files online and sync them to your devices. The platform makes it simple for users to share files and folders with others without attaching large attachments to an email.

The team introduced the product at Y Combinator’s Demo Day in 2007. Since then, Dropbox has acquired hundreds of millions of customers. The company has also become an example of how to build a startup from the ground up.

The Dropbox team utilized its pitch deck to showcase its innovative product, explain its traction, and validate its business model. Investors quickly displayed interest, and Dropbox struck its first investor deal shortly after its Demo Day appearance. 

The Pros of Dropbox’s Pitch Deck

Dropbox’s presentation may seem outdated compared to many modern pitch decks. It could use more graphic design, but the information is clear and presented in an easily digestible manner.

The use of the slide, “In a perfect world…” is unique and effective. With this slide, Dropbox connected readers to the problem and encouraged them to imagine life without struggling with digital storage issues. At the time, consumers weren’t aware that one could have “your files available wherever you are, on any device.” In 2023, this value proposition probably doesn’t seem so unique.

Still, in 2007, forgetting your USB dongle at home was a thing of nightmares. It was impossible to access your files without having your physical drive handy. Ultimately, Dropbox changed how the world stores and shares files, and its pitch deck validates this point.

The Drobox pitch deck encourages engagement from the viewer by presenting questions like “Why Now?” and “Why Better?” The team identified which questions the audience was likely to ask. Then, the founders used the deck to take the viewer on a journey by answering their questions at the ideal moment.

Some may find these slides outdated, but we love the no-fluff approach that Dropbox took with its deck. The text is large enough to read, and each slide gets straight to the point. Every word has a purpose, and every sentence is intentional.

Dropbox’s Lifetime Funding

The Dropbox team leveraged its pitch deck to raise a $1.2 million seed round in 2007. The company raised over $1.7 billion in funding over 11 rounds.

WeWork is an American commercial real estate company that provides flexible shared workspaces for technology startups and other businesses. The company designs and builds physical and virtual shared spaces and offices for companies of all sizes.

Over the years, WeWork has suffered from a damaged reputation due to bad leadership and overfunding. However, its failures don’t take away from its ability to rank in our best pitch decks list. The team produced several pitch decks since its earliest stages. However, its Series D presentation is a great example of showcasing traction and explaining future plans.

Why It’s On Our Best Pitch Decks List

Unlike DropBox, WeWork’s pitch deck is design-heavy with a modern aesthetic. The slides follow a predictable theme with a bold title, a short text blurb, and a simple but informative graphic. The color scheme (black and yellow) is consistent across every slide, which makes it visually appealing to the audience.

But when creating our best pitch decks list, graphic design is only one component. It takes skill to present this amount of information without overloading the slide. Yet, WeWork figured out the perfect balance to provide information while peaking the audience’s curiosity.

Instead of “warming up” the audience, the team immediately gets to the meat of the presentation – traction. The Company Overview slide showcases their stats upfront, with impressive metrics that investors would find difficult to ignore. Few investors can look away when a company presents statistics like 109% CAGR and revenues of $121.4 million.

While visual aesthetic is less important than content, WeWork’s design stands out. Every slide draws viewers in with complex information simplified through charts and familiar logos. The team slide is streamlined, showing authentic images of its founding members. If a picture speaks 1,000 words, it speaks a million in a pitch deck.

A Validated Hypothesis

The pitch deck tells the story of how work is rapidly shifting away from the office. Even before the pandemic, the founders realized that remote working was the future. Across multiple slides, WeWork showcases how millennials approach work differently, choosing freelance work and WFH options over the traditional office.

By the way, they were right – today, more people work from their homes and shared office spaces than ever before.

Although its technology is a massive part of WeWork’s offering, the founders only gave the technology a single slide. The bulk of the pitch deck showcases the problem and details WeWork’s plans for taking advantage of an emerging market opportunity.

WeWork’s Total Funding

The founders raised $335 million in investor funding with its Series D pitch deck. In total, the company raised $4.45 billion over 11 rounds from 14 investors.

3. Copper Cow Coffee

It can be challenging to make coffee sound exciting when competing for capital against innovative tech startups. Copper Cow Coffee’s pitch deck shows how it will innovate a market that has minimally advanced over the last several decades.

Copper Cow Coffee offers sustainably-sourced, all-natural coffee, sold in a kit that includes coffee and creamers. The company had humble beginnings but has expanded rapidly. CCC’s products are now on the shelves of major retail stores, including Whole Foods, Walmart, H-E-B, and Sprouts.

Despite the rapid success, Copper Cow Coffee’s journey began with a simple but impactful 11-slide pitch deck.

Why It’s An Awesome Pitch Deck

Entrepreneurs often overlook simplicity during investor pitches, but Copper Cow Coffee proved that less is more. For comparison’s sake, there are more words in this paragraph than in the company’s entire pitch deck. The team streamlined all the information into simple but powerful statements like “Craft coffee for anyone, anywhere.”

Unlike other decks on this list, the founders didn’t use complex graphs and charts to present information. Instead, they showcased the opportunity in a way that even a kindergarten student could understand. For example, the team used a few words to describe market size, not bar charts and line graphs. With the statement, “32 billion – American Coffee Industry,” anyone could quickly visualize how large the market is.

Some would debate that Copper Cow’s pitch deck is too minimal . However, when pitching an idea, you want the audience to pay attention to the presenter, not the slides. Copper Cow used a minimal approach so audiences could grasp the concept of each slide without needing long text explanations.

Did Copper Cow Raise Funding?

Copper Cow Coffee participated in 500 Startups and raised over $1 million in seed funding. In total, the company has generated $11.5 million in investor funding.

4. Purple Go

(Click the image to view Purple Go’s pitch deck)

Purple Go is an iPad-based platform that allows eyewear retailers to streamline online operations. The all-in-one platform automates tasks throughout the sales process, freeing up staff members and maximizing operations efficiency. Although Purple Go serves a niche and uber-targeted audience, startups can learn a few lessons from their pitch deck.

Pitch Deck Highlights

Purple Go utilized a sleek design and approach, telling its story with simple statements and highly-focused slides. While most startup pitch deck templates suggest a Problem Slide , Purple Go decided to forego this recommendation.

Instead, the deck tells a story of how Purple Go’s clients feared the impact of tech-enabled competitors. But, by adopting Purple Go’s mobile-connected stores, they multiplied their revenue by up to 10x.

The pitch deck includes several Solution slides, but they don’t display every feature. Each slide displays a short statement with a visual that explains how the product solves the customer’s problem. Phrases like “Cut Time to Sale in Half” explains the value proposition without using bullet points or paragraphs. The slides focus on the specific functions that heighten the value proposition without wasting space on less impactful features.

The team proves its Traction with a few hard-hitting statistics, such as “Pilot Store – $150k Annual Revenue.” Purple Go gives the audience the “what” of the solution but gives room so the presenter can fill in the blanks.

Did Purple Go Raise Funding?

With this pitch deck, The Purple Go team raised $150,000 in seed funding from 500 Startups .

5. Blue Wire

Blue Wire is an audio-centric media company that hosts more than 120 podcasts with athletes, influencers, and professional sports franchises. The founders recognized that millennials preferred digitized media (like podcasts) over traditional sports radio. With only nine slides the company proved a growing need for its solution in the market.

Why Do We Love This Investor Pitch Deck?

This pitch deck successfully displays how sports fans’ habits have shifted from one extreme to another. Specifically, Blue Wire explains how television loses 150,000 subscribers per month while podcasts have grown by more than 90 million listeners.

The team also proved its future potential by showing the combined follower numbers of its influencers. It also displayed logos from dozens of creators seeking to partner with the company. The deck validates a demand for the solution by showcasing notable statistics. For example, the brand received 2.5 million listens over 11 months and doubled its user base monthly.

The Company Raised HOW MUCH!?

Using this pitch deck, the company raised $150,000 in pre-seed funding. To date, Blue Wire has raised $9.9 million in funding from angel investors and venture capitalists.

6. SnapChat

It seems like Snapchat has been around forever, but it launched just over a decade ago. In 2010, it was just a new social media platform hoping to find its first capital partner. The company had a great concept, a cult-like following, and clear competitive advantages. The company had many positives, but the team still needed a stand-out pitch deck to capture investor attention.

About Snapchat’s Startup Pitch Deck

Pitch decks have many use cases outside of impressing investors. For instance, Snapchat created a sales deck to reach brands with its advertising and marketing services.

The Snapchat pitch deck sacrifices a title slide to get right to the value proposition. It opens with a bold and confident statement, “Snapchat is the best way to reach 13 to 34-year-olds.” This statement immediately draws advertisers’ attention – especially those targeting young millennials. The risk of grabbing viewers’ attention with this approach is that after making the statement, the next slides must prove it.

Snapchat validates its opening statement on the following slide. The team added a message that explains its penetration level for its targeted audience. The slide reads, “More than 60% of 13 to 34-year-old smartphone users are Snapchatters.” Then, it follows up with another intense metric – “2+ billion video views every day on Snapchat.”

There are several lessons you can take away from Snapchat’s pitch deck. First, eliminate the fluff and focus on meaningful statements. Fill your deck with strong statements that captivate your audience and back those statements with accurate data and actual metrics.

The Sales Deck Impact

The sales deck set the foundation for Snapchat’s advertising services. The company now earns more than $2.62 billion in advertising revenue each year.

Snapchat’s sales deck did not influence its fundraising activities. But in case you wondered, the company has raised more than $4.9 billion in investor capital since its inception.

The home fitness equipment industry continues to reinvent itself with new equipment and products. From ab stimulators to workout video series, there’s always some new brand claiming to help you achieve your dream body.

However, in 2012, Peloton launched as an innovator in the fitness hardware and technology spaces. The company combined traditional fitness equipment with modern tech solutions. Its solution includes internet-connected stationary bikes that enable subscribers to participate in at-home classes through streaming media.

How Peloton Made Our Best Pitch Decks List

The Peloton team knew that its product wasn’t for every person interested in fitness. With a high price tag, Peloton’s customers meet a specific demographic, lifestyle, and income bracket.

The Customer slide outlines Peloton’s ideal customer. These consumers are high net worth, married, and already spending more than $150 per month on fitness. Peloton customers earn a high income and are willing to use their disposable income to achieve their fitness goals.

Peloton’s investor deck shows that the team has deep knowledge of competitors. The team used several slides to explain its competitive advantages over other brands. Statements such as “We are not a gimmicky fitness brand” make a huge impact. The simple sentence puts distance between the brand and those with laughable fitness products (yes, I mean you, Shake Weight).

The pitch deck refutes viewers’ objections immediately and removes the “bad product” stigma often associated with fitness products.

The Venture Capital Raise

Peloton raised $400,000 from investors in the seed round. In a later round, they used their Series A pitch deck to raise $3.5 million. Throughout its lifetime, the company raised $1.9 billion, participated in six acquisitions, and went public (2019).

8. Transferwise

Transferwise (now called Wise) launched in 2010 and emerged as a leader in global payments. Wise, a money transfer platform, allows individuals to send money overseas quickly. The founders realized that millions of people around the world faced high fees for remitting money. By solving this issue for millions of people worldwide, the company earned billions of dollars.

What Stands Out in Wise’s Pitch Deck?

We gave praise to some earlier examples for their minimal approach to text and design. However, we believe Wise has the perfect amount of text for each slide. The deck provides enough information to understand the concept without overloading each slide.

The How It Works slide clarifies how easily users can send money using the platform. In this slide, Wise simplified the remittance process into four steps.

Wise simplified its Competition slide by listing each competitor category and the companies within each group. This approach allows the founders to explain each competitor group during the pitch, instead of comparing each individual company.

How Much Did Wise Raise?

Wise has one of the best seed pitch decks among the unicorn startups of the last decade. With this deck, the company raised $1.3 million in seed funding from IA Ventures and Index Ventures. To date, the company has raised over $1.3 billion from investors.

9. Kickfolio

Kickfolio (now App.io) launched with an innovative marketing tool that allowed iOS applications to run in the browser using HTML5 technology. The technology helps brands promote their applications, find new users, and engage their audience with an interactive application demo.

What Can You Learn From This Pitch Deck?

This pitch deck is an excellent example of how a brand can use visuals to engage viewers with its story. Instead of explaining the solution with bullet points, the team uses product images to demonstrate its functionality. For instance, Kickfolio showcased its traction with a simple but large graph. The team strengthened the slide by explaining user engagement, with a statement that says, “2000+ signups in 6 weeks.”

The company also added real reviews to the pitch deck so investors could see its value proposition in action. By doing so, Kickfolio made it clear how the solution impacts the lives of actual users.

How Much Capital Did They Raise?

With a world-class pitch deck, the founders raised $1.2 million in seed funding from investor partners.

Alan is a unique and innovative digital health insurance platform. The company improves the health insurance process by focusing on the user experience and providing cost-affordable plans. The team successfully established the business as an insurance company by providing top-level customer service and a competitive product.

Here’s Why We Love This Deck

To be clear, Alan’s pitch deck is more than double the length we’d recommend to our clients. Despite the length, several qualities stand out.

First, the visual presentation is masterful. When it comes to presenting a heavily designed pitch deck, Alan is a great model to follow. Alan’s branding is strong and consistent throughout the deck. It utilizes the brand’s colors and maintains a theme that draws viewers into the presentation.

Alan’s deck begins with an elevator pitch, allowing the audience to understand its product offering immediately. The team also added a slide that explained their purpose for raising Series A funding. With the funding, they plan to expand in Europe and transition into a healthcare platform.

We’ve seen the minimal approach used in several other presentations. Alan definitely did not take this approach. The deck is longer than we recommend, but it gives enough information to stand alone without a presenter. Still, the length of the deck would bore the audience during a live investor pitch.

Alan’s Series A Round

The company raised €23 million during its Series A round. In total, Alan raised over $558.2 million from angel investors and venture capital firms.

Castle is an innovative and process-shifting real estate solution for rental property owners. Castle operates under a memorable slogan that reads, “Put Your Properties on Autopilot!”

Ultimately, Castle exists to help owners manage properties without the common landlord headaches. Since Castle serves a niche target market , likely, you’ve never heard of them. However, its pitch deck has several shining qualities that any founder can learn from.

What Can You Learn From Castle?

Castle’s presentation is a great example for founders wondering what a great pitch deck looks like .

The design is modern and exciting, utilizing a constant theme, graphics, product images, and icons. The icons highlight each point, bringing the viewers’ eyes directly to the most critical points of each slide.

Castle’s format is similar to most pitch deck templates. However, the pitch deck uses this familiar structure to its advantage. The startup immediately showcases the primary customer problem. They present a problem statement that reads, “Rental property owners want to make money without the work of being a landlord.”

Each subsequent slide enhances the overall story and gives the audience another layer of information. The flow leads to a concise elevator pitch – “Automate landlording through software and on-demand labor.”

What lessons can your startup take away from Castle’s pitch deck? The best pitch decks don’t just present data and statements. Instead, they present the right information at the right time to support the story and capture viewers’ attention.

Did Castle Raise Funding?

Since its inception, Castle has raised $3.3 million in seed funding from angel investors and venture capitalists.

Adpushup is a successful startup that streamlines the process of optimizing ad placements. The solution enables publishers to improve ad performance by testing different ad placements, sizes, and types. While the design of this sample pitch deck is minimal, the information the team presented was critical to its funding success.

What We Like About Adpushup’s Slide Deck

Many entrepreneurs believe revenue is the only attractive metric, but Adpushup proved that other metrics are equally important. For example, the Traction slide validates its rapid growth, using impressions as a metric. This metric enabled them to prove a high demand within the market, even though the business hadn’t earned any revenue.

In addition to describing prospective customers, the deck displays the solution’s impact through existing customer experiences. It includes a case study showing its product’s effectiveness in a real-world scenario. Social proof isn’t just gold for attracting potential customers; it also helps to sell your pitch to investors.

Did Adpushup Raise Seed Money?

Since its inception, Adpushup has raised approximately $632,000 from partnered investors.

13. LinkedIn

(Click the image to view LinkedIn’s pitch deck)

The LinkedIn Series B pitch deck is ancient compared to others on our list. Still, it’s excellent study material for startups looking to develop a compelling investor pitch.

LinkedIn launched during the social media craze, when many new social network platforms entered the market, and competition peaked. As a result, LinkedIn took a different approach and established a notable unique selling proposition by serving a professional audience.

LinkedIn’s deck uses too much text to compete with modern seed round pitch decks. However, it is a fantastic example of how a seed round pitch deck may differ from a later round deck.

The Takeaway for Social Media Startups

Seed-round startups should refrain from using as many slides as LinkedIn used in its pitch deck. For seed-round startups, brevity is critical to success. However, in later rounds, more robust decks are often necessary.

By its Series B round, LinkedIn had members, user engagement, referral metrics, case studies, and a revenue plan. The company had to translate all of these accomplishments into a digestible pitch deck.

Since LinkedIn already had investors’ attention, it didn’t face the same restraints as a new startup. New startups have to earn the audience’s attention. Investors won’t give them the same attention as a later-stage startup with a notable reputation.

In terms of content, LinkedIn’s pitch deck clearly defined its priority – establishing the network. Furthermore, it explained why this task is critical to achieving its growth objectives. Winning pitch decks identify how the team will utilize the investment to progress, scale, and expand the business and its success. The deck also showcased significant traction, showing how the company’s actual growth and user engagement far out-scaled projected metrics.

How Much Capital Did LinkedIn Raise?

LinkedIn raised $10 million from Greylock Partners during its Series B round. Over its lifetime, LinkedIn raised over $154.8 million in investor funding. The company grew its valuation to $352.8 million by the time it went public in 2011.

Canvas provides a business solution that allows corporations and organizations to digitize their paper assets. The solution aims to eliminate paperwork by transitioning business processes through mobile applications.

We selected Canvas as one of the best startup decks because of how it used imagery to draw the audience’s attention.

What Caught Our Eye About This Investor Deck?

Canvas starts its deck with simple visuals that explain how the world has moved from analog to digital. For instance, books changed to eBooks, and CDs transitioned to MP3s. Now, according to Canvas, document storage will shift because of its solution.

In the next slides, the company expresses the top five most significant issues faced by companies with paper-based processes. With this approach, Canvas shows the audience’s specific challenges. Furthermore, it proves that the time is right for a new solution to enter the market.

We also appreciate Canvas’s Competitive Landscape slide. Most startups use a table with checkmarks. In contrast, Canvas compares the approach of its solution against competitors. According to the deck, competitors focus on the what , while Canvas focuses on the why.

Canvas Raised How Much!?

Canvas’s pitch deck and investor pitch proved successful. As a result, the company raised $24.1 million in investor funding.

15. SickWeather

Sickweather is an app that analyzes data to predict and forecast population health. The app claims to accurately predict illness outbreaks 91% of the time and two weeks before the CDC on average. Sickweather’s sample pitch deck explains the importance of trust and credibility. These factors are especially critical when your clients are some of the most respected brands in the world.

Sidenote: Sickweather became even more relevant after the pandemic. In April 2020, the company launched a COVID-19 scoring feature, becoming a leading predictor of which cities would experience COVID outbreaks.

Sickweather’s Pitch Deck Takeaway

The first thing that caught our attention was the addition of a video on one of the slides. Shorter videos work well during a live pitch, while long videos can help enhance the deck during the introduction stage.

Early in the deck, Sickweather lists previous and existing clients. The mentioned brands are well-known and credible, immediately giving the startup a high level of authority. Furthermore, the team used visual graphs to showcase impressive monthly recurring revenue growth.

Lifetime Capital Raise

Sickweather has raised $2.6 million in investor funding since its inception.

16. Match Box (Tinder)

Match Box is the original name for Tinder, a dating app used by millions of people worldwide. Even with many competitors, Tinder overtook the market by implementing a gaming aspect to its platform. Instead of just adding friends, individuals could swipe left or right to express interest in another user. Match Box’s startup deck is an excellent example of balancing creativity and simplicity to generate investor interest.

What We Like About Match Box’s Pitch Deck

Match Box became Tinder, and Tinder went on to become the most successful dating app ever. However, success started with its pitch deck – and there are several reasons why the slides worked so well.

Match Box’s slides are rather minimal compared to most startup pitch decks. However, it introduces a real-world scenario to explain the problems daters face (fear of rejection). The pitch deck uses each slide to tell a story, and half of the deck simply includes screenshots of the application.

The deck heightens its effectiveness by introducing the customer, showcasing their problems, and proving that the solution can solve the problem.

Finally, the last slide shows a transparent revenue model. Many dating apps struggle to generate revenue. But in its deck, Match Box showed how it would leverage its customer base to create several income streams.

Match Box’s Lifetime Funding

In September 2016, Tinder received an investment of $1.4 million. Since then, the company has participated in three separate acquisitions.

If you’re an avid traveler, it is probable that you have heard of or used Airbnb. Founded in 2008, Airbnb is a web service that allows people visiting other cities to book rooms from locals.

Airbnb provides a classic marketplace platform that enables renters and travelers to transact. For travelers, it provides a streamlined process to book a room or a property, often offering more amenities than a hotel. Property owners act as hosts on the platform, using Airbnb to find renters and earn income from their vacant properties.

With a compelling pitch deck, Airbnb conveyed its advantages against the competition and expressed its unique market position.

The Upside of Airbnb’s Deck

First-time founders often focus all their attention on the presentation’s design and visuals. Unfortunately, while the slides look great, they often lack the essential qualities of a good pitch deck. Over-designing can cause distraction and pull your audiences’ focus to the wrong elements. As Steve Jobs once said, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Airbnb’s pitch deck is the perfect representation of effective simplicity. The deck successfully explains the customer problem (such as the price of hotels) and uses statistics to prove market potential. It defines the challenge entirely before beginning its introduction to the company’s product, service, and feature offering.

Airbnb relies on technology to perform its service, but the deck only vaguely mentions the platform itself. One slide explains the technology, but the rest of the deck focuses on the market and the go-to-market strategy.

The founders represented the solution with only seven words – “ Search By City. Review Listings. Book It!” Our team fell in love with this approach.

Commonly, entrepreneurs spend the entire pitch explaining the product itself. Yet, they don’t spend enough time on the things important to investors, such as the strategy and ROI potential.

Airbnb – A Fundraising Success Story

Before this pitch deck, founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia had no fundraising experience. However, even without expertise, they closed a $600,000 seed round led by Sequoia Capital. In total, Airbnb raised $4.4 billion over several financing rounds.

Need more information? Check out our full breakdown of Airbnb’s pitch deck .

Tea is one of the world’s most popular commodities. However, obstacles exist in the supply chain process, slowing down the transfer of goods from farms to individuals. Furthermore, the market relies on middlemen to distribute products, which drives up prices for the final consumer. As a result, tea farmers have to deal with low-profit margins, and consumers can’t access high-quality tea options.

TeaLet exists to streamline the supply chain. The company directly connects tea growers with wholesale buyers and retailers using blockchain technology and a web-based application. As a result, TeaLet has tripled the profits for tea farmers while reducing consumers’ prices for top-quality tea.

TeaLet’s pitch deck enabled the team to achieve its objective of attracting and striking a deal with its first investors.

About TeaLet’s Killer Deck

TeaLet’s pitch deck immediately presents the most important information. The presentation starts by displaying its most vital metric – We’ve sold 100,000 cups of tea in 20+ countries. By quickly showcasing traction, TeaLet’s pitch deck gives the team massive credibility. Furthermore, it grasps the audience’s attention early on in the pitch.

One of our favorite qualities of this pitch deck is the use of hard numbers. The slides use hard numbers to prove the market opportunity. By showcasing market activities (such as acquisitions by similar companies), TeaLet creates FOMO among potential investors.

While content is more important than design, TeaLet’s design theme stands out against many other startup pitch decks. It is rather design-heavy, but the visual adds drama to the message instead of distracting from it.

How Much Funding Did TeaLet Raise?

With a great product and a well-thought pitch deck, TeaLet secured a $240k seed round from angel investors.

19. Moz (SEOmoz)

Moz, formally known as SEOmoz, is a SaaS company that provides a suite of inbound marketing and SEO tools. Gillian Muessig and SEO influencer Rand Fishkin launched Moz in 2004 and transitioned into SEO SaaS software in 2008.

By the end of 2017, Moz served more than 36,000 businesses worldwide. During this period, users crawled more than 168 million URLs and researched over 4.3 million keywords.

Building a leading software solution like Moz is no easy feat. Nevertheless, Moz’s founders created an impactful pitch deck that impressed investors and provided the capital needed to thrive and scale.

Why is Moz On Our Best Pitch Decks List?

Rand Fishkin has become the Michael Jackson of SEO. He is well-known as a marketing legend now, but he had to build his legendary status over several years. Moz’s pitch deck explains where the business started and how Rand built the company from inception without outside funding.

Moz used its slides to explain how the founders leveraged free traffic through inbound marketing to build and expand the business. By showcasing its success with these methods, Moz validated its abilities since its software helps clients grow with the same techniques.

This pitch deck is longer than a standard startup pitch deck. However, when the team designed it, Moz had already completed an initial seed funding round and had significant traction. Therefore, in later series rounds, additional slides are often necessary to effectively showcase the growth of the business.

Did Moz Reach Its Funding Objectives?

A strong pitch deck and a validated product allowed Moz to raise $29.1 million over five funding rounds.

According to its founders, Front is the “first inbox meant for teams.” By using Front, organizations can organize emails, route them to team members, and maximize collaboration. The company launched in 2013 and quickly grew its dominance in the corporate email sector. Today, Front serves over 5,000 businesses and has more than 100 employees.

Explaining Front’s Pitch Deck

The overall aesthetic of startup pitch decks has evolved over the years. Front introduced several elements that you likely won’t find in older pitch deck examples (like Facebook or LinkedIn’s deck).

For example, Front uses a plot graph to showcase how each competitor fits into the landscape. This graphic element is easy on the eyes and makes a complex concept simple to understand. The use of graphics continues with well-placed charts and graphs throughout the deck. Front showcased its traction and growth clearly while maintaining a minimal and clean appearance.

Front’s Fundraising Outcome

Front’s pitch deck enabled the company to reach its funding goals. To date, Front has raised over $79 million in venture funding.

21. Mixpanel

Mixpanel is an analytics provider that tracks and monitors web and mobile apps. Leveraging its toolset, app owners can compare new campaigns with A/B tests, execute user surveys, and build funnels.

The Pros of Mixpanel’s Pitch Deck

This presentation made it on our best pitch decks list because of its simplicity. Compared to other pitch decks, it is relatively minimal and utilizes text more than visuals. However, in a time when most pitch decks are over-designed, Mixpanel’s lack of graphic design stands out.

The founders created a great storyline within the deck that keeps viewers engaged. It begins by clearly stating the market’s problems in a single sentence. Then, it explains the solution with minimal text.

With a dark non-distracting background and white font, the message is clear. Instead of cluttered slides with non-connected visuals and many ideas, Mixpanel’s slides contain singular, focused, and notable concepts.

Mixpanel’s Funding Rounds

The company achieved its financing goals and raised $77 million over five investment rounds.

22. Facebook

If you’re old enough to remember the launch of Facebook, you might recall that it first launched as “thefacebook.” Facebook is a social media platform that Mark Zuckerberg launched in 2004. Over the last 20 years, Facebook has grown to become one of the world’s top-earning companies. The platform has billions of users and an estimated $140 billion valuation.

Pitch Deck Lessons for Social Media Startups

Since Facebook launched in the early 2000s, its pitch deck is now ancient. The startup landscape has significantly changed since Facebook’s early days. Gone are the days when pitch deck slides included entire text paragraphs.

Still, Facebook’s pitch deck accomplished its objectives. It showcased the features, explained the launch strategy, and presented traction. In addition, Facebook added a media quote on several slides that further validated its impact and showcased its rapid traction.

Facebook’s Fundraising Success

Facebook raised over $1.3 billion before going public in 2012.

23. Buzzfeed

BuzzFeed is an industry-leading internet media, news, and entertainment company that has brought new trends to digital journalism. John Peretti founded the platform in New York in 2006, focusing on viral content like articles, lists, videos, and quizzes.

BuzzFeed exploded over its first few years and now hosts several brands, including Nifty, Goodful, As/Is, and Tasty. By 2018, BuzzFeed Video’s YouTube channel had generated more than 13.8 billion views and 17.2 million subscribers.

The Best Aspects of BuzzFeed’s Pitch Deck

BuzzFeed utilized screenshots of the platform throughout the deck, visually engaging viewers and investor audiences. The team used the designs to explain the solution and display important information, such as the revenue and business model.

In addition, the Competitive Analysis slide is exceptional. The slide shows how the company merges the benefits of the advertising and media sectors.

BuzzFeed’s Lifetime Capital Raise

The BuzzFeed company raised over $496 million and has participated in five acquisitions since its inception.

24. Ooomf (Crew)

Ooomf launched in 2012 as an app discovery platform. After raising $500,000 in a seed round, Ooomf pivoted as a marketplace for digital freelancers.

Ooomf rebranded as Crew, the first marketplace where handpicked creators can work on the projects they love. Some of the world’s largest companies like Apple, Google, Uber, and Dropbox have hired freelancers on Ooomf’s marketplace.

Learning From Ooomf’s Pitch Deck

Ooomf made our best pitch decks list because we appreciated its ability to tell a story with minimal text. Each slide is well-designed and suggests a single point of focus. The company used graphics to show the simplicity of creating a project on the platform. It also offers social proof by presenting direct quotes from the platform’s freelancers.

Ooomf’s Fundraising Activity

Ooomf (Crew) raised $9.9 million from 14 investors before participating in an acquisition by Dribbble.

25. Task.ly

Task.ly is a task management tool that helps professionals organize and manage their work lives. The app allows users to track project progress, collaborate with team members, and manage deadlines. The software aims to replace unorganized sticky notes, emails, and tracking docs with one simple-to-use platform.

Task.ly Pitch Deck Lessons

In our opinion, Task.ly’s pitch deck is too long and includes too many slides. With 28 slides, it is more than double the recommended length for startup pitch decks. Fortunately, the team used only a few words on each slide. Therefore, viewers can still flick through the entire deck quickly without spending an excessive amount of time.

Every slide contains a graphic, but the screenshots, images, and icons support the story and enhance the overall investor pitch. Furthermore, the designers condensed the text into short statements – most slides have less than six words. 

The company hasn’t released any funding information, so we are unsure whether it raised capital and how much it raised.

Pendo is a no-code platform that allows businesses to learn how customers behave while using a website or mobile application. By leveraging the solution, users can monitor page loads, clicks, focus points, and form submissions. Once the system collects enough data, it draws insights and makes suggestions to improve user engagement.

What Do We Love About Pendo’s Pitch Deck?

As we explained previously, Series B pitch decks are often significantly longer than early-stage ones. By this stage, the business has covered more ground and achieved more milestones. As a result, Series B businesses must represent more information on their slides.

Regarding design, Pendo’s presentation is one of the best pitch decks we’ve come across. Some of the most effective pitch decks lack visual appeal. Still, Pendo squeezed a tremendous amount of information into its slides without compromising the design. Furthermore, the company used visuals wisely by inserting graphs and charts to explain concepts quickly instead of relying on text.

Pendo’s Fundraising Success

The team created several decks to raise $108.3 million over seven funding rounds. Furthermore, the company participated in two acquisitions.

27. Coinbase

Coinbase is a secure platform that makes it easy to exchange digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. As the largest digital currency trading platform, the company earned over $1 billion in revenue in 2017. Since launching in 2012, it has scaled to offer digital asset transactions and storage in over 190 countries.

Lessons from Coinbase’s Pitch Deck

The founders faced a significant hurdle when creating a pitch deck. In 2012, most investors were clueless about Bitcoin and the challenges faced by the small community of crypto investors. Therefore, the pitch deck had to educate investors on digital currency and explain why the solution was necessary for the market.

Coinbase’s startup pitch deck explains why other solutions are ineffective and difficult to use. It follows that message with evidence to position the company as the ideal solution for the market’s challenges. Furthermore, the pitch deck validated the existence of demand by showcasing rapid growth in user registrations, user engagement, and annual revenue.

Coinbase’s Fundraising History

Coinbase raised $547.3 million over nine funding rounds and participated in 12 acquisitions.

28. Contently

The Contently solution strives to address the three critical elements of content marketing: strategy, platform, and storytellers. The platform makes content marketing manageable by combining an expert content strategy, a marketing services platform, and a global talent network.

The platform now serves over 200 enterprise clients, hosts over 140,000 creatives, and has paid over $40 million to its contractors.

Pros of Contently’s Pitch Deck

This Series B financing deck immediately presents impressive statistics explaining an existing market problem – brands fail to achieve their marketing objectives. The pitch deck uses platform screenshots to showcase its effectiveness and displays client logos to validate its recent traction.

Contently’s Fundraising Activities

With an excellent pitch deck, the founders raised $19.3 million in capital over seven funding rounds.

Yaydoo is a procurement automation platform that allows companies to streamline their purchasing processes. With Yaydoo, businesses can negotiate with several vendors simultaneously and with one click. Furthermore, the platform enables these companies to save on recurring purchases and reduce their team efforts.

Why Do We Love Yaydoo’s Pitch Deck?

Yaydoo effectively got its point across and validated the potential of its solution using only nine slides. The first slide is the most impressive, providing the fine details of the company’s sales over two years. It also displays logos of previous clients to give the brand more credibility. With significant social proof, it is easy to understand the company’s potential and ability to exceed customer expectations.

How Much Did Yaydoo Raise?

Yaydoo succeeded in raising seed funding. However, no public information is available expressing the amount of capital secured.

30. Backstartup

Backstartup is an all-in-one platform that allows startups and SMEs to manage their legal, accounting, and payroll processes easily. The founders launched Backstartup in Columbia in 2014, and the business now employs over 50 team members.

Lessons From Backstartup’s Pitch Deck

Backstartup’s investor pitch deck is another example of great design. The deck utilizes pops of color and well-designed visuals to engage the audience and pull them into the presentation. The deck begins by showcasing the projected market size. Then, it goes into the product and explains the company’s traction.

The Backstartup team only used 11 slides to impress potential investors. Yet, each slide captures the details of the business with a consistent and visually appealing design theme.

Backstartup’s Fundraising History

Backstartup held three funding rounds, raising a total of $905k throughout its lifetime.

Elements of a Fundable Pitch Deck

Combined with an impressive pitch, a startup pitch deck is essential for successful fundraising. Great ideas with sloppy presentations that leave key questions unanswered usually fail in the fundraising process. To impress investors, brands need a proven idea, a confident pitch, and a memorable startup pitch deck.

Thousands of startups send their pitch decks to investors every day. In other words, if you seek investor capital, you’ll need to stand out among the competition. Many startups add every detail they can fit in the deck. They describe the number of users, monthly growth, revenue, feature concepts, and more.

However, the best pitch decks provide an organized presentation with a story-like flow. They present the right information, in the optimal order, with supporting visuals that maximize impact.

Pitch decks can help you raise serious capital if done right. Some entrepreneurs utilize pitch deck writers to create the best presentations. But if you’re creating your own deck or using a startup pitch deck template, there are some tips that will help. Check out the infographic below so you can create a pitch deck worthy of investment.

You may also like

How To Win A Business Plan Contest

9 of the Most Important Slides For An Excellent Pitch Deck

Ask The Experts: How Long Should A Business Plan Be?

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Presentations
• Most Recent
• Infographics
• Data Visualizations
• Forms and Surveys
• Video & Animation
• Case Studies
• Design for Business
• Digital Marketing
• Design Inspiration
• Visual Thinking
• Product Updates
• Visme Webinars
• Artificial Intelligence

How to Create a Successful Business Pitch

Written by: Silvana Carpineanu

Pitching to investors can be challenging if you don’t know how to go about it. This is why we’ve put together this guide on creating a successful business pitch.

To craft a perfect pitch that stands out to investors, you must prove that you understand the market and show that your project’s financials will help them get excellent returns out of their investments.

Here's a short selection of 8 easy-to-edit business pitch templates you can edit, share and download with Visme. View more below:

In this guide, we’ll cover what exactly a business pitch looks like as well as 10 tips to create a successful pitch that gets you investors.

Create a compelling pitch deck using our online presentation software . Or, browse through dozens of fully designed pitch deck templates inspired by companies like Airbnb, BuzzFeed, Uber and more.

What is a Business Pitch?

A business pitch is a business plan that you present to your potential investors to secure funding. The pitch helps you explain your business to investors to enable them to make the right decisions.

One of the best ways you can use to deliver a business pitch is by using visual communication to incorporate diagrams and other visuals in your presentation to make your audience more attentive and interested.

You can also create a stunning pitch deck using a starter template that gets you started off on the right foot.

Hey executives! Looking to cut design costs?

• Spend less time on presentations and more time strategizing
• Ensure your brand looks and feels visually consistent across all your organization's documents
• Impress clients and stakeholders with boardroom ready presentations

Sign up. It’s free.

Additionally, if you want to create a unique presentation that helps you to stand out in the crowd, present your business idea through a well-tailored mind map . 

Simply put your idea in the centre of the map and arrange related subtopics around that idea. This can help to fully illustrate your plan and ensure potential investors understand your goals.

Read on to learn more about how to create a successful business pitch, but be sure to utilize our 60+ slide startup pitch deck theme to help you put together the perfect design.

10 Tips for Creating a Successful Business Pitch

If you’re getting ready to create a business pitch deck for your startup or new business plan, there are several things you need to keep in mind.

We’re going to walk you through this guide to creating your own business pitch as well as share a variety of pitch deck templates that can help you see success.

1. Be Concise and to the Point

A good business pitch requires you to provide crucial points regarding your business. You can use statistics and visual presentation to explain your issues. Simplify the expression and ensure that the investors understand the facts right away.

Getting to the point will hook your potential investors into following your topic without losing interest. To achieve this, you have to focus on crucial aspects of your business and summarize them into simple terms.

This slide does a great job of summarizing company information into just a few bite-sized paragraphs.

2. Create an Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is a brief business presentation delivered quickly, such as during an elevator ride. Describe your business’ nature, what you do, and show why you are the best candidate for funding.

To compose an excellent elevator pitch, ensure you describe your business well to help investors understand it without any struggle.

Take a page out of this slide’s book. Pay attention to how they used a single sentence to convey what their business does.

3. Practice Your Timing

Practice whatever you are going to present and ensure that you keep time during the rehearsal. You may let your colleagues track the time and observe your body language and speech. That way, they will give you candid feedback regarding the quality of your practice.

Bear in mind that you’ll need to present your pitch within a short time. Depending on the organizer’s specifications, ensure to deliver your pitch within the allocated time.

Summarize your content, and focus on your selling proposition but don’t rush to finish your speech prematurely.

Using a tool like Visme can help you pay attention to how much time you’ve spent on your slides. The presenter notes feature allows you to type out speaking notes and track your presentation time.

Ready to create your own presentation in minutes?

• Add your own text, images and more
• Customize colors, fonts and everything else
• Choose from hundreds of slide designs and templates
• Add interactive buttons and animations

4. Pay Attention to Details

Once you’ve presented a brief description of your business, get into the details and justify why investors should invest in your business idea, and show how you will offer solutions to societal problems.

For example, based on industry analysis, demonstrate how your business compares with others in the niche and which approaches you will use to perform better than your competitors.

Additionally, don’t forget to add financial projection to your presentation. Potential investors take a keen interest in reviewing this information than others. Make the prediction simple and be ready to answer any questions that investors may ask.

Using a chart like the one below is the perfect way to visualize growth and financial projections.

5. Understand Your Audience

Before you think of an effective business pitch, don’t hesitate to find out about your potential investors and create a pitch tailored to them. Give a brief description of how your product works and demonstrate how you intend to grow your business.

Let the investors understand what your business does and convince them that you deserve funding. More importantly, talk about your business idea and show the problem you are planning to solve. 

Bear in mind that investors want to hear how your business will generate returns for them. Therefore, show them how you will create demand for your product and present realistic financial projections.

Showcasing something like a clear product roadmap can be a great way to get investors on your side.

6. Address a Real Customer Experience

Use real customer experiences to highlight an existing problem and demonstrate how your idea will solve it. Tell a story regarding real customer challenges and avoid the technical talk. More importantly, ensure that the story you give relates to your target market.

For instance, mention your customer’s name and show how your business managed to solve the problem they had. Be realistic and let your audience connect with your story.

Research shows that a compelling story will make investors relate to your business situation and better understand your business idea.

This slide showcasing testimonials is the perfect addition to your business pitch.

7. Outline Your Business Model

Once you furnish your investors with what your company does, they’ll be interested to know how to generate income. A business model entails your assets, business activities, and what you do to get customers and make money.

Inform your investors about the duration you’re likely to take in each stage of development. Have in mind that businesses are different. For instance, some companies’ product development may take many years, while others will take a few months.

Whichever stage your company is in, show the investors that your team is competent to manage your business at any particular stage.

In your revenue model, describe how you will generate income for the next few years. For instance, provide a five-year financial projection showing total revenues, profit before tax, operating expenses, and net income.

This basic slide is the perfect starting point for sharing your revenue model.

8. Talk About Your Team

Investors are interested to know if you have the right team to implement your business strategies. Highlight the most important details about your team, such as experience and qualifications.

You don’t have to give details of everyone working for you. However, you may talk about the founders of your company. Give a brief bio of members in the founding team, and ensure that they are diverse in gender and other aspects.

Investors believe that a diverse team has a unique approach to solving issues, which is right for your business.

In your presentation, ensure to highlight the following about the founding team:

• A brief biography of each member
• Names and titles
• Members’ photos
• Social media (e.g., LinkedIn) profiles

In any business, a team is one of the most important assets a company has. Investors are concerned with whether the topmost people in your company have the expertise and experience to lead your startup to success.

Here’s a great way to represent your team on a single slide.

9. Show How You’ll Deal With the Competition

In the competition slide, show investors what sets you apart from other players in the industry. Highlight the company’s vision and let investors determine your ability to become a key player in your niche.

Demonstrate how the product is competitive in the market and show your industry knowledge regarding possibilities and obstacles.

Ensure to quantify the product benefits you plan to include in the competition slide. For instance, you can say that your product is 3 times powerful than the competitors’. And don't forget to prove that!

List your product benefits in priority order based on your business’ value proposition and customer needs.

When creating your competitor slide, make your differentiators as straightforward as possible. For example, if your startup has a crucial benefit but competitors don’t have it, mark its column and leave those of competitors unmarked.

Ensure that your power grid competition slide looks clear to investors during the presentation.

Use a   competitor matrix to understand your market, learn about competitors, and create excellent business strategies.

10. Go-To-Market Strategy

Explain to investors how you intend to market your products or services. More importantly, show how much money you will spend to acquire new customers.

It is vital to demonstrate to investors that your projected value of revenues will be more than customers’ acquisition costs.

Here is what you are supposed to highlight in the go-to-market strategy.

• Identify the problem in the market and show how you will address it
• Provide details on how your product will solve the existing problem in the market
• Describe the target markets in terms of size. Give details of the market’s buying power 
• Provide market research findings to support the viability of the product
• Give information on how you intend to place products in the market to achieve maximum profitability

Your slide might look a little something like this.

Time To Craft a Perfect Business Pitch

Before you craft a business pitch , you have to familiarize yourself with the audience and know exactly what they want. Make your pitch concise and present it within the allocated time.

Angel investors and venture capitalists like to know whether you have the right team to run your business. Therefore, highlight your team members’ details, such as their names, titles, bios, and photos.

Don’t forget to demonstrate the market strategies you will use to get more customers than the competitors. Give details regarding marketing costs and expected revenues.

To make your presentation more perfect and appealing, it is advisable to learn about data visualization best practices .

Create beautiful presentations faster with Visme.

Trusted by leading brands

Recommended content for you:

Create Stunning Content!

Design visual brand experiences for your business whether you are a seasoned designer or a total novice.

About the Author

Silvana Carpineanu is an enthusiast Marketing Specialist who works for mindomo.com. Driven by passion and creativity, she’s responsible for copywriting, advertising, SEO, and content creation. She does all of this knowing that for every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.

How to Deliver the Perfect Business Pitch: 8 Tips Inspired by 'Shark Tank'

Updated: March 17, 2022

Published: June 23, 2016

While it's not necessarily an indicator of future success, it's a critical moment for any business. A great pitch can bring valuable partnerships to the table -- partnerships that come with even more valuable financial incentives.

Business pitches take place in a wide variety of settings, from elevators, to offices, to cocktail parties. Some lucky entrepreneurs get the chance to pitch their businesses on ABC's hit TV series Shark Tank, where promising entrepreneurs pitch to a panel of five "Sharks" -- self-made multimillionaire and billionaire investors who've achieved enormous success in their respective industries.

These entrepreneurs have a short amount of time to tell their stories, sell their products, answer questions, and overall make an impact that they hope will lead to a major money-making opportunity .

There's a lot about delivering great product pitches that we can learn from the show. Read on to learn about tips from successful Shark Tank product pitches.

(Do you have a startup you want to pitch? Enter HubSpot’s pitch-off competition for a chance to pitch your business on-stage at #INBOUND16 in front of thousands of marketing and sales professionals, early-adopters, techies, and our panel of all-star judges. Click here to learn more about how to enter the pitch-off .)

8 Tips From Successful Shark Tank Product Pitches

1) prepare, prepare, prepare..

Selling your idea is as much how well you present it as it is the idea itself. Back in 2012, Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran told Business Insider that the best pitch she's every seen on the show was from Sabin Lomac and Jim Teslikis, co-founders of a seafood truck company called Cousins Maine Lobsters .

"I remember thinking to myself, 'My God, these guys are amazing!'" said Corcoran. "They were clear, they were good-looking (you couldn't take your eyes off them), they were high energy, and they answered every question and objection like geniuses. Genuine, rock solid, and perfect answers."

Image Credit: Business Insider

Once she started working with them, Corcoran understood the secret to their polished appearance on the show: preparation. The two co-founders had spent a tremendous amount of time and energy preparing for their appearance on the show. For instance, they watched all four existing seasons of Shark Tank and wrote down every objection any shark had ever asked an entrepreneur. Then, they prepared and practiced their answers and quizzed each other to make sure they had it all down before appearing in front of the Sharks.

"I haven't seen it before, and I haven't seen it since," Corcoran said of their avid preparation.

The Takeaway

Before you make your pitch, you'd better do your homework. Study the bios, social media accounts, and investment backgrounds of every single investor who will be in the room. Make sure you understand what drives each of them so that you can adapt your pitch accordingly. Remember: Your presentation shouldn't be the same if you're pitching to a potential partner versus a potential engineer hire, for instance.

Know the key points of your presentation cold and nail at least the first few minutes of your presentation where it's just you doing the talking. It's harder to straighten out a bad pitch than it is to keep the momentum of a good one going.

As Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban says , "Do the work. Out-work. Out-think. Out-sell your expectations. There are no shortcuts."

2) Practice your pitch in front of real people first.

We're all heard the mantra "practice makes perfect" time and time again, but I want to really hammer home that how well and often you practice your business pitch can make a potentially life-changing impact on you and your business.

Let's take the case of Aaron Krause , the man who created the product Scrub Daddy , a smiley-faced cleaning utensil that received a bid from Shark Tank investor Lori Greiner -- and has been called the most successful product in Shark Tank history.

In addition to having a phenomenal product, Krause's differentiator was practicing his pitch in front of other people before going on the show. According to Krause , he practiced for months in local grocery stores where he was selling his product. In the process, he refined his pitch so well over a period of months that, when he finally appeared on the show, his delivery and demonstration was flawless. Shark Tank investor John Daymond said it was "like watching a live infomercial."

Later, Daymond would say it was his favorite pitch of the first six seasons of the show. Daymond was beat out by Greiner, who invested $200,000 in exchange for 20% equity in Scrub Daddy.

The more familiar and comfortable you are with your pitch, the more effective your presentation will be. Like Cuban said, there are no shortcuts here: You have to practice (a lot ) to reach the level of familiarity and comfort that'll result in a flawless presentation. And that flawless presentation could make you a lot of money.

At the end of every practice pitch, ask yourself what you would change about it. In fact, in certain settings, you might ask the people you pitched to what they would change about it. Use it as a learning exercise by reflecting on what went well and what you can do differently next time.

Pro Tip: Silicon Valley venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki suggests that you throw away your pitch and start with a clean slate every five pitches or so. "Let this 'version 2.0' reflect the gestalt of what you’ve learned instead of being a patchwork quilt," he wrote.

3) Tell a great story, and make an emotional connection.

While some presentations are more formal and have rigid structures, pitches tend to have more flexibility -- and presenting your pitch as a story can be much more compelling than a list of facts.

One of the best showcases of how a compelling story can win over investors (and can even, in some cases, make up for lack of business acumen) comes from Tree T-PEE founder Johnny Georges. That pitch was the most emotional moment ever on the show , said Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary . "It actually is the reason the show won an Emmy," he said. Shark Tank had won an Emmy for Outstanding Structured Reality Program in 2014.

Georges' pitch began with the story of how he developed a business from his late father's invention, a device farmers can use to reduce the amount of water wasted by irrigating orange groves.

The investors liked the technology and the patient, but they told Georges they were disappointed by his lack of drive to make these devices more profitable.

Georges' response? He launched into a powerful story of why he believes so strongly in helping his fellow farmers and carrying on his father's legacy. "It was a particularly powerful moment in Shark Tank," said O'Leary, "and no one's going to forget it. Every Shark had a tear in their eye, including me. He is a great soul, that man."

A guest investor on the show that day, Paul DeJoria, ended up investing $150,000 for 20% equity.

This story isn't about how to make up for not being business-savvy. But it is a powerful example of how making an emotional connection with the investors and connecting with them on a human level can make a big difference in the outcome of your pitch.

Remember: People tend to react emotionally first, and then rationalize logically. Research shows that even decisions we believe are logical ones are arguably always based on emotion.

"People cannot run emotion and logic at the same time," wrote Martin Soorjoo , author of Here’s the Pitch: How to Pitch Your Business to Anyone, Get Funded and Win New Clients. "This means that when you construct and deliver your pitch, focus on ensuring you achieve favorable power dynamics and inspire and engage your audience so that you keep them in the emotion zone."

4) Promote yourself as a savvy business person.

The entrepreneurs on Shark Tank who've given the best pitches not only tell a compelling story, but also promote themselves as smart, savvy businesspeople. After all, an investment results in a business partnership -- and investors want to work with smart people who know what they're doing and can make them money.

Brian Lim is one such entrepreneur. In 2015, he pitched his product EmazingLights , which are gloves with LED lights in the fingertips that have become popular at raves and music festivals.

At the same time he pitched his product, he also pitched both the product and his own work ethic and business acumen. He credited the $7 million in annual revenue he'd earned through EmazingLights to his focus, passion, and long-term vision to beat out his competitors in the emerging rave apparel space.

ABC's Shark Tank - Season 6 Episode 22 - Emazing Lights from EmazingLights on Vimeo .

"We own 80% of the global gloving market," said Lim in his pitch. "The rest of the market is made up of four or five of our competitors, and I guarantee they do not operate at the same level."

He used data to back up strong statements like these. For example, he started the company with $100 and has grossed over $13 million in four years while starting another supporting company for the rave community called iHeartRaves .

"In my view, the transient nature of it has me a little nervous, but I can see someone here who's working his tail off, which is interesting," said O'Leary before making the first offer.

The biggest compliment Lim received came from Shark Tank investor Robert Herjavec during negotiations on the episode: "You're the real deal, man," he said. "You are probably one of the, if not the best entrepreneur we've had here."

Lim would end up making a deal with Cuban and Daymond, with Cuban giving $650,000 for 5% and John taking licensing rights and a 20% commission.

Lim had a great business plan and the numbers and sales history to back it up -- but where he really stood out was in selling himself as a phenomenal entrepreneur and potential business partner.

Investors know that the better their business partners, the less work they'll ultimately have to do. Use stories about your work ethic and dedication to convince investors that you have what it takes to come up with new ideas and take on business initiatives intelligently, all by yourself.

(If you want to develop your own entrepreneurial skills, here's a list of resources that'll help you become more business-savvy .)

5) Make your presentation visual and interactive.

If giving a business pitch makes you think of PowerPoint slides and bullet points, then you're doing it wrong. On Shark Tank, a common thread for successful business pitches are that these entrepreneurs make their presentations heavily visual and even interactive. In many cases, they bring products or parts of the product that the Sharks can actually touch, hold in their hands, and experience for themselves.

For example, Lani Lazarri, who was 18 years old at the time, gave a thorough demonstration of her line of skincare products called Simple Sugars . Early on in the presentation, she asks one of the investors Laurie Geiner to come up to her table and try the product for herself.

Lani gave Laurie a choice of which flavor to try, and instructed her to add a little bit of water and scrub until she felt the sugars start to melt. She asked Laurie how it felt, to which Laurie responded, "It feels very, very soft."

"That's the oils in it," Lani responded. "The sugar removes the barrier of dead skin cells that naturally sits on top of your skills, which allows the oils to penetrate your skin and provide that moisture." The visual language helped the other investors in the room feel what was happening without actually trying it for themselves.

In general, you'll notice that the vast majority (if not all) of Shark Tank 's best pitches are highly visual and involve interactive elements like Lani's. The only time you'll see entrepreneurs use a slide deck is to present the name of the product, and sometimes to show different elements of it that can't be seen in person.

Visual presentations and physical interaction have positive psychological impacts on an audience. Research shows the longer we touch or hold something, the more we feel ownership over it --- and the more we want it. And the more we feel we already own something, the higher value we place on it.

You can still use PowerPoint slides, but if you do, be sure to offer interesting visual and dramatic slide presentations. (And read this blog post for 14 PowerPoint presentation tips to make your designs more effective, along with free templates.)

Pro tip: Prepare a second version of your slide deck to send out later as a leave-behind that you can include in your follow-up to investors. Your two presentations should match in general flow and content, but the one shown in your live presentation should be highly visual, and the one to send later should have more words and explanations so it can act as a standalone presentation.

6) Highlight product validation by talking about early sales.

Some of the most common questions Sharks ask of entrepreneurs on the show are about sales:

• What are your sales year-to-date?
• What do you think you'll do this calendar year?
• What do you think you'll make on it?

For investors, early sales success is one of the most promising signs of the product's validation. It shows that consumers are already valuing the product and are willing to spend money on it.

One entrepreneur named Max Gunawan pitched his foldable lamp company, Lumio , to the investors on Shark Tank in 2015. In his pitch, he clearly illustrated how an investor could make money off his quickly growing company by explaining that he grew the business to $1 million in annual sales within two years.

All five Shark Tank investors offered him deals, and he ended up partnering with Herjavec for $350,000 in exchange for 10% equity.

Rebecca Rescate, who founded a toilet training kit for cats called CitiKitty , also used her sales numbers and projections to prove the value of her concept.

After fielding some jokes from the investors initially, she pushed through to explain how she'd made $225,000 in sales the previous year all by herself -- and earned coverage in major media outlets like The Wall Street Journal to help create a demand. She ended up making a deal with Kevin Harrington for $100,000 for 20% equity.

Along with a compelling story and presentation, talking comfortably about your sales numbers and projections is a very important part of your pitch. Without numbers to back them up, whether a person likes a product concept or not is fairly anecdotal. Investors like to see ideas that are backed by real dollar figures.

If you haven't put your product on the market yet, you can get an idea of demand and promises to buy from your Kickstarter marketing. If nothing else, Angel Investor Tim Berry suggests bringing signed letters from future customers or from sales channels. "Distributors or retail chains are very helpful," he wrote in an article for Entrepreneur . "And when possible, don’t just talk about documents. Take a picture and post it on a slide in the deck."

Remember to be realistic with your sales predictions. If they're not believable, then you won't be, either. ( Read this blog post to learn more about how to accurately predict your future sales.)

7) Come in with a negotiation strategy.

The negotiation is arguably the hardest -- not to mention the scariest -- part of a business pitch. One of the most common reasons why entrepreneurs fail to land a deal on Shark Tank is because they don't negotiate well. Either they haven't done their homework on the numbers, or they become indecisive or anxious, or both.

Brad Schultz, Aimy Steadman, and Justin Fenchel made up the three-person team behind boxed wine cocktail company Beatbox Beverages .

Image Credit: Heavy

Let me outline how the negotiation went for you ...

When the BeatBox team first entered the meeting room, they asked for $250,000 for 10% equity. During their pitch, they talked about how they initially invested $55,000 in the company themselves, along with an additional $100,000 borrowed from friends and family -- which resulted in $235,000 in sales in their first 14 months.

"Tell me how you're going to take it from $235,000 to $5 million," Herjavec responded . Fenchel said that the money would be used mostly to hire brand ambassadors to set up tastings at liquor stores.

Another investor at the table, Mark Cuban, didn't like it. "Your leverage points for any one store aren't great," he came back. What Cuban meant here was that getting products in even the largest private store doesn't offer potential for massive growth, according to Business Insider 's coverage of the episode . A better strategy, Cuban said, would be to bring their products to big events with thousands of people.

After some back-and-forth about promotion and distribution strategies, Fenchel and his team received a number of different deals from the investors that they'd need to consider against their initial request for $250,000 for 10% equity ($2.5 million valuation):

• $400,000 for 20% equity from Barbara Corcoran ($2 million valuation)
• $200,000 for 20% from Kevin O'Leary ($1 million valuation)
• $600,000 for 33.3% equity from Mark Cuban ($1.8 million valuation)

Along with the offer, Cuban argued that the entrepreneurs should pick him because he thinks BeatBox has a shot at going viral in the same way that Skinnygirl did. He pressured Fenchel and his team to make a decision -- and they were quick to respond. This is even more impressive since they were a team of three, but ultimately, they'd agreed to give Fenchel the final say without objecting.

Fenchel was immediately prepared with a counter-offer. "Would you do $1 million for a third?" he asked. Cuban said yes.

That was a successful negotiation. Here's what a failed negotiation looks like on Shark Tank, where even promising entrepreneurs have missed out on deals because they were indecisive.

In this case, Lei Yu and Tyler Freeman, the co-founders of the wearable technology company DrumPants, are a prime example of this. They walked onto the show asking for $150,000 in exchange for 5% equity. From there, they received two offers: $150,000 for 20% equity from Herjavec, and $250,000 for 20% from Daymond. Yu and Freeman then ask if they can step into the hallway to discuss.

Back in the tank, O'Leary says, "You know what happens in Shark Tank when you leave the tank? Nasty, nasty things. What is wrong? You've got two offers. You've got to make a decision."

When they came back in, Freeman asked Herjavec if he'd drop his stake from 20% to 15% for the same $150,000, to which Herjavec doesn't respond. Finally, Herjavec -- and eventually Daymond -- withdraw their offers because the two co-founders were so indecisive.

"I think what your challenge is, and you've probably been hearing it your entire lives, is that you're both very deliberate," Cuban tells them before they leave the stage. "But that's part of the problem, right? Sometimes the perfect is the enemy of the good. Right? Paralysis via analysis."

Before you confront your investors, you need to come up with a plan for negotiating. This is the part of your pitch where the stakes are very, very high. You'll need to do a lot of preparation ahead of time. Make sure you're totally familiar with your product or service, the industry, and the competition -- including details like numbers.

You'll also want to research how each of the investors you're meeting with have negotiated in the past. If you know anyone who's dealt with them before personally, get in touch with them. "Many negotiators develop patterns and certain styles that you may be able to use to your advantage," writes Michael Sanibel for Entrepreneur.

Sanibel also recommends having the endgame in mind as you come up with your negotiation strategy. And during the negotiation, you'll need to be prepared to go after a win-win situation, which could mean splitting the difference between your ask and an investor's offer.

8) Keep your cool.

Giving any sort of presentation is nerve-wracking enough. But when you're pitching your passion to people who are primed to be both skeptical and critical, it can really feel like you're stepping into the hot seat and putting yourself out there. And when the questions start pouring it, it can sometimes feel like you're getting "attacked."

But keeping your cool can pay off big time. One of the biggest Shark Tank deals in the history of the show was won because the person pitching kept a cool head during a barrage of questions and expressions of doubt.

The deal was won by Andrew McMurray, the chief consultant of single-serving wine company Zipz Wine , who negotiated a whopping $2.5 million investment in exchange for 10% equity from Kevin O'Leary in 2014.

The Shark Tank investors had a lot of questions and concerns about McMurray's business. Most notably, O'Leary argued that the founder of a very similar-looking company called Copa Di Vino had come onto the show twice and left with nothing. The investors berated McMurray with questions about his licensing deal, his branding, his pricing, and more.

Many people would have broken down under the pressure, but check out how calmly McMurray handled the negotiation.

When it came time to make a decision, McMurray made a quick phone call to check with his partners, but ultimately took the deal. He wouldn't have been able to do it without his ability to keep cool and stay reasonable throughout the negotiation.

While you may feel nervous, it's important to keep a cool head during your pitch. If you're visibly uncomfortable, you're only going to make the investors uncomfortable -- and they might see that as a lack of confidence.

The more you know your product and the industry, and the more prepared you were for the Q&A, the more likely you'll be able to draw on what you know to offer answers to questions you expected and those you didn't expect.

"Staying positive and not getting on the defensively will always lead to a more natural and approachable cadence to your pitch," writes Ben Schippers for TechCrunch . If you get a question you aren't comfortable answering or don't know how to answer, don't make something up or skirt around the issue. Schippers suggests responses like these:

• "That’s a great question, give me a day or so to do some research and I’ll report back."
• "I haven’t approached my research from that perspective, I’ll be sure to it -- great suggestion."

If an investor points out a deficiency in your business plan, you might talk about how the investor's guidance and capital can help turn those weaknesses around.

And hey, if things go poorly, don't dwell on it. Learn from the experience, make identifying what you'll do differently next time into an exercise, and then cut yourself some slack and move on.

What other tips for delivering the perfect pitch can you add to this list? Share with us in the comments.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

How Does a Brand Judge Your Pitch?

5 Classic Debate Techniques To Help You Nail Your Next Pitch

8 Mistakes That'll Totally Derail Your Business Pitch

Perfecting the Sponsored Content Pitch for Advertisers: 3 Must Haves

The Anatomy of a Compelling Elevator Pitch [Infographic]

How to Craft the Perfect Elevator Pitch

5 Real-Life Examples of Awful PR Pitches

Outline your company's marketing strategy in one simple, coherent plan.

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

What Makes a Great Pitch

• Michael Quinn

It’s all about reading the room.

A good pitch is a balancing act that can be adjusted to the currents in the room. A recent survey of HBR readers found — at least in this community — how important it is to understand not just what you are pitching, but who you are pitching to. The reason? The more senior your audience, the less you should rely on your deck and the more you should expect your pitch to be a conversation, showing your team’s authentic passion for the challenge or problem and their resilience for solving it creatively, together.

Pitching for new business is a make-or-break moment for many teams. You want to win the pitch, and so you develop a detailed slide deck, tout your credentials, capabilities and successes (case studies), and select your strongest presenter – possibly the leader of your team or company — to do all the talking. Right? Wrong.

• MQ Michael Quinn is the founder of Minor Nobles, the NYC-based consultancy offering workshops, webinars, rehearsals and 1:1 training to help teams and leaders update their behavior to win more pitches for new business and investment. He is also a faculty instructor for the Association of National Advertisers and host of the podcast, “Own The Room,” where top executives discuss their own experiences pitching and what they wish people would do more often, or avoid altogether, in pitches to them.

Partner Center

• Newsletters
• Best Industries
• Business Plans
• Home-Based Business
• The UPS Store
• Customer Service
• Black in Business
• Your Next Move
• Female Founders
• Best Workplaces
• Company Culture
• Public Speaking
• HR/Benefits
• Productivity
• All the Hats
• Digital Transformation
• Artificial Intelligence
• Bringing Innovation to Market
• Cloud Computing
• Social Media
• Data Detectives
• Exit Interview
• Bootstrapping
• Crowdfunding
• Venture Capital
• Business Models
• Personal Finance
• Founder-Friendly Investors
• Upcoming Events
• Inc. 5000 Vision Conference
• Become a Sponsor
• Cox Business
• Verizon Business
• Branded Content
• Apply Inc. 5000 US

Inc. Premium

30 Startup Pitches That Prove You Can Sell Your Idea in 25 Words or Less

Check out the best ideas from hubspot's #summerstartup competition.

Hubspot launched the #SummerStartup competition, a contest offering anyone $100,000 and the opportunity to quit their job and start their own business.

The marketing corporation invited the public to pitch their business ideas in 25 words or less in the comments of the Facebook announcement post.

Over three million views later, 14,000 people commented. The responses ranged from fascinating proposals to strident warnings of the dangers of sharing IP publicly.

Whether you believe sharing ideas is right or not, the insightful entrepreneurs who chose to reveal their light bulb moments with us are an inspiration.

Combing through the hundreds of Facebook comments, I picked out the top thirty and cited the authors below.

Here are 30 of the most interesting business idea pitches:

"In 25 words or less" (not everyone follows the rules... entrepreneurs?)

1. The 5-in-1 "winner"

This first one is the #1 comment on the post, probably because he managed to include five business ideas in less than 25 words. Brilliant.

"Earthquake proof office chairs Predictive horns for cars Twitch.tv for putting together Ikea furniture Wearable fog machines Bubble prediction algorithms"

-- Ste Hughes

2. A traveling mobile education system

"I want to start a mobile school that visits such villages around the year, camps there for a few months & we teach both children & grown ups. Curriculum would include not only basic education but also vocational training, so people can work/earn their living & can fight poverty. Mobile schools-workshops." -- Sagarika Paul

3. Greenhouse prisons producing chefs out of inmates

"Turning prisons into greenhouses, utilizing low-risk prisoners as groundskeepers and gardeners, simultaneously educating them to become chefs as rehabilitation into poverty-heavy cities." -- Bryce Struck

4. "Skill-Swap"

"'Skill-Swap' is a marketplace where people trade services with one another to help achieve their goals. 'I'll build your website if you do my accounting?'" -- Daniel Martin

5. "Rent-A-Swag"

"'Rent-A-Swag'" is a service where I rent out high-end clothing to teens, tweens, and everything-in-between." -- Andyers Kroppfers

6. Try a job before you take it

"A try factory... somewhere you can try different professions without degrees, in real world experiences to see if it fits your life before committing to study/expensive training etc. Not everyone is an academic but people are often overlooked for things they may be skilled at for lack of confidence in them in the industries. Also in the real world people may go through years of study to arrive at a career only to decide they hate it this could help to eliminate that."

7. Replace tombstones with trees

"New type of cemetery that replaces tombstones with trees to lower funeral costs, give back to the environment, and bring new life to death." -- Charlie Haritos

8. Mobile app that lets you talk to a Veterinarian about anything

"My idea is for a veterinary app to speak directly to professionals for any issue. And connect the individual with a vet in their area." -- Levi Loveless

9. Rivvibe "The Hydration Experience"

"An all natural, low sodium, low sugar, anti-inflammatory sports tea. Husband/Wife team with over 15 years professional business experience." -- Brian LaBlanc

10. The Pink Web

"I want to architect and launch the pink web. Everyone has heard of the dark web, this is it's feminine alter ego. The Pink Web will cater to the female audience. It will be an online place for girls and woman to share, contemplate, shop, chat, and plan virtual and concrete girl centric things." -- Nancy Scott

11. A city of tiny houses for the hurting

"To have land where tiny houses are built. It's for people who leave abuse and have nowhere to go. That way when they have no one in their life anymore, there is a safe spot for them to get back on their feet. So they don't have to go back or lose hope." -- Sydney Paul

12. Monthly ethnic dish ingredients subscription

"Receive monthly mystery parcels (w/ ingredients) that will teach you how to cook a totally foreign dish! Every parcel delivered is another hungry mouth fed." -- Gerrah Lei Pamplona

13. Business idea competitions conducted by postcards

"I think the best thing should have been to send the 25 words via mail or DM. There are lots of people who'll come here to steal ideas.... Just saying." -- Idorenyin D'hopess Essiet

14. Adult eSports lounge with alcohol

"My dream business is to open an adult eSports lounge, a safe place for gamers to play video games and enjoy a beverage with friends. Now you may be asking why can't they just play at home, but the point of the lounge is to play on top of the line equipment with an exceptional internet connection that many may not have. Want proof that this can work? Look up PC bangs in Korea... Customers will not pay by the hour like most computer cafes but with ....... I have this entire thing planned out in my head but you have to message me back to get the rest of the information." -- Manny Pagan

15. Panties made out of avocados

"I make panties out of Avocados. I want to turn it into a full-fledged business to combat fast fashion, save the environment and empower women." -- Roberto DaShaun Ortiz

16. Symptom-tracking app for patients with Lyme Disease

"I am interested in developing an app for Lyme Disease to help chronic long term Lyme patients track their symptoms, labs, meds, codisease symptoms, nutritional tracking while on elimination diets... all data fed back to med practice timers to learn what is working during the healing/remission process." -- Lucinda Henry

17. A 3D avatar of you for trying on clothes while shopping online.

"An app that creates a life-like avatar of you, based on photos and measurements, which can virtually try on clothes while shopping online." -- Alex Graham

18. App for moms to find the nearest public bathroom for infant care

"An app for traveling moms that maps the nearest public bathrooms with a changing table and private spaces suitable for breastfeeding/pumping." -- Laura Khurana

19. Website slider that controls political media preferences

"A website add on that is just a slider going from Left -- Centre -- Right so that you can choose which wing of media you want only to be shown." -- Adam Marc Sanderson

20. "Lifelogging: GoPro for everyday life."

"Glasses-like wearable that records and stores everything from birthday parties to business meetings. Forgot where you put your keys? Just check your Lifelog." -- John Manzella

21. A healthy fast food restaurant chain

"Drive-thru chain restaurant based around healthy food. For the millions of people who want to get healthy food as quick and conveniently as McDonalds." -- Kyle Lunt

22. A virtual garden in a box

"I want to produce a website that sells a designer garden in a box. A virtual one with all the materials you need to build a garden, pick a theme which automatically themes your products. Allows you to budget and get design fees!" -- John Smyth

23. "Automatic gardener"

"Takes care of your plant when you're away from home, uses IOT(internet of things) and lets users connect to an app to stay in touch with their plants conditions at all times ensuring optimum growth." -- Sushant Govindraj

24. LinkedIn for sports

"A social app/website that acts like LinkedIn but instead of endorsing people for work, endorsing them for the sports they play. A sports profile, a way to find other players, create teams, etc." -- Ben Gumness

25. "Smart shoes"

"Shoes being able to inversely adjust their temperatures in relation to body temp. For ex: if your body temp is low, your shoes will heat up." -- Milan Lutchmeenaraidoo

26. DRONE LAWNCARE.

"The service simply drops off a remote controlled electric lawn-mower at your property, with a set of corner markers. The purchaser simply puts the markers out to mark their property. The drone operator logs into the mower and slowly mows the property, and can text questions if needed. -Prox sensors. -Solar powered and rechargeable. -360 cameras -Prox. Safety shut-off -Drone will be swapped out periodically for maintenance. -Hassle free, monthly fee." -- Bill Cushman

27. Tinder for creatives

"Find local designers/artists for the work you need done based off of proximity/category. View profiles/portfolios & swipe to contact." -- Cassie Cotto

28. Insurance for animals

"I want to build an insurance company for all animals, if there is life insurance for the human, and the car, then why don't we have insurance for all animals. To protect their welfare and health." -- Roselyn Seballos

29. Yelp for Dogs

"Find dog-friendly places and services (cafes, dog parks, grooming, etc.), make appointments and request quotes for services and rate them." -- Sania Tran

30. Dollar Shave Club for drummers

"Passionate drummers break sticks! We are about to launch a drumstick subscription service (like Dollar Shave Club) that ships high-quality drumsticks to drummers every month." -- Derrick Hicks

Great! You made it to the end. Now try this fun exercise with your friends:

Pretend you're a venture capitalist investor and you have $10 million to make one (just one) of these ideas a booming success. Which one do you pick?

Tell me on Twitter.

The Daily Digest for Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders

Privacy Policy

• Starting a Business
• Growing a Business
• Small Business Guide
• Business News
• Science & Technology
• Money & Finance
• For Subscribers
• Write for Entrepreneur
• Tips White Papers
• Entrepreneur Store
• United States
• Asia Pacific
• Middle East
• South Africa

Copyright © 2024 Entrepreneur Media, LLC All rights reserved. Entrepreneur® and its related marks are registered trademarks of Entrepreneur Media LLC

The Secret to Pitching Your Business Plan in Just 10 Minutes This outline breaks down a business plan pitch minute by minute so you can stay on topic and build the necessary interest and excitement.

By Mike Moyer Edited by Chelsea Brown Apr 1, 2022

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Delivering a good pitch is as much about conveying emotion as conveying information. If you get the opportunity to pitch in front of a live audience , both of those objectives should be top of mind. The phrase, "They don't care what you know until they know that you care," is sage advice and is the basis for starting a 10-minute pitch.

Startups are hard work. If you do not particularly care about the market or the problem you are solving, you may bail out when the going gets tough. Investors need to know this is more than just a business.

Related: 4 Powerful Communication Strategies to Win Any Sales Pitch

Minute 1: Personal Introduction

Let the audience know that you, personally, care about the people and the problem you are trying to solve. Use the word "I" instead of "we." I know you are representing your team and your company, but for now concentrate on establishing your passion and commitment. Tell a quick, personal story about how you stumbled upon the business you are pursuing and what made you realize it was where you wanted to focus most of your waking hours.

Your slide(s) should be simple. They are just there as a backdrop to your opening monologue and should make you look good. I, personally, like to show photos of me and/or customers experiencing the problem first-hand. The focus should be on you and your message.

Step forward to the audience, make gentle eye contact and engage them on a personal level as much as you can. The goal is for them to trust you, have confidence in you and to like you.

Transition out of the personal introduction into the overview of the problem you are trying to solve. Your job is to describe the problem as one that goes well beyond just you and your experience. A nice phrase is, "When I started looking around, I realized that I'm not the only one with X problem. Lots and lots of other people have it too!"

Minute 2: The Problem

Remember to keep an emotional appeal included in your description of the problem. People with this problem are: struggling, irritated, angry, disenfranchised? Keep human emotions real. Break down the problem into its component parts accompanied by a diagram.

Your slides during this minute are simply visual aids that help explain the problem. Like in the introduction, photos can express the human factor, but diagrams can help explain how the problem is experienced by people.

Keep close to the audience and help them empathize with those who experience the problem. As you move into the solution, physically back away from the audience, smile and spread out your arms to make bigger gestures. Your job is to bring up the excitement level in the room.

Related: 4 Ways Emotional Intelligence Can Improve Your Sales

Minute 3: The Solution

At this point, you are going to maximize the crescendo. Show excitement and passion for your businesses solution. Transition to "we" instead of just "I." Walk the audience not only through how the solution works, but also through the great benefits of the solution.

You need to position your body in front of the room and make it as big and bright as you can with big arm movements, a bright smile, confident voice and lots of eye contact. The audience should begin to share your excitement for your business.

Your slides are visual aids and diagrams. They should contain little to no text. Keep them simple as possible as complexity will only suck the energy out of the room. You don't have to explain everything your company does, just the main points. Remember, you only have 10 minutes.

It's good to show images or screenshots of existing products or beta releases and other hard evidence of your execution, but overexplaining the solution will make the presentation less compelling, and it will take too long. You want to leave the audience wanting more.

Once you have your audience feeling great about the solution, it is time to talk money.

Minute 4: Business Model

There are several money-related topics you'll need to touch on during your pitch, including how you'll make money, how much money you will make and how much money you will need. Keep these parts separate so they are easier to digest.

Now is the time to tell the audience how you will make money. There are literally dozens of possible business models, including selling the product, selling a subscription, taking a processing fee, licensing and so on. Explain how you are going to charge people for the solution you are offering.

On your slide is an outline of the customer unit economics for your chosen business model — the price they will pay and basic terms of a typical contract. Explain how you will "do the deal" with customers. Whenever you show numbers, stand close to your presentation screen and point to the numbers you are talking about. Numbers are hard to follow. Pointing as you talk will help people stay engaged.

If the business model is attractive, as it should be, you will have to explain who else is going after the customer's money.

Related: Tips to Follow When Re-Fitting Your Business Model to the New Normal

Minute 5: The Competition

There's no such thing as a business without competition, and implying that you have none is a major red flag for investors and even potential partners or customers. Whatever problem you are going after is being addressed somehow, maybe not very well, but people experiencing the problem are trying to solve it, and the resources they access to cobble together a solution is where you will define your competition.

The key here is not to avoid the notion that competition exists, but how your company is different . The existence of competition validates the market. Do not talk about how you are "better," focus on "different." Your attitude towards the competition gives the audience a peek into your business soul. Are you dutifully respectful of their presences and power or are you arrogant and naïve enough to think your little startup will have no problem beating them? Err on the side of humility.

Your slides should depict your differences from the main competitors. Feature comparisons or positioning charts , for instance, can be effective tools. Many of the questions you will get from the audience will stem from what you say during this minute of your pitch.

Be clear and respectful before you transition to your sales and marketing plan.

Minute 6: Sales and Marketing

During you description of the competition, you struck a respectful tone. It's now time to amp up the room again as you talk about how many potential customers are out there and how you're going to get them. Show excitement and confidence as you walk the audience through the market data, your chosen point of entry and your communication strategy.

Slides will depict data, charts, and graphs which you will want to point to as you explain. Images of web sites, brochures, trade show booths in action, etc. are fair game here, too, and will help build excitement in room.

It is important to tie your sales and marketing plans together so it doesn't look like you are shooting a scatter gun of one-off tactics. Show the logic and flow of lead generation to final sale and how your team plans to take the prospects through the buying process and into the customer experience.

End this minute by translating the marketing sizzle into numbers. It is time to talk about money again!

Minute 7: Money

Earlier, you explained how the business is going to make money. Now, it's time to tell the audience how much money you are going to make. This is the good part. Your description of the deal shows the unit economics of a single customer (price), and your market description shows how many potential deals are out there (quantity). Armed with this information, you can describe how revenue builds over time.

Break it down for the audience. Show income and expenses in graphical format. Nothing beats a good bar chart, and pretty much anything beats a screenshot of a spreadsheet. Back up to your presentation slide and point to information like the weatherperson points to a weather map on TV.

Keep the tone upbeat and engaging. You'll want to exude as much confidence as you can. To this end, avoid showing different scenarios in your forecast. Pick the scenario that you think is most likely to happen, and be prepared to defend your assumptions.

To make the business believable, the audience will now need to meet your team.

Minute 8: The Team

It may seem a little strange to wait until towards the end of your pitch to introduce your team, but waiting has benefits. It's important to introduce your team in the context of the business so the audience understands why it is what it is. If you introduce the team upfront, you will have to circle back to describe their roles later, which wastes time and can get redundant. A 10-minute pitch must eliminate redundancy.

As you introduce the key players on the team, you can highlight what function they will perform and brag (yes, brag) about how great they are at their function and how lucky you are to be working with them. Talk about yourself with humility, and talk about your team like they are the best team in the world.

Rather than showing headshots and bullet points, show images of the team in action or in a group. You want to make sure the audience sees a team , not a collection of individuals.

Next, you will explain the great work this great team has accomplished!

Minute 9: Proof of Concept/Traction

A team without results isn't much more than a cocktail party. To get investors or customers, you need to show results. What has the team accomplished? Have they launched an MVP? Does the company have revenue? Are the customers happy?

The more traction you can show, the better. This, more than just about any other minute of your pitch, will demonstrate your team's ability to pull off this business in the real world. Display customer testimonials and read them out loud. Show pictures of your solutions in action. Maximize the excitement in your voice and facial expression. You're almost at the end of your pitch, so be sure leave it on a high note!

You have one minute left. It's time to ask for the money.

Minute 10: Ask

Assuming you are pitching your business for the purpose of raising money, you will spend the last minute asking for it. By now, your audience has everything they need to know if they are interested, or not, in working with you. You must paint a clear picture of what you need from the audience and what investing with you will look like.

Investors want their money to be used for growth, not exploration. Show them that everything is in place to grow, you just need to fan the flames.

Many founders aren't sure how much money they will need and to what terms they will be willing to accept. They are keen to keep things open-ended. In my experience, however, investors want a starting point. Give it to them.

You already showed them how much you are expecting to make. This financial objective is based on many assumptions, not the least of which is how much outside funding will be required to execute the plan. Break it down for the investor. Do you want one main investor or a number of smaller investors?

If, for instance, you are raising $1 million, you could break it into 10 chunks of $100,000 each and say, "We are raising $1 million from up to ten investors in $100,000 units in exchange for a convertible note. How many units do you want?" Your slides can show the breakdown and the high-level terms of the note. This makes the deal easy to understand. An interested investor will not walk away from the deal based on your initial offer, they will counteroffer, and you'll be off to the negotiating table — mission accomplished!

Express enthusiasm for their participation in your business. Keep the energy levels high.

The trick to delivering a compelling 10-minute pitch is to let the story flow logically and to avoid repeating yourself. It's not logical, for instance, to introduce the team before anyone knows what kind of team is needed. Likewise, it's not logical to talk about progress and traction before talking about how the business works.

Each topic in the above outline neatly flows into the next, allowing you to build your story and maintain the energy level in the room. A good pitch lets the story unfold naturally and doesn't force things together. In this pitch, you may notice that there is no "money" or "financial" section. Making money is simply part of the flow of the story, so it is touched on multiple times during the pitch.

Perfecting the pitch means practicing the pitch. It's much more than what you say. It's also about when you say it and how you say it.

Related: Why You Need a Million-Dollar Pitch Before Your Start a Business

Inventor of Slicing Pie

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick Red Arrow

• You Might Unknowingly Rely on This 100-Year-Old Business . Its Third-Generation Leader Reveals the 'Secret Sauce' for Lasting Success — and $850 Million in Annual Revenue .
• Lock This Brilliant 'Cohort' Trick Can Help You Come Up With a Business Idea Worth Millions
• How to Maximize Every Hour of Your Day for Unstoppable Productivity
• Lock Billionaires Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg Have 3 Habits for Success in Common — But Very Different Routines. Which One Resembles Yours?
• Here's How to Save on Fast Food This Summer — And Even Score Some for Free
• Lock This Flexible, AI-Powered Side Hustle Lets a Dad of Four Make $32 an Hour , Plus Tips: 'You Can Make a Substantial Amount of Money'

Most Popular Red Arrow

This 26-year-old's side hustle that 'anybody can do' grew to earn $170,000 a month. here's what happened when i tested it..

Stephen Alvarez was working at a dental supply company and following his passion for cars on the side — then an Instagram ad changed everything.

The Lawyers Who Fought Against Elon Musk's Pay Package Are Asking $370,000 an Hour in Legal Fees: 'We Did Battle With the Very Best'

They say that their request is modest when compared to the norm in Delaware.

Mark Zuckerberg Says an Upcoming Meta Product Left Testers 'Giddy'

Meta is almost ready to show this gadget to the public.

AI Marketing Secrets: 3 Game-Changing GPT-4 Use Cases to Make Money with AI

Learn how to harness AI to generate leads and increase sales, even with limited resources and a small social media following.

Over 10 Billion Passwords Have Been Exposed in the Largest Password Hack in History

The data is thought to have been collected over the past two decades.

How I Turned My Learning Disabilities Into a Superpower

This article outlines my journey from struggling with multiple learning disabilities to recognizing my unique abilities as a strength. It explains how leveraging my personality, interests, and instincts helped me build self-confidence and achieve success as an entrepreneur and leader.

Successfully copied link

• Start free trial

Start selling with Shopify today

Start your free trial with Shopify today—then use these resources to guide you through every step of the process.

17 Tips for Pitching Your Business Successfully

A pitch provides you with the opportunity to present and sell your business or idea to investors or customers. Here are 17 tips for successful pitches.

When you think of the word “pitch , ” you may think of the TV show Shark Tank . There’s a carpet, a line of potential investors, and glaring lights as someone presents their idea in 90 seconds. However, pitching goes beyond seeking funding for your business—it also applies to communicating with potential customers, partners, and team members. 

If figuring out how to connect your business to these audiences seems like a tall order, know there are fundamental tips that can help you pitch your business—and yourself—with confidence. Here are a few to get you started. 

What is a business pitch?

A business pitch is any opportunity for you to present, within a limited timeframe: who you are, what you do, and what problem your business solves. It can take place in person, over the phone, or even via digital channels such as your website or email.

At the end, include an effective call-to-action (CTA), which is the action you want listeners to take after your business pitch, depending on the specific audience to which you’re speaking. Common CTAs encourage someone to buy from a business or to join as an investor or employee.

What is the purpose of a business pitch?

The purpose of a general business pitch is to generate excitement and persuade your target audience to be involved with your endeavor. The perfect business pitch explains the problem your business can solve and the impact it will have on a market within an industry. From there, the hope is that your audience will want to join your business as an investor or employee, or become a loyal customer. Any relevant business information—such as the problem your product or service will solve and the business’s future financial outlook—included in your pitch may be the same across multiple audiences. 

5 types of business pitches

• Elevator pitches
• Employment pitches
• Sales pitches
• Partnership pitches
• Investor pitches

Business pitches take various forms, depending on your goal and target audience. Regardless of the type, each typically includes similar strategies, such as incorporating stories and stats to sell your business idea. Some of the most common types of business pitches are:

1. Elevator pitches 

An elevator pitch is a concise statement that can be the building block for other types of pitches. The idea behind an elevator pitch is that you can explain your business in the time it takes for a single elevator ride, or about 30 seconds. It’s considered a short sales pitch that is one to three sentences, including the value statement summarizing the value of your business and unique selling proposition . 

2. Employment pitches

If seeking to employ top talent, you want to show that your company has promise. A business pitch that highlights the value of your business can persuade others to want to join your team.

3. Sales pitches

A sales pitch happens when you’re speaking to a potential customer about a problem they have with their own life or business. An effective sales pitch convinces a potential client that your business could help fix their unique problem.

4. Partnership pitches

A partnership pitch highlights to another company how your business can benefit theirs, and vice versa. It usually occurs between businesses with shared markets or products. For example, if your business sells direct-to-consumer coffee, a partnership with a company that sells sugar or cream would be a good pairing. 

5. Investor pitches 

This is one of the most common types of pitches for small businesses because it combines an elevator pitch, employment pitch, sales pitch, and partnership pitch. Investor pitches sell the value proposition of your company and explain its financial future through a successful pitch deck. If successful, they help you secure investors or venture capitalists who inject funds into your business in exchange for an ownership stake, and they become part owners in your company and can impact business operations .

17 tips for a successful business pitch

• Know your numbers
• Tout your experience
• Customize your pitch
• Tailor your call to action (CTA)
• Consider a pitch partner
• Know your competition
• Share your personal story
• Make eye contact
• Prepare a pitch deck
• Interact with your audience
• Focus on the problem
• Don’t overwhelm your audience
• Build in time for questions
• Be enthusiastic
• Practice your pitch
• Know when to close
• Be an active listener

Pitching skills are an art, not a science. They most often start with a personal anecdote, but there are other core skills that go into an effective pitch. These tips are some of the best methods to create a pitch that can clinch the deal:

1. Know your numbers

At the core of any business or product pitch are a variety of numbers that tell the financial story of your business: your customer base, cost of goods sold , annual sales, monthly website traffic, profit margin , previous investments, and start-up capital. 

Depending on your business model, you may need other supporting figures. For example, as an ecommerce business, you need to know what your customer acquisition cost is between your advertising budget and sales so you can better assess what type of financing you might need. 

2. Tout your experience

A 2020 survey by Harvard Business Review found senior investors aren’t solely focused on the numbers behind your business—they’re also interested in whether you have the right experience. For example, if you’re trying to sell a new hose to fire departments, having some type of experience in the firefighting industry (and highlighting that in your pitch) can be more important to investors than how cheap you price your water hose.

3. Customize your pitch

The talking points and messaging for your pitch may vary depending on the audience. For instance, angel investors may be more concerned that you have passion for your product or service when proceeding your business pitch, while a potential customer might be focused on how you address customer pain points.

4. Tailor your call to action (CTA)

Just as you would customize your business pitch, you too must tailor your CTA for your respective audience. The more targeted your pitch, the more persuasive. 

• Learn more. Any CTA that urges the listener to “ Learn more” about your business, services, or products can encourage action by investors, whether they’re angel investors , family, or friends to fund the initial startup seed round.  
• Buy now. This CTA is usually directed to customers and potential customers, which are the main entities who are urged to “Buy now.” For this audience, part of your CTA might include urging them to buy a specific amount of product now at a discounted price, or a new product that has a limited supply for a better price than they would normally receive. 
• Join our team. This CTA is a common phrase used to recruit new and potential employees and can be used on your careers webpage or section of your email newsletter. Oftentimes, it’s used to underscore the opportunities an employee may have by being a part of your company. For example, a CTA for an organic ecommerce clothing business may be: “Join our team to change the face of fast fashion today.”

5. Consider a pitch partner

Part of the pitch process is selling your team and emphasizing each person’s expertise. That’s why having multiple voices—instead of one—doing the pitch can make for a well-rounded presentation. If you have a partner, customer, or spokesperson who can amplify your message, try to include them in the pitch itself. Keep in mind: Any partner should uplift your brand. 

6. Know your competition

Conduct a competitive analysis to understand your competitors, the target market they serve, and key differences between their business and your own—so you’ll know what makes your offering unique. By understanding your competitors, you are better prepared to underscore what makes your offering unique in case this comment and question come up, “Your business sounds great, but this product already exists. Why do I need yours?” 

7. Share your personal story

Many pitches open with a simple, basic problem told through a personal story that’s easily relatable. Using storytelling to pitch your business can make it easier to connect with your audience and keep them engaged throughout—increasing the likelihood they will follow through on your CTA.

8. Make eye contact 

Making eye contact with every person present during the pitch makes a positive impression and facilitates a stronger sense of connection. Practice by looking someone in the eye—whether it’s your partner, a friend, family member—even a pet, or watch yourself in the mirror. 

9. Prepare a pitch deck

Many businesses, as part of their pitches, prepare a pitch deck with key statistics and information about their company, especially if they’re pitching to potential investors. That way, an audience member can glance up and see key data points throughout your entire presentation instead of trying to jot down information as you speak. 

10. Interact with your audience 

Interacting with your audience, for example, by distributing your product to everyone in attendance to let them try it, can make the presentation more engaging. You could also act out a problem your product solves with an audience member, or include an interactive quiz or poll in the pitch deck’s slides and videos.

11. Focus on the problem

It’s easy to focus your entire pitch on why your innovative solution is the best in the market. However, if a listener doesn’t understand why your product is needed, you’re less likely to have success. Instead, try focusing on the problem you solve . Answer questions such as, “How pressing is this problem?” or “How many people encounter it?” 

12. Don’t overwhelm your audience

It may be tempting to explain every detail you know about your business’s market competitors, demographics, history, goals, and more. Know this information if questions arise, but be mindful of what to share about your business. If listeners feel overwhelmed, they may be more likely to tune out, back out, and say no to your pitch.

13. Build in time for questions 

After your initial pitch, open up the floor for questions, which can give you a chance to show how well-informed and prepared you are. This is also an opportunity to receive comments and feedback, which you can use to improve future pitches. 

14. Be enthusiastic

During a pitch, your voice should be warm, exciting, and welcoming, with enthusiasm that engages listeners. According to a 2022 Harvard Business Review article, increasing the volume on your voice during a presentation “supercharges” the message you’re trying to send—and what accompanies that is knowing when to accentuate certain words. 

15. Practice your pitch

Presentation skills come naturally to some. For others, it takes practice to be able to deliver the most effective message smoothly and confidently. Practicing limits the chance that you’ll blow it on the big day. Practice explaining your business in a brief, straightforward way and start getting comfortable asking for what you want—whether it’s an investment or a sale. You can practice pitching to a friend or family member, or record yourself in order to give yourself feedback.

16. Know when to close

When you’re in the middle of your pitch, you may observe a change in your audience’s body language signaling your presentation is going well—or that you may be losing their attention. If you notice nonverbal cues such as shifting in their seats or glancing around the room, it may be time to bring your pitch to a close with an inspiring CTA . Otherwise,you risk boring and alienating your audience.

17. Be an active listener

Actively listen to your audience during the pitch process to give thoughtful, value-added (instead of canned) responses to their questions. Doing so can show that you have prepared and that you respect the unique differences of the group to which you are speaking.

Tips for pitches FAQ

What should you do to prepare for a pitch.

Prepare for the pitch by memorizing facts and figures about your company, including its cost of goods sold , gross profit margin , price point, market research , and competitors. If possible, fine-tune your pitch by practicing on another person. Alternatively, practice in the mirror or record yourself.

Should you practice your pitch in advance?

Yes, you should practice your pitch in advance. You could even consider a dress rehearsal the day before a big pitch to test the technology, ensure your clothing suits the type of pitch meeting, and confirm you have all your pitch information and materials.

How important is follow-up after a pitch?

Follow-up is crucial after pitching your business ideas, especially if potential investors have an interest in your business and want to move forward. Typically, email or contact potential investors within one to two days after your presentation to maintain momentum. Thank them for their time, and address any outstanding questions.

Should a business pitch end with a call to action?

Every business pitch should end with a call-to-action, or CTA, that states what action you want your target audience to take. Make the CTA inspiring and concrete so your audience knows exactly what you’re asking of them. Common CTA variations include: “Join our team,” “Buy now,” or “Learn more.”

Can visuals, such as slides or videos, be used to support a business pitch?

Yes, visuals like a slide deck, video, or PowerPoint slides can summarize helpful details about your business during a business pitch. You can provide figures on your company’s history, operations, financials, and growth in ways that are easy to digest. Be cautious, however, about sharing visuals that are too busy. Instead, focus on making all information clean, straightforward, and to the point.

Keep up with the latest from Shopify

Get free ecommerce tips, inspiration, and resources delivered directly to your inbox.

By entering your email, you agree to receive marketing emails from Shopify.

popular posts

The most intuitive, powerful

Shopify yet

Shopify Editions Summer ’24

Subscribe to our blog and get free ecommerce tips, inspiration, and resources delivered directly to your inbox.

Unsubscribe anytime. By entering your email, you agree to receive marketing emails from Shopify.

Latest from Shopify

Jul 12, 2024

Jul 11, 2024

Learn on the go. Try Shopify for free, and explore all the tools you need to start, run, and grow your business.

Try Shopify for free, no credit card required.

More From Forbes

How To Start A Business Plan: A Step-By-Step Guide

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

Creating a business plan is a critical first step for any entrepreneur. Knowing how to start a business plan will help you create a roadmap, guiding your business from startup to growth and beyond. Whether you're looking for investment, trying to set clear goals, or simply organizing your thoughts, a solid business plan can make all the difference.

Here is a guide to help you get started on your business plan:

1. executive summary.

What It Is: This section summarizes your business plan as a whole and outlines your company profile and goals.

What to Include:

• Business name and location
• Products or services offered
• Mission statement
• The purpose of the plan (e.g., seeking funding, guiding the startup process)

Tip: Keep it concise. Although it's the first section, it's often best to write it last, after you’ve detailed everything else.

2. Company Description

What It Is: This section provides detailed information about your company, including who you are, what you do, and what markets you serve.

Bitcoin Price Suddenly Soars Over $60,000 After Trump Assassination Attempt Sends His Odds Of Victory To All-Time High

Why richard simmons rejected pauly shore’s idea for a biopic, ufc denver results: highlights, finishes and scorecards.

• Your business structure (e.g., sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation)
• The industry and marketplace needs your business meets
• Your business’s objectives and how you stand out from competitors

Tip: Use this section to highlight your company’s strengths and what makes you unique.

3. Market Research

What It Is: Market research demonstrates your understanding of the industry and target market.

• Market size and growth potential
• Target customer demographics
• Market trends and outlook
• Competitive analysis, including strengths and weaknesses of competitors

Tip: Include data and statistics to back up your findings and show that you’ve done your homework.

4. Organization and Management

What It Is: This section outlines your business’s organizational structure and management team.

• Organizational chart
• Information about the ownership of the company
• Backgrounds and qualifications of the management team
• Roles and responsibilities within the company

Tip: Highlight the skills and experiences of your team that will help the business succeed.

5. Products or Services Line

What It Is: Here, you detail the products or services you offer or plan to offer.

• A description of each product or service
• The lifecycle of products or services
• Research and development activities, if applicable
• Intellectual property, such as patents or trademarks

Tip: Focus on the benefits your products or services bring to your customers.

6. Marketing and Sales Strategy

What It Is: This section explains how you will attract and retain customers.

• Marketing strategies, including advertising, promotions, and public relations
• Sales strategies, including sales processes, channels, and tactics
• Pricing strategy and how it compares to competitors

Tip: Ensure your marketing and sales strategies are aligned with your market research findings.

7. Funding Request

What It Is: If you’re seeking funding , this section outlines your requirements.

• Your current funding needs
• Future funding requirements over the next five years
• How you intend to use the funds
• Potential future financial plans (e.g., selling the business, repaying debt)

Tip: Be specific and realistic about how much funding you need and how it will be used.

8. Financial Projections

What It Is: Financial projections provide a forecast of your business’s financial future.

• Income statements
• Cash flow statements
• Balance sheets
• Break-even analysis

Tip: Use realistic and conservative estimates. Consider hiring a financial professional to help with this section if needed.

9. Appendix

What It Is: The appendix includes any additional information that supports your business plan.

• Resumes of key management team members
• Permits and leases
• Legal documents
• Detailed market research data
• Product photos

Tip: Only include essential information that adds value to your business plan.

Final Tips for Creating a Business Plan

Creating a business plan requires clarity and precision. First and foremost, keep your business plan clear and concise. Avoid using jargon or complex language that could make the plan difficult to read or understand. Your aim should be to communicate your ideas effectively and efficiently.

Next, be realistic in your approach. Ensure that your goals and financial projections are attainable based on your research and understanding of the market. Overly ambitious projections can undermine your credibility and potentially lead to unrealistic expectations.

It's also essential to remember that a business plan is a dynamic document. As your business grows and market conditions change, you should revisit and revise your plan regularly. This helps you stay aligned with your goals and adapt to new challenges and opportunities.

Finally, seek feedback from experienced business professionals. Having someone with business experience review your plan can provide valuable insights and help identify any potential issues or areas for improvement. Their feedback can enhance the overall quality and effectiveness of your business plan.

By following these tips, you'll be better equipped to create a robust and effective business plan that can guide your business towards success.

The bottom line is that starting a business plan may seem challenging, but with careful planning and attention to detail, you can create a comprehensive guide to steer your business toward success. Use this step-by-step guide to ensure that all essential components are covered, giving your business the best possible start.

Melissa Houston, CPA is the author of Cash Confident: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Creating a Profitable Business and the founder of She Means Profit . As a Business Strategist for small business owners, Melissa helps women making mid-career shifts, to launch their dream businesses, and I also guide established business owners to grow their businesses to more profitably.

The opinions expressed in this article are not intended to replace any professional or expert accounting and/or tax advice whatsoever.

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

Join The Conversation

One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. 

Forbes Community Guidelines

Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.

In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's  Terms of Service.   We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.

Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:

• False or intentionally out-of-context or misleading information
• Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kind
• Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author
• Content that otherwise violates our site's  terms.

User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:

• Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected
• Racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory comments
• Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk
• Actions that otherwise violate our site's  terms.

So, how can you be a power user?

• Stay on topic and share your insights
• Feel free to be clear and thoughtful to get your point across
• ‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ to show your point of view.
• Protect your community.
• Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules.

Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's  Terms of Service.

How to Write a Business Plan Outline in 9 Steps (Example Included!)

Starting a business often begins with writing a business plan , especially if you need funding . It acts as a roadmap, guiding you through each stage of launching and managing your company, and it presents a clear, compelling case to potential investors and partners. But here's the thing: not everyone finds this step intuitive. That's where a business plan outline can be incredibly helpful.

Creating a detailed business plan outline helps you organize your thoughts and ensure you cover all the key aspects of your business strategy. Plus, it might be just what you need to overcome that blank page and start typing.

Below, you'll find an easy-to-follow guide on how to craft your business plan outline, and an example to show you what it should look like.

​​ Build your dream business with the help of a high-paying job—browse open jobs on The Muse »

What is an outline of a business plan?

Think of a business plan outline as the skeleton of your entire business plan. It gives a high-level overview of the main sections you'll need to flesh out later. It's not the final document but a crucial step in getting you there.

Simply put, it's like creating a detailed table of contents for your business plan, showing you exactly what information to include and how everything fits together. A well-structured business plan outline also helps you plan things ahead, saving time and effort.

Writing a business plan outline in 9 steps

Follow these steps to build your business plan outline and learn exactly what each section should include.

(Bear in mind that every business plan is unique, tailored to the specific needs and goals of the business. While the structure below is common, the order of sections may vary—only the executive summary will always come first.)

1. Executive summary

Imagine you have just 60 seconds to convince someone to invest in your business. That's the essence of a strong executive summary. Although it appears first on your business plan, this section is often written last because it sums up the entire plan. Think of it as your elevator pitch . This section gives a quick overview of your entire business plan, highlighting key points that grab the reader's attention.

Keep it clear and concise. Start with a brief overview of your business, including its name and what it offers. Summarize your mission statement and objectives, and don’t forget to mention crucial aspects like financial projections and competitive advantages.

2. Company description

Here's where you provide detailed information about your company. Begin with the business name and location. Describe the legal structure (e.g., sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation) and ownership. If your business already exists, share a brief history.

For new ventures, explain the business's nature and the problems you aim to solve. Go into more detail about your vision and mission statements, outlining your goals and the principles guiding your business. This section helps potential investors and stakeholders grasp your company’s identity and purpose.

3. Market research and analysis

This section shares insights into your company’s industry. Start with a landscape analysis to give an overview of the market, including its size, growth rate, and key players.

Next, define your target market and customer demographics—age, location, income, and interests—detailing who your ideal customers are. Identify market needs and trends your business will address, and highlight customer pain points your product or service aims to solve.

Consider conducting a SWOT analysis to evaluate your business's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and gain a strategic view of where your business stands in the competitive landscape.

4. Organization and management

Describe how your business is structured and who runs it. Outline the organizational structure, and if helps, include a chart. Introduce the leadership team and key personnel, highlighting their qualifications and roles. If you have a board of directors, mention them and briefly explain their involvement.

Then, outline your production processes, detailing how your product or service is (or will be) created—from sourcing materials to delivery—to give a comprehensive view of your operational capabilities.

5. Products and services

This section of your business plan outline is crucial for showing potential investors what makes your products and services unique and valuable.

Clearly describe what your business offers, emphasizing your unique selling propositions (USPs) and the benefits and features that set you apart from the competition. Talk about the product life cycle, including any plans for future updates.

If your business holds any intellectual property or proprietary technologies, detail them here to underscore your competitive advantages.

6. Marketing strategy

Having a fantastic product or service is just half the battle. The marketing plan section should outline how you'll reach your target market and convert them into customers.

Begin with market positioning and branding, explaining how you want your brand perceived. Detail your marketing and promotional strategies, including specific tactics to reach your target audience.

Discuss your sales strategy, focusing on how you'll convert leads into customers. Lastly, include your pricing strategy and provide a sales forecast, projecting your expected revenue over a certain period.

7. Operations plan

Here, the goal is to give a detailed overview of the physical and logistical aspects of your company. Start with the business location and facilities, describing where it operates and any significant physical assets. Detail the technology and equipment needed for daily operations.

Briefly describe your supply chain and logistics processes to illustrate how you manage inventory, procurement, and distribution. Finish it by outlining your production process and quality control measures to ensure your products or services consistently meet high standards.

8. Financial plan

Use this section of the business plan to show how your company will succeed financially. Include financial projections like income statements and cash flow statements. Specify how much capital you need and how you plan to use it, discussing funding sources.

Conduct a break-even analysis to estimate when your business will become profitable. Be transparent and address any financial risks and assumptions, outlining how you plan to mitigate them.

9. Appendices and exhibits

In this section, include any additional information that supports your business plan. This might be resumes of key personnel to highlight your team's expertise and experience, or even legal documents and agreements.

Include market research data and surveys to back up your market analysis. Add financial statements for a detailed look at your financial plan. Also, provide detailed product specifications to give a clear understanding of your products and services.

Here's a business plan outline example

Not quite there yet? Take a look at this business plan outline example—it will make everything clear for you.

3.1 Executive Summary

• Overview of the business
• Key points of the business plan

3.2 Company Description

• Business name and location
• History and nature of the business
• Legal structure and ownership
• Vision and mission statement

3.3 Market Research and Analysis

• Industry analysis
• Target market and customer demographics
• Market needs, trends
• Customer pain points
• SWOT analysis

3.4 Organization and Management

• Organizational structure
• Leadership team and key personnel
• Roles and responsibilities
• Board of directors (if applicable)
• Production processes

3.5 Products and Services

• Description of products or services offered
• Unique selling propositions, benefits, features
• Product lifecycle and development plans
• Intellectual property and proprietary technologies

3.6 Marketing Strategy

• Market positioning and branding
• Marketing and promotional strategies
• Sales strategy and tactics
• Pricing strategy and sales forecast

3.7 Operations Plan

• Business location and facilities
• Technology and equipment
• Supply chain and logistics
• Production process and quality control

3.8 Financial Plan

• Financial projections (income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements)
• Funding requirements and sources
• Break-even analysis
• Financial risks and assumptions

3.9 Appendices and Exhibits (if applicable)

• Supporting documents and additional information
• Resumes of key personnel
• Legal documents and agreements
• Market research data and surveys
• Financial Statements
• Detailed Product Specifications

Bonus tips on how to write a winning business plan

Once you've done your business plan outline, it's time to fill in the gaps and craft a winning business plan. Here are some bonus tips to keep in mind:

• Tailor it to fit your business : Customize sections to meet industry-specific needs and highlight what makes your business unique.
• Keep it clear and concise : Use straightforward language and support your points with data to ensure easy understanding and avoid any confusion.
• Set actionable and realistic goals : Define measurable objectives with clear timelines and milestones to track your progress.
• Update regularly : Keep your plan dynamic by making regular updates to reflect changes in goals, market conditions, and strategies.
• Seek feedback : Gain insights from mentors and advisors to refine your plan.

Read this next: How to Start a Business in 8 Steps: A Comprehensive Guide from Concept to Launch

Trump assassination attempt: Graphics, maps show you what happened

An investigation continues into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Bulter, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, in which one attendee was shot and killed and two others seriously injured.

The gunman was shot and killed by Secret Service agents. The FBI later identified him as Thomas Matthew Crooks , 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about 40 miles south of Butler. His motive is not yet known.

Many details are unconfirmed, but Trump says a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear before Secret Service agents hustled him off the stage and into a limousine. He was reported to be otherwise unharmed.

The gunman, who is believed to have acted alone, fired at the rally stage from a building rooftop about 150 yards away, outside the rally's security perimeter. Agents recovered an AR-style rifle from the scene.

Here is what we know at the moment. All times are Eastern:

Where was Trump?

1 p.m.: The Butler Farm Show, site of the rally, opens its doors to attendees. Trump is scheduled to speak at 5 p.m.

6:03 p.m.: Trump takes the stage and greets the crowd as the Lee Greenwood song “God Bless the USA” plays.

6:05 p.m.:  The song ends, and Trump begins speaking.

Unable to view our graphics? Click here to see them.

6:11 p.m.: While Trump is speaking, multiple shots are fired toward the stage. Videos show Trump grabbing his right ear, looking at his bloody hand and dropping to the ground behind the podium. People can be heard saying, "Shots, shots, shots."

6:12 p.m.: Secret Service agents jump on top of Trump and escort him off stage and into a vehicle. Trump gives a thumbs up as he leaves.

How many shots were fired?

6:14 p.m.: Trump's motorcade leaves the fairgrounds surrounded by law enforcement vehicles.

6:42 p.m.: The Secret Service  issues a statement confirming “an incident”  took place at the rally and that Trump “is safe.” Shortly after, the Trump campaign issues a statement saying Trump “is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility."

7:24 p.m.: The Butler County district attorney says the suspected shooter is dead and one rally attendee has been killed, the Associated Press reports.

Where was the shooter?

7:49 p.m.: Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi  releases a statement  saying agents neutralized the shooter and that he was dead. The statement says one person was killed and two spectators have been seriously injured.

8:13 p.m.: In a short televised briefing, President Joe Biden says he was trying to call Trump  to speak with him as soon as possible.

8:42 p.m.: Trump posts on Truth Social confirming he was shot :

• “It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead. I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!"

9:33 p.m.: The FBI's Pittsburgh office says it has assumed the lead in the shooting investigation.

11:52 p.m.: In a news conference, Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh FBI office, says the shooting was an attempted assassination of Trump and that investigators are working to determine a motive.

Who shot Trump? What gun was used?

Sunday: The FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks , 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Law enforcement seals off Crook's home for investigation.

Crooks used a legally-purchased "AR-style 556 rifle," according to Kevin Rojek, a special agent in charge of the FBI's Pittsburgh field office. The agent likely refers to a rifle that fires 5.56 mm ammunition, though there are some firearm models with "556" in their name. During a call with reporters Rojek stated that the weapon was located next to Crooks on the scene.

"At this time, the information that we have indicates that the shooter acted alone and that there are currently no public safety concerns," Rojek said. Another official on the call, who didn't identify himself, said the FBI believes the weapon was bought by the shooter's father.

More coverage:

Trump rally shooting victims: Pennsylvania firefighter killed, 2 local residents wounded

Read more : Trump rally shooter Thomas Crooks appears to have acted alone, used 'AR-style 556' rifle: FBI

Nursing aide turned sniper : Thomas Crooks' mysterious plot to kill Trump

CONTRIBUTING Natalie Neysa Alund and Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY.

SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters

We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.

How airpower experts think Ukraine could pull off bursts of air superiority to get F-16s into the fight and score breakthroughs

• F-16 fighter jets are about to finally enter combat in Ukraine, where its new operators will have to figure out how best to use them.
• There is a play in which Ukraine could pursue bursts of air superiority to score breakthroughs, experts say.
• The integrated air-ground campaign could give Ukraine what it needs to break through Russian defenses.

Ukraine will soon receive F-16s, combat-proven Western fighter jets able to augment the war-torn country's depleted force of aging Soviet-era aircraft.

A key question is how Ukraine should "optimize the use of the relatively small number of F-16s" it is set to receive and the limited availability of trained pilots, airpower experts say.

Ukraine, they write, could leverage its new fighter jets as part of an integrated air-ground campaign to secure brief, localized air superiority as part of a larger operation to secure breakthroughs in specific areas.

Ret. US Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula, now the dean of the Mitchell Institute, and Christopher Bowie, nonresident fellow for the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, wrote in a new Mitchell Institute report that "by conducting an integrated air-ground campaign to secure air superiority in the times and places of its choosing, Ukraine can further its military's momentum on the battlefield and begin reversing the territorial gains the Russian army has achieved up to this point."

Air superiority refers to the condition in which one side can conduct operations in pursuit of its objective without prohibitive interference from the enemy.

Neither Ukraine nor Russia have gained widespread or significant air superiority thus far in the war, though Russia appeared to establish temporary, localized control of the skies around Avdiivka in February. That limited support helped the Russian troops overwhelm Ukrainian defenses and capture the war-torn area.

Deptula and Bowie's new report highlights the " absolute necessity of air superiority to achieve a decisive advantage" in the war, noting that without such an advantage, the conflict looks as it does now — a "relative stalemate" resembling World War I trench warfare.

Related stories

When Ukraine begins receiving F-16 jets from Western partners, it will need to rethink the use of its air force and how to support ground operations.

The effectiveness of Ukraine's new F-16 force will depend heavily on how many jets its receives, the armaments, the type of jet sent, the total number and proficiency of trained pilots, and the maintenance operations for the planes. Survivability and application will factor in as well.

Mixing capabilities for a breakthrough

"The first step," the authors wrote in their report, "is to work with the Ukrainian army to determine, across the entire Ukrainian line of engagement with the Russians, the optimal location (potentially multiple locations) and times to gain air superiority."

Next, the Ukrainian Air Force would need to work with ground forces on a massive deception plan, placing troops on various axes of the battlefield in order to confuse Russia about where the true location of a major attack is.

Such a move could give Ukraine at least some element of surprise, something it largely lacked in its failed 2023 counteroffensive.

Then Ukraine could aim to hinder the Russian response, employing "hundreds, preferably thousands" of drones against a variety of targets, such as energy production and storage, Deptula and Bowie said, further confusing Russian troops and forcing the expenditure of interceptor missiles.

Along with unmanned systems, Ukraine's ground forces could use long-range fires, such as US-provided HIMARS and ATACMS, against Russia's radars, surface-to-air missile systems, and artillery. The air force could support these operations using HARM missiles.

Important to this operation would likely be partner-provided intelligence, which would help Ukraine improve the quality, timing, and effectiveness of the attack. Extensive electronic warfare to jam Russian reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities is also important to further disrupt a response.

As Ukraine's ground began their advance, Ukraine would need to move long-range SAMs to engage and deter Russian fighter jets. This sets up Ukraine's air force to gain air superiority over specific areas, allowing their pilots to strike Russian units, logistics, and transportation networks and deny movements of reinforcements.

All of this requires a truly integrated approach, Deptula and Bowie wrote. While there are a host of potential challenges, such as insufficient resources and training, the results could be promising, giving Ukraine bursts of air superiority in certain areas that can be exploited for breakthroughs in a way that could "lead to a collapse of Russian positions."

Questions have long been raised about how Ukraine could best use its F-16s, with some concern that the jets could be less useful now than they would've been earlier in the war.

The effort to get Ukraine F-16s from NATO members has faced a variety of problems, with some Western leaders hesitant to provide jets due to fears of Russian escalation, but the alliance began to budge on the idea last year.

F-16s, fourth-generation fighters that have been used to fly many different missions over the decades, from air-to-air combat to air defense suppression and destruction, will be a capability upgrade for Ukraine , potentially offering them systems and weapons they didn't previously have and giving them a boost in critical offensive and defensive action.

But the Fighting Falcons, 50-year-old aircraft, are in no way a silver bullet. They'll face a range of challenges in Ukraine , especially Russia's advanced air defense systems .

And there may be other issues as well. Ukraine has also faced issues adapting to Western ways of war, specifically complex, combined arms warfare. That's been a challenge as it's sought to be more in line with NATO's fighting style and embrace the assistance and guidance of its Western supporters, though some of that guidance has at times been inconsistent with the realities of the battlefield in Ukraine.

Watch: Russian vs. Western-made tanks in the Ukraine war

• Main content

Politics latest: Labour government will be 'more Gareth Southgate and less Michael Gove'

Sir Keir Starmer has announced he wants to break down the barriers of opportunity in football - including by reducing the number of items of branded PE kit children need and making it easier for teams to own their own pitches.

Monday 15 July 2024 10:23, UK

• General Election 2024
• Govt announces plan to break down 'barriers of opportunity' in football after Euros campaigns
• Poison spreading into politics on both sides of the Atlantic - minister
• Labour plans for 35 new bills in King's Speech
• PJAS: Keir's coming home
• Jon Craig:  Assassination attempt on Trump is a wake-up call for UK MPs
• Live reporting by Tim Baker

Sir Keir Starmer has already said he wants to "reset" the UK's relationship with the European Union.

In the wake of Brexit, the Conservative UK governments had a strained relationship with Brussels.

But the new prime minister seems to want to change that - and also appears to have the support from across the Channel too.

Today, Europe minister Nick Thomas-Symonds is heading to Brussels as part of the "reset" - and to "build closer cooperation on shared issues".

He will meet with the commission's executive vice president, Maros Sefcovic.

Mr Thomas-Symonds said: "The EU and member states are among the UK's closest friends and allies. With war in Europe, and shared global challenges, in areas such as climate change and illegal migration, a strong UK - EU alliance is vital.

"I am looking forward to meeting the executive vice president in Brussels today, it was a pleasure to speak to him immediately after my appointment last week. 

"I expect to be engaging with him and EU colleagues much more in the coming months, as we work together to help make our continent safer and more prosperous."

Mr Sefcovic said: "The EU and the UK are close neighbours, partners, and allies, sharing values as well as challenges that are global in nature.

"I am looking forward to receiving minister Thomas-Symonds to discuss ways to strengthen our cooperation, while making the most of our existing agreements that form the cornerstone of our partnership."

Following the maelstrom of activity over the past several weeks during the election, things have started to return to their usual cadence in Westminster.

For example, parliament is not sitting today - so there are no debates or committees to report on.

The Commons will be back on Tuesday - and new MPs will continue to swear the oaths to the King as they take their seats.

Then on Wednesday, it's the state opening of parliament and the King's Speech.

This mixes a big ceremonial set piece - with the monarch taking their seat on the throne in the House of Lords - with legislation and agenda setting.

The speech King Charles will make is written by the government, and will set out what the new administration wants to achieve in the next year or so.

MPs will continue to debate the speech until at least Thursday next week - and with 35 bills set to be included, there's a lot of ground to cover.

But on Thursday of this week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is hosting a summit of the European Political Community on 18 June.

The EPC, which first met in October 2022, will gather at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

The group was created following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and is separate to the European Union.

Around 50 leaders from around the continent will gather at Winston Churchill's birthplace, with Sir Keir already saying he wants a closer relationship with Europe than his predecessor.

One of the rows that looks set to engulf Sir Keir Starmer's early tenure is the two child benefit cap.

This is the policy that means parents can only claim welfare for two offspring in a household - regardless of how many children live there.

While the Labour frontbench has signalled it wants to end the policy, the prime minister has indicated it is not in a position to do so due to the country's finances.

There is pressure within parts of the party to take action, and from opposition parties as well.

The SNP has written today to Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar - who is not an MP - urging him to tell Scottish Labour MPs to back their amendment to the King's Speech seeking for the cap to be abolished.

With the government running a majority of 180, it would require a very large rebellion for them to be defeated.

While Sir Keir Starmer can fend off rebellion from opponents easily, a protracted fight with his own benches so early in the life of his government would probably be less than desirable.

Andrew Mitchell, the Conservative's shadow foreign secretary, was speaking to Sky News a little earlier.

He was asked about the attack on Donald Trump over the weekend.

Mr Mitchell condemned the incident - and said political debate has "coarsened" in the UK because of social media.

On the specifics of Saturday's events, Mr Mitchell says "everyone has to learn lessons" - including those around the former president.

He also says: "Of course, there's the whole issue of guns and gun licensing in America which lurks in the foreground rather than the background on all of this".

Mr Mitchell says he prefers to "play the ball and not the man or woman" in politics - and encourages other people to do the same.

He says politicians respecting each other will "perhaps" lead to more respect for politicians from the public.

Speaking to Sky News a little earlier, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was asked about the attack on Donald Trump over the weekend - and whether the government had concerns about the political situation in the US.

Ms Nandy said the attack was "incredibly concerning" to Americans and the world.

She added that it was "extremely worrying when you consider that we've had a lot of division, and hatred and poison spreading into politics on both sides of the Atlantic - and across Europe as well in recent times".

The culture secretary reiterated that it was for the US people to choose their next leader.

She added that the UK-US relationship "matters" regardless of who is in the White House, with issues like defence, security and climate change all important for both London and Washington to work together on.

"It's our intention as the newly elected government here in the UK, that whoever wins that election, that that relationship continues," Ms Nandy said.

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard are here with their guide to the day ahead in politics. 

On day 10 of the new Labour government, Jack and Sam cover the fallout from the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, preparations for the King's Speech, and if one Tory beast has ambitions to be interim leader.

Email Jack and Sam: [email protected]

👉 Tap here to follow Politics at Jack and Sam's wherever you get your podcasts 👈

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was at the Euro 2024 final last night in Berlin.

Speaking to Sky News this morning, Ms Nandy says the current funding for grassroots football is set to expire in April - but the government is committing to continue it.

It is worth noting that not doing so would have been a very drastic step.

Speaking about the final, Ms Nandy says it's not for her to comment on the status of Gareth Southgate as manager of the Three Lions.

But she does praise Southgate for his contribution to football - saying it has been "enormous" and that he has assembled a team of footballers "drawn from every community across the country who look and sound and feel like modern Britain".

The minister says the football team has told "an inclusive story" about the country at a time when it has been "very difficult for people to feel part of our national story".

Ms Nandy explicitly blames the previous government - saying Labour "will be far more Gareth Southgate and far less Michael Gove".

By Alix Culbertson , political reporter

Larry the Downing Street cat may be the UK's most famous mouser, but he's got some sharp competition with the Commons' newest furry occupant.

Jennie the golden retriever (who is a quarter Labrador) has become quite the star in her first few days of the new parliament.

Guide dog to new Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling, who is registered blind, Jennie made her debut in the Commons last week.

She was seen patiently lying down by the front benches as MPs gathered in the chamber for the first time to elect the Speaker.

And Mr Darling, former leader of Torbay council, could be heard gently telling her to "stay there, good girl" as he was sworn in as the MP for Torbay on Wednesday.

Her X account (@rthonjennie) was only set up on Wednesday, but already has nearly 16,000 followers.

She needs a few more followers to reach Larry's 890,000-strong fanbase - but he does have a 13-year start on her.

Read more here:

By Jon Craig , chief political correspondent

What are the lessons for UK politicians from the assassination attempt on Donald Trump?

Are our ministers and MPs safe?

Just hours before the Trump shooting, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle declared that his biggest concern is the safety of MPs and their staff.

"Security is the thing that keeps me awake at night," he told The Daily Telegraph, before insisting measures are already being taken "to make people safe".

Sir Lindsay voiced his fears a week after a bruising UK general election campaign and only days before Westminster's biggest security operation swings into action for the State Opening of Parliament.

The election campaign saw several politicians tell of intimidation, prompting ex-MP Harriet Harman to claim it was the worst she'd seen in 40 years and to call on Sir Lindsay to hold a special summit on MPs' safety.

In Pennsylvania, not even the US Secret Service's finest could prevent a young man taking a shot at the heavily guarded former president and now Republican candidate for the White House.

Here in the UK, our most senior politicians - the prime minister and cabinet ministers such as the foreign, defence and home secretaries - have round-the-clock close protection.

But backbenchers and less prominent politicians do not.

Read Jon Craig's full analysis here:

By Jennifer Scott , political reporter

The new Labour government will unveil more than 35 bills during the first King's Speech of its tenure, Downing Street has said.

Trailing the significant moment on Wednesday, which will see the King announce the party's plans for power in a ceremony full of pomp, ministers promised to focus on economic growth and to ensure its legislation supported their mission to "rebuild Britain".

The raft of bills will include promises on housebuilding, improving transport, increasing jobs and securing clean energy - reflecting Sir Keir Starmer's "first steps" for government that he campaigned on during the general election.

Number 10 also confirmed a new bill to enforce tough new spending rules, "designed to ensure economic growth, while avoiding the chaos which left families with spiralling bills and wreaked misery on people's lives", by strengthening the role of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

And there will be legislation to "empower regions to deliver change for their communities", with a promise to "hand the power back to local leaders who know what is best for their areas".

Reports have also suggested reform of the House of Lords will be included that could see peers forced to retire aged 80, alongside a roadmap for getting rid of hereditary peers.

Read more about Labour's plans here:

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free