What's Your Pitch Deck's Objective?
To find a funder or a someone like minded? They aren't the same.
Let me ask all entrepreneurs reading this: Do you have ONE file when you pitch to a business partner and it can be used for a potential investor? A pitch deck to raise fund or a deck to seek for a business partner should be TWO separate files. Doubling the usage will sacrifice one for the other because the objective and information to be included is, and should be, different. Assuming this, the objective for a potential business partner is to persuade him to join the business, to believe in the viability and the potential of the business. While an investors’ pitch deck, is meant to persuade for funding, to explore how it can yield investors gains and reward them for their beliefs and patience. What makes every deck different is its objective and having a clear objective during the development is very important.
At this point you’re probably thinking “well, duh…”. It is very easy to lose sight of the objective as your pitch deck comes to life because creativity start flowing, you’re getting into that groove and perhaps some “Ah-ha” moments hit you. What I do is, I keep the objective and who this is for written on a sticky note pasted at the edge of my monitor. This helped me to keep myself on track and the deck doesn’t deviate from its objective. (Bet you thought I was going to talk about objectives being S.M.A.R.T right? Psyche!)
Perhaps some information on the deck does overlap for an investor or a business partner but it does not mean that it is presented in the same way. When pitching to an investor, going into too much detail on operations related matters when presenting may wear down their concentration and patience. This I believe is crucial as your best window of opportunity is before the investor feels like their point is not being answered as you go through your deck. In a returns oriented presentation, the objective is to persuade that this business will grow in valuation or returns to the investor for providing you that much needed seed fund. On the other hand, to a business partner, they are more concerned on how they can help or whether they have ownership or longevity with you and the idea. Concentration will be skewed towards operations, management style, how are “we” going to grow the business together and most importantly, are visions aligned. So before you start on your pitch, take a good long look at it from the receiver’s perspective and ask yourself “Does this speak to me as an investor, a user, or a business partner?”. If you’re using a three-in-one, well, let’s just say three-in-on coffees don’t taste as good as pour over coffee.
Setting objective(s) is not just a beginning in your planning, it is a reminder like road signage signs on the highways. Keeping you reminded that you’re still going towards that direction while answering the burning question of “Are we there yet?”.
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).