UCs scan pitch decks rapidly, which means that every element has the power to convince them to invest in a company or pass it over entirely. While the high-level story is important, entrepreneurs must also pay attention to the minutiae. That is why, at every Disrupt, we organize a Pitch Deck Teardown session. It is fun workshop audience members give me their pitch decks, and I walk through a chosen selection of them in front of a stellar VC panel, who review the deck slide by slide.
Maren Bannon, co-founder and managing partner at January Ventures; Vanessa Larco, partner at NEA; and Ben Ling, founder, and general partner of Bling Capital, joined us at TechCrunch Disrupt 2021.
We went through two decks, one for consumers and one for businesses, totaling roughly 30 slides. It is difficult to explain all of the panel’s talks since there were so many intriguing points of view. I highly recommend reading the text or viewing the video embedded below.
Therefore, for this summary, I chose four slides from each deck, two from each, that provoked our panelists to demonstrate how VCs may have dramatically diverse perspectives on the same topic.
Most consumer decks, such as this one aimed at dog lovers, will include a product slide that details exactly what a firm is working on. It is a crucial slide, but it is also one that is simple to do wrong. Larco liked the design, but he advised giving investors more options:
Screenshots are wonderful, but if it piques your attention, it would be amazing if they provided a link to a Loom video or anything so that if I wanted to dig more and see what the product looks like in person, I could. However, unless I already really engaged, I find it difficult to filter through the video when it starts automatically. As a result, I believe screenshots with the ability to delve deeper are fantastic. However, it looks wonderful, and the UI is simple and elegant. It outlines the app’s three main features, which is exactly what I requested upfront. As a result, this is a very well-executed piece.
The firm also had a third PowerPoint with three more product screenshots, similar to this one. This, according to Larco, may have provided a little too much information on the UI.
