The ASK slide - part of the perfect Pitch Deck to Angels
Make your 1st and Last slides “the ASK”
One of my favorite guides for crafting a concise and effective Pitch Deck is based on Guy Kawasaki’s video titled "The Only Ten Slides You Need in Your Pitch".
My additional feedback is that it should be bookended by “The ASK” slide that is composed of 4 quadrants of information - Deal Terms, Cap Table, Use of Proceeds, Your Contact Information.
The ASK slide should be the first slide and the last slide (before the Appendix that includes additional information that may come up in Q&A). The reasoning behind making it the first slide is to lead with the key information required by an Angel investor to pique our interest in the Opportunity and affirm why we should be paying attention. Using this format as the “last” slide is to keep the relevant information in front of us during Q&A so that the thinking is focused on the check writing decision. Recommendation for the layout of The ASK slide is as follows:
The Summary of Deal Terms is the bullet points of the type of Instrument, either SAFE / Convertible Note / Priced Round / some other creative approach such as Revenue Share with guaranteed Return (whatever you can get the Investor to agree to and provides mutual value for both of you ; )
The Summary Cap Table is meant to help Investors know who owns what and how relatively incentivized are they - this also shows the intent of transparency around outsized allocations to Option Pools / Incubators / Advisors or others that is best addressed up front (think “whoever brings up a contentious topic first has increased chances of winning the conversation”).
The Summary Use of Proceeds allows the investor to understand the high level priorities of the Founder as well as some insight into the Deliverable / Milestones that spending this $ on these folks / resources will deliver.
Don’t make the mistake of making it hard for folks to follow up with you - some folks may take a screenshot / picture of this slide so this ensures that they can follow up in a timely manner and not invest too much time trying to track you down, as their interest has a relatively short half-life ; )
Below are Guy Kawasaki’s key points (that are typically best shared as a single slide ; ) These slides should be concise, visually appealing, and focused on delivering a clear, compelling narrative.
Title Slide: Company name, your name, title, and contact info.
Problem/Opportunity: Define the problem or opportunity.
Value Proposition: Explain your solution and its benefits.
Underlying Magic: Describe the technology / secret sauce behind your solution.
Business Model: How you plan to make money.
Go-to-Market Plan: Strategy for reaching your target audience.
Competitive Analysis: Your competition and your competitive advantage.
Management Team: Key team members and their backgrounds.
Financial Projections and Key Metrics: Basic financial projections.
Current Status, Accomplishments, Timeline, and Use of Funds: Where you are now and your future milestones.