Stop “checking boxes” with your pitch deck.

Everyone says your pitch deck needs to “tell a story”. But not enough people talk about what story you’re actually supposed to tell. 

Advisors or mentors might give you a template, but a deck isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about getting investors to believe things they don’t believe yet.

So what does that actually mean?

The X → Y Story

Whether or not you realize it, there’s ONE belief you hold that, if you were to stop believing it, you’d stop believing in your company. 

Similarly, if someone were to start believing it, they’d start believing in your company. 

For example, look at Uber. If an investor didn’t believe that most people would get into strangers’ cars, they definitely did not believe in Uber. But if an investor did believe that, they almost had to believe in Uber. 

Why? Because if any company was going to figure ridesharing out, it was Uber. They had the best team and the best early traction/validation. And that is the story startups need to tell. 

It’s the story of “If you believe X (the belief), you believe in Y (the company and/or the market it’s in)”. Then you go into the “here’s why”.

Some examples:

- If you believe X is going to happen, you believe in our company.
- If you believe X market is big and growing, you believe in our company.
- If you believe people will always need X, you believe in our company.

Now how do you concretely tell that story in a deck? You start by getting them to believe the X thing. Typically that happens in the problem and/or market slides. Then the things you share about your company (product, team, traction, etc.) show that you’re the best investment to make if X is true.

As a founder, you’ve dedicated a significant amount of your time and resources towards making this one company work. And that’s because you know it can. A good story shows investors that same truth, and gets them there the same way you got there. 

So find out what core belief your company rests on, and spread the good news to investors. 

Good luck with your raise and keep an eye out for more from us!

- Nathan