10 Little But Costly Mistakes On Your First Round Deck

There is a lot of incredible content out there on ways to position your pitch deck across market, team, go-to-market, to put you in a strong position. However, sometimes it is the little things that cost a lot. In this article, we’ve focused on the little things. Once you’re done with your pitch deck, check for these ten things as they could undo all the work you’ve done and set you steps back.

1. Too Much Text:

‍Avoid cramming your slides with text. Investors spend an average of just 80 seconds on a deck, so clarity and brevity are key. Think visually; use bullet points, charts, and images to convey your message succinctly.

One tip is to make sure that the headers of your slides sound like a long sentence when investors go quickly slide by slide.

2. Deck Is Too Long:

‍Your pitch deck should be just long enough to pique interest without overwhelming. Aim for 8 slides for a teaser and no more than 10 for a comprehensive presentation. Too short, and you might miss crucial information; too long, and you risk losing your audience’s attention

3. No Contact Details:

‍Your deck will represent you in rooms where you might not be. Ensure your deck includes your contact details, particularly your email. Make it easy for investors to reach you should they want to.

4. Team Slide At The End:

‍Do not bury the lead. For angel stage funding, investors over-index on the team. Place the team slide near the beginning and quickly demonstrate why you’re awesome. Yes to logos, and strong numbers that show you have a right to the problem you're solving for.

5. No LinkedIn Profiles:

‍While investors might quickly skim through slides. Linkedin is a great way for them to do a light diligence on the details of your background. Update your linkedin profile and provide hyperlinks through the team page.

6. Bad Font Choices:

A little pedantic but avoid using playful office fonts like Calibri. These can make your deck look unprofessional. Opt for modern, clean fonts to enhance readability and aesthetic appeal.

7. No Clear Problem Statement:

‍Your problem statement should appear within the first few slides. Show how painful it is, show how existing solutions suck. Investors need to quickly understand the pain point your solution addresses. This sets the stage for the rest of your pitch.

8. No Analogies:

‍Analogies can make complex concepts easier to grasp. They help investors relate to your product or service, ensuring your message is both clear and memorable.

9. Portrait View:

‍Use landscape view for your slides. This format is standard for presentations as this is the norm for pitch decks. Avoid using Word documents, or ppt. Stick with pdf, or docsend

10. Protected Documents:

It defeats the purpose if investors have to request access and wait for you to grant it before they see your deck. Remember, attention span is constrained and you don’t want to put any blockers. Give access to your docs via a link, or pdf attachments. Keep it simple.

Bonus: Asking for an NDA:

Ideas are a dime a dozen, and truth is many investors at the early stages are not inclined to sign NDAs because they see tons of startups and many might be similar. Avoid asking investors to do this before you share your deck. Its a sure way to create an artificial blocker that is not in your favor.

A pitch deck gets you a conversation, avoiding these common mistakes can significantly enhance your chances of making a strong impression and getting that first conversation that sets you up for potential success!

Are you an experienced operator raising your first round of funding just as you start your technology company? OpenseedVC invests up to $150k and brings an elite operator network to support you from start to launch! Tell us more here: www.openseed.vc/apply

And read our FAQs on www.openseed.vc/faq

Want to receive the next post directly in your inbox? Subscribe HERE

Chat again soon!