I’ve watched countless pitch deck presentations and have a surprising truth for you – the
shorter presentations are often the most effective. Keep watching to find out why this simple
strategy will win you over investors and some tips on how to shorten your presentation.
If you’re interested in finding out how to have the most powerful pitch deck possible,
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If there is one thing I am passionate about, it’s talking to clients about their businesses
and creating clarity around their business message. I’m Antonia from aok.com.au, and
I’ve been helping my clients for over 23 years and have successfully helped them raise
millions in equity.
To help you shorten your pitch deck, you should download my Pitch Deck Content Guide. The
15 key points will keep your message succinct and also has some tips on how to expand on
the key points. You’ll find a link for my guide in the description.
Most of the pitch decks I see generally run for 20 or 30 minutes. If yours is the same
it might be time to give it a good edit.
I can already feel you pushing back against this idea. You may think that’s not enough
time. But consider this, investors love 15-minute pitch decks.
Why? It allows them to see more start-up presentations in a shorter window of time, and it forces
entrepreneurs to cut to the chase.
What's the current length of your pitch deck? Do you think you can get it down to 15 minutes?
Let me know in the comments below.
As time goes by you’ll find you’ll need a variety of pitch decks. One of these will
need to be an overview pitch deck which will be shorter and used to generate interest from investors.
If the investor invites you back for a longer chat, you would take your longer pitch deck
and go into more detail.
Are you ready for a few tips on how to make your pitch deck shorter but still powerful?
Let’s get started...
Trim the fat
To do this, you will need to edit your presentation. Be tough. Make an audit of any words you can
trim. To do this you will need to read your pitch deck narration out loud several times.
Have a pen handy to delete any words you really don’t need.
That doesn’t mean you should throw out or ignore all the rules of grammar. You want
to come across as succinct, not sloppy.
This will do more than just make your pitch deck shorter. It will ensure that you sound
more direct, confident and clear during your presentation.
To simplify and shorten your pitch deck, include a maximum of 15 slides. Consider your pitch
deck with new eyes and decide which slides to cut and which points contain ‘must-have’
information. Any points that are not central to your pitch can be deleted or hidden.
You don’t need a lot of complex numbering
to prove a point. So if you have a slide with a lot of numbers, drill down to find the important
points and try to stick to no more than three key figures per slide. This will help you
lose charts and graphs that are not necessary and may bore your audience.
To do this, look at a graph and say outloud what the graph is portraying. Is it a 50%
revenue growth with five new products per year? Then make sure you state that on the
slide. A graph can be great but you lose nothing by making your point laser clear.
It will also help you drive home your key financial details, making them easier for
investors to remember.
I suggest you break your pitch deck down into
five sections with the following time frames:
The introduction should take one minute.
Think of this as the equivalent of speed dating. You have one minute to tell your investors
what your firm does, and what problem or need are you satisfying. Make sure your introduction
is compelling and engaging. You don’t want to lose their attention before you’ve even started.
Next is the backstory which should take two minutes
Introduce your customer or market. If you want to add an extra layer of engagement,
present this via a character, let's say, Jim who has a dilemma in your current market. Adding storytelling
to flesh out the issue with a few details and some humour often works well. Build your
market story, then introduce your competitors and your competitive advantage in that market.
Now we’re into your business strategy and this should take around five minutes.
This is where you go into greater depth about the market and the current market data. Talk
at greater length about how your business solves the problem you just highlighted, and
explain the gap in the market and why this is a big opportunity.
It’s now time to demonstrate your vision for the future by telling investors about
your growth strategy and your timelines to achieve those results.
I know you’ve been chomping at the bit for this part; it’s time to talk about the finances
and your business plan. Give yourself about five minutes for this part.
In this section, you briefly run through your financial projections, your approach to how
the funding will be utilised and your future vision. This should also introduce some data
about your market, revenue and other potential income streams.
You can also introduce your team at this point or during your backstory, but make sure their
expertise is relevant and beneficial to the growth of your company within this market.
Finally it’s time to close your presentation. This is as important as the opening of your
pitch and should take two minutes or less.
This is where you summarise the key points you want investors to keep front of mind.
That means going over the investment opportunity and your final call to action.
You might like to add a little humour or end with a punchy quote but whatever you do make
sure it is relevant and appropriate for your overall message.
You could then invite investors to ask questions and if they don’t have any, pose a few questions
under the guise of previous investor questions. Only do this if it adds to your story. Doing
this at the end can muddy the waters. You’ll need to measure your audience here and make
your own call.
Your energy during the presentation and your
ability to drill down to your key points is going to be your secret weapon to keeping
your pitch deck to under 15-minutes.
Practice your presentation until it feels as natural as breathing. Time it while you
practice and keep editing and revising your pitch deck until it’s running shorter without
you feeling rushed.
Rehearse it while standing up and also clicking through your slides. Fine-tuning your delivery
can cut important seconds from each section, until you reach the sweet spot of 15-minutes.
Have you ever had to present your pitch deck in less than 15-minutes?
Let me know how long it was in the comments.
With a more clear, concise and compact pitch deck you may find you attract even more investor
attention and just as importantly, make your business message easier to remember.
If you haven’t been able to cut your content down to a tidy 15-minutes and need some help,
send it to me and I’ll review it for you. You’ll find my contact details in the description.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel and give me a thumbs up.
I realise pitching your idea isn’t easy, but don’t forget, you are following your
dreams so keep on pitching with passion.