Sequoia Capital’s simple, compelling pitch deck

I wrote a whole book walking entrepreneurs through the process of creating a simple, compelling pitch deck, and I’ve posted a slide-by-slide guide to the standard, 12-15 slide pitch.

But there are other frameworks, and here is Sequoia Capitals, as posted by Alex Banks on Twitter.

Slide-by-slide

Slide 1

This is your first impression. Pick a great name. Spend a little money on a great logo.

(The same in every pitch deck framework)

Slide 2, the Purpose

Not what you do, and not what problem are you solving, but why are you bothering to create a new company? What is your mission?

Slide 3, the Problem

Don’t build a solution in search of a problem, create a solution for a problem that customers have, know about, and care about solving.

Slide 4, the Solution

Don’t dwell on the problem, get straight to how you solve it.

Slide 5, the Timing

Why is now the ideal time to start (and grow) this company? Why isn’t that problem already solved?

Slide 6, the Market Size

Investors want to see a market big enough to merit taking the risk. Show it here.

Slide 7, the Competition

Who else is solving this problem? Why is your solution better?

Slide 8, the Product

Dive one level down into your product, showing off its features, benefits, and road map.

Take a 2-3 slides to provide those details.

Slide 9, the Business Model

How do you make money? What do customers pay, how often, etc.

Slide 10, the Team

“We have a great team!”

Headshots. Smiling. Like all the images, make sure they are clear, resized and cropped, not squished and warped.

For venture-scale companies, this includes your board members

Slide 11, the Financials

Summarize your financial results, historic and future.

It’s fine to do that across two slides. Use the first to tout your “traction” and the second to show where that traction leads.

Slide 12, the Ask

End with an ask!

One big number, terms, and use of funds.

Slide 13, the End

Repeat the opening logo, replace the date and name with contact information.

One fewer slides than the framework I use, covering the same core topics with a slightly different order and flow.

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