06/07/2023
Startling funding statistics reveal that African startup funding has fallen by 62% in the last 12 months.
To help founders attract funding during the funding winter African are experiencing, we meticulously analyzed that captured the hearts of venture capitalists to raise millions of dollars.
Our analysis resulted in the 11 indispensable slides that will revolutionize your 2023 funding rounds.
This carefully curated collection of 11 slides has been carefully infused with examples, tips, and storytelling techniques that are sure to captivate even the most unyielding of venture capitalists.
1. Intro Slide
On this slide, share your company name and a catchy single declarative sentence that defines your company.
Don’t get caught up listing features here, instead focus on a compelling mission that will hook the investor.
Uber, Airbnb, and YouTube pitch decks give good examples of Intro Slides
2. Problem Slide
In this slide, describe:
1. The pain of your customer
2. How this pain is being addressed today and
3. Why the current solution falls short
Pro Tip: Use storytelling by sharing a personal experience around the problem.
Avoid using jargon, acronyms, and complicated arguments. Instead, use verifiable claims and storytelling, storytelling, storytelling…
The Airbnb and Tinder pitch decks provide wonderful examples of good Problem Slides
3. Solution Slide
This is the hero slide where you explain your eureka moment and why it’s important now.
Make use of metaphors and analogies to help the VC understand your concepts
Demonstrate benefits instead of listing features.
If you must use features, add a “so that…” to a feature to illustrate the benefit e.g.
Mpesa uses USSD SO THAT it can be accessed by any Kenyan with a phone.
For your Solution Slide, you can use the Airbnb example below for inspiration
4. Competitive Advantage
This slide elaborates on the technologies and patents you have developed to make your product or service unique.
Demonstrate your underlying magic and value proposition to investors.
This is the only slide where you are at liberty to be more technical.
When working on your competitive advantage slide, you can use Uber and Airbnb's Competitive Advantage Slide to guide you
5. Product Demo Slide
A picture is worth 1000 words, a product demo is worth 1000 pictures!
The demo should be 30 seconds or less and contain a maximum of 2 features.
Use before (problem) and after (solution) scenarios based on real use cases.
If the pitch deck is being shared via email, a video capture of a demo using tools like Loom will guarantee that investors get to experience the product in use.
Product Demo (Live Pitch Scenario)
For a live pitch, have the product demo meshed with the solution slide or the competitive advantage slide.
Pro Tip: Live demos are notorious for crushing during the pitch. Experienced founders mitigate this using recorded demo videos.
The Airbnb and Tinder Product Demo Slides demonstrate great ways of doing your Product Demo Slide
6. Business Model Slide
This slide explains to investors how you intend to make money from your great idea.
Some of the business models adopted by other successful founders include:
1. SaaS (Software as a Service) - think WorkPay, Xetova, Canva
2. Fee-For-Service – think Mpesa, PesaPoint, Healthcare providers
3. Marketplaces – think Jumia, Amazon, Alibaba
4. Subscription – think Netflix, Viusasa, Showmax
5. Aggregator – Airbnb, Uber
6. Direct-To-Consumer (D2C) - think Victory Farms
7. E-commerce – think Twiga, Greenspoon, Marketforce
8. Advertising – think Google Search, Citizen TV, Jiji
When creating a Business Model Slide in your pitch deck, the YouTube and Airbnb pitch decks can offer guidance
7. Competition Slide
In this slide, show who your direct and indirect competitors are and demonstrate how you plan to win the market from them.
Never say you don’t have competition as that will make you look like a rookie to investors.
Competition is good as it demonstrates the market potential and validates your idea.
When developing your Competition Slide, Airbnb and Carta pitch decks can provide inspiration
8. Market Potential Slide
We call it the ‘why we will make you rich’ slide.
Demonstrate why there's a big enough MARKET – if it’s not big enough, it’s not fit for VC money.
Pro Tip: Present a Worst-case Scenario (where you are below industry par), a Realistic Scenario (where you become an average company in the industry), and a Best-case Scenario (where you become the market leader)
Uber utilized the 3-scenarios Market Potential in their pitch deck to great effect
9. Traction/Milestones Slide
In this slide, use data to show how the market has been receiving your product over time
If you have revenue and it’s growing, it should be the only chart in this slide.
If you don’t have revenue, share data on early subscribers and waiting lists.
You can also include testimonials from clients, even if it's less than 5. Investors would like to know what customers say about your product.
Avoid vanity metrics that don’t translate to growth.
YouTube, WeWork, Front, and Airbnb pitch decks offer a great demonstration of Milestones/Traction Slides.
10. Team Slide
The investor is investing in the right people who will work together to pull off the promise.
This slide needs to show investors how your team’s skills and experience bring out the fundable 3H personalities of:
1. The Hustler brings in business revenue
2. The Hacker leads product development
3. The Hipster makes the product appealing to customers through creative design
Pro Tip: In this slide, do not talk about anybody who is not 100% dedicated to the company at this point.
Airbnb, YouTube, and WeWork pitch decks perfectly demonstrate what to include in your Team Slide
11. Fundraising (the Ask) Slide
In this slide, be very specific on the amount of funding you are seeking and how the funding will create greater value for the business
Include the first milestone you intend to achieve if the investor funds you.
A great Fundraising (the Ask) Slide can be seen in Airbnb and Carta pitch decks
Other Slides
You can also include the following slides in your pitch deck:
√ Go-to-Market Slide
√ Use of Funds
√ Exit Opportunities
√ Why Now
Pro Tip: As you add slides to your pitch deck, remember the 2.5 minutes investors spent reading pitch decks: so don’t exceed 12 decks.
The 11 Slides That Will Keep Investors Hooked in 2023:
1. Intro Slide
2. Problem Slide
3. Solution Slide
4. Competitive Advantage
5. Product Demo Slide
6. Business Model Slide
7. Competition Slide
8. Market Potential Slide
9. Traction/Milestones Slide
10. Team Slide
11. Fundraising (the Ask) Slide