Demo Day Pitch Deck 101

www.chinaccelerator.com

By: Todd Embley, Program Director@

The goal is to get a meeting, not a

cheque!Not that you could anyway. Remember that even after an investor shows interest, there is a 3-month (at minimum) laborious due diligence dance that follows before you will see a dime in your bank account!

Remember: picture the audience naked!

Stop worrying about what they’ll think, and start

focusing on what they’ll feel.

Hopefully with enough good counsel (and this amazing outline) you’ll be able to formulate a decent deck. What will be far more difficult is selling the drive & passion your team has that will inspire investor confidence!

I’d rather have an A team working on a B idea than a B team working on an A idea.

Your single, solitary goal is to get that

first meeting. Nothing else

matters.Now just one more piece of advice ……

Do not start with your name. Do not start with

the name of your company. Why?

Let’s give them a reason to care first.

BECAUSE NOBODY GIVES A SHIT. YET.

From the minute you walk on stage the audience starts losing interest…

fast. It’s your job to bring that interest back with the first thing you say, so

dispense with the pleasantries and shock/appall/pique them any way you

can.Great ideas are like assholes. Everyone’s got one.

Slide 1: Problem Statement

50% of what the investor will feel will be derived from this slide and the way you present it. Clearly define the problem you are trying to solve and weave within that definition your passion to solve it.Investor takeaway: industry your innovating in, how passionate you are about solving this problem.

Slide 2: Market Size

Now that the problem we’re trying to solve is clear, let’s intelligently (and honestly!) discuss just how big a problem it is, to whom, and where it’s trending (better/worse). Be accurate and precise; no XX Billion bullshit numbers.Investor takeaway: How much money can this solution potentially make and from whom, where.

Slides 3-6ish: SolutionFinally. You’ve teased them long enough, let’s talk turkey.

Investor takeaway: How ingenious is this solution compared to the other shit they’ve seen.

1. The basic, most important feature that the solution provides.

2. Why you chose this solution (with all the data, pivots and learnings that let to it)

3. Your product demo video. Talk over it (no audio) so you don’t lose your connection with the audience.

4. recap and leave a resonating reminder of the key innovation/feature.

Slide 7: Team Why your team is THE team to build this solution. Focus on all the unfair advantages your team has:

dev, experience, relationships, previous accomplishments etc. Education is usually not one

of them.

Investor takeaway: Who am I getting married to and why.

DO NOT SKIMP ON THIS! One slide per founder. Rest of team on another, then one more for advisors. Let the audience feel how much you love them. Never use names when you can use logos. Note: If the team is completely and utterly badass then put this slide second-last before the ask.

Slide 8: Go to Market/Customer

Acquisition StrategyShow off your sales chops here. Talk about how you are attacking the market and what your basic strategies are both short and long term.

Investor takeaway: Show you can sell a ketchup popsicle to an Eskimo wearing white gloves and the investor will be very forgiving about other shortcomings.

Slide 9: Partners/Key Customers

LOGO PORN!!If you have signed on some big players then talk about it. This gives good validation about your

product and ability to sell.

Investor takeaway: Getting just one partner shows hustle and talent, two things hard to find in founders.

Slide 10: MonetizationOPTIONALTwo reasons you may want to include this:1.It’s been a proven difficulty for similar products or competitors in your space 2.It’s so innovative that it’s potentially a value proposition of the biz

Investor takeaway: Does the team show an awareness of what customers will pay and how, and what data is their strategy based on.

Slide 11: Traction If there’s a growth hockey stick then let’s

show it. If you’re rate of cus acq is increasing, mention it!

Investor takeaway: Sees exceptional skill at selling or a well thought-out plan that at least doesn’t suck.

Break it down into:1.Partnerships2.Users3.Revenue4.Retention/stickiness

Note: if you’re traction is amazing and only getting better, think about putting this as the second-last slide

just before the ask.

Slide 12: Competition Build a competition matrix or similar graphic that

shows EVERYONE in the space directly or indirectly eating up market share. Clearly identify the gap

where you are positioned and why the others aren’t there.

Investor takeaway: Do they show expert-level knowledge of their competitors and everyone’s position in the market.

So far this pitch you should have been weaving in examples of your industry experience, and this is the slide where you drive that home.

The investor CANNOT know more than the team presenting. This is the investor you don’t want to lose because he’s also a domain expert that can help you strategically.

Slide 13: The Ask How much you’re looking to raise, what you’re going to do with it and

why.

Investor takeaway: Do they know how much money it will take to get to the next major milestone?

Get this right. You don’t want an interested investor to not talk to you because you didn’t put thought into what you were going to do with their money! You also don’t need to ask for too much, don’t get greedy. Investors love a crowd so start with a low and friendly amount, you can always adjust later as you build interest and momentum.

Slide 14: Contact Info

After all that you need to make sure everyone knows where to find you and your

product. Obviously.

Final ThoughtTry to weave a very

memorable look/logo/catch phrase/jingle etc. into your presentation that stays with

the audience. They are sitting through 8-12 presentations, you want to be memorable!

Final Thought pt. deux

I don’t think the number of slides you have in your deck matters. Your only constraint in this scenario is time not

slide count. Each founder should get a slide each, for example. Keep it live,

interesting and exciting; take them on a roller coaster ride that ends with them

needing to know more.

FOLLOW US

@Chinaccelerator

China.Axlr8r

CHINA-ACCELERATOR

www.chinaccelerator.com