Narrative
The story of the company in a form an investor can repeat to their partners: the problem, why you, why now, and what the money changes.
Fund What's Next
Investor pitch preparation for founders
An investor decides quickly whether a company is worth a second meeting. We help founders make that decision easy: a clear story, a deck that tells it in the right order, evidence behind every claim, and rehearsed answers to the questions that come next.
Investor pitch preparation is the work of turning a company's story, evidence and ask into a pitch deck and a delivery that earn a follow-up meeting with investors.
What should a pitch deck include?
Typically the problem, the solution, why now, the market, the business model, traction and evidence, competition, the team, a summary of the financials, and the ask: how much you are raising and what it gets the company to. The order and emphasis should follow your strongest evidence, not a template.
What it includes
Six parts of pitch preparation
The deck
Structure, writing and design, with each slide doing one job and the strongest evidence where an investor will see it first.
Evidence
Traction, customer proof and market figures, sourced and checked, because a single unsupported number undermines everything around it.
Investor questions
The questions you are likely to be asked about the market, the model, the team and the risks, with clear answers and the data behind them.
Rehearsal
Delivery, timing and handling interruptions, practised until the pitch survives being taken off course.
One set of numbers
The figures in the deck reconciled with the financial model, so nothing contradicts itself when an investor checks.
What do investors ask after the pitch?
Usually how you acquire customers and what it costs, whether customers stay, how big the opportunity really is, who else is solving the problem, what the money will be spent on, and what gaps the team has. Preparing honest, specific answers matters as much as the deck itself.
Two decks
Do we need different decks for email and for the meeting?
Usually yes. A deck sent ahead has to make sense with nobody presenting it, so it carries more words and detail. A meeting deck supports what you say, so it is lighter and more visual. Most founders need both, built from the same story and the same numbers.
| Send-ahead deck | Meeting deck | |
|---|---|---|
| Job | Earn the meeting | Support the conversation |
| Read by | An investor alone, quickly | An investor while you present |
| Detail | More text, self-explanatory | Less text, more visual |
| Common mistake | Too thin to understand alone | Too dense to follow while listening |
Questions
Investor pitch: common questions
Do you design the deck as well as write it?
Yes. We work on the story, the structure, the writing and the design together, because a well-designed slide with a weak argument fails as surely as a strong argument nobody can read.
How many slides should a pitch deck have?
As few as tell the story clearly. Many strong decks use a dozen or so slides covering the essentials, with an appendix for detail investors may ask about. Length matters less than whether each slide earns its place.
How long does pitch preparation take?
It depends on how much material exists: a company with clear numbers and customer evidence needs less time than one still assembling them. We scope it after a first look at what you have, and plan backwards from when you intend to start meeting investors.
Do we need a financial model before we pitch?
For most institutional investors, yes. The deck makes the case; the model shows whether it adds up, and investors will ask for it once they are interested. Building both together keeps the numbers consistent.
Get ready before the first meeting
Tell us where the company is and who you plan to meet. We will tell you what they are likely to ask first.