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Any budding entrepreneur should be aware they will likely need to find funding in order to realize their vision. While looking for money isn’t necessarily the most exciting part of the process, it’s a vital step — and a future business owner should be armed with the right tools to entice potential investors. 

One essential component of a presentation for investors is a pitch deck. In many cases, the pitch is not only an entrepreneur’s first impression with potential investors, but it may also be their one opportunity to succinctly explain their business vision. This is especially significant when the potential business owner is starting from the ground level with funding.

A strong deck can be the crucial element that convinces investors they should support a business. Conversely, it can also show potential backers that this particular entrepreneur is not ready for the rigors of running a business. So, it’s important to take time when developing it. Entrepreneurs can create a pitch deck by using a widely accepted outline that succinctly states the problem, the solution and the ask from investors.

Many decks have about 15 slides that include the following components:

• Executive summary with the business’s logo, tagline and contact information
• Identification of the problem
• A compelling story or narrative
• Overview of the product being offered
• Market opportunity
• Potential customers for the product
• Technology being used
• Competitors
• Financials
• The ask from investors

Here’s more information about each of the slides:

This slide clearly states what the business is about. In addition to including the basics, such as logo, tagline and contact information, it should briefly state what differentiates this business from others.

Just like any good novel requires a problem that needs solving, so, too, does a business proposition. The pain point for the entrepreneur’s target market leads to the rest of the deck. Why is it important to solve the problem now? This is also a good opportunity to incorporate key data and metrics that can make an impression on potential funders.

If investors’ eyes are glazing over before a pitch deck has even reached its halfway point, there’s a chance the presenter has already lost them. That’s why it’s important to include a compelling story that will hook them — perhaps even try to get them invested emotionally. Future business owners may be able to accomplish this through an interesting case study, a real-life story of someone who was affected by the pain point or a personal anecdote. Stories are good, but presenters should take care to make them short and snappy.

This slide is a given — but many budding business owners may present it the wrong way. They might pack it with dense paragraphs of details that are unnecessary at this stage, sometimes even extending it to two or three slides. Instead, this portion of the deck should provide a succinct description of the product, the value it provides and why it offers a solution to the identified problem.

Potential investors will want to know why they should support the entrepreneur’s product or business. This slide should cover the size of the market, potential for growth, and relevant metrics and trends within the specific industry.

Investors don’t want to spend money on a venture that’s going nowhere. This slide of the pitch deck should clearly identify the people and groups the new business could benefit, or who would be interested in it. 

If the product relies on external technology, potential investors should know about it upfront as it can affect short-term and ongoing costs and capabilities. 

Every business owner should perform a competitive analysis to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of other similar businesses. This slide should include the results of that analysis, and how the entrepreneur plans to stand out from the competition, providing services and results that aren’t found elsewhere. The U.S. Small Business Administration provides business owners with advice on the .

Any effective deck for investors should clearly state the company’s financial health. This includes statements and potential growth, ideally represented in an easy-to-understand graph format.

Finally, every good deck should conclude with an all-important piece of information: how much money the entrepreneur needs to complete the project. There’s no point in being cagey about numbers, because that’s the whole reason investors have been invited to the presentation in the first place.

You can use this template to create the deck.

A visually appealing startup pitch deck is an important tool for impressing potential investors. It should include a good balance of design components — such as splashes of color to strategically attract attention — and charts and graphs that explain the numbers or metrics. There are many software platforms that can assist with this.

It cannot be overstated how helpful it can be to have a graphic designer involved with the presentation. They can add to the professionalism of the design, deliberately choosing colors and graphics that elicit certain moods among investors.

Designers also can offer an opinion about whether the slides are too wordy. White space can be a good thing; the more readable and eye-catching a slide is, the more funders are likely to pay attention.

While numbers are necessary for a complete presentation, they can be tedious. This is where eye-catching charts and graphs come in. A colorful pie chart, for example, can effectively illustrate a market niche, a competitive advantage or any number of other statistics.

While an impressive pitch deck can be the key to obtaining funding, one that’s too long or wordy might kill an entrepreneur’s chances to take the next step. The following are some of the practices to avoid in the presentation:

• Overcomplicating slides: It can be tempting to try including all relevant details, but that’s better covered in the presentation itself. Instead, leave plenty of white space and only outline the basic details for each segment.
• Trash-talking the competition: While the presentation should clearly show how this product and company are different from what’s out there, it’s important to show professional respect.
• Forgetting to ask for money: Entrepreneurs can get caught up in the logistics of the presentation and neglect the most important part — the funding request. Since the financial element is the reason why investors are attending the presentation, it’s imperative to include it.

Public speaking is one of the essential skills an entrepreneur should develop. If a budding business owner finds they are uncomfortable with speaking in front of a group of people, they need to practice.

Here are some tips for developing a pitch delivery and handling questions from investors:

• Develop a script that has talking points — not one that needs to be read word for word. A presentation will seem canned if the speaker reads directly from a script.
• Prepare for the audience. Perform preliminary research to find out the investors’ interests, passion projects and top priorities. A savvy entrepreneur may even add a few GIFs to the presentation that a certain investor would find relevant or funny. This can be heavily dependent on the investor, the company, service and product presentation.
• Make sure the equipment is working correctly. It can be embarrassing to have technical difficulties in the middle of an important presentation. Other tools might be helpful as well, such as a clicker to quickly move from one slide to the next, or a laser pointer.
• Practice answering tough questions. Make a list of the hardest questions investors may ask, and work with colleagues to develop an appropriate response.
• Know all important metrics without needing to consult a reference. Be ready to discuss annual recurring revenue and unit economics immediately.
• Use a “dummy” audience when practicing. It’s especially helpful to bring in someone who is unfamiliar with the product or business, so they can offer feedback as to whether the presentation is clear.

Anyone who owns a business or is considering entrepreneurship will likely need to develop skills such as creating a pitch deck or an elevator pitch. ������ý offers online business programs including a Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship Certificate. The programs can help teach essential business skills that can create a solid foundation in business management knowledge.

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