An ideal pitch should have 10 slides or no more than 20 slides and should be completed within 20 minutes. The font size should be less or equal to thirty points. These rules apply for any kind of pitch deck or presentation. The concept "10-20-30" adopted from Guy Kawasaki.
Ten Slides
Ten slides in a pitch deck is the most suitable simply because a human brain cannot grasp more than 10 concepts in a single meeting. You should understand that in order to present your idea to the investors, you must not thrust so much at a single time. 10 slides should be more than enough to convey your message to others.
Twenty Minutes
Your presentation should be completed within 20 minutes. If you give 2 or fewer minutes to each of your slides, you can easily complete your presentation inside the given time. You might have an hour slot for the completion of your presentation but you would want some separate time for discussion. If you don’t complete your presentation within 20 minutes, you would be left with less time for discussion. You should also make sure that your audience is not getting bored with the presentation and 20 minutes are more than enough to keep them focused.
Thirty Point Font
The reason you should keep the font size to thirty points is that you would not want the readers to read ahead of you. You are presenting your business pitch to the audience and if they are able to read the text, no one would listen to what you are speaking. You have to synchronize with the audience and it is only possible if you speak and they listen to you. Thirty point font is not mandatory. Font size can be flexible based on the content of your slide. your content should be readable for investors or the audience.
What are the Ten Slides You Need in a Pitch
Following are the ten slides that should be included in your presentation. These will help you create a promising pitch deck for your business.
1. Title/introduction of pitch
In this slide, you should provide the name of your company, the name of the presenter, and the title of the pitch. If needed, you can also provide your address, email, and contact number, however, they are not mandatory.
2. Problem and Solution
The next slide in your pitch should explain any problem that the society is currently facing and how your business can act as the beacon of opportunity in providing a formidable solution to that problem. The basic aim of this slide is to introduce the ideology of your business to investors or venture capitalists.
3. Market opportunity
The third slide should be about the value proposition. In this slide, you should explain the value of pleasure you seek to provide to the customers or users. This is one of the most important slides in your pitch deck and should be designed in a way that develops the interest of the audience. If this slide is intriguing, the chances of securing a deal increase.
4. Underlying Magic
The fourth slide should give an idea about the secret recipe of your business. You don’t have to give an overview of how you intend you make your products but what technology would be used in the manufacturing of your product. Make sure that you don’t use much text in these slides but diagrams, flowcharts, and other animations.
Once Said, "If a picture is worth 1,000 words, a prototype is worth 10,000 slides"
5. Business Model
It is now time to give an overview of your business model. You should explain through this slide what the sources of finance are and how you are going to utilize it to the best benefit of the business. The venture capitalists are more intrigued in your business model because they are going to be the ones funding your business.
6. Market Plan
The sixth slide should explain your idea about how you plan to approach your customers. You can explain your marketing strategy through this slide. The marketing strategy should also give an idea that you are fully aware of your target customers and you have a comprehensive plan to engage them in your business.
6. Competitive Analysis
When you have explained all about your business model, marketing strategy, and technology to be used in your business, it is now time to explain some details about the competitive landscape. You have to utilize all the available space in the slide to make sure that you give all the available details to the audience. The reason to lay out all the details is that your investors need to know how aware you are of your competitors.
8. Team
No business pitch can be complete with the introduction of the persons responsible for carrying out the business. In this slide, you have to introduce your management team, the board of directors, advisors, and managers. The introduction should not include the names of the team but their experience and expertise.
9. Financial Projections and Key Metrics
A successful business plan is not about the present or the past successes but what they want to achieve in the future. Your business pitch cannot be complete without your future plans and key metrics. Explain your long-term plans of where you want to take your business in the next five years or so. You don’t have to give numbers but only a rough idea can be enough. If you are doing a forecast, use a bottom-up approach, not top down. It gives a good impact.
10. Current Status and Accomplishments
This is the last slide yet the most important one. All the impact you have created can fetch you favorable provided this slide is masterfully made and presented. In this last slide, explain the current status of your product or services and how you plan to improve it in the near future. You should also explain how you plan to use the money you are trying to raise and where the business can reach if such finance is provided.
These are 10 slides that you should have in your business pitch deck. No matter if some slides are weak, you are presenting a pitch deck that means you are not good enough at the moment but if you sum it up well, you can have high chances of securing the deal.