Pitch Perfect - Medium

Appendices

Haje Jan Kamps — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 22:35:49 GMT

The armor you carry just in case

The appendix is your stalwart sidekick to your main pitch deck. Not the bright luminary that steals the limelight, but the diligent librarian who pulls out the perfect tome at just the right moment.

The appendix is there to expand on points you make in the main deck, if your audience wants to know more. It’s your indispensable contingency plan.

What are appendices for?

Imagine this. Your main pitch deck is a streamlined spaceship, designed to get you from Earth to Alpha Centauri (that is, from ‘Hi’ to ‘Investment’) in under 30 minutes. Now, the appendix is like the ship’s cargo hold, packed with extra fuel, space food, photon torpedoes, and a karaoke machine-just in case.

In layman’s terms, it’s where you store the dense information that you don’t want clogging up the sleek design of your main presentation. If a curious investor asks for more details on your quasar manipulation technology or your two-year marketing strategy, specific details about what type of AI is buzzing under your startup’s hood, or a hiring plan for your next 18–24 months, you’re prepared to delve deeper without a hitch.

What content should be included?

The appendix is a magical bag of holding that can accommodate a variety of additional material:

Complex graphics: For those investors who like to see your entire business model represented as a sprawling subway map.
Text-heavy slides: The bibliophiles, the scholars, the would-be lawyers-they’ll want the fine print, and here is where you keep it.
In-depth product roadmaps: Because some folks like to know every pit stop from Earth to the edge of the Milky Way.
Technical slides: The microscopic details of your product that would appeal to a mad scientist or an engineer but would send a humanities major into hibernation.
Intellectual property strategies: How you plan to legally defend your invention of the ‘Sonic Unflappable Space Whisk.’
Detailed marketing strategies: All the strategic nuances of capturing hearts, minds, and disposable income, broken down by channel.
Business model strategy: This is like your ship’s manual, explaining how you intend to make money during your interstellar journey without resorting to space piracy.
Go-to-market plans by vertical or region: Precisely where and when you’ll be launching your space whisk in the Andromeda galaxy and beyond.
Investment criteria charts: A sort of matchmaking profile for investors, detailing the qualities you’re looking for and the sort of commitment you’re ready for.
Risk management strategies: This is your protocol for asteroid fields, black holes, and rogue AI systems on board.
Competitor SWOT analysis: A guide to the Galactic Empire of Competitors, and how you are training your Jedi skills to take them on.

Do I need an appendix?

Do you need a spare tire when you embark on a cross-country road trip? Well, technically no, but you’d be a sitting duck without it when faced with a puncture in the middle of nowhere. The appendix is your safeguard, your contingency plan. If an investor wants to understand the economic viability of asteroid mining in your five-year plan, you can pull out the corresponding slide faster than you can say “Warp Speed!”

Not only does the appendix show you’re prepared, it also subtly implies you’re efficient. Your main deck remains a paragon of brevity, while the appendix says, “Hey, there’s more to see, but only if you’re really interested.” It’s like having a secret compartment in your spaceship for special guests, replete with vintage space wine and other cosmic delicacies.

In conclusion

Look, this is space travel-and by space travel, I mean securing VC investment. Things get unpredictable. Sometimes you encounter nebulas of complexity, asteroid fields of tricky questions, or black holes of doubt that weren’t on your star map. That’s when the appendix becomes your ace up the sleeve, your towel on an intergalactic hitchhike, your friendly neighborhood wizard when you’re up against a fire-breathing dragon.

So why on Earth-or any other planet-would you ever consider leaving home without it?

Like a seasoned explorer with a utility belt or an adventurer with a well-packed bag, your appendix prepares you for the questions you didn’t even know were coming. It’s not just extra slides; it’s extra armor. In the world of startups, like in most good space operas, you never really know what’s coming next. But with a well-prepared appendix, you can at least be sure you’ll handle it with aplomb.

Navigation index

This story is part of a series of fundraising advice I put together for Pitch Guide, an online community I ran for many years.

If you are trying to build a great pitch deck, start by using Haje’s AI pitch deck review service. It’s spookily good at giving in-depth feedback.

Here is the full set of articles, available for free:

Try out Haje’s AI pitch deck review tool!

Appendices was originally published in Pitch Perfect on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Exit strategy slide

Haje Jan Kamps — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 22:34:47 GMT

Don’t plan the wedding on the first date.

Having an exit strategy slide can feel as tempting as the forbidden fruit hanging from the proverbial startup tree. It’s a bit like the guy who talks about retirement plans on a first date-sure, long-term thinking is good, but there’s a time and a place, my friend, and now isn’t it.

Why it shouldn’t be there

The exit strategy is the “happily ever after” many founders dream of, whether they openly admit it or not. But there’s a fine line between preparing for success and prematurely playing Queen’s “We Are the Champions” when you’re still at the starting line. Unless you’re a late-stage startup eyeing an IPO, having an exit slide is like a toddler sporting a full beard-it’s just not the right stage for it.

A waste of your precious time

Think about it. Investors know a thing or ten about exits. They’ve seen companies go public, get acquired, or implode like a bad soufflé. Do you really want to use your precious pitch minutes to lecture them on a topic they could teach at Harvard Business School? Exactly.

It makes you look short-sighted

Your primary job is to make your startup irresistible, like a pie cooling on the windowsill in a cartoon. Saying upfront how you plan to sell that pie (your company, stay with me here) could signal that you’re not fully invested in making it as scrumptious as possible.

A crystal ball you don’t own

Let’s face it, predicting your exit is like predicting the weather ten years from now. I’ve seen startups correctly guess who might acquire them but bungle the ‘why’ so badly it’s like shooting the basketball into the wrong hoop.

VC math — It’s complicated

To VCs, your exit isn’t just a casual Friday; it’s the climax of a very expensive blockbuster film they’ve invested in. Selling your company for $10 million might make you dance, but to a VC aiming to return an entire fund, it’s like finding pocket change down the back of a couch.

What if investors ask about it?

That’s what we’d call a curveball question. If someone asks you about your exit strategy, your best bet is to wax poetic about your plans for an IPO while also being open to “reasonable acquisition offers” discussed with your board. This shows you’re not just looking to flip the company like a pancake, but that you’re open to various breakfast options.

In short, you just don’t know

Lastly, remember that at the early stages, you don’t have a crystal ball (and if you do, let’s talk later). An exit strategy at this point is little more than a wild guess dipped in hubris sauce.

So, omit that exit strategy slide. Instead, focus on the compelling stuff that makes your startup the future unicorn everyone wants a ride on. And who knows, maybe one day you’ll have the enviable task of actually planning that exit, sailing off into the sunset while your early investors build shrines in your honor.

What not to do — Examples of slide decks getting this wrong

Luckily it’s pretty rare that startups in successful funding rounds still include exit plans-but in the earlier stages of deck creation, I often have to talk startups out of including this slide. I didn’t get with Oii early enough, apparently:

This is the exit strategy slide (slide 21) from Oii.ai’s $1.85M Seed round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Oii.ai

Navigation index

This story is part of a series of fundraising advice I put together for Pitch Guide, an online community I ran for many years.

If you are trying to build a great pitch deck, start by using Haje’s AI pitch deck review service. It’s spookily good at giving in-depth feedback.

Here is the full set of articles, available for free:

Try out Haje’s AI pitch deck review tool!

Exit strategy slide was originally published in Pitch Perfect on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Who is your target customer?

Haje Jan Kamps — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 06:08:45 GMT

One face standing in for a million

When you define your problem, state your solution, and devise your product, you’re always working with a customer in mind. What’s the point of going to all that trouble of solving a problem for people who don’t perceive it as a problem and won’t therefore pay money to solve it? There’s no point in building your USB-powered Light Sabre display case and charger without a market of Light Sabre-armed Jedi to buy it. Your solution has to be addressing a real pain point for real people.

Why do you need to understand your target market?

Marketing costs money and for it to be effective, you need to be able to put the right message in the right place so that the intended people see it. By understanding your target customer you can:

Define your value proposition

Your value proposition sets out the benefits that your product or service brings to your customer, and reinforces why they are prepared to spend money on it.

The value proposition of a dinner box delivery subscription like Hello Fresh! isn’t the meals it puts on the table. That’s a feature. Rather, it’s the time it saves you thinking about what to cook and buying the ingredients and the money it saves by limiting wasted and unused ingredients.

Inform your go-to-market strategy

When you have a clear understanding of who your target customer is and the pain point your product is relieving, it allows you to devise an effective go-to-market strategy. It helps you direct your marketing efforts to the right places and send out the right message to your customers. You have to spend money to make money, but you don’t want to be spending money in the wrong places.

For example, if you manufacture big button mobile phones for seniors that accommodate limited mobility and sight impairment, you have a clear target customer. But reaching them might take several forms. You might use daytime TV to advertise to them directly, but you also might use the social media platforms where their children hang out. After all, they might want the peace of mind that comes with knowing their parents are always contactable with an easy-to-use mobile phone.

What are investors looking for?

That you know who your target customers are — You need to be able to identify a specific demographic for your investors to demonstrate that you understand your market clearly.
That you fully understand their pain points — Your customer needs to experience a very particular inconvenience that needs to be solved. What is it and why does it matter?
That your product meets their needs — Your product needs to be the painkiller that your target customer needs. It’s not good enough for it to be a nice-to-have vitamin.
That there’s a growing market of these customers — If you’re solving a problem specific to three mothers in Wisconsin, that’s absolutely brilliant for them, but your business isn’t venture scale. Your product needs to be solving a problem experienced by mothers of teenagers who attend after-school activities and fall into a particular income bracket.

How do you tell this part of the story?

Think of your target customer. Give them a name and a photo. Identify how the problem they experience causes them pain, and how, in turn, your product relieves that pain. Now weave your customer’s story together with your overall narrative. Introduce them. Bring them to life. Go back to them throughout your pitch. Recall them. Make your investor audience believe in them, and with it the importance and viability of your product. And finally, ram home that while you’ve introduced your investors to one Janey down the road who’s desperate for your monthly stockings-through-the-mail supply, there are millions more Janeys out there.

What do you need to remember?

This part of the story is always benefits-driven. You are always looking to highlight the benefit that your product brings to your target customer. And that, by extension, will bring the benefits of profits and growth to your company and your VCs.

Common pitfalls

You’ve probably seen these pitfalls rear their heads in other sections, too. Be alert: they are common and persistent.

Everyone’s a customer — No, they really aren’t. You need to identify a specific demographic you can target with your solution to their problem.
Your customer base is too niche — If enough people aren’t experiencing the problem you’ve identified, then your market can’t grow. Without the opportunity for growth in your market, and significant, sustained growth at that, your business won’t interest VCs.
You’re not relieving a real pain for your customers — People need to experience the problem you’ve identified with sufficient acuity to be prepared to spend money on your solution.

Summary

Benefits, benefits, benefits. What particular benefit does your business bring to a significant but distinctly identifiable group of people that will bring you growth, and eventually, a return on your VC’s investment?

It’s a little like being a journalist. It would help if you thought about the who, the what, the when, the where, the why, and the how.

What to do — Examples of slides that get this right

Make your customer relatable: This slide from Busright’s deck does a great job of humanizing the person, or people, for whom Busright is working to solve a problem. Reminding investors of whose lives they are improving is both thoughtful and elegant while keeping the problem and solution central to the story.

This is slide 3 (Target market) from Busright’s $7M Series A round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Busright

Show how your initial customer fits into the bigger picture: Five Flute’s market audience slide helps to position it in a company’s organisation chart, showing where it intends to start, and how it has aims to grow.

This is slide 12 (Market audience) from Five Flute’s $1.2M Pre-seed round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Five Flute

Targeted, but with options: Hour One’s target market slide shows the wide possibility of the business spaces where it could be effective, with a precise focus on size, experience, and use.

This is slide 8 (Target customer slide) from Hour One’s $20M Series A round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Hour One

Navigation index

This story is part of a series of fundraising advice I put together for Pitch Guide, an online community I ran for many years.

If you are trying to build a great pitch deck, start by using Haje’s AI pitch deck review service. It’s spookily good at giving in-depth feedback.

Here is the full set of articles, available for free:

Try out Haje’s AI pitch deck review tool!

Who is your target customer? was originally published in Pitch Perfect on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

How to think about unit economics

Haje Jan Kamps — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 06:07:11 GMT

Yeah, but can you make 10,000 of this thing? What about 10 million?

Whether you’re the founder of a startup so young it’s blinking in the daylight or the CEO of a well-established company, it’s incumbent on you to understand your business’s finances, from top to bottom and left to right. You need to know how much you’re making, how much you’re spending, and you need to know the financial building blocks of your company, or its unit economics.

A unit is any basic, quantifiable item that creates value for your company: A product shipped in the mail, a subscriber on a SaaS product, or an hour of time, if you’re billing by the hour.

The key thing to keep in mind when pitching to VCs, though, is that you’re probably about to go on the accelerator, and things are about to change.

What are unit economics?

Unit economics are the direct revenues and costs associated with a particular business model expressed on a per-unit basis. They provide insights into the fundamental profitability of a company’s business model by breaking down the company’s financials to the smallest possible unit. This could be a single product sold, a customer served, or even an hour of service provided.

Show how your business becomes more efficient at scale

As a business scales, unit economics can change significantly. For instance, as production volume increases, the cost per unit might decrease due to economies of scale. This is when the cost of producing each additional unit goes down as you produce more. On the other hand, if a business expands too quickly without sufficient demand, the cost per unit may increase due to inefficiencies and wasted resources. Additionally, revenue per unit can also change as a business scales. For example, a company might be able to charge more per unit as its brand becomes better known and its products more desirable. Conversely, a company might need to lower its prices to attract a larger customer base, which could decrease revenue per unit. It’s crucial to monitor and understand these changes in unit economics as a business scales, as they can significantly impact profitability. If the cost per unit rises faster than the revenue per unit, a company could find itself in a precarious financial situation. Conversely, if a company can increase its revenue per unit or decrease its cost per unit as it scales, it could significantly boost its profitability.

Want a refresher on CAC and LTV? Take a peek at the glossary.

CAC and LTV

CAC stands for Customer Acquisition Cost, which is the total cost of acquiring a new customer. This includes costs related to marketing and sales, such as advertising expenses, salaries for sales and marketing staff, and any other costs associated with gaining a new customer. LTV, on the other hand, stands for Lifetime Value. This is the total revenue that a company can reasonably expect from a single customer over the course of their relationship with the business. This includes all purchases that a customer makes, minus the costs of servicing them. The CAC-to-LTV ratio is a crucial metric for startups because it helps determine the overall profitability and sustainability of their business model. A healthy CAC-to-LTV ratio means that the cost of acquiring a new customer (CAC) is significantly lower than the total revenue that customer will generate over their lifetime (LTV). This indicates that the company’s marketing and sales efforts are efficient and that the business model is sustainable in the long run. If the CAC is higher than the LTV, however, it means that the company is spending more to acquire a customer than they will earn from them. This is a red flag and could indicate that the business model is not sustainable. The company may need to adjust their marketing strategy, increase their prices, or find other ways to increase the LTV or reduce the CAC.

What are investors looking for?

A healthy LTV to CAC ratio. If you’re spending too much on acquiring a customer compared to how much they bring you, you’re in trouble.
CAC-to-LTV ratio at scale. As your company scales, investors will want to see that you have a plan in place for improving the ratio: Spend less on acquiring a customer, make more money from them, or deliver the product more efficiently, i.e. lower your cost of goods sold.
Realistic figures. You will need to be able to defend your numbers.

How do you tell this part of the story?

You don’t necessarily need a separate slide for this, but it’s important that you know the numbers. Many founders end up having a unit economics slide in the appendix.

If you are building a product where the unit economics shift significantly at scale (most physical products- cars, dishwashers, gadgets-fall into this category), you’ll definitely want to include this.

This part of your story is best illustrated using clear charts and graphs. The form of your graphics? Up to you! Just make sure that the figures are clear and that everything makes sense.

What do you need to remember?

There is likely to be a lot of prediction involved in these figures. But that doesn’t give you licence to fly away with the fairies. They need to be believable and defendable. This is where you will demonstrate to potential investors how well you understand your business and how it fits into the existing business landscape. You’re going to have to be foot-perfect on your figures.

Common pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Underestimating your marketing and advertising costs

It’s very easy to think that you can rely on viral marketing across social media and word-of-mouth to grow your customer base, but the reality is harsher than that. You are going to have to spend some money on raising brand awareness and getting your product into the hands of your customers.

Pitfall 2: You over-estimate your customer base

We get it; figuring out your churn rate and LTV is tricky. But you do need to be realistic about it. You need to be able to demonstrate that your customer numbers are growing at a rate that’s attractive to VCs, but at the same time, you can’t realistically predict that within a year the entire world will be your customer.

Pitfall 3: You optimise for revenue too soon

In pursuit of a healthy CAC to LTV ratio, it can be tempting to optimise for revenue too soon. In short, you are going to need to spend more on customer acquisition than you might think is reasonable at first, but it’s what you need to get things rolling. Customers bring revenue. So spend on acquiring them at first, then allow things to even out.

Summary

Unit economics might not be the most thrilling of topics, but they are so important in conveying the potential of your startup. Hone them, polish them, and then use them to dazzle your VCs.

Navigation index

This story is part of a series of fundraising advice I put together for Pitch Guide, an online community I ran for many years.

If you are trying to build a great pitch deck, start by using Haje’s AI pitch deck review service. It’s spookily good at giving in-depth feedback.

Here is the full set of articles, available for free:

Try out Haje’s AI pitch deck review tool!

How to think about unit economics was originally published in Pitch Perfect on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Why Now slide

Haje Jan Kamps — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 20:48:30 GMT

Show that you’ve caught the wave at exactly the right moment

I have ‘why now’ as one of my crucial checkboxes when I review a pitch deck, but it doesn’t always have to be a separate slide. I want to know why a startup couldn’t have been successful five years ago, and why five years from now is too late. Did something change in regulation, legal frameworks, technology, socio-economically, or otherwise? Name it and leverage it for your pitch.

Why do you need this slide?

Your pitch needs a sense of urgency. It’s as simple as that. If people were doing this five years ago, what makes your version, in this moment, different and better? If it doesn’t matter whether you do this today or in a year’s time, why should an investor bother putting money into your idea? There are things that can bring more immediate rewards.

Investors aren’t just investing in a good idea; they’re investing in a good idea whose time has come, to be implemented by you. By outlining why the universe has conspired to make this the opportune moment for your business, you’re essentially saying, “Board this train now, or forever hold your peace.”

What are investors looking for?

Investors are eager to spot a few things, much like birdwatchers but with fewer binoculars and more spreadsheets:

The trend you’re riding: Whether it’s remote work, ethical consumption, or the return of mullets, what is the big cultural or technological wave that your venture surfs like a pro?
The timing of the trend: Your startup is a bit like Cinderella, and the clock is ticking. What has recently changed to make this the perfect moment? It could be: A technological breakthrough, such as AI suddenly becoming good enough to simulate conversations with-ahem-virtual assistants. A market shift, for example a pandemic turning everyone into remote workers. New policies or regulations, much like cannabis legalization or net zero targets opening up new business avenues.
A technological breakthrough, such as AI suddenly becoming good enough to simulate conversations with-ahem-virtual assistants.
A market shift, for example a pandemic turning everyone into remote workers.
New policies or regulations, much like cannabis legalization or net zero targets opening up new business avenues.

How do you tell this part of the story?

This slide isn’t about dry, academic history-it’s a recap worthy of a telenovela season finale. So make sure that you include:

Market potential: Essentially, you’re asking investors to join your caravan on a journey to Eldorado. Show them that the city of gold actually exists and that you’ve got the best map.
Trend: You’re not just a ship; you’re a ship with a strong wind at its back. Describe the meteorological miracle powering your sails.
Team strength: Here’s where you say, “Not only do we have a ship and a favorable wind, but we’ve also got Captain Jack Sparrow at the helm.” You know, but in a less piratey way.

What do you need to remember?

This slide is all about surfing, my friend. You’re demonstrating that not only can you spot the perfect wave but you’ve also got the skills to ride it all the way to the beach, where treasure chests of ROI await.

Common pitfalls

Ever heard of the Spinning Jenny? Of course not, you’re not a textile history buff. But you do know that early inventions often get their thunder stolen by latecomers who make tiny, brilliant tweaks. Just like Google wasn’t the first search engine and Facebook wasn’t the first social network, remember, timing is often more crucial than originality.

You see, innovation is not just about being the first to invent the wheel; it’s also about being the first to put that wheel on a chariot and ride into battle (or the market). Your “why now” slide should convince investors that your chariot is not only battle-ready but is also hitting the battlefield when the enemy is most vulnerable and the gods of business are smiling down on you.

So, when you stand before that projector, illuminate not just your slides but the light bulbs over investors’ heads. Make them realize that this is it: the cosmic conjunction they’ve been waiting for. And all they need to do is write a check to join the party.

Time waits for no startup. Make sure your audience knows that, too.

What not to do — Examples of slide decks getting this wrong

It helps to be able to position a startup in time and place, but you’ve also got to connect the dots for us. It’s not immediately clear why this slide explains that now is the time. Of course, this is a $50 million Series D round, so perhaps we could argue that Honeycomb hit the market perfectly right exactly on the upswing-but this slide doesn’t really help tell that story.

This is the why now slide (slide 5) from Honeycomb’s $50M Series D round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Honeycomb

Erm… Wikipedia was founded in 2001, YouTube was founded in 2005. And while OpenAI is fantastically popular now, it’s unclear what unites these three, or why this is an indication of why ‘now is the time’.

This is the why now slide (slide 5) from Tomorrow University’s $10M Series A round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Tomorrow University of Applied Sciences

What to do — Examples of slide decks getting this right

Deckmatch is using a compelling visual to explain why a lot of things are about to conspire to happen all at once-usually a good sign that ‘now is the time’ is right:

This is the why now slide (slide 3) from DeckMatch’s $1M Seed round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: DeckMatch

Gig working and freelancing continues to be on the rise, and Glambook’s slide here tells a compelling story for why it is there at the right time and in the right place:

This is the why now slide (slide 10) from Glambook’s $2.5M Seed round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Glambook

When two major market forces overlap? Yeah, it may be time to pay attention:

This is the why now slide (slide 11) from Momentum’s $5M Seed round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Momentum

Navigation index

This story is part of a series of fundraising advice I put together for Pitch Guide, an online community I ran for many years.

If you are trying to build a great pitch deck, start by using Haje’s AI pitch deck review service. It’s spookily good at giving in-depth feedback.

Here is the full set of articles, available for free:

Try out Haje’s AI pitch deck review tool!

The Why Now slide was originally published in Pitch Perfect on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Value Propositions

Haje Jan Kamps — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 20:47:05 GMT

Sell the benefit, not the feature

Goes woof is the feature. Scares burglars is the benefit.

Your value proposition slide is a fizzing moment of excitement when you explain to all and sundry that what you’re cooking up is going to change and improve their lives in heretofore unexpected ways and they don’t only want it, but they need it.

A value proposition isn’t about what your product does, it’s about the benefits that it brings to your customer. The value proposition slide is like that one friend at a party who knows exactly how to introduce you so that you don’t come off as just “another person with a job,” but rather as “the fascinating individual you never knew you needed to meet.”

Value propositions should, generally, be benefits driven. That your software detects unsafe behavior on the factory floor isn’t a benefit, it’s a feature. The benefit is the value proposition: saving money and reducing injuries on the factory floor. You don’t help the sales department send more emails, you help the sales department generate more revenue.

You get the picture.

Why do you need this slide?

This slide is your “elevator pitch within an elevator pitch.” It’s your chance to make it abundantly clear why your product doesn’t just belong in the market but deserves to be a headliner. If your product were a novel, this slide would be the compelling blurb on the back cover that makes people think, “Hmm, I could forsake binge-watching that new show to read this.”

What are investors looking for?

Investors are like dragons guarding their hoard, only occasionally uncurling their scaly bodies to invest in something that piques their curiosity. They’re looking for a value proposition that is:

Specific: Be as clear as a just-Windexed glass door about what you’re offering.
Pain-focused: Or rather, focused on relieving some particular pain. Can your product soothe the fiery itch of a need unmet?
Unique: If you’re the fifth entrepreneur this month pitching an “innovative” dating app for left-handed people, you better make sure yours has a compelling twist.

How do you tell this part of the story?

Less is more: One crisp, clear sentence can say more than a verbose paragraph.
Show and tell: Use visuals that complement your words. A powerful image alongside a strong statement can leave an indelible impression.
Numbers speak: If you have compelling statistics that can bolster your claims, by all means, use them!
Address the skeptic: Everyone has an inner skeptic. Preemptively answering a question or concern that the audience might have can make your proposition more robust.

What do you need to remember?

Focus on the feels: This slide is less about the nuts and bolts of your product and more about the warm, fuzzy feelings-or exhilarating thrills-it gives the consumer.
It’s not about you: A common mistake is making your value proposition all about how great your company or product is. Remember, it’s not a “We’re Awesome!” slide; it’s a “You’ll Feel Awesome!” slide.

Common pitfalls

Confusing branding with value proposition: If your value proposition sounds like it could be on a bumper sticker or a t-shirt, it’s probably not a good value proposition. This is not the time for slogans or catchphrases.
Being too vague or too complex: Remember, investors are smart but they’re not clairvoyant, nor do they have the patience of a saint. Make your value proposition understandable, direct, and compelling.
Ignoring the competition: If your value proposition doesn’t explain why you’re different from the competition, then why should a customer choose you over them?
Overhyping: Enthusiasm is good, but overconfidence can be a deal-breaker. Don’t promise the moon unless you have a fully-fueled rocket ship to get there.

So there you have it. Crafting the perfect value proposition slide is like serving the perfect cup of coffee-it needs to have the right blend of elements, presented at the right temperature, to wake up your investors and have them savoring the taste long after the presentation is over. And remember, if you manage to nail this, you’re not just another face in the crowd; you’re the one they’ll remember. Now, go out there and be unforgettable.

What not to do — Examples of slide decks getting this wrong

Actually, there’s almost no companies that fully understand value propositions. They should be benefits driven.

Arkive’s feature list is helpful to talk through, but it’s missing some crucial elements: Most importantly, it’s hard to figure out what the benefit is to customers. Yes, yes, there’s infrastructure, logistics, and technology, but the company doesn’t fully explain why that’s helpful to its target customers.

This is the value proposition slide (slide 6) from Arkive’s $9.7M Seed round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Arkive

“Here is our value proposition” … and then there’s no VP, just a feature description. A value proposition would be… Well, let’s look at the slide first and then I’ll tell you:

This is the value proposition slide (slide 5) from Glambook’s $2.5M Seed round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Glambook

So, about those value propositions? Here’s a handful to choose from, from a ChatGPT prompt asking it to “Write a list of value propositions for a CRM app for beauticians”. The actual value-add is highlighted in bold below. Remember: being benefits-driven makes value propositions stronger.

1. Streamlined Client Management: Keep track of every client’s appointment history, preferences, and feedback in one centralized location.

2. Automated Appointment Reminders: Reduce no-shows and ensure clients are punctual with automated SMS and email reminders.

3. Comprehensive Service Catalogue: List all beauty services, packages, and prices for easy reference and booking.

4. Digital Client Intake Forms: Simplify the consultation process with customizable digital forms that clients can fill out before their appointment.

5. Personalized Marketing: Increase your earnings by using built-in tools to send tailored promotions, newsletters, and loyalty rewards to clients based on their preferences and purchase history.

6. Advanced Scheduling: Efficiently manage bookings with a visual calendar, automatic conflict resolution, and time slot suggestions.

7. Client Feedback Collection: Improve your service by soliciting and gathering reviews and feedback directly through the app to improve services and build online reputation.

8. Inventory Management: Never run out of stock: keep track of beauty products and supplies, set restocking reminders, and manage vendor orders seamlessly.

This is pretty close to being decent, but I suspect the target audience cares little about many of these things. Converting Tanbii tokens to game coins? Yeah, that’s a hard sell as a value proposition. A better take would be to “Earn real-world benefits by being more sustainable” or “Make new friends who also care about sustainability” or “Turn carbon reduction into a habit.”

This is the value proposition slide from Tanbii’s $1.5M Pre-seed round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Tanbii

Helu gets really close, too-but I’d make this even more benefits driven. Instead of “budgeting and planning”-that’s the feature-I’d say “stay on budget, help plan your cash flow.” Instead of “Liquidity monitor” (again, that’s a feature), I’d say “Never run out of cash,” or “Take control over your run rate.” Still, this is a pretty decent presentation of VPs:

This is the value proposition slide (slide 7) from Helu’s $5M Series A Extension round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Helu

Some of these are really good, and some could be improved. “Save time by tracking actionable opportunities” is perfect-and why I decided to include this slide. I’ve added more in bold below:

Make more money by customer by tracking sales by category / type / buyer.
Optimize your web store by using our heatmap that tracks mouse clicks and movement.
Make campaigns more effective by using our machine learning tools to optimize campaign visibility.
React faster to a rapidly changing market by integrating your marketing activities into your existing CRM tools:

This is the value proposition slide (slide 10) from MiO Marketplace’s $550K Angel round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: MiO Marketplace

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This story is part of a series of fundraising advice I put together for Pitch Guide, an online community I ran for many years.

If you are trying to build a great pitch deck, start by using Haje’s AI pitch deck review service. It’s spookily good at giving in-depth feedback.

Here is the full set of articles, available for free:

Try out Haje’s AI pitch deck review tool!

Value Propositions was originally published in Pitch Perfect on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Optional slides and optional information

Haje Jan Kamps — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 17:53:56 GMT

The right tool for the right investor

Think of a pitch deck as an all-singing, all-dancing Swiss Army Knife. There will be some tools on it that everyone is always going to use: the knife and the corkscrew, for example. There will also be some tools on it that are far more specialist and apart from the first time you open them up and wonder “What in all heaven and Earth does this do?”, the chances of you actually using them are slim-to-none.

Those universal tools are the equivalent of the core slides in a deck: everyone needs them.

The specialist tools are more like the optional and appendix slides in a deck. They are only going to apply to some startups in some circumstances.

Why are some slides optional?

The thing is, every investor is unique, with their own interests and specialisms. And your startup is unique, too, with its own story to tell. Which means that while the basics are universally needed-your team, your product, the market-there are slides that aren’t essential for everyone but could give your pitch some extra “oomph” depending on the climate, the investor with whom you’re speaking, or your startup itself.

Some optional slides show up in some businesses, but not in others. As a general rule, if you get repeated questions about a particular aspect of your business, it might be needed as a slide, either in the core deck as a separate slide, as an aspect of another slide, or as a slide in the appendix.

Optional slides and their uses:

Here’s a few examples I’ve seen used to great effect:

Customer testimonials: Yes, you say your product is great, but what does Mrs. Doris from Wisconsin think? Adding quotes or mini-case studies can lend social proof. It’s a bit like having a wingman who vouches for you at the bar. Careful, though: testimonials can tread dangerously close to vanity metrics. Keep it crisp and classy.
Technology stack: Especially useful for investors who can distinguish PHP from an HDTV. This is your chance to show off that you’re building your product on something more stable than hopes and dreams.
Regulatory compliance: Do you need FDA approval? Are you in a highly regulated space like healthcare, finance, or intergalactic trade? Having a slide about your navigation plan through the bureaucratic cosmos could be a selling point.
Financial projections beyond 5 years: This is the ‘science fiction’ section for the optimists in the room. While most of us can’t predict what we’re having for dinner next Tuesday, some investors may want to see your 10-year vision. Be careful here; Personally I’m deeply sceptical of 3-year forecasts, never mind 5 or 10-year ones. This could venture into the realm of fairy tales pretty quickly.
Advisory board: If you have some industry bigwigs or elder wizards supporting your quest, a slide to name-drop them could add gravitas. But remember, name-dropping is a bit like using cologne. A little can be intriguing, but too much is just… overpowering.
Intellectual property: Patents can be a double-edged sword. They’re a competitive edge but also a sign that you might have to wrestle with legal eagles down the line. Useful if you’re inventing something groundbreaking; redundant if you’re launching a dog-walking app.
Exit strategy: No, just don’t. We cover why you shouldn’t go there in a separate session.

Should you include optional slides?

The answer is as mysterious as the last page of a choose-your-own-adventure book. If you know your audience well, customizing your pitch deck to their known predilections can be a masterstroke. If you’re uncertain, it’s like equipping your spaceship for every possible eventuality: You’ll be prepared, but your ship may get a bit cluttered.

Remember, it’s always better to have these slides prepared and not need them, rather than fumbling when an investor asks about your long-term R&D strategy or why Grandma Edna endorsed your product. Optional slides are your narrative spices; use them judiciously to flavor the investment soup you’re cooking up. Too few and you’re bland, too many and you’ve got a culinary disaster. Choose wisely!

Navigation index

This story is part of a series of fundraising advice I put together for Pitch Guide, an online community I ran for many years.

If you are trying to build a great pitch deck, start by using Haje’s AI pitch deck review service. It’s spookily good at giving in-depth feedback.

Here is the full set of articles, available for free:

Try out Haje’s AI pitch deck review tool!

Optional slides and optional information was originally published in Pitch Perfect on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Closing slide

Haje Jan Kamps — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 17:52:21 GMT

The last thing they’ll remember. Make it good.

You might want to think of your closing slide as the end credits of your pitch deck. If your pitch presentation were a film, this would be that unexpected teaser at the end that makes the audience gasp and think, “Oh, I can’t wait for the sequel.” It’s your last chance to leave an impression that’s stickier than a candy bar melted onto a car seat on a hot summer day.

Why do you need this slide?

The brain, that mysterious lump of gray matter, has something called the “recency effect.” It loves to remember the last thing it saw, like the last episode of a Netflix binge or the last slice of pizza. That’s why your closing slide needs to be both pretty and punchy. You want it to be memorable for all the right reasons.

What are investors looking for?

Investors are human and humans like things they can remember, like their own names, passwords, and where they left their car keys. In this final slide, investors are looking for that memorable “aha” moment-a slogan, an image, or a concept that haunts them in the best way possible.

How do you tell this part of the story?

Here’s what you need to leave the best impression:

Company name: You’d think this would be obvious, but you’d be amazed at how many people think their brand logo is as iconic as the McDonald’s arches.
Tag line/mission: This is your “Just Do It” or “Think Different.” Make it snappy and unforgettable, like a pop song you can’t stop humming.
Contact details: Here, you go full James Bond by leaving behind your contact info. But instead of a sultry whisper, it’s clearly displayed for everyone to see.

What do you need to remember?

Keep it simple: Your audience has just been through a rollercoaster of slides. Don’t give them mental whiplash at the end.
Include something memorable: Think of this as the after-credits scene that makes people say, “I need to know what happens next!”

Common pitfalls

Not having one at all: This is like ending a fireworks show with a wet squib-utterly disappointing.
Too simple: While simplicity is key, making it too bare can render it forgettable, like a dish without any seasoning.
Too enigmatic: This is not a David Lynch movie. Don’t make it so mysterious that they can’t figure out what you’re about.
Not reminding your audience clearly enough about what you offer: You want people to leave thinking about your company, not scratching their heads in bewilderment.

So, there you have it: the guide to crafting the perfect “walk-off home run” of a closing slide. Make it memorable, make it resonant, and, for the love of liquidity events, make it count!

What not to do — Examples of slide decks getting this wrong

Front’s closing slide is gorgeous, but… A bit of a waste of a slide. There’s a chance to leave a far better last impression.

This is the closing slide from Front’s $65M Series D round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Front

One step closer: Deckmatch at least includes an URL… But it’s not clickable, and doesn’t have a lot of additional info to guide the rest of the conversation.

This is the Closing slide from Deckmatch’s $1M Seed round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Deckmatch

What to do — Examples of slide decks getting this right

It’s pretty obvious what’s working about the examples below, so I’ll spare you the commentary, but here is a few ones that made me think, smile, or say ‘yes… this is how it’s done!’

This is the Closing slide from CulturePulse’s $1M Seed round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: CulturePulse

This is the Closing slide from Point.me’s $10M Series A round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Point.me

This is the Closing slide from Goodbuy Gear’s $5M Series A Extension round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Goodbuy Gear

This is the Closing slide from Faye’s $10M Series A round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Faye

The idea of drinking beer to save the planet is absurd-and really funny. Well played:

This is the Closing slide from Mi Terro’s $1.5M Seed round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Mi Terro

Navigation index

This story is part of a series of fundraising advice I put together for Pitch Guide, an online community I ran for many years.

If you are trying to build a great pitch deck, start by using Haje’s AI pitch deck review service. It’s spookily good at giving in-depth feedback.

Here is the full set of articles, available for free:

Try out Haje’s AI pitch deck review tool!

Closing slide was originally published in Pitch Perfect on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Moat slide

Haje Jan Kamps — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:21:28 GMT

Get off my lawn: Show why nobody else can eat your lunch

The moat is a rather dramatic name for a slide, but it’s short and easy to say, and presents a good visual of its meaning: This slide is your chance to demonstrate why your startup is not just another fluffy tech duckling paddling in the endless ocean of opportunities but rather a solid, unassailable castle of a business. Let’s see how deep and wide your moat needs to be to defend your business.

Think of your moat as a business defense mechanism-preferably one without medieval arrows and boiling oil. It’s what keeps your competition at bay, enabling you to lounge in your metaphorical castle and sip that metaphorical cup of royalty-grade mocha frappé.

Different businesses have different moats: patented technologies, extraordinary teams, or even the invisible force field of brand reputation. Moats are not necessarily filled with water; sometimes they’re filled with patents, hard-to-replicate technology, or a swarm of loyal customers.

Why do you need this slide?

Just as a castle without a moat is basically an oversized bed and breakfast for invading armies, a startup without a moat is a juicy target for better-armed competitors. Not having a moat isn’t the end of the world, mind you, but having one makes you a more appealing investment opportunity. Investors much prefer putting their money into castles that are difficult to besiege. Makes sense, right?

What are investors looking for?

Investors are like truffle pigs. They have a nose for something valuable but not immediately obvious. If you have any of these, then you are well on your way to excavating your defensive boundaries:

Your team: If you have three Nobel Laureates, a handful of PhDs, a marketing genius who could sell vegan meat to a lion, and a couple of people who have deep domain expertise in the industry-you’re onto something.
Patents: If your intellectual property is locked down tighter than Fort Knox, that’s your moat.
Network effect: The more people use your product, the more valuable it becomes. Facebook didn’t build Rome in a day, you know.

How do you tell this part of the story?

Telling this part of your tale involves pointing a finger elaborately at that part of your business that’s as unattainable to your competitors as the Holy Grail was to, well, almost everyone who went looking for it. Just remember, subtlety is not your friend here. Use bold fonts, exciting visuals, and strong metrics to make your point. Your aim is to make the investors feel FOMO so severe that they’ll want to fund you just to get inside your castle.

What do you need to remember?

Customers don’t really care whether you slay the dragon with a sword or a well-lobbed baguette; they just want the dragon gone. Netflix didn’t succeed because it was great at mailing DVDs; it succeeded because it delivered entertainment directly into the cerebral cortex of human boredom.

Common pitfalls

Moats can, unfortunately, be deceptive. Sometimes you think you have a moat when it’s just a puddle, easily jumpable by any competitor with a good running start. They may not offer the same glitz and glam, but they could be cheaper, faster, or just plain more convenient.

For instance, the Channel Tunnel might offer a quick jaunt between England and France, but ferries and flights offer alternatives that are more wallet-friendly or convenient, depending on your starting point and your destination’s GPS coordinates. Just as you wouldn’t want to find your castle surrounded by a moat that’s easily crossable via a discount inflatable raft, you don’t want your business to be easily encroached upon by competitors with a step ladder.

Be clear on those patents, too. There are some great advantages, sure, but the patenting process can be lengthy, expensive, and complex. If you’re not budgeting $30–50k per patent, you’re probably not thinking at the right scale. For many startups with limited resources, the costs involved in obtaining and defending a patent can be burdensome. Moreover, just holding a patent doesn’t guarantee protection; enforcing it requires additional legal battles which can be costly and time-consuming. In some cases, competitors might find a way around the patent or create a slightly altered version of the product, thus rendering the patent less effective. So: Don’t rely on ’em exclusively, but having a few protections ready to go can be helpful.

Summary

In conclusion, the moat slide is your opportunity to unveil your business’s secret sauce, the Colonel’s 11 herbs and spices, the magic wand wave that makes you uniquely you-and uniquely unassailable. Make it count, and may your moat be ever filled with whatever it is that keeps competitors at bay: be it patents, talent, or simply the sheer charm of your PowerPoint wizardry.

What not to do — Examples of slide decks getting this wrong

I’m not entirely sure whether Goodbye Gear was trying to use this slide as its moat slide, but seen through one lens, it is-and it doesn’t really work. The company claims that a seamless seller experience, tech-enabled operations and a fantastic buyer experience could keep them safe from competition. But honestly; I don’t think this is enough to make this business seem defendable.

This is slide 11 (Moat) from Goodbye Gear’s $5M Series A Extension round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Goodbye Gear

Under the title ‘five core differentiators,’ Transcend is trying to show how it can keep ahead of the competition. A fine effort, but none of this seems particularly defendable to me.

This is slide 9 (Moat) from Transcend’s $20M Series B round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Transcend

DeckMatch says it’s ‘defensible at scale,’ leading me to believe that this is what the company sees as its moat. Some of the things on the slide are valid-network effects are real, for example. The rest, however, doesn’t actually speak to the defensibility of the company. Stronger inbound? Analytics? Actionable insights? Maybe I’m missing something, but that all sounds like standard operating procedure for a well-run startup-not something that you can use to keep the competitors at bay.

This is slide 10 (Moat) from DeckMatch’s $1M Seed round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: DeckMatch

What to do — Examples of slide decks getting this right

Point.me makes the claim that ‘nobody else can build this.’ That’s definitely the energy you want to bring to your moat slide. Subject matter expertise, combined with great relationships and possibly some trade secret special sauce built into the product makes this a compelling slide. Personally, I’d have spelled it out even further, answering what is it about the product that is hard to replicate for competitors, but nonetheless this is a strong slide:

This is slide 13 (Moat) from Point.me’s $10M Series A round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Point.me

Navigation index

This story is part of a series of fundraising advice I put together for Pitch Guide, an online community I ran for many years.

If you are trying to build a great pitch deck, start by using Haje’s AI pitch deck review service. It’s spookily good at giving in-depth feedback.

Here is the full set of articles, available for free:

Try out Haje’s AI pitch deck review tool!

The Moat slide was originally published in Pitch Perfect on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The operating plan slide

Haje Jan Kamps — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:19:26 GMT

Your next 18 months, told in numbers

The words ‘operating plan’ might sound terrifying, but you really cannot put together a pitch deck without one. It sets out what you plan to accomplish over the next 18 months or so, in numbers. Think of it as a budget, if you like-but in a broader sense. This isn’t just about money, it’s also about major product and company milestones.

The operating plan is the slide where you show you’re not just a dreamer but also a doer. It is where you strip down your grand ambitions to their numerical core. You might say it’s where the rubber meets the road, assuming that road is a complicated Excel sheet and the rubber is your startup’s short-term future.

In essence, it’s a snapshot of your company’s goals and strategies transformed into numbers for a future that’s hopefully more “Series A” and less “Game Over.”

Why numbers, you ask? Well, as much as venture capitalists like to think of themselves as rock stars of finance, they’re really number crunchers in designer clothes. Their love language is ROI, KPI, and all the other acronyms that spell “money.” So, if you want them to swipe right on your startup, you need to speak in numbers.

What goes into this slide

First, it’s crucial to understand the milestones that will allow you to gallivant off to your next fundraising adventure.

Say you’re eyeing a Series A; what are the achievement badges you need to collect first? Maybe it’s 25,000 paying users or a lucrative partnership. These milestones get translated into numbers, providing you with a numerical narrative that can make even a venture capitalist’s heart flutter.

The usual time frame for this slide is an optimistic yet calculated 18 months into the future. You’ll want to include major milestones like product launches, partnerships signed, and perhaps something about saving the world if that’s your company’s jam. But remember, these aren’t just numbers; they are a story, each figure a chapter heading leading toward your funding denouement.

The fine art of presentation

Don’t just chuck all your digits onto this slide like they’re numbers in a lottery. Make it easily digestible, like financial baby food. Round those numbers to a reasonable amount; trust me, nobody wants to know that you’re planning to spend precisely $49,851 on chai lattes for the team. A simple $50K will do.

The goal here is to minimize the cognitive load for your audience. You don’t want the venture capitalist to mentally tap out while they’re still on your operating plan. Remember, you’ve got only 20 minutes to woo them before Q&A turns your pitch into a courtroom drama.

What to look out for

Internal consistencies — Your plan needs to make sense with itself. If you’re planning a 30× growth in customers, but your marketing budget barely budges, it looks like you’re planning to defy the laws of business physics. Make sure the various parts of your operating plan fit together like a well-considered jigsaw puzzle.

External consistencies — Make sure the story your operating plan tells is consistent with the industry. I’ve seen business plans where the 5-year projections are greater than the entire GDP of the country the company was targeting. That’s… unlikely at best, impossible at worst, and in any case, you’re making a complete prat of yourself.

Realistic, but not clairvoyant

As you finalize your operating plan slide, stick a little disclaimer at the bottom. This is your “these-are-projections-and-I’m-not-a-fortune-teller” clause. It’s a polite way of saying that while you have a plan, you’re not a business oracle and things might veer off-course. Spoiler alert: They will. This is a startup after all.

Summary

To sum up, the operating plan slide is not just a monotonous requirement-it’s the compelling financial story that complements your equally compelling product and vision. It’s the slide that shows you’re serious, you’ve thought things through, and yes, you can count-something that, in the realm of startups and venture capital, counts for a lot.

What not to do — Examples of slide decks getting this wrong

Honestly, great operating plans are so rare that most companies don’t even include them in their decks, so I don’t have a lot of bad examples. Let’s not make fun of people, and instead pull out a couple of helpful examples…

What to do — Examples of slide decks getting this right

A mock-up example: From the template for my book, Pitch Perfect, here’s an example of an operating plan that works well: It shows key performance metrics (customers, MRR, cities, staff), product milestones, and the spend needed to get to those milestones. In a nutshell, it tells the story of the startup in numbers-exactly what we need:

This is slide 16 (Operating Plan) from BeerSub’s $1.5M Pre-seed round. Image credit: Beersub.

Perhaps a tad detailed: Supliful’s take on an operating plan shows the key numbers from the financials, in rounded and easy to digest numbers. It starts the conversation on the financials, and the headline outlines the main metrics the plan is optimized for. I wish it also had some product milestones, but it’s a good starting point:

This is slide 16 (Ask and Use of Funds) from Supliful’s $1M Seed round. You can read the full Pitch Deck Teardown on TC+. And the full pitch deck is available here. Image credit: Supliful

Navigation index

This story is part of a series of fundraising advice I put together for Pitch Guide, an online community I ran for many years.

If you are trying to build a great pitch deck, start by using Haje’s AI pitch deck review service. It’s spookily good at giving in-depth feedback.

Here is the full set of articles, available for free:

Try out Haje’s AI pitch deck review tool!

The operating plan slide was originally published in Pitch Perfect on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.