Service
Pitch deck support for founder meetings
A deck is not a plan squeezed onto slides. It is the argument a founder has to deliver in ten minutes, with the same numbers a reader will later check.
- Narrative structure built for a live conversation
- Slide-by-slide content, not a template skin
- Numbers traceable to the financial model
- Design direction agreed before anything is built
What a deck has to do
A plan is read; a deck is performed. The reader can pause, re-read and check a footnote. The audience in the room cannot. That changes the structure.
A workable deck answers, in order:
- What is the problem?
- Who has it, and how do they cope today?
- What is the solution?
- Why now?
- How big is the opportunity, and how do you reach it?
- How does the business make money?
- What evidence exists?
- Who is the team?
- What is the ask, and what does it buy?
Ten to fifteen slides. Everything else goes in the appendix.
Where decks usually fail
| Failure | What it looks like | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The order is wrong | Market size on slide two, problem on slide nine | Lead with the customer's problem |
| Too much text | Paragraphs read aloud | One claim per slide, spoken detail in the notes |
| Numbers that move | Deck says one revenue figure, model says another | Rebuild both from the same model |
| No ask | The deck ends on "thank you" | State the amount, instrument and use of funds |
| Undefended claims | "Huge market", "no competition" | Replace with a derivation and a named competitor |
| No proof | Concept only, no evidence of demand | Show what has been tested, however small |
How the engagement runs
1. Narrative session. We agree the argument before any slide is written. Who is the audience, what do they already believe, and what has to change in their mind.
2. Structure. A slide-by-slide outline with the single claim each slide makes.
3. Content. Headlines, supporting points, chart specifications and speaker notes.
4. Numbers alignment. Every figure is traced to the financial model. If a figure does not exist in the model, it does not go in the deck.
5. Review. One or two rounds depending on scope.
What you need to bring
- The existing deck, if there is one.
- The funding amount and instrument.
- Traction evidence, precisely described.
- The financial model, or the inputs to build one.
- Any brand assets or design constraints.
Relationship to the plan
The deck and the investor plan should tell the same story. In practice I often write the plan first and derive the deck from it, because the plan forces the assumptions into the open. Where a deck already exists, the plan is written to match the facts rather than the pitch.
If you need the numbers rebuilt before either document, start with financial modelling.
Speaker notes matter more than slides
A deck is a visual aid for a conversation. The notes are where the argument lives.
For each slide, write three things:
- The single claim it makes.
- The evidence behind it.
- The transition to the next slide.
If a slide cannot be delivered in under ninety seconds, it is doing too much. If the notes simply repeat the bullets, the presenter will read the screen — the most common reason a good deck lands badly.
Handling the questions
Prepare for five questions and write the answers out:
- Why now?
- Why you?
- What happens if the market is smaller than you think?
- How does the unit economics improve?
- What do you need beyond the money?
The answers belong in the appendix, not on the slides. Having them ready changes the tone of the meeting: the founder is answering rather than deflecting.
What not to put in a deck
- A full market report.
- A detailed financial model.
- Every feature planned for the next three years.
- Long paragraphs.
- Claims that cannot be supported in conversation.
The plan holds the detail. The deck creates the reason to read the plan. Mixing the two produces a document that is bad at both jobs.