💡 Tip of the Day
Design business cards with clear contact info.
Investors look for signal quickly. A useful deck tells a clear story in a short amount of time, shows proof where it matters, and makes the ask concrete. You do not need flashy graphics to do this well. You need a clean order of slides, one idea per slide, and supporting numbers that a skeptical reader can verify. The outline you generate here is a working draft you can adapt to your stage and audience. Use it to stop staring at a blank page and start shaping a story that holds up under questions.
Quick start - pick slide count and fill the bones
Set your stage and investor type, then choose a slide count. Ten to twelve slides are enough for most early rounds. Paste the problem in plain words - who has it, how often it happens, and what it costs. State the solution with a before-and-after line: what changes on day 1 and day 30. Add traction - revenue, users, retention, or a committed pilot. Sketch market and go-to-market in the same breath: whom you sell to and how you reach them. Write the model as a simple unit: price, margin, payback. Name competitors and your wedge. Describe the team as proof of ability, not a résumé dump. Close with financials and the ask: how much, use of funds, and the milestone the raise unlocks.
Story arc - problem to proof to plan
Strong decks follow a simple arc. First, the problem and why now - a change in tech, regulation, or behavior that makes this idea timely. Second, the solution and product - show a screenshot or demo frame with a line of context. Third, the market and motion - define who pays and how you reach them. Fourth, traction and model - numbers that prove the loop works. Fifth, competition and team - why you can win and who is doing the work. Finally, ask and milestones - what this round buys in months, not just dollars. This arc helps an investor decide if they should lean in for diligence.
What to cut - everything that does not change a decision
Investors do not need a full spec or a tour of every screen. They need to know if you found a real problem, if your solution is credible, and if your early numbers show a repeatable path. Cut marketing superlatives, long market definitions that do not connect to your buyer, and internal process details. If a slide’s text would survive unchanged in someone else’s deck, it is filler. Replace it with one number, one screenshot, or one sentence your team earned. Precision persuades more than volume.
Numbers and honesty - show the real shape
Use real numbers with context. If you have $18k MRR growing 14 percent month over month, show both. If retention is uneven, show cohort lines and explain what changed. If you are pre-revenue, show pilots, waitlist quality, or a repeatable motion for acquiring design partners. Investors read many decks - rounded claims without context read as noise. A single chart can do more than a paragraph if it is clean and labeled. For a sanity check on what to include, see Sequoia’s deck primer and YC’s library for examples and expectations.
Slide-by-slide habits that help
- One headline that can be read from the back of the room. One visual or three bullets, not both.
- Use the speaker notes to carry nuance - keep slide text lean.
- Put charts on a white or very light background with clear axes and labels.
- End with the ask, use of funds, and a milestone timeline by quarter.
Tailoring by stage - pre-seed vs Series A
At pre-seed, clarity on the problem and founder-market fit matter most. Show evidence that the pain is real and that you can ship. At seed, the focus shifts to early traction, loops that produce growth, and a credible plan to reach product-market fit. By Series A, the deck should show reliable retention, unit economics that improve with scale, and a path to efficient growth. The outline here adds a unit economics slide when you pick a longer deck - use it when you have enough data to be meaningful. Otherwise, fold unit economics into the model slide with a small, honest table.
Comparison - verbose deck vs concise deck
| Aspect | Verbose | Concise |
|---|---|---|
| Time to grasp | Slow | Fast - one idea per slide |
| Signal | Hype | Specifics and proof |
| Q&A quality | Wanders | Focused on real risks |
| Follow-up | Low | Higher - invites diligence |
Real example - trimming to the point
A seed-stage team had 22 slides and low response rates. We cut slides that restated the same idea and moved supporting text into notes. The new deck had 12 slides with a clean arc, a single product shot, one traction chart, and a simple ask. Partners engaged more in the first five minutes because they could see the plan without staring at paragraphs. Diligence calls shifted from “what do you do” to “how fast can you repeat this loop.” The company did not add more claims - it made the ones it had easier to weigh.
Two quick questions before you send
- Can someone understand the problem, solution, and proof by skimming headlines only?
- Does every number on a chart have a source and a date that you can say out loud without hedging?
Good decks respect time. They say what matters, show what is real, and make a direct ask. Use this generator to get the order right and the notes tight. Then replace generic text with specifics from your work. With a few careful edits, you will have a deck that earns real questions instead of polite nods.