You Need 2 Pitch Decks When Raising Capital. Here’s Why.

It’s not uncommon to use 2 pitch decks during a startup fundraise. In many ways, most investors will actually prefer it. Let me explain.

Why You Need 2 Pitch Decks

When you’re raising capital, most investors won’t give you more than 2 minutes to peak their interest. This can be done with an intriguing concept, impressive traction, or a strong founding team.

Regardless, 2 minutes isn’t a lot of time to cover 20+ slides so you’re going to want to create what is called a “Short Pitch Deck” or “Short Deck”.

What is a Short Pitch Deck?

A Short Deck is exactly what it sounds like, a shortened version of your main pitch deck.

A Short Deck is usually 10 or fewer slides and its goal is to highlight the key aspects of your raise:

Concept
Traction
Founders

The goal is remove all of the in depth information that may not be necessary when you’re simply trying to drive interest.

When Do You Use a Short Pitch Deck?

Most investors will ask to see your pitch deck before hopping on a call so you’re going to want to do your best to get the investor interested. This can be done by highlighting traction and displaying clarity of thought around your product. Yep you guessed it, this is where the short pitch deck comes in.

When you are getting an intro to an investor or simply reaching out cold, be sure to lead with your short deck. If all goes well, they’ll ask for a meeting where you can share your full deck and go into your business in more detail.

What Slides are Needed in a Short Deck?

When you’re building a short pitch deck, you’re going to have to work really hard to slim it down. It’s actually an incredible training exercise because it forces you to understand what parts of your business are truly important and which parts are fluff.

Below are all of the slides we recommend using in your short pitch deck:

Intro Slide (describe your business in one sentence)
Problem
Solution
How it Works (only if necessary)
Traction (1-3 slides - feel free to flex)
Founding Team
Closing Page

You may have noticed that the slides we cut out are market size, go to market plan, competitive landscape, and business model. These are all important slides but most investors already have a rough idea or are aware of this information. It’s best to just cut them out and keep the deck short and sweet. If you peak their interest, I guarantee they will cover these slides in detail when you meet.

Download a Short Deck Template?

One of the best examples of a short deck is the Guy Kawasaki pitch deck template. If you’re interested in downloading it, we’ve gone ahead and redesigned it so you can easily edit it and make it your own.

Download the Guy Kawasaki short deck template here.

Wrapping Up

Raising capital is tough but the first step is to drive investor interest and regardless of your fundraising approach, you’re going to want to be clear and concise in not only your meetings but in your pitch deck too.

If you follow the tips laid out above, I guarantee that you’ll find more investors reading your deck and more interest. After all, the easier it is to consume and understand something, the easier it is to talk about it.

If you’re looking for additional resources about building a pitch deck, I recommend you check out our article on how to build a killer pitch deck.