How to Write a VC Pitch Deck and Attract Investment
February 07, 2025
How do you write a VC pitch deck? What does a winning venture capital pitch deck contain? What do venture capitalists and potential investors want from your pitch? What’s the best way to impress a venture capital firm?
Meet the Author: Benjamin Ball
Ben is the founder of Benjamin Ball Associates and leads the presentation coaching and pitch deck creation teams. Formerly a corporate financier in the City of London, for 20+ years he’s helped businesses win with better pitches and presentations, particularly investor pitches. He is a regular speaker and a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and UCL London. Follow Ben on LinkedIn or visit the contact page.
Why Do You Need a Venture Capital Pitch Deck?
Securing venture capital (VC) funding is a key moment for many early stage businesses. However, to convince investors to back your vision, you need more than just a great idea— you need a compelling pitch deck.
A well-crafted VC pitch deck not only showcases your business but it also tells a story that resonates with investors.
Importance of a VC Pitch Deck in Securing Funding
The first thing that a venture capital presentation will do is get you a meeting. After you send your investment teaser, you will be asked for a pitch deck. Your VC will make the judgement to meet you or not based on that. So, spend time to get it right and get the meetings. Then, in the meeting, you might use the pitch deck to guide the conversation.
While every business is different, and every pitch must clearly differentiate itself, we have outlined below some of the key pages that an investor will expect to see in a winning VC pitch deck.
CASE STUDY Creating a VC Pitch for a High Tech Scottish Business
This angel-owned PE business wanted to raise a new round of funding to accelerate growth and scale their manufacturing operation.
They came to Benjamin Ball Associates to help them refine the investment story and create a compelling pitch deck that would impress venture capitalists.
Over a period of six weeks we worked with the management team to refine their investment messages, create a compelling investor narrative and develop an exciting new pitch deck.
As a result, they quickly secured £8.8m from a range of investors to accelerate growth and scale manufacturing capability. The company is going from strength to strength.
How to Build a Winning Venture Capital Pitch Deck Structure
Here’s how to create a successful VC slide deck, with examples to guide you along the way. We also have an article about a winning pitch deck structure.
Having created compelling pitch decks for over 15 years, the team at Benjamin Ball Associates have assembled their best thinking to help you.
How to Write a Compelling Pitch Deck for VCs Step by Step
Top Tips for a Winning VC Pitch Deck
Key Components of a Good Venture Capital Pitch Deck
Let’s review each of these steps in turn.
1. Start by Identifying Your Investment Case
Any great investment has a simple and powerful investment case. This can be called your equity story or your investment proposition. In short, it summarises the reasons to invest in your business in just a few lines.
While it sounds simple, in our experience, this is often the toughest part of the whole process. Most management teams are too close to the business to see the business in the way an investor sees it.
When we work with our clients, we organise a Messaging Cracker Session at the start of the process of creating a VC pitch deck. With this Cracker Session, we identify the core investor messages and start work on the investor narrative.
2. Create a Compelling Investor Narrative
What is an investor narrative? It’s the story line of your VC pitch deck. It’s the high-level picture of the investment that incorporates the equity story and the core investor messages. This investor narrative then stays constant throughout the fundraising process and underpins how the pitch deck is written.
3. Assemble the Evidence You’ll Need to Convince Investors
In the narrative and in your investor messages, you have probably made a number of bold statements. Now you need the proof points to back up these messages. In your pitch deck you want to include both your messages and the proof points. At this stage you work out whether you have the information that’s needed or if more work is still required.
4. Only When You’ve Done This Should You Start Writing Slides
One of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make is to dive into creating slides too early. That is like creating a movie before you have the story or the script finalised.
You’ll find it more efficient and more effective to leave creating slides until this later stage. And don’t bother designing slides yet. Design is something that you should apply later in the process.
Just because someone can write great pitch deck slides does not mean they are great designers. And most great designers are not experts in writing a successful pitch deck. You’ll save yourself a lot of time preparing your VC pitch deck by separating these two skills.
Why Pick Benjamin Ball Associates for Your Venture Capital Pitch Deck
At Benjamin Ball Associates, we’ve been preparing winning pitch decks for over 15 years. Call us today to learn more.
“I honestly thought it was the most valuable 3 hours I’ve spent with anyone in a long time.”
Mick May, CEO, Blue Sky
As well as writing pitch decks, our most popular training courses include:
Many VC pitch decks neglect the value of writing a winning cover slide. If your pitch deck is sitting in a pile of 10 others, will your cover slide stand out?
Example: Slide Title: GreenRide Scooters – The WayMo of Scooters
6. Start with a Strong Introduction / Executive Summary
Your second slide in your VC deck should be a quick summary of your investment case. If you can get your investor excited on page 2, you have a well-written deck. This is more than the starting point for your investor pitch deck. It should summarise the investment case and make a good first impression.
Example: Slide Title:Revolutionising Urban Mobility Content: “GreenRide is an electric scooter-sharing platform designed to reduce urban congestion and carbon emissions. Our mission is to make cities cleaner and more accessible.
We will succeed because……”
7. Define the Problem
Investors need to understand the problem you’re solving. Be specific and use data to highlight the pain points your target audience faces. This sets the stage for your solution slide in your VC pitch deck and shows why your idea is going to succeed in a competitive environment.
Example: Slide Title:The Problem: Most Electric Scooters Firms Fail For the Same Reason Content: “City streets are littered with abandoned scooters. At any time 30% of scooters lie discarded or not working. These are ugly and unsafe. It’s so bad that some cities including Paris, Copenhagen and Barcelona have started to ban electric scooters.”
8. Present Your Solution
Your solution slide should showcase your product or service as the best fit for the problem. Highlight any innovative features that set you apart. Use visuals, such as screenshots or diagrams, to make your solution tangible.
Example: Slide Title:Our Solution: Self -Driving GreenRide Scooters That Keep The City Tidy Content: “GreenRide offers a network of autonomous electric scooters that can be summoned via a mobile app. The scooter goes to the user within minutes, reducing travel time by 40%. At the end of the journey the scooter automatically finds its way to a secure parking site where it charges itself.”
9. Highlight Market Size and Opportunity
Investors want to know the market size and your potential for growth. Use credible sources to back up your claims and demonstrate the growth potential of your business.
Example: Slide Title:Market Opportunity Content: “The global micro-mobility market is projected to reach £300 billion by 2030. In the UK alone, urban commuters represent a £10 billion opportunity.”
10. Explain Your Revenue Model
Your revenue model is a key element of your business plan. Be clear about how your company will make money, whether through subscriptions, pay-per-use, or partnerships.
Example: Slide Title:Revenue Model Content: “GreenRide operates on a pay-per-ride model, charging £1 to unlock and £0.15 per minute. We also partner with local businesses for advertising on our scooters, generating additional revenue. The automated return feature means we can deliver where other firms cannot.”
11. Showcase Traction
A traction slide is essential, especially if you’re at the seed stage. Highlight metrics like user growth, revenue, or partnerships to show that your idea has market validation.
Example: Slide Title:Traction to Date Content: “Launched 6 months ago, GreenRide has:
50,000 registered users
10,000 monthly active riders
Partnerships with 3 major city councils.”
12. Introduce Your Management Team
Your team slide is where you highlight the relevant experience of your management team. Investors back people as much as ideas, so show why your team is the best fit to execute this vision.
Example: Slide Title:Our Team – Probably the most experienced scooter team in the world Content: “Jane Doe, CEO: Former Head of Operations at CityBike. John Smith, CTO: 10 years of experience in IoT and mobility solutions. Sarah Lee, CMO: Built a 1-million-user community for a previous startup.”
13. Outline Your Go-to-Market Strategy
Explain how you plan to acquire customers and scale your business. This is a good place to detail your marketing, sales, and distribution strategies.
Example: Slide Title:Go-to-Market Strategy – a clear plan to grow globally within 5 years Content: “Phase 1: Launch in 3 UK cities with high foot traffic. Phase 2: Partner with universities and corporate campuses. Phase 3: Expand to Europe within 18 months.”
14. Address the Competition
A competitive analysis slide acknowledges your competitors but highlights what sets you apart. Use a comparison chart to make it clear why your solution is superior.
Example: Slide Title:Competitive Landscape – our patented self-drive technology means we have a real competitive moat Content: “Our patented return-to-base technology gives us a major competitive advantage. While competitors focus on price, GreenRide prioritises streetscape quality, sustainability, offering eco-friendly scooters powered by renewable energy.”
15. Provide Financial Projections
Include a high-level overview of your financials, such as revenue, expenses, and key metrics. Be realistic but ambitious, and align your projections with your long-term goals.
Example: Slide Title:Financial Projections – a clear trajectory to becoming the most successful scooter business Content: “Year 1: £500,000 revenue Year 2: £2 million revenue Year 3: £10 million revenue Gross Margin: 60%.”
16. Make the Ask
Clearly state how much funding you’re seeking and your use of proceeds. Break it down into specific categories to show investors exactly how their money will be used.
Example: Slide Title:Funding Requirements Content: “We are raising £2 million to:
Expand to 10 new cities (£1 million)
Develop next-gen scooters (£500,000)
Grow the team (£500,000).”
17. End with a Memorable Closing
Leave investors with a strong final impression. Reiterate your vision and why now is the best time to invest. This is your chance to present your business in the best light.
Example: Slide Title:Join Us in Building a Greener Future Content: “GreenRide is not just a mobility solution—it’s a movement towards cleaner, smarter cities. With your support, we can transform urban transportation.”
18. Design a Professional Venture Capital Pitch Deck
Once you’ve written your pitch deck, bring in a professional designer to make it look good. A great designer will create some template slides that you can sign off and then apply that design to the content.
Like this you can create a compelling investor pitch deck suitable for your conversations with venture capitalists.
Examples of Successful Venture Capital Pitch Decks
Follow a logical slide order: A typical vc pitch deck template includes the key elements outlined above.
Keep it concise: Aim for 10-15 slides. Investors value clarity and brevity.
Use visuals: Charts, images, and infographics make your deck more engaging.
Practice your pitch: Your delivery is as important as the content. Be confident and passionate.
By following this structure and tailoring it to your business, you’ll be well on your way to creating one of the best pitch decks out there. Whether it’s your first pitch deck or you’re refining an existing one, remember that a great deck is more than just slides—it’s a compelling story that resonates with vc firms and angel investors alike.
20. Avoid Common Pitch Deck Mistakes
Common mistakes when writing pitch decks for venture capitalists or angel investors include:
Too much information on slides: Keep your slides light and tight
Including jargon: Unless everyone is familiar with the language you use, it does not belong in your pitch deck
Sloppy financial projections: It all needs to feel realistic
Disregarding competitors: Discuss the competitive landscape. Show what makes you special.
Unclear business model: you want to be clear how you make money and from whom.
Working with a professional pitch deck writer, you can avoid all these problems. Learn how we can help you.
How to Use Your Pitch Deck for Investment Pitching
Your pitch deck is more than just a presentation—it’s a key tool to engage investors, grab attention and guide your pitch conversation.
Never read directly from the slides. Instead, during the meeting, use your pitch deck to support your key messages with compelling visuals, data, and storytelling. The more your meeting is a conversation rather than a run through of a pitch deck the better. After all, your VC will have read the pitch deck beforehand. They will have questions.
Keep your delivery concise and discuss the problem you solve, your traction, and the opportunity ahead. Spend more time on the future then the past. Be ready to adapt your pitch based on investor reactions, addressing questions confidently while maintaining a clear narrative.
Why Choose Us: Transform your pitches and presentations with tailored coaching
We can help you present brilliantly.Thousands of people have benefitted from our tailored in-house coaching and advice – and we can help you too.
“I honestly thought it was the most valuable 3 hours I’ve spent with anyone in a long time.”
Mick May, CEO, Blue Sky
For 15+ years we’ve been the trusted choice for leading businesses and executives throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East. We’ll help you improve corporate presentations through presentation coaching, public speaking training and expert advice on pitching to investors.
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A VC pitch deck is a concise, visually engaging presentation that outlines your business opportunity to potential investors. It includes key details such as your problem, solution, market size, revenue model, and financial projections.
2. What are the essential slides in a venture capital pitch deck?
A winning pitch deck typically includes: – Cover Slide – Executive Summary – Problem Statement – Solution – Market Opportunity – Revenue Model – Traction – Team Introduction – Go-to-Market Strategy – Competitive Landscape – Financial Projections – Funding Ask – Closing Slide
3. How can I make my Venture Capital presentation stand out?
Keep it short and easy to read. Strip back the detail, but provide enough evidence to convince them you really know what you are doing. Show a growing business, a strong team and real progress. Make it all look good to show your professionalism. Investors prefer concise and clear presentations that quickly get to the core of your business and investment opportunity.
4. What do investors look for in a pitch deck?
Investors will want to see: – A clear problem and solution – A large and growing market opportunity – A scalable business model – Evidence of traction (customers, revenue, partnerships) – A strong and experienced team who understand this market – Realistic and ambitious financial projections – A well-structured funding request
5. How should I design my pitch deck?
Your design should be clean, professional, and visually engaging. Use minimal text, clear visuals, and consistent formatting. If design isn’t your strength, consider hiring a professional designer. It’s great value for money.
6. What common mistakes should I avoid?
Avoid these common pitch deck mistakes: – Too much information on slides – Excessive jargon or technical details – Overly optimistic financial projections – Ignoring competitors – Lack of a clear business model – Poor slide design
7. Should I include financial projections in my pitch deck?
Yes. Investors want to see a high-level view of your revenue, expenses, and growth potential. Ensure your projections are realistic and supported by data. They do not want a detailed business plan at this stage.
8. How do I present my pitch deck effectively?
The main point of your pitch deck is like a CV or resume – it gets you a meeting. During the meeting only use your pitch deck as support. Never slog through it page-by-page. Engage investors with storytelling, clear messaging, and confident delivery. Encourage interaction and be ready to answer questions.
9. Why is storytelling important in a pitch deck presentation?
Our moto is “Facts get forgotten. Stories get repeated.” VCs will remember your stories long after they have forgotten your numbers. Bring your idea to life with narrative and storytelling. Get a professional coach to help you craft winning stories that define your success.
10. Where can I get expert help with my VC pitch deck?
Benjamin Ball Associates has over 15 years of experience crafting successful pitch decks and coaching entrepreneurs, teams and businesses for investor meetings. Contact us for personalised support in creating a compelling and investor-ready pitch deck.
For more information, call Louise Angus today on +44 20 7018 0922 or info@benjaminball.com
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