VC Minute
VC Minute
265. Pitch Deck Should Form an Argument feat. Justin Izzo from Dropbox DocSend
Text your thoughts directly to Rich.
Structure your pitch deck in a way that it forms an argument and each slide supports that argument all the way through.
About Justin Izzo
Justin is the Lead Data and Trends Analyst at Dropbox Docsend and trusted insights professional with 15+ years of research and leadership experience. He is the driving force behind DocSend's pitch deck metrics and annual slide-by-slide analysis reports, also hosting pitch deck teardowns to provide founders with actionable next steps. Justin loves designing research and strategies that leverage his unique Ph.D. background in the humanities and social sciences. He has an expert understanding of narrative, language, and culture coupled with a talent for deriving human insights from the social world.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-izzo/
About DocSend
DocSend enables companies to share business-critical documents with ease and get real-time actionable feedback. With DocSend's security and control, startup founders, investors, executives, and business development professionals can build business partnerships that have a lasting impact. Over 30,000 customers of all sizes use DocSend today. Learn more at docsend.com.
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs, Controllers, and Accountants to your organization, delivering transparent, strategic actions for short and long-term success. Transform your financial approach affordably with AVL, supporting companies coast to coast - get to know AVL Growth Partners at avlgrowth.com. (Sponsored)
About SpringTime Ventures
SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech & insurtech, and logistics & supply chain. We look for founders with domain expertise, forging a path with a truly transformative technology. We only invest in software-based businesses in the USA. We bring a people-focused approach, work quickly, and reach conviction independently. Our initial check size is $600k. You can learn more about us and our approach.
Over the past year I've seen that founders with shorter decks tend to be more successful with their fundraises. This is partly due to the fact that investors are spending less time reading through decks, speaks of course to the much tighter fundraising market than what we saw two or three years ago. But also to a glut of founder decks in the marketplace that hasn't subsided, even as investor interest has waned over the past couple of years. We have lots of founders seeking funding, fewer and fewer investors leaning in and the ones who do lean in and look for deals don't have much patience for decks that are 20 pages long. We're seeing decks hit around the 10 to 12 page mark for average length these days. One thing I advise the founders is to cut ruthlessly wherever you can. But not at the expense of good communication. So what I'm really arguing for is try to have your cake and eat it too. Have a rich, pitch deck narrative that has been ruthlessly edited of all extraneous text and that doesn't have any images or graphs numbers that could be confusing. I'm asking for the world here and I realize that. But there are ways to structure your thinking to make this process a lot easier. One thing that I tend to advise founders to do is to have a header at the top of each slide two headers actually. One header should be the name of the type of slide it is: Problem, Solution, Market, Traction, just to orient your reader. These are simple little design, structural, choices that make it easy for someone who doesn't have a lot of time to get through your deck and know where they are at each turn. But if each slide has a header, you can think of that as the argument for a given section for a given slide. And then any text underneath that simply goes to bolster that initial argument. Here are two data points about my traction over the past 12 months that show we are growing like gangbusters. Alert readers to the major point you're trying to make, and then guide them to the explanation for why this broad point makes sense. That's one way to keep up a structure through a pitch deck, have a narrative thread that goes through it but to bring your structure and organization down to the level of the individual slide. Founders who do this initially will still use too many words. That's where you go back, cut, go back, cut, get advice, as I keep saying in every episode from folks who aren't too close, but who do, who are invested in your success, and you can say, this is too wordy for me, I don't understand it. And who don't have the same assumptions, who aren't bringing the same assumptions to your pitch deck and about your business that you are. So it's a question of, on the one hand, having an argument for each slide that you can post right at the top and second, zooming out even further, having an argument for your entire pitch deck as a whole, that each header of a slide speaks toward. And that's what a good pitch deck should do. if you follow broad prompts like this, you'll find that not only will you have an easier time building out a deck your readers will have an easier time getting through it and retaining the information you're trying to convey.
Rich:Your pitch deck should form an argument. That has got to be the best summary of what a pitch deck should do Ithat have ever heard. We're going to hear more from Justin next week and continue with the theme of pitch decks. Until then, happy Friday. Time is our most precious asset. And thank you for spending some of it with us today. Before we wrap up, let's delve into what sets AVL Growth Partners apart. AVL's team brings significant years of finance and accounting expertise. They ensure your path to success is crystal clear. Why go fractional? Picture this: a CFO with an average of 19 years of senior finance CFO experience, alongside controllers and accountants with 15 years under their belts. This isn't just bookkeeping. It's the expertise your company needs to navigate economic challenges. If you want to take your company to the next level and need the experience required to make it happen. Visit AVL growth.com right now.
