Presenting the perfect pitch deck and knowing exactly how to pitch your startup to investors can be daunting, frustrating, and nerve-wrecking at first. But it is never impossible when you know how to create a startup pitch deck. 
 

If you’re an entrepreneur preparing a pitch deck to raise funds for your startup success, this blog is for you. Understanding the most common mistakes in a startup pitch deck would be a great start to learn about what should be included in a startup pitch deck and how to create the best pitch for investors. 

To get started, we’ve listed the common errors you must avoid and a few tips on how to improve your startup pitch deck so you can convince your investors like a pro. 

 Table of contents

1. What Is a Business Pitch and pitch deck?

2. Errors to avoid when structuring your pitch deck

3. Common errors in creating a targeted pitch deck

4. How to avoid presentation flaws? 

5. How to be clear about your startup brand positioning?

6. Key takeaways

01. What is a Business pitch and pitch deck?

A business pitch is how you persuade investors, clients to help out with the resources you seek to support your business vision. There are numerous business pitches — from a casual "brief presentation" (a short attempt to seal the deal no longer than 20-30 seconds or the length of a short lift ride) to a drawn-out slide show. 
 

A business pitch ought to be clear, succinct, influential, and eye-catching, featuring your organisation's worth and the value in your services and products. In fact, seed funding pitch deck has a key role in a perfect pitch for investors. 
 

To help out with your process of pitching and how to structure your pitch deck, these 10 mistakes you must avoid. 

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02. Errors to avoid when structuring your pitch deck

 Mistake #1: Too much information 

Most companies like to disclose as much information as possible in order to emphasise their hard work and thorough thought process. Given the little time you have, this can become too broad and unclear. 

Tip: Keep your startup pitch deck structure simple, minimal and on point. Get someone else’s feedback on your pitch. 

According to Forbes, include more professionally prepared materials, as well as well-thought-out financial plans - it's worth devoting more time to generating materials, improving graphics and branding, calculating financial projections, and developing a product road map that actually impacts the final desired result. 

Your goal is to keep your investors interested and demonstrate why your idea is important. To do this, ask yourself questions about what you're doing, why you're doing it now, and why you're the one doing it. Clarity in these answers will help you create a great pitch deck for startup. 

 Mistake #2: Pitch deck slides with too much content 

Adding too much content to a single slide that takes 10 mins to read and is displayed only for 10 seconds is not necessarily great example of a good startup pitch deck presentation. It can be overwhelming and demonstrate your pitch as unprofessional. 

Avoid these content errors: 

• Layout flaws

• Graphics of poor quality

• Font sizes are inconsistent across the sites.

• Each slide has a poor title. (Stick to the traditional titles mentioned in Mistake #1 above)

• The header title style is inconsistent throughout the slides.

• The pitch deck's cover has an out-of-date date.

• Charts that are cluttered or misleading
   

Tip: Give priority to the value your startup provides to your clients instead of discussing generically your product, features, technology, etc., When you create a startup pitch deck presentation for investors, you are more likely to spark an interest by emphasising your startup mission, outline a few key points and words. 

Related : You better have these 7 crucial slides in your startup pitch deck 

 Mistake #3: Distracting, overpowering with images 

When presenting a startup pitch deck, creating slides with only text will be a bad impression throughout the entire pitch. Likewise, too many images will also become a distraction. 
 

Tip:  Best investor pitches are consistent with a strong visual presentation that showcases clearly the startup mission and help you deliver a successful pitch deck.  Make sure you consider including engaging design and strong visual elements like images, diagrams,flowcharts to enhance a positive impression for your startup. 

Check out these pitch deck examples from Canva and try the templates. 

03. Common errors in creating a targeted pitch deck

 Mistake #4: A single pitch deck for all pitches 

Setting up a startup pitch deck is a ton of work. So most of the time, there seems to be one pitch deck that serves for every investor pitch. Yet, you want to remember that each investor is keen on various parts of your business, and, surprisingly, more critically - you presumably need to target each component for them. 

Tip: When deciding on how to create a pitch deck format, focus more on several presentation ideas for each project instead of a one-size-fits-all approach to pitch to improve results rapidly. 

Related: Startup project Management Guide

 Mistake #5: Presentation mode 

One of the most common mistakes in a startup pitch deck is creating pitch decks that don’t demonstrate any value, credibility, or key points that influences the investors’ decision. 

Without a clear direction on the end goal and too much content that makes no impact whatsoever can lead to negative results like bad impressions on the startup and failure to receive funding to your startup. 

Tip: Create a pitch deck presentation by following the best pitch deck examples and a separate pitch deck to refer to when presenting. Organize distinct versions of your pitch deck for presentation and for communication via other channels. A deck for communication should include the main points of your presentation without being overloaded.

 Mistake #6: No investors' interest 

This is a common mistake in the startup pitch deck every entrepreneur should avoid. It is extremely important to do research on your investor's interests like whether they prefer numbers/sales/ profits over market scalability or whether they think in pov of the audience.

While investors may be extremely keen on your development focuses, a crowd of people with numerous understudies may be more intrigued to evaluate your item or work with you later on.

Ensure the content, key ideas attract the investors. Target exactly how you can deliver their interest and take the opportunity to showcase that your startup is exactly what your investors want to invest in. 

Tip: Create pitch decks that include targeted content to match investor interests and your ultimate intent. Various investors are searching for various data in your pitch, so it is vital to change accordingly. 

 Mistake #7: No follow up steps 

You worked really hard introducing your startup pitch deck. Don’t let your investors be indecisive on the next steps. 

Ask yourself: What would it be advisable for them to do straightaway? What are you searching for? Many pitches fail because entrepreneurs don’t take the chance to focus on these points. It’s better to say what you’re looking for explicitly. Give direction toward the end goal of the pitch and how the investors can follow up.

Tip:  Present what you’re seeking, what your future goals are, and how to fund your startup. Provide a clear call to action and the next steps. 

04. How to avoid presentation flaws? 

 Mistake #8 : Be mindful of timing

Imagine running out of time within a 3-minute opening, however, your deck has 30 slides. Or you have to skip 5 slides to present a 10-minute pitch deck in 5 mins.  

Tip: Create startup pitch decks that are arranged for various timings and practice presenting beforehand to increase the quality and timing of the pitch.

 Mistake #9 : Quit reading the pitch deck slides

While setting up a pitch deck, there has to be a meaningful connection between the thing you will SAY and what you will SHOW. Instead of reciting the same pitch deck content, add more value by emphasising key facts that support the slides. 

The slides are only a supplement to visualize and maintain the flow of your pitch. So ensure that your pitch deck presentation and pitch include similarities yet proper refinement.

Tip: Prepare what you will show and say. Both parts should complement each other, but not have the exact same content.

05.How to be clear about your startup brand positioning?

Mistake #10 : Avoid inconsistent flow with the brand story 

Sometimes you might change your pitch depending on the investor, and project requirements. However, ensure that you don’t change the fundamental branding of your business. The message you pass in your pitch additionally needs to be steady with your message on-site and on social channels. 

Frequently, we see new companies start with a pitch without a reasonable understanding of the values and recommendations. This will quickly be obvious in your pitch if you pitch to a group of experienced investors who are accustomed to getting a great deal of them. 

Tip: Present the perfect pitch with a consistent brand story and clearly understand your startup's distinct brand elements.

While you could change your pitch for various crowds, you ought to never show signs of change and change your fundamental image message. The message you pass in your pitch additionally needs to be steady with your message on-site and on social channels. 

Key Takeaways

A startup pitch deck is in many cases the primary presentation and initial step of a startup. Make sure you use your time wisely to craft an influential pitch deck to secure your funding goals. In addition, focus only on quality over quantity so your pitch deck represents the value of your company and also attracts your investors to make the right choice. 

Follow these tips and avoid the errors so you can succeed with a perfect pitch. 

 

Recommended : 

5-step guide to pitching your startup to investors.

Seed Funding for Startups - How to Raise Funds Explained

6 Methods to Evaluate your Startup Confidently.

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