What to avoid in an investors pitch deck?


An Investors Pitch Deck is a brief presentation created to provide a brief overview of the business plans and strategies to potential investors, partners or customers. These are especially of help to the startups, professionals and corporations who are interested in financial aid from external sources in form of investments.
The key feature of an Investors Pitch Deck is its uniqueness. What sets this pitch apart from the others which the investor is considering? How does the pitch excel in convincing the investor? Does the pitch fall on the same length as the investor’s ideas?
There are many guidelines that are provided for what must be included in an Investor’s Pitch Deckbut what are the points that must be avoided in a pitch at all cost? Let us look at some pointers which will help you break the monotonous streak of Investors Pitch Deck without compromising on your vision:
1.       Most important is not to make the Investors Pitch Deck too long? The powerpoint presentation should not be more than 25-30 slides, and in no way exceeding 35, after which the investor shall start losing his attention and interest. 
2.       Avoid a text rich presentation. The Investor Pitch Deck must be more communicative and only an aid toyour words. The visuals keep the audience engaged and the interaction feels more personal. Avoid long words, sentences, and paragraphs, but do not overdo on the images. Keep it crisp.
3.       Don’t be repetitive. Praising your product in every slide shall give the impression that you are not confident in your strategies.
4.       The Investor Pitch Deck must not waste time on irrelevant or flattery information. Any information that has no direct relevance to your product, business plans and the investment must be removed.
5.       Too many numbers can be toxic. The key financial data to be presented in the Investors Pitch Deck can be presented in form of graphs or pie charts with a summary so that the numbers do not kill the attention of the audience.
6.       In an attempt to impress the investors, one may exaggerate the figures- big mistake. Do not take your investors for being fools. They have their own experts to verify the facts and data being supplied. Keep it simple and keep it correct.
7.       The Investors Pitch Deck does not require mentioning every single detail or development of the product; it is not a progress report. Present the big picture with the important details which shall showcase your confidence in your product.
8.       Before an Investor’s Pitch Deck is prepared, one must have clarity about the product, expansion strategies and business plans. Lack of clarity helps to elaborate on the central idea with precision.
9.       Dedicate few slides to marketing yourself as an asset to the investor. Be subtle and don’t glorify yourself. Instead, make the investor feel that investment in your product must become his priority. Give him something to think for next few days.
10.   Do not present unrealistic goals. Keep your approach, methodand plans pragmatic and workable.
11.   Keep your Investors Pitch Deck grammatically correct and scan the pitch to avoid spelling mistakes.
12.   Do not copy your pitch from any sources. Take inspiration but be original. Tailor your Investor’s Pitch Deck for your product, need, and your investors. 
13.   And at all cost avoid following, they have no place in an Investors Pitch Deck:
a.      Your or anyone’s philosophical phrases;
b.      Pep talk;
c.       Slangs;
d.      Industry abbreviations and jargon;
e.      Pessimistic and negative statements;
f.        Contradicting information;
g.      Foreign language words, phrases, even if they are popular.
By considering the above suggestions, you can improve the quality of your Investors Pitch Deck and take it up a notch. It should be noted that a pitch manifestsyour hard work and belief in your product.

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