Outdated: 30-Slide Deck Obsolete in Modern Era

Just lately, there was a noticeable pattern in pitch decks, notably as I evaluate quite a few decks for +. These decks at the moment are that includes fewer slides with much less info, specializing in conveying the precise message.

DocSend’s newest report on VC exercise in 2023 reveals that capturing traders’ consideration requires getting straight to the purpose and staying on message.

Pre-seed founders have responded to the investor pullback by creating shorter decks. They’re rearranging the opening slides in methods I hadn’t seen earlier than, defined Justin Izzo, analysis lead at DocSend, throughout an interview with +.

Founders are foregoing intensive narratives concerning the function, drawback, and options. As a substitute, they’re diving proper into the why now issue, introducing their product, and outlining their monetization technique. This concise strategy could really feel abrupt, however pre-seed founders perceive that traders have restricted time to dedicate to pitch decks.

Surprisingly, founders are literally sending 16% extra decks than they did on the similar time final 12 months, which implies VCs have a major quantity of fabric to evaluate. So as to make an early determination on whether or not to speculate extra time in an organization, traders need fast entry to the required info.

Evaluating 2022 to 2023, VCs are spending practically 20% much less time (2 minutes 12 seconds at the moment, in comparison with 2 minutes 42 seconds a 12 months in the past) reviewing pitch decks. Whenever you solely have 2 minutes of their consideration, each second counts. That is substantiated by information from DocSend, which signifies that 40% of profitable pre-seed groups had shorter-than-average decks, whereas 65% of unsuccessful groups had decks with extra slides than common.

Founders have to be ruthless in each the variety of slides of their deck and the quantity of content material on every slide. Since 2022, the typical slide deck has decreased from 19 slides to 16. Due to this fact, it’s essential to be deliberate in deciding on the knowledge to incorporate:

Introduction: Start by presenting your organization’s identify, brand, and a fascinating tagline or picture that instantly conveys what your startup does. Moreover, trace on the measurement of the funding spherical you’re in search of.

Mission: Begin your pitch with a mission slide or abstract slide that engages your viewers. Efficient storytelling is layered, so present an outline first after which delve deeper into totally different points of your corporation because the pitch progresses.