Walking into a meeting room, a wide long board meeting table greets you while you stand next to your presentation slides ready to take on any questions regarding your business as though you’re in a tank or a den. You start off with a heartfelt story about your background then how you come upon this idea to do this to serve a minority that has been left out by corporates. You saw how they have been left to fend for themselves, no one looking after their interests or solving their problem, so you’re here today to offer up a resolve their issues and how your product can change their lives!
Let’s talk about this today, The Human Factor Angle. It appeals to the human emotions and empathy in hopes to get the listeners to empathize and join your cause or even help sustain your cause. Should you use it? I have noticed some pitch decks using this angle in hopes to get funding recently and the thought “Why have they used this” was they first question that popped into my mind. Let’s explore in this writeup on whether or not the Human Factor angle will help your fund raising efforts. You’re not going to like this next part, so, let’s agree to disagree if you, well… disagree. If you are in it to make a big margin, perhaps you might want to consider other persuasion methods to be incorporated in your pitch deck instead. Here’s why I don’t think you should use this angle.
Does the person on the receiving end share the same values on said cause as you do? What if they have other opinions of it? And even if they do, would the rest of the parties (if this were a group decision) share that view enough to take action? This creates a string of problems that would potentially lead to indecision. Leaving you hanging because you can gauge that the person you spoke to shares your views and sees the importance of making this work.
If you are making a big margin off it, it may do more harm than good as it is very much frown upon by many in my own experience.

Don’t get me wrong, the Human Factor works. Here’s my take on why and how it would work. It would work when the story or the back story is gut-wrenching, 11 oscars worth of heartbreaks, tears inducing situation or circumstances. And it works especially when it is specific to the person. Meaning it may backfire when there’s a small party. Why? because everyone may care for different causes. A friend of mine cares for stateless children rights while another friend cares about people who don’t have access to consistent meals. While everyone would have the capacity for empathy, not everyone empathises with the same cause or issues of the world.
Social enterprises become sustainable through its impact on its target market while not making a big margin where funders may be turn off by it. Hence, the problem has to affect a large populous, where a minimal fee for sustaining your effort does not affect the Donated portion while making enough for you to keep going. Some social enterprise struggle because the margin is small (which is good) and the impacted populous is also small, hence drying out their coffers and making it not sustainable.
I am bringing this up because ultimately, your goal for setting up the social enterprise was to make a long lasting impact, not a short-lived effort. You cannot be thinking X amount will last us till Y months because then, your social enterprise is at the mercy of your balance sheet. If your impacted community is not big enough to make your idea, startup or enterprise sustainable for a future, perhaps you want to consider other angles and openings for your pitch deck.
Omni Consultancy specializes in Pitch Deck Development, Strategic Development for businesses. In its short experience, it has helped startups in different sectors to raise preseed funds and redirect business direction to unlock more value (and revenue).