Pre-seed pitch deck perfection lessons

For a first-time founder, putting together a pitch deck for early-stage fundraising can be a tough challenge. You’re not just telling the story of how your solution will change the world — you’re also communicating the essence of who you are and what you do to people with the resources and experience to help your business take flight.

Naturally, when working on something like this it’s best to take advice and feedback, ideally from someone with insights who knows what looks good. But not every founder has the luxury of someone with an investor’s insight to lead them through the dos and don’ts of building a deck.

Here we reflect on some of the unique challenges a very early-stage pitch deck presents, highlight some of the most important areas to think about and outline some points and questions founders can reflect on themselves, to ensure their deck delivers the impact their solution deserves.

What should it do?

First, it’s important to clarify that while a deck matters, it’s not the whole story. What matters at pre-seed is the story you tell – and a well-composed pitch deck can help you tell it compellingly.

A deck is going to be the first a VC sees of you, your team and your solution. It’s an opportunity: getting it right, and doing justice to yourself and your business, persuading a VC that a world without your solution is unimaginable, is a critical step towards securing the funding you need to scale.

The deck needs to clearly tell your story, the story of your business and your team. What is the problem, what’s the solution you’ve built – and why are you the ones to build it? And importantly, why now? Is this product truly transformational, and why is now the moment for it?

Early-stage challenges

At the later stages, there are a host of metrics a founder can draw on to demonstrate the success of their solution and business. At the very early stages, not so much.

Instead of evidence-based assertions about unit economics, you’ll need to demonstrate the potential of your solution, and the capacity of yourself and your team to realise it. Just as importantly, you’ll need to convince investors of the scale of the opportunity. A strong deck should clearly and persuasively communicate your ability to build and grow a high-impact business.

Proof points

Without concrete metrics or a proven track record, what compelling evidence of your businesses’ incredible scalability, or your own extraordinary capacities as a founder, can you offer?

Here are a few of the things you’ll need to share:

• Team. At the very early stages, investors are really backing the people behind the solution. The solution needs to be great, of course, but the best idea in the world is useless without the right people behind it. Communicating a clear idea of who the team are, where they’ve come from and why they (including you) are the perfect people to build this solution, is essential. At Octopus Ventures, we encourage founders to take pride in their difference and diversity. Celebrate what sets you apart and demonstrate your differentiator. If you have a personal agenda behind the business, or took a path on your founder journey that helps you see the world differently – share it.
  
• Potential to scale. Total addressable market (TAM) is something people often get wrong (Octopus Ventures B2B Software Partner, Edward Keelan, has written a whole blog about it). Investors will want to see a realistic, bottom-up TAM, and it needs to be well-founded.
  
• Defensibility. One of the key qualities investors will be looking for is your unique edge: your defensibility. Only you and your team know what makes your solution different and what sets it apart. You need to distil this and show it to investors.

The point to remember, and one that investors well understand, is that at the very early stages, any evidence or metrics produced as proof for these points is going to be largely rooted in assumptions. What’s key is that these assumptions are well founded.

They can’t be plucked out of the air, and you’re likely to be questioned on them, so if you’re building, say, a solution in the men’s health space, avoid offering, as your TAM, half the population of the planet.

Do some research, reference other companies and show your working. It won’t just support your assertions about your business – it’ll bolster investors’ confidence in you.

Questions to ask yourself

Nothing beats showing your pitch deck around and having it probed by pros. But if that opportunity isn’t available to you, don’t despair. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to make sure your pitch deck is doing what it should.

Have I articulated the problem clearly?

As a founder, you’re a sector expert; what you need to remember is, not everyone else is. Make sure your deck clearly explains the problem and your solution in a way that everyone can understand. It’s surprising just how many pitch decks we see that still leave us asking what, exactly, the company does.

Does every slide make an impact?

Remember that nine-second-per-slide attention span? When you’re running through your deck, with each slide ask yourself: ‘What is the one sentence I would take away from this?’ Ensure the answer is aligned with your intention.

What norm am I changing?

Ensure your deck does justice to the magnitude of your solution, explaining why it’s better than the competition, where the true innovation lies and why now is the time for it. Businesses that seem like norms today broke the mould yesterday. Just think of AirBnB. Strangers? Sleeping in your house?! Read up on pattern breaking businesses in Mike Maples’ excellent book. Then make sure your deck explains how yours does it.

Where’s the early revenue coming from?

We get it – at the earliest stages it’s entirely possible there’ll be no revenue at all. But we want signs of traction. Offer proof that you’re building something people really want – not just what you think they want. This means getting out there and talking to prospective customers. If you can tell us that you’ve canvassed 100 CEOs at SMBs, and they’re all enthusiastic about your solution, it shows us you’ve actually spoken to your customer. Make us believe it’s something you’ll keep doing.

Why me?

At its core, the deck demands that founders are super bullish on themselves. If you aren’t, why should investors be? You need to show that when you do build the business, you’ll get it done – and pivot where necessary. Investors aren’t looking for perfectionists: they’re looking for hustlers who’ll launch, listen to customer feedback, and iterate, iterate, iterate until the product is right.

Who’s backing me?

Getting an angel investor onboard with deep sector expertise goes a long way to boosting investor faith in your solution; getting an angel you’ve worked for (or very closely with) boosts investor faith in you. There are some angels who’ll signal to investors that you’re building something brilliant.

Who’s with me?

Ultimately, at this stage, investors are looking at people as much as (if not more than) solutions. If you’re building in a market where you have founder-market fit – make it super clear; and if you’re building a technical company, make sure you’ve got a technical hire you can introduce. Or, if you need capital to recruit them, some evidence they’re ready and waiting to climb aboard.

Conclusion

Storytelling matters at every stage and pre-seed is no exception. Crafting a compelling tale that explains why your business represents an unmissable opportunity is tough but cover the basics we’ve discussed, and you’ll be on the right track.

It’s rare that you’ll stand in front of the deck, presenting. More often, investors will review it, then follow up with a meeting or a call. When that happens, don’t be robotic! They’ve seen the deck – you’ve already shown them the bones of your story. Flesh it out with conversation, be ready to answer questions – and get to know them! People are at the heart of everything – and this process is a two-way street – you’re learning about them just as they’re learning about you.

Leaving the investor excited, with a clear understanding of what you’re setting out to do, why you’re the person to do it, and the role they may yet play in something revolutionary, will set you up for success.

At Octopus Ventures, we’re proud to back the people and ideas changing the world – from their very first cheque, right through to IPO. Learn more about our pitching process, as well as what we offer our founders, here.