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- ⚙️ How to Build a Great Pitch Deck
Happy Sunday Operators ⚙️
The growth of The Bottleneck and Cornerstone over the past 6 months has led to some... surprising conversations. A few folks have put out "feelers" on how they could invest.
I've been lucky to experience bootstrapped exits, IPO events, and trying to drum up interest during investor rounds. Each experience was different but shared the same trait: time.
Taking on external capital always takes up so much time that you get distracted.
At some point, you'll need to:
build out data rooms
review legal review of documents
create pitch decks (ugh)
I wanted to see what stage other famous startups started considering raising capital.
I stumbled upon the motherload of databases. Pitchsend has a database of 1.1 million pitch deck slides. I could research any industry, see how companies positioned their products, and see what stats they had at that moment.
Because I didn't want to keep this all to myself, I've included five companies that I thought would be interesting to check out: a16z, Perplexity, Uber, Tesla, and Rippling.
After you check those out, I then go into a high level overview on how to build one yourself.
P.S. This is different from the usual ops tactic we present on Sundays. I’m experimenting with formats. If this doesn’t resonate, let me know!
5 Examples of a Well-Done Pitch Deck
1. a16z
a16z is the world’s largest VC. In this deck, Coinbase’s CTO details crypto’s history and the gold rush of unicorn startups.
This slide deck highlights:
Investing in new technology
Riding the wave of unicorn startups
Growing a community of first-movers
Finding and following industry tailwinds
The history of all things crypto and blockchain
2. Perplexity AI
Perplexity AI raised $103M from Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and others to replace Google Search.
This slide deck highlights:
The future of search
Building the world’s best research tool
Paul Graham’s advice for finding product-market-fit
Replacing the industry incumbent, Google
Survival of the quickest
3. Uber
Uber’s seed pitch deck raised them $200k in funding. 12 years later, Uber became a $100B company.
This slide deck highlights:
Finding real world problems to solve
Building your startup’s elevator pitch solution
Understanding and estimating market sizing
Starting niche, then expanding
$100B marketing playbook
4. Tesla
Tesla’s raised $19.4B across 38 funding rounds. This 2011 pitch deck helped them raise $192MM.
This slide deck highlights:
The importance of assembling an all-star team
Building a niche product among general competitors
Finding whitespace in a crowded market
When to expand product offerings
Starting small, aiming big
5. Rippling
Rippling just raised $200M at a $13.5B valuation.
This slide deck highlights:
Communicating the problem your startup is solving
Building social proof
Importance of client retention
Finding primitive problems to solve
Serving the benefits, not the features
The Blueprint
So, you’ve examined these 5 decks. You might have noticed this in the other decks. But the goal isn’t to cram everything into the pitch deck. You should aim to get people attention instead.
How do should you think about building yours?
How many slides should your pitch deck have?
Each slide should explain one topic. We need to be concise here (so no essays in your presentations please!). I’d rather aim for 15 slides than 40 slides. You got to remember that the whole point of the deck is to get someone excited about your business. Shorter is better in this case.
You need to cover these 6 points:
Your mission or vision
The problem you’re solving
The market size of the opportunity
Your product — and what differentiators
Traction and/or revenue
Evidence that your team can execute
This is the bare minimum to clear with investors. Be sure to bring in data, proof that customers love your product, and proof that you are solving a venture-scale problem.
A Pitch Deck Anatomy: Each slide
Title slide
Like a video or essay, you need your first slides to hook the listener. Your tagline needs to be catchy and descriptive, leaving no room for second-guessing your business.
The Problem Slide
Put the listener in the customer's shoes. What pain you are solving should be front and center. By giving the context of the problem, you bring in the more human side of the story.
Market Size and Market Fit
Don’t fake your TAM. Try to show the scale of the problem you are solving truthfully. Be sure to include the size of your target market, the scope of opportunity, and what returns you could expect.
Your Product
Now, it's time to showcase your product. Following the elevator pitch, some slide decks highlight the product’s key features to create an "aha" moment for investors, like this example from the VC pitch deck template.
I would include a business model slide based on the market context and the product’s unique value.
It links these elements to demonstrate how the company will generate revenue from potential customers and why this business model perfectly fits the product and customer needs.
Traction
Your slide deck must show that your business plan is more than just a concept—it's a viable, valuable strategy. Even if your early-stage business (or later-stage company in certain industries) doesn’t have revenue yet, you can still demonstrate traction.
Don't forget to add social proof: adoption by well-known brands, strategic and media partnerships, awards, press coverage, and investment from recognized VCs or angel investors.
This can include financial projections, user numbers, waiting lists, or early product engagement.
Your Team
It's time to highlight your amazing team. Use this slide from our async pitch deck template to showcase your founding team's unique strengths and what they bring. Include details about any previous companies they've founded and relevant industry experience.
Get a Bag
You’ll need to bring a bag to carry all the cash once you make your pitch successfully. (this is a joke… please don’t be mean to me)
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