Our 5 Favorite Quotes About Pitch Decks from the Founders Forward
On season 2 of the Founders Forward Podcast, we interviewed 10 different startup investors. We covered everything from storytelling to mental health.
However, fundraising was a constant theme throughout the season. Many of our guests broke down their thought processes and what they like to see from founders. As pitch decks continue to become an integral part of a fundraise, we dug into how different guests view and look for in pitch decks from potential investments.
Check out our 5 favorite takeaways about pitch decks from season 2 below:
Brett Brohl on the 4 Slide Pitch Deck
Brett Brohl of Bread & Butter Ventures shares the idea of using an email intro deck. He suggests a 4 slide deck that your network can use to forward and share with potential investors. The idea is that a 4 slide deck gives a potential investor enough context to be intrigued but not too much information where they will already have a strong opinion on your company before meeting you. Listen to the full episode here.
Elizabeth Yin on Using Pitch Decks for Conversation
Elizabeth Yin of the Hustle Fund makes the case that founders don’t actually need a pitch deck. However, she does recommend that founders have a 5 slide pitch deck to use during the fundraising process. This gives the investor enough information but can lead to a conversation as opposed to a pure pitch. Listen to the full episode here.
Kristian Andersen on Crafting Your Narrative with a Pitch Deck
Kristian Andersen of High Alpha shares why a pitch deck is never a linear template. Kristian suggests that founders think about the story of their company and pitch before building their deck. The story should be applied to your pitch and can help build out the direction of your pitch deck. Listen to the full episode here.
Ezra Galston on What to Share Before a Meeting
Similar to Elizabeth Yin, Ezra Galston of Starting Line does not have a strong opinion on the medium founders use when sharing information with investors. However, he wants to make sure that he has enough context before having a conversation with a potential founder. Listen to the full episode here.
Gale Wilkinson on Must-Haves in a Pitch Deck
Gale Wilkinson of Vitalize recommends that founders have a pitch deck or one-pager that founders can share with potential investors. Gale goes on to break down the slides that she believes founders should always improve in their pitch deck. Listen to the full episode here.
