Slides I created for Pitch Deck seminar I gave at Samurai Startup Island in Tokyo, October 7, 2015, to help entrepreneurs craft a presentation to tell the story of their startup clearly and persuasively.

1. 1
Darren Menabney
@ Samurai Startup Island
Tokyo
10.07.2015
Crafting the
Perfect
Pitch Deck
Pitching Perfectly
Session 1

2. 30 seconds!
How much time you have to give a good
impression to the audience

3. DARREN
MENABNEY
-2011, Toronto
BSc Astrophysics, U of T
Government of Canada
Revenue, Industry,
Foreign Affairs, Defence
2011+, Tokyo
MBA, GLOBIS University
Global HR, Ricoh Co. Ltd.
Part-time Faculty, GLOBIS University
3

4. Connect People to People
Connect People to Ideas
Create Value for Everyone
“Sunrise Over the Pacific Ocean" by
NASA. Image in the Public Domain

5. © Javier Montano /
TEDxKyotoUniversity
5
Judging pitches
Attending a LOT of
pitch contests
Writing & delivering
pitches
Coaching startups
Teaching entrepreneurs
at MBA program
Public speaking

6. 6
Start With
Some Basics

7. Elevator Pitch?
Pitch contest to
a large group?
Boardroom pitch?
7

8. Different pitch deck for each
of these situations
No “one-size-fits-all” pitch decks
8

9. Pitch contest to
a large group
1. What is your goal?
3. What are your constraints?
2. Who is your audience?
9

10. 1. What is your goal?
To make a pitch
To get interest in your solution
To win the pitch contest
To get interest in your company
10

11. Winning is great, but getting
VCs or Angels interested
should be your main goal
Goal = Getting A Meeting &
Boardroom Pitch
11

12. 2. Who is your audience?
Research the judges
Find out what kind of pitches
they like & don’t like
Tailor your slide deck to them
12

13. Skills Money
Specialist Audience
General Audience
VC
Angel
Talent
BankMixed
FFF
13

14. Pitch Contest Judges…
Have limited time
Need to make a group decision
May not know your industry
BUT even if you don’t win the pitch contest,
may still be interested in your company
14

15. 3. What are your constraints?
Usually limited by fixed time
May be limited by use of
video, demos
BUT nobody will interrupt you!
15

16. Today’s Goal
Guide you on developing a pitch deck
Can be delivered in 5 - 10 minutes
To a large group during a pitch contest
16

17. What I will provide today
17

18. DOGMA
18

19. 19
Four Steps to a
pitch deck that’s
perfect for
your venture
19

20. 20
Step 1: Design your Minimum Deck
Step 2: Create your Storyline
Step 3: Populate the Slides
Step 4: Make it Pretty
Four Steps

21. Step 1
Designing your
Minimum Deck
21

22. The Perfect
Pitch Deck?
22

23. Do it in 10 slides!
10 / 20 / 30 rule!
23
Talk about team first! Talk about team last!
Do it in 13 slides!
Stress financials! Stress proprietary IP!
10 minute rule!
Everyone has an opinion…

24. Company
The team
The problem (opportunity)
Your value proposition (solution)
Competitive landscape
Market Size
Go To Market plan
Financials analysis & projections
What you need
Startup gurus agree you need to describe
24

25. Number of slides
Order of slides
Definition of “Market Size”
Definition of “Financials”
Other content (e.g. elevator pitch, IP, summary)
Startup gurus do not agree on
25

26. The Problem & Your Solution
General agreement on three parts to deck,
in this order
26
= Where to Start Designing Your Deck
Ensuring Consistency Between Each Part
Market and GTM Plan
Resources you have, what you need for GTM Plan

27. The Problem & Your Solution
Market and GTM Plan
What you have, and what you need for that GTM Plan
and let’s add in…
27
Elevator Pitch
Summary

28. The Problem & Your Solution
Market and GTM Plan
What you have, and what you need for that GTM Plan
= Minimum Viable Pitch Deck
28
Elevator Pitch
Summary

29. 29
First thing you do…

30. Who is your
audience?
Turn Off
Your Computer
30

31. Go Analog
Write Out Your Minimum
Viable Pitch Deck
31

32. Prototype your
Minimum Deck
32

33. As a Team, create the
Minimum Viable Pitch
Deck as a Starting Point
33

34. Step 2
Create Your
Storyline
34

35. Build on Your
Minimum Deck
35

36. Structure your pitch deck
around the story of your
venture
36

37. “In a business presentation,
you’re telling the story behind
your campaign, company, or
product…we’re all storytellers
and we’re telling stories in
business each and every day.”
– Carmine Gallo
Author, Talk Like TED
37

38. Facts Emotion
Logic AND
Passion
Audience Memory and
Motivation
38

39. Outline Your Company
Story With Post-It Notes
39

40. Storyboard It
How I Created my PechaKucha Tokyo Talk@
http://www.pechakucha.org/presentations/discovering-tokyo-through-yamanote
40

41. Mindmap It
41

42. Create an outline of what
each slide in your deck will
say as part of your storyline,
building on Minimum Deck
42

43. Time you are given
You have 5 minutes, do you try 10 slides or 20?
Number of slides?
43
Dependent on…
Your delivery style and the story you want to tell

44. Minimum?
At least 10 slides to tell your company’s
story and meet your objective
Maximum?
Depends on time and your story, however
2015 study of 200 startups who raised $300M
found average number of slides was 19
My synthesis…
44
https://docsend.com/view/p8jxsqr
So let’s say 10-20 slides for your deck

45. If your team includes super-talent or serial
entrepreneurs, describe Team near the beginning
Where do you describe your Team?
45
If your team is talented but your solution is your
company’s strength, describe Team near the end

46. Title Page with Company’s Purpose
Elevator Pitch
The Problem (Opportunity)
Market Sizes
Your Value Proposition (Solution)
Why Now?
Go To Market Plan
Competitive Landscape
Business Model
Your Team
Financials analysis & projections
What You Have, What You Need
Summary
A Possible Storyline…With Logical Flow
46

47. Where and how to
describe your team, your
solution, your history, are
part of your company’s
story and that’s your
decision
…But Remember
47

48. Step 3
Populating
The Slides
48

49. Title Page with Company’s Purpose
Elevator Pitch
The Problem (Opportunity)
Market Sizes
Your Value Proposition (Solution)
Why Now?
Go To Market Plan
Competitive Landscape
Business Model
Your Team
Financials analysis & projections
What You Have, What You Need
Summary
Filling in each section (1+ slides each)
49

50. Company name (and say it)
Company Logo (a nice one!)
A short, memorable sentence describing why you exist
Title Page with Company’s Purpose
50

51. Memorize this until you can say it in your sleep!
Elevator Pitch
51
“We solve [problem] by providing [advantage], to
help [target] accomplish [target’s goal]. We make
money by charging [customers] to get [benefit].
Follow the 500 Startups Formula

52. Describe the customer’s pain
Describe how the customer currently resolves that pain
Relate it to an everyday experience if very technical
The Problem (Opportunity)
52
Keep the language simple here, especially if you are an engineer!

53. How much is that problem costing?
How much will people pay to fix that pain?
Validate your estimate by using top-down public data,
combined with your own bottom-up research
Differentiate
Total Available Market (TAM)
Serviceable Available Market (SAM)
Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM)
Market Sizes
53

54. How does your company fix the problem?
What products and services can you offer?
Pictures or screenshots
Show actual user cases or the customer’s journey
Proprietary technology & protected IP?
Your Value Proposition (Solution)
54
Remember it’s your Company you’re trying to sell
Don’t focus too much on product features, don’t get technical

55. Describe historical and recent trends which show why
NOW is the right time in the market for your solution to
succeed
Show that you’ve done your homework and understand
what’s going on out there
Why now?
55

56. How will (or has) your company enter the market?
How will your company grow in the market?
What conditions are needed to scale up?
Back up plan with data
Go To Market Plan
56
Never talk about how you only need to reach 1%
of the Chinese market to succeed…

57. Competitive Landscape
57
NEVER say you “Have no competitors” even if
you really believe that
Who?
Why are you better?
YOU!A-Co
B-CoC-Co
D-Co
Lo Cost
Hi Cost
Pre-set Customisable

58. Business Model
58
How will your company make money?
Pricing
Sales & Distribution Channels
Give an example, tied to your Value Proposition

59. Your Team
59
Good chance to talk about talent gaps and tie
that into “the ask”
Establish credibility
List relevant experience
Photos!
Include mentors and advisors

60. Financial Analysis & Projections
60
No hockey sticks!
Must be realistic!
Must be defensible!
Should summarise financing already received
This is the slide which will get the most scrutiny

61. What You Have, What You Need
61
How have you survived so far?
How much have you raised so far?
What are you looking for, how much?
How will you spend it?
MUST connect logically to
• Go To Market Plan
• Team
Many pitches forget to ask for something!

62. Summary
62
…and say “Thank You”
May stay up on screen during Q&A for 5+ minutes, take
advantage of that!
Company Logo
3 - 4 key takeaways for audience
Contact details

63. Step 4
Make It
Pretty
63

64. 64
Two Options for Deck Design
1) Buy
2) Build

65. 65
1) Buy

66. 66
2) Build
i) Use automator
ii) DIY

67. 67
i) Use automator

68. 68
ii) DIY?
a) Watch the amount of text
b) Have a consistent look & feel
• Colors, logo, font, background
c) No slideuments!

69. “No more than six words
on a slide. EVER”
-Seth Godin
69

70. Easy on the eyes? 12
Easy on the eyes? 24
Easy on the eyes? 32
Easy on the eyes? 40
Easy on the eyes? 48
Easy on the eyes? 60
Easy on the eyes? 72
70

71. Arial
Time New Roman
71

72. Sharp, Modern
Serif, Traditional
72

73. Avoid colourful text
and
Comic Sans MS
73

74. Consistent Color Theme in Slides
Monochromatic
Tones of the same color
74
Complementary
Opposite colors
Analogous
Similar colors

75. …add a photograph, and you’ll
remember 65% of it
75
Three days after hearing some
information, you’ll remember 10%

76. Three days after hearing some
information, you’ll remember 10%
…add a photograph, and you’ll
remember 65% of it
7676

77. White space is necessary
Big text!
Excessively colourful text hurts the audience’s eyes
eyes
More visuals, fewer words
Clarity, Simplicity
The slides should support your words, not vice versa
77
General Design Tips

78. Slideument
= Slide which should
be a document
78

79. Animation
Carefully
Use
Use it for simple
transitions and builds
Very
79

80. Final
Thoughts
80

81. 簡素
81
かんそ
Simplicity, plainness

82. "Simplicity is about
subtracting the
obvious, and adding
the meaningful”
- MIT Design Professor
John Maeda
82

83. The Five Minute Pitch Deck
Title Page with Company’s Purpose (0:15)
Elevator Pitch (0:15)
The Problem (0:30)
Market Sizes (0:20)
Your Value Proposition (0:30)
Why Now? (0:20)
Go To Market Plan (0:30)
Competitive Landscape (0:20)
Business Model (0:30)
Your Team (0:20)
Financials analysis & projections (0:30)
What You Have, What you need (0:30)
Summary (0:10)
83

84. Next Time…Oct.14
Delivering Your
Pitch With Passion
Voice Control & Body Language
Being Persuasive & Energetic
Making The Audience Care
Live Demos & Videos
84

85. Next Time…Oct.14
Delivering Your
Pitch With Passion
Voice Control & Body Language
Being Persuasive & Energetic
Making The Audience Care
Live Demos & Videos
85

86. APPENDIX
86

87. Some Great Reads on Storytelling,
Presentations, and Public Speaking
87

88. Some Pitch Deck
Archives
88
http://bestpitchdecks.com/
Airbnb, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. decks
http://startupbeat.com/category/features/startup-pitches/
Featured decks from current startups
http://www.pitchenvy.com/
Mix of unicorns and lesser successes

89. With the expected of photos which have
been attributed, all other photos used
come from http://startupstockphotos.com/
89