How to Build a Deck

Congratulations, you've made it to the Series A fundraising stage! By now, you should have a solid understanding of your product-market fit, proven go-to-market strategies, a strong team, success cases with customers, a realistic total addressable market (TAM) mapping, and a financial model for at least three years of projections. But how do you present all of this in a clear and compelling way to potential investors?

Build your roadshow strategy:

Firstly have a range of the size round you want to raise, get your % of dillution and map investros that match those round sizes. Here for resources on this.

Research your audience:

It's essential to research your investor. Look up not only the fund but also the person you're pitching to. Know their opinions on the industry you operate in, their current investments, the stage of their fund, and their industry focus. This will help you tailor your pitch to their specific interests and concerns.

Team:

When creating your pitch deck, be sure to include a team slide that showcases your key players and their strengths. Investors want to see that you have a cohesive team that can execute on your vision.

Problem:

Focus on showing them the problem that your solution is addressing. Many founders provide a solution without a real problem to address. What is the opportunity you see in solving this problem?

Solution:

Make sure that your solution slide is understandable by everyone, including non-technical investors. Keep it simple and avoid using unpronounceable words that may confuse your audience. However, if you're pitching to a software blockchain AI expert, you may need to mention technical concepts, but make sure you explain them in a way that is easy to understand.

Read How to pitch anything?

Addressable Market:

Your TAM slide should create FOMO (fear of missing out). The bigger, the better, but always have the resources to back up your numbers. Don't just present a simple percentage of a huge number; be sure to show a breakdown of your assumptions and a potential increase in TAM after upgrading your product.

Please avoid something like this:

"We're aiming at the 5% of the total SaaS market in Latam, that represent a total of XX companies in the region"... dude, this is not the best idea to present a TAM, since it only depends on your sales efficency, it does not show cross-selling opportunities, other verticals, a robust business model, etc. You’re not selling tamales.

Go-to-market strategy:

Your go-to-market strategy should include acquisition channels and pricing strategy, clear and financially sustainable preliminary numbers, and examples of what has worked for other companies or for yourself in the past. Show a clear path and what you need to activate each of those channels.

Metrics & KPIs:

Again, don't be so technical, an investor listening to a pitch is making multiplications and simple math operations to get a glimpse if the business model makes sense. Guide them through it. In your financial projections and KPIs, guide investors through the numbers and make sure they are easy to understand. Show them CAC repayment periods, average customer values, gross margins, cohort growths, customer acquisition rates, and more. Avoid using "bullshitty" KPIs like LTV and focus on metrics that give investors a clear sense of your business model and growth potential.

Business Vision:

Keep the "ace under the sleeve" and do not mention explicitly in the deck your top-secret weapon. Show just the necessary information to give the investor a clear vision of where you're heading in the next three years (product, team, expansion, and strategy-wise). When doing your roadshow strategy, target investors that align with YOUR vision, and don't shift your vision according to a pitch.

Remember, do not mention a valuation or multiple in written format in your deck! This will be discussed during the negotiation stage. Focus on presenting a clear and compelling case for why your startup is worth investing in. Good luck with your Series A fundraising!

Find more content here