How to Build the Perfect Pitch Deck

A Project W x Green Line Ventures Collaboration.

Sarah Hodges, VC at Pillar VC, led an amazing workshop with the Project W community on how to build the perfect pitch deck. Here’s a recap of our main takeaways that’s short, sweet, and to the point — just like your pitch deck should be.

💡 Pro Tips

• Tell A Story. Be Human. Numbers are great and you should have those but what you’re looking to do should be bigger and more meaningful that just “the size of the market” So showcase that!
• Content > Design. I know Canva has convinced us all that we’re Jackson Pollock’s in the making and while well-designed decks do stand out, what’s on them is WAY more important.
• Financials! Honestly, most VCs know you’re roughly estimating your projections. So worry less about accuracy, and more about showing your strategy + realistic goals.
• TIME. If you have 30 min to present, only ~5 should be your actual pitch. Spend some time giving a background on your story, and leave ample time for questions so you can pull in the parts of your presentation relevant to what VCs want to know more about. Let them guide some of it.
• Flex Your Team. Put them at the FRONT of your presentation, not the back. Show off your teams experiences & what everyone brings to the table.

🚩Red Flags!

• Pitching the entire time. You need to leave time for questions, so VCs can guide the conversation to what they see as relevant.
• Cutting of your teammates. VCs are assessing your team dynamic and this is a surefire way to indicate you don’t have a great one
• Fibbing. Look, if you don’t know, you don’t know. That’s ok. Be honest. Good VCs respect that.
• You don’t know your shit. On the flip side, you need to have the basics about your product and market down. It’s a bad sign if you can’t answer a basic question
• Relentless name dropping. You can flex your board of advisors and mentors but don’t overdo it. Clout is not osmotic.
• Show Your Exit Strategy. This implies you think in the short-term.

✔️ What Made The Best Pitch Sarah Has Seen So Great

• “It was a pitch deck with no deck” — Yep, you read that right. A good pitch flows like water. You’re telling a story. Your deck is physically there, but its a tool used to convey your vision, not the star of your pitch. The star should be your literal pitch — your passion, enthusiasm, credibility, etc.
• Tell Your Life Story! Chances are, you’re a pretty cool person so don’t be afraid to give VCs a little bit of background on who you are, what drives you, and maybe even a sense of your humor. After all, they’re investing in you.

🎓 I’m Young! How do I Demonstrate Credibility?

• Life Experience. Big names and titles are cool and all, but you don’t need work experience to back you. Showcase your skills: did you create a community, change the culture of a club in HS, build an audience on a social media platform, blog, market for a startup before, etc? Talk about your passion projects and the skills you’ve acquired.
• Use that .EDU email! Build a strong board of advisors. Get professors & people who you admire on board with what you do. That .edu email does wonders, so use the hell out of it.

Hope this was helpful! For more tips on pitching, venture capital, and fundraising, we recommend you check out Pillar’s Founder Playlist.