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The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Your Startup Pitch Deck
A newsletter about everything you need to know to start angel investing.
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This weekly newsletter will share key insights on angel investing, start-ups, and investment opportunities.
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Building your Pitch Deck
This week, we delve deeper into crafting an effective pitch deck, drawing from the 2009 Airbnb pitch deck presentation that landed them $600,000 in seed funding.
When building out your pitch deck you need to make sure it not only captures the attention of potential investors but also communicates your startup's vision and value proposition.
Here's a breakdown of what each slide should cover in your pitch deck.
Slide 1: Value Proposition / One-Liner
Kick off with a clear one-liner that captures the essence of your startup. This statement should be compelling enough to grab attention immediately.
Your opening slide is your chance to make a lasting first impression. Craft a memorable one-liner that encapsulates your startup's essence. Remember, you have about 2-5 minutes to capture an investor's attention, so make it count!
Another example Airbnb could have used is: Airbnb connects people to travel experiences around the world that they’ll never forget
Slide 2: The Problem You’re Solving
Be specific and use data to back up your claims. Show that you've done your homework and truly understand the problem landscape. For Airbnb it is important to understand the deep inefficiencies in hotel bookings and travel.
Slide 3: The Solution
Introduce your product or service as the solution to the problem outlined. Be clear about how it works and why it's superior to existing solutions.
If possible, include a product demo or a link to a video. A product demo is more useful than slides. One is a description of a thing; the other is the thing itself.
In the solution slide below, Airbnb broke down the 3 problems with a solution for each.
Slide 4: Market Size of the Opportunity
Quantify the opportunity to establish a potential scale. This should reflect the extensive market research and realistic projections.
Airbnb presented their market size in a compelling way:
They highlighted the size of the budget travel and online travel markets
They showed that capturing just 15% of these markets would result in 84 million trips per year
When presenting market size, be realistic but ambitious. Airbnb's approach of showing what even a small percentage of a huge market could mean for their business is very effective.
Airbnb also included a market validation slide which I think was really useful for them. What you want to do here is provide the closest existing reference to a company in your space, to give investors a real idea of your market opportunity.
Slide 5: Your Product — What Makes It Unique
Highlight what sets your product apart, focusing on proprietary aspects or innovative approaches.
Airbnb's key features include:
User-friendly platform for listing and booking accommodations
Review system for hosts and guests
Secure payment system
Clearly articulate what sets your product apart from existing solutions. Airbnb's focus on local experiences and affordability was a clear differentiator from traditional hotels.
Slide 6: Traction, Revenue, and Business Model
Demonstrate the progress and success of your product through tangible metrics and milestones.
Example: User growth rates, revenue streams, key partnerships, and significant achievements that underline the product’s market acceptance and financial viability.
Airbnb's deck included:
Current traction (number of listings, booked nights, etc.)
Revenue model (10% commission on each booking)
Projections showing potential for $2.1 billion in annual revenue
Show your current traction, no matter how small, and demonstrate how your revenue model can scale. Airbnb's clear commission structure and big market size made their revenue potential easy to understand.
Slide 7: Competitive Landscape and Advantage
Provide a realistic view of the competitive environment, acknowledging both direct and indirect competitors.
A comparative analysis that not only highlights your advantages but also acknowledges the competitive pressures and how you’re positioned to overcome them.
Airbnb positioned itself against:
Hotels (expensive, not local)
Craigslist (not user-friendly, no payment system)
Couchsurfing (free, but no monetary incentive for hosts)
Acknowledge your competition but clearly show how you're different and better. Airbnb didn't claim to have no competition, but rather showed how they were uniquely positioned in the market.
Slide 8: Go to Market
Airbnb's strategy for growth included:
Marketing for events
Partnerships
Cross-posting listings on Craigslist
Show that you have a clear plan for acquiring users and growing your business. Airbnb's strategy of leveraging existing platforms like Craigslist was particularly clever.
Slide 9: Team and Advisors
Introduce your team and advisors, emphasizing their expertise, relevance, and past successes that align with your startup’s goals.
Airbnb's deck included brief bios of the founding team, highlighting their relevant skills and experience.
Showcase why your team is uniquely qualified to solve this problem and build this business. Investors are often investing in the team as much as the idea.
Slide 10: Fundraising Details & Use of Funds
Detail your current fundraising round specifics and how the funds will be utilized to drive growth and value.
Outline how much you are raising, the terms, and specific use of funds like scaling operations, accelerating product development, or expanding into new markets.
Airbnb clearly stated their funding ask and what they planned to achieve with it:
Raising $500,000
Two key milestones: 80,000 booked trips and $2 million in revenue within 12 months
Final Thoughts:
Remember, your pitch deck is often your first impression with potential investors. It should be concise, compelling, and tell a cohesive story about your startup's potential. Airbnb's deck did this brilliantly, leading to their successful $600K raise and setting the stage for their incredible growth.
Ensure it's easy for investors to reach you and also I would highly recommend incorporating tools like DocSend to track engagement with your pitch deck. DocSend provides analytics on who views your deck, what slides they focus on, and how long they engage with the content. Then you can follow up with the investors and get them into the round!
You got this!
Resources
If you enjoyed this week’s newsletter - feel free to check out some of our past articles:
📈 Start-Up Investment Opportunities
Please keep this confidential. If you are an accredited investor and interested in expanding your start-up portfolio, we have provided some investment opportunities that are currently active through the Red Beard Ventures Syndicate. The minimum amount to invest per deal is $1k! Please reach out if you have any questions.
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A16z, Sony, and Mercedes backed Matternet is revolutionzing the instant delivery market by enabling ultra-fast, sustainable, and affordable delivery solutions for ecommerce, food, and medical items.
With an impressive 50k flights accross 10 cities globally, Matternat is the fiest and only company to receive full FAA Type and Production Certification for its drone delivery system. Has also secured 135 strategic partnerships including UPS.
Link to invest
xMarkets: Creator-Focused Prediction Market Platform | Polymarket ($1B Valuation) CompetitorxMarkets is revolutionizing prediction markets by enabling verified X users with 1,000+ followers to create markets on any topic using AI-driven tools for clarity and efficiency
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Secured KOLs with 10M+ followers, planning September launch ahead of presidential election.
Competitor Polymarket valued at ~$1B
Led by experienced team: Co-founder AJ, MIT CS grad and former Microsoft ML Engineer, previously founded DeFi projects reaching $50M TVL and $1.1B market cap.
Backed by notable investors: Wes Cowan (Juice.finance), Paul Taylor (BlackRock), OneFlow Digital founder, Rahim Noorani (Satori.finance), Peter Huo (Whampoa Digital), and Eckhardt Capital.
Raising $1.5M Pre-Seed with $15M post-money valuation cap SAFE + $XMKT token warrant.
Meso: AI-Driven Marketing Platform Transforming Social Media Engagement
Meso is building a comprehensive AI-driven platform that empowers marketers with real-time insights, automated workflows, and data-driven decision-making tools to navigate the complex landscape of digital marketing.
$148,000 in revenue to date, projecting $85K MRR by December 2024, and in negotiations for $5M+ ARR deals across major enterprises in entertainment, pharmaceutical, and QSR industries.
Backed by Keith Barr (Board Director of Yum! Brands, former CEO of IHG Hotels and Resorts), Michael Perlman (VP, Starwood Capital), and Nikhil Saraf (CTO, Struck Capital).
Meso's first product, Larry, acts as a proactive digital coworker for marketers, offering context-aware AI agents and auxiliary workflow automation.
👋 That’s all for now friends! See you next week.
Next week I am going to dive into syndicate and fund returns and why sometimes it is important to take the risk because the reward can be far greater!
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Disclaimer: The Cap Table DOES NOT provide financial advice. All content is for informational purposes only. The Cal Table is not a registered investment, legal, or tax advisor or a broker/dealer.
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