What should a startup pitch deck include?

Start with questions, then decide the slides

There is no slide count that makes every pitch right. A short live introduction, an emailed reading deck and a detailed follow-up need different amounts of explanation. Check any application or event limit before designing.

Our suggested working sequence is:

1. What does the company do, in one plain sentence?
2. Which customer has which problem?
3. How does the product or service solve it?
4. What evidence do you have that people need or use it?
5. Which market can you realistically reach?
6. How does the business earn money?
7. What alternatives does the customer have?
8. What progress has been made, and who will deliver the next stage?
9. What are you asking for, and what would it fund?

These are planning questions, not a mandatory nine-slide formula. Sequoia’s business-plan guide similarly begins with company purpose, customer problem and solution before moving through the wider business case.

Check the evidence behind the confident sentence

Label actual revenue, forecasts, targets and assumptions separately. If a market figure comes from a report, record the source, period and geography. A national industry total is not automatically the market your particular product can serve.

A founder’s estimate may be useful, but it should remain identifiable as an estimate. Do not replace missing information with invented clients, usage figures, testimonials or financial performance. Design should make the distinction easier to see.

Deck Polish or Full Build?

Choose polish when the content and underlying business case are already settled. Choose a fuller build when the order, narrative and slide design need to be worked out together. Extra slides, research and specialist financial modelling are separate scoping questions.

A presentation designer does not verify a valuation merely by placing it in a chart. Where the evidence itself needs investigation, discuss research support separately from visual production.

Design for the way the deck will be used

In a live pitch, the speaker can explain a simple chart. In a deck sent by email, the chart needs enough context to stand alone. State the units and period, give the chart a meaningful title and make the important comparison obvious.

Keep a reading version if it serves a different purpose from the speaking version. Avoid cramming the live slides with every paragraph from the business plan. Use an appendix for supporting information that may be needed in questions.

Agree the editable delivery format before the project begins. Reopen exported files to check text wrapping, charts and any elements that were outside the working canvas.

What to send before the design begins

Send the current deck or outline, audience, meeting format, time limit, approved figures, sources, logo and deadline. Explain the next decision you want the audience to make. A funding deck and a customer sales presentation should not begin with the same assumption about the reader.

As the business develops, retain the evidence register and update the deck alongside it. That lets a continuing design partner work from a shared understanding rather than rebuild the story from memory each time.