VC corporations receive hundreds of decks per yr, and a typical investor will spend not more than two to three minutes to assess each of them, according to data With Docsend. Ultimately, only 5% -10% of the waist turns into meetings, while the rest disappears in a pile of rejection.
As an investor, it intensifies, I checked hundreds of decks, and also automated a part of the process with AI tool The founders can use to obtain quick feedback. At that point and after several dozen conversations with other investors and founders, I appreciated that there are proverbial sins of the deck on the pitch, which must be avoided, especially those of seeds and initially seeds.
Make any of those errors, and you risk the lack of investor’s interest in a few slides. But if you create a deck that weave and reliable narrative – one that reflects the imagination and ambition of the investor – you’ll increase your possibilities of meeting VC, and not quiet shuffling in the basket “no, thanks”.
What are these mistakes? Here are the seven best:
1. Bag the team
Business ideas and models often change at the earliest stages of the startup. Burbn has turn out to be Instagram. Conmites became PayPal. Snowdevil has turn out to be Shopify.
But what the founders rarely change. In the initial severity, a great team with a good idea will overtake a weak band with great.
So why bury the slide team that establishes credibility at the very end of the deck?
2. Surprise the product
Many “Tell” decks, the “show” is much more practical. Thick text and detailed explanations increase the cognitive load and make it difficult. In addition, investors are generalists in relation to the founders. This implies that if the deck cannot show or describe the product simply, it is more likely that it is going to find yourself at the rejection pile.
3. Skimp for the project
This could appear superficial, but Poland will all the time matter, because the first impressions are difficult to withdraw. The cluttered deck with inconsistent fonts and clashes can tilt VC to think that the same lack of care for the deck extends to your product and business. But you do not have to do much higher.
An easy project is not going to win any prizes, but removes dispersion and maintains focusing on where it belongs: on your vision.
4. Plos on the size of the market
All market size exercises are incorrect. In 2014, credible Nyu Stern professor underestimated UberMarket size, focusing on the older taxi market. Meanwhile, known VC Discounted Uber’s expansion potential. But no matter this, they each had a view and assumptions that could be tested.
The founders lose their credibility when they skip this step or throw away numbers without clear justification.
5. Make summer claims or hyperbolic forecasts
In a similar spirit, twisting too much in each directions when it comes to forecasts (if you have), causes confidence. If the deck shows that the company will go from scratch to $ 100 million in ARR in 12 months, raises the eyebrows. Similarly cautious forecasts suggest a lack of courage to support yourself, which suggests that it might not be “VC supported” by business.
6. Take advantage of the competition evaluation from the boiler
Too often, the ankle decks use the function of a control list or quadrants in the form of Gartner, which do not have a substance. This is a lost opportunity when it comes to the slide. How one founder Saying this, differentiation is not enough – investors care why these differentiation points are vital in a specific field and the way you get forward in the long run. Whatever less risk is forgotten, sliding with cookies.
7. All facts, no history
Remember that at the earliest stage of the startup VC they buy in you and the vision you have for your organization. There is no significant adhesion, a fixed business model and the product is often barely.
So when the deck on the pitch is too much based on hypothetical costs of acquiring customers, lifetime values and other embryonic indicators, he loses the audience before he has a likelihood to persuade. On the other hand, decks that revive the narrative – perhaps through experience or interviews with clients – do not inform and explain. They persuade and encourage.
Avoid these “deadly sins” when you create your deck and you’ll discover that passing through the first obstacle at the meeting is much more likely.