Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Dakota Berg

I’ve had the opportunity to work on dozens of pitch decks, successful and unsuccessful. Through trial and error, I have learned a lot of things. Pitch decks aren’t like your 12th grade research project Powerpoint. Keep in mind, your audience and intention matters. Here are 12 mistakes I see in slide presentations often, I’m even guilty of many of these myself. Let’s dive in.

1) Bad design.

But Powerpoint comes with so many templates to choose from! And yet somehow, people always choose the worst ones. Keep it clean. Make sure your fonts are legible and on-brand. Make sure your colors don’t look like they are from before I was born. If you share your pitch deck, make sure it’s not going to change when you send it, so send it as a PDF instead of an editable Powerpoint file. If you aren’t getting compliments on your pitch deck, hire me to design it for you. I’ll make you look good.

2) Too much text or information.

KISS. Keep it simple, stupid. I always find myself thinking “how can I simplify this down even more?”. Your audience should be listening to you speak, not reading your slides. Your slides should simply supplement what you’re saying, not distract from it.

Keep it simple, stupid.

3) Too many slides.

If you’re trying to raise capital, your investors probably don’t have a lot of spare time. Plus, if some of the biggest companies in the World can pitch their business in 10–15 slides, you can too. Only give the necessary information, keep it interesting throughout and you’ll be on the right track.

Irrelevant seal on beach

4) Irrelevant information.

You don’t have to create a new pitch deck each time, but at the minimum, you should tailor your pitch deck to your audience. Know who they are before you go in. If you’re pitching your startup to a group of investors, your deck should look quite a bit different than if you’re pitching to a group of college students. The students probably don’t need to know your burn rate and the investors couldn’t care less about that Stories feature you just released on your app.

“tailor your pitch deck to your audience.”

5) Saying you don’t have competition.

Tell me a business that you think doesn’t have any competitors. I’ll wait. If it’s a market that you’re interested in, chances are somebody else is too. Sorry to burst your bubble. Yes, you may offer an additional service or two that nobody else does today, but that doesn’t mean that you bypass all of your competition. Instead, spend your time showing how you are better than your competition.

Teamwork makes the dream work

6) Not introducing the team.

Who’s behind the product? People want to invest in people. It’s your job to convince them why you are the right one(s) to get the job done. Highlight the people that are building the product. Mention any notable advisors or investors to establish credibility.

“People want to invest in people.”

7) No product demo.

What is it that you provide or want to provide? When possible, show a demo of your product or service. Product demos generally range from live demos to video demos. At a minimum, you should show product images or mockups. No matter what you decide to show, make sure it looks professional and it conveys what you do well. If you choose to use a video, prepare for the video to have sound issues, so be able to roll with the punches if you experience a technical difficulty.

Find your true north

8) Doesn’t establish a why.

Most people know what you do, some people know how you do it, but it’s your job to communicate why you do it. Your core values and your mission are what keep people loyal to your brand.

“it’s your job to communicate why you do it.”

9) Doesn’t tell a story.

The best pitches generally use storytelling as a medium to convey their idea. Telling a story throughout your presentation is more interesting and memorable to your audience. Learning how to tell a story effectively will elevate your pitch to the next level.

Have a graceful exit planned

10) No exit strategy.

Although you may want to run your company forever, most investors generally want to see a return within 3–5 years. You need to have an idea how they are going to get their money back and how they can make a return for betting on you. Are you willing to sell the business if a generous offer is made? Do you want to IPO? Are you willing to license your product to another company? Make a decision and stick to it.

Avoid potential risks

11) Ignoring potential risks.

Every business venture has risks. It’s inevitable. Investors know this, they just want to make sure you know it too. Identify what the key ones are for your business and find ways to minimize those risks.

12) No clear call to action.

By pitching your business, you are wanting something in return. That’s generally one of three things: investment capital, new customers or some other type of engagement. Make sure your audience knows what you want them to do. Make it clear. You could have the best presentation in the world, but if you don’t close at the end of the day, it won’t affect the bottom line.

“Make sure your audience knows what you want them to do.”

About the author

Dakota is an entrepreneur & designer from the Pacific Northwest. Founder of DKTB Design, Partner at Black Hatchet & Lead Designer at SportsCastr.

12 Worst Mistakes to Make in Your Pitch Deck was originally published in prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

12 Worst Mistakes to Make in Your Pitch Deck

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