Winning Pitch Deck: How to tell investors a story they'll love.

Whether you're a first-time founder or a serial entrepreneur, effective storytelling is crucial for raising startup capital. While the details of your story will be different the structure of all good stories is similar:?

An ordinary person (customer) has a problem. Their world is clearly broken. Symptoms of the problem are everywhere. But a better way is possible. The better way (your solution) ushers in new possibilities and a vision for a better world. But the hero (customer) can not do it alone. They need a guide (your brand). You must prove to be a worthy guide. Together the hero and guide go on a quest. The guide must help the hero avoid failure, solve problems (product/market fit) and return home with new abilities (product outcomes).

Here is a breakdown:

1. Problem/Ordinary World is Broken: The problem you solve is always some version of “Change is coming…” Tell people what’s wrong with the world as you see it. What problem is happening over and over, day in, and day out, that slows progress, costs money, or wastes time? Who is suffering? The audience for your solution must be in peril, why should anyone care? The audience is the HERO of your story. This page names your ENEMY. Takeaway: The old ways of working must die because times are changing.?
2. Symptoms/Show the Pain. If things are broken, what’s the evidence? Demonstrate the pain points. Show the impact on people, business & and society. For example: When you’ve got the Flu, the Flu is your problem. Fever is your symptom. Not going to work is a symptom. Symptoms are visible and different from the problem. List 3-6 horrible sneezy, itchy, watery-eyed symptoms of your problem. Show the business value lost, personal problems, and bring on the drama. Takeaway: These symptoms are going to need to be relieved. VCs can make money here.
3. Solution/The New World. Before we rush off and talk about your product (that doesn't even exist yet), we need to finish dealing with the symptoms. We want to show the juice is worth the squeeze. We want investors to feel a collective sigh of relief by painting a picture of what the new world will look like. A good exercise here is to demonstrate what the world would look like if your solution had existed. What problems that exist now would never have happened? This demonstrates impact. The solution slide is your VISION for a better world.?
4. Product/Become a Guide Worth Following. Ok. Once you’ve made it clear how the world will be a better place with your solution, now you can talk about your product. You just need a few key product features/benefits here. Focus on how you alleviate the most pain for the greatest number of people. It’s ok to “sell” your solution here.
5. Why We Will Succeed/Competitive Moat. Everyone loves a good competitive moat. Investors certainly do. Make yours as deep and wide as possible. Sometimes you have a killer APP or product features that do not exist anywhere else. Great. Make those features explicit on this page. Most of the time your competitive moat is how you do things. Quentin Tarantino is a good director because he does x, y, and z. Spielberg is also a good director who does a, b, and c. This slide is your opportunity to sell your unique approach to this problem. Takeaway: Why is this solution better than the next?
6. Why Now/The Call to Arms! We said the world is changing, Now it’s time to show investors you’re ready for your quest. You do this by speaking the language of your buyer. Show them you get it. On this slide, we want to call out the big trends that 1. Help us, and 2. Hurt competitors. What is happening in the industry that is driving change? If your solution provides secure data, why is that important right now? If your solution is solar financing for home improvements, why is that important now? All business opportunity is driven by trends. Takeaway: You must understand your industry and the needs of your TARGET AUDIENCE.?
7. Market Opportunity / Quest Begins. The market opportunity is not about the industry size or CAGR. This slide is about how much money and profit your company will make. Specifically, this slide is about the unit economics of your solution and how they are better than the current industry standard. You need to show how you add more value for customers than any/all of the big competitors you’re up against. Remember the saying, “People don’t need a drill, they need a hole.” Think about the hole. Show investors how your solution is better. In the beginning, we said “Things must change,” here is where we show the economic value of change. This slide demonstrates the business and economic value of all the good you will do.
8. Team / The Guide. I’m not a VC, but I believe it when I hear that VCs buy founders. Anybody can have a good idea, it takes a special person to make ideas real. Jeff Bezos sums it up: "Ideas have very little value in business and what turns out to have huge value is execution." Founders need to prove to investors that they can execute. VCs want RAM founders (Relatable, Authentic, and Mission-driven). So emphasize your connection to the problem they are solving and help them see how you will connect with customers and partners to drive success. Your customers are the heroes of this story. You are the guide.
9. Investment / Return home with the Elixir. Finally, it’s time to ask for the money. Investors will want to know how their money is being used and how it is going to help you achieve your goals. The key to this slide is to keep it simple. Visually you want to connect the ask for the raise to your key activities. Help the VC visualize what you will be doing for the next year. But don’t go into a long shopping list or too many details. Keep it simple and move on to questions!

That’s it!?

Tell a story. Make them feel it. Demonstrate your brand can become a guide worth following. If this article is helpful to you, please let me know and I will add examples. Need help? Email me at [email protected].

David P. Schafer is a B2B business strategist and founder of Gangbustrs - a creative clubhouse helping founders and CMOs turn brands into category leaders.?