Storytelling: deck, data room, narrative
Your deck is the story investors repeat when you're not in the room.
The deck gets you the meeting and the data room closes the round. Both should tell one clear story.
Questions answered
- How to build a seed pitch deck: YC's template, slide by slide
Y Combinator's seed deck template explained slide by slide: title, problem, solution, traction, insight, business model, market, team and the ask.
- How many slides should a pitch deck have?
Y Combinator's seed template points to 10 to 15 slides. What famous decks like Airbnb, Coinbase, Intercom and Uber actually used.
- How to make the title slide of your pitch deck
What goes on a pitch deck title slide, per Y Combinator: your name and one line on what you do. Plus Kevin Hale's test for any slide, with real examples.
- How to write the problem slide in your pitch deck
What YC says goes on a pitch deck problem slide, Kevin Hale's six signs of a great problem, and how Airbnb and Uber framed theirs.
- How to write the solution slide in your pitch deck
What YC says goes on a pitch deck solution slide: what you do, in as few words as possible, and the concrete benefits. With Airbnb, Dropbox and YouTube.
- How to make the traction slide in your pitch deck
What YC says goes on a pitch deck traction slide, with real examples from YouTube, Coinbase, LinkedIn and Uber, and benchmarks for good retention.
- How to show your insight and competitive advantage in a pitch deck
YC's guidance for the insight slide: what makes you special and why this works. With Dropbox's why-now slide and Uber's and Airbnb's advantages.
- How to show your business model in a pitch deck
YC's guidance for the business model slide, and how Airbnb, Dropbox and LinkedIn showed how they'd make money.
- How to show market size in your pitch deck
What YC says the market slide must prove, why Andreessen ranks market above team and product, and Gurley on not capping your market at today's size.
- How to make the team slide in your pitch deck
YC's guidance for the pitch deck team slide: why your founders suit this problem. With Dropbox, YouTube and Airbnb's team slides.
- How to make the ask slide in your pitch deck
YC's guidance for the ask: how much you're raising and what it gets you. Plus how much to raise and how much to give up, from YC's seed guide.
Deck and narrative
- How to build your seed round pitch deck · Aaron Harris (Y Combinator)
YC's seed deck template, slide by slide. When in doubt, follow this.
- Series A deck template · Creandum
A VC's own Series A template, for when you have real metrics to show.
- Pitch deck library · PitchMagic
Famous startup decks, every slide explained.
- Story branding · Donald Miller
Make the customer the hero of your story, not your company.
- The idea maze · Balaji Srinivasan
Show investors you know the path through your market better than anyone.
Data room and plan
- Seed data room template · Creandum
What to put in a seed data room, folder by folder.
- Writing a business plan · Sequoia Capital
Sequoia's classic outline, from purpose to financials.
- Cap table template · Carta
A free cap table you can drop into the data room.
- Financial plan template · Creandum
A simple financial model a VC actually wants to see at seed.
Get your deck reviewed the same way.
Comments on every slide, the words to change highlighted, and the 3 fixes that matter.