How to Create a Pitch Deck: Slide by Slide
How to create a startup pitch deck: the slides investors expect, what goes on each one, a template outline, design tips and mistakes to avoid.
Mythex Team · · 6 min read
A pitch deck is a short slide presentation that explains your company to investors: the problem, your solution, why now, the market, your traction, the business model, the team and what you're asking for. Aim for roughly 10 to 15 clear slides that tell one story, back each claim with evidence you can defend, and keep extra detail in an appendix. The deck's job is to get the next meeting, not to close the round on its own.
This guide is about the deck itself. Whether you should raise at all is a separate question — see bootstrapping vs venture capital.
Before you open the slide tool
Write the story in plain text first. If you can't explain the company in a few sentences, better slides won't help.
A one-paragraph test:
[Company] helps [customer] [do something] by [how]. Today they [painful current way]. We've [evidence of progress]. We're raising [amount] to [reach milestones] over [time].
Also decide who the deck is for. A pre-seed angel, a seed fund and a later-stage investor care about different things. Look at what each investor has funded before and what they say they look for, and tailor the emphasis.
The slides, one by one
This order is common, but it isn't fixed. Put your strongest slide early — if traction is your best argument, move it up.
1. Title
Company name, a one-line description of what you do, and your contact details. The one-liner matters more than the logo: "Online booking for small physio clinics" beats a tagline that needs decoding.
2. Problem
Who has the problem, what it looks like today, and why it matters to them. Make it concrete — a specific person in a specific situation — and use evidence from customer interviews where you can.
3. Solution
What your product does and how it solves the problem. Focus on the outcome for the customer, not a feature list. One screenshot or a short product flow often says more than bullets.
4. Why now
What has changed that makes this possible or necessary now: a new technology, a regulation, a shift in behaviour, a cost that dropped. Skip it if you have nothing real to say; don't invent a trend.
5. Market
How big the opportunity could be and how you worked it out. A bottom-up estimate — number of potential customers multiplied by what each might pay — is more convincing than a large top-down figure from an industry report. Show your assumptions and cite any sources.
6. Product
A closer look: screenshots, a short demo, or the key workflow. If you'll give a live demo, have a backup recording in case something fails.
7. Traction
Evidence that it's working: revenue, active users, growth over time, retention, pilots, signed letters of intent, waitlist size, notable customers (with their permission). Use the metrics that fit your business and label them clearly — "monthly recurring revenue" and "total sign-ups" are not the same thing.
8. Business model
How you make money: who pays, how much, and how often. If you know unit economics such as customer acquisition cost or lifetime value, include them; if you don't yet, say what you're testing. See how to price a SaaS product for pricing models.
9. Go-to-market
How you'll reach customers: the channels that have worked so far, and what you'll do with the money to grow them. Specific beats generic. "Partnerships with regional physio associations, two already agreed" beats "social media and SEO".
10. Competition
Who else solves the problem, including the default option — spreadsheets, an agency, doing nothing. Explain honestly where you're different. Avoid claiming you have no competitors; it usually signals you haven't looked, or that nobody wants this.
11. Team
Who you are and why you're the right people for this problem. Relevant experience, domain knowledge and what you've built before. Include key advisers only if they're genuinely involved.
12. The ask and use of funds
How much you're raising, and what it will get you: the milestones you expect to reach and roughly how long the money lasts. For example, "hire two engineers, reach [specific milestone], 18 months of runway". Say what kind of round it is if you know, and talk to a lawyer about the instrument and terms.
Appendix
Detailed financials, extra product screenshots, customer case notes, technical architecture. Keep them out of the main flow and show them if asked.
A template outline
Copy this and fill it in before you design anything:
| # | Slide | One sentence you want the reader to remember |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Title | We are [company], [one-liner]. |
| 2 | Problem | [Customer] struggles with [problem], which costs them [time/money/risk]. |
| 3 | Solution | We [do what], so they [outcome]. |
| 4 | Why now | [Change] makes this possible now. |
| 5 | Market | There are about [N] [customers], each worth [X] a year. |
| 6 | Product | Here's how it works. |
| 7 | Traction | Since [date], we've [evidence]. |
| 8 | Business model | Customers pay [price] per [unit]. |
| 9 | Go-to-market | We reach customers through [channels]. |
| 10 | Competition | Unlike [alternatives], we [difference]. |
| 11 | Team | We've [relevant experience]. |
| 12 | Ask | We're raising [amount] to reach [milestones]. |
If a slide's sentence is weak, that's a problem with the business or the evidence, not the design.
Design tips
- One idea per slide. The headline of each slide should state its point, not just a topic ("We've grown every month since launch", not "Traction").
- Big, readable text. If you need small text, it belongs in the appendix.
- Charts over tables for trends, with labelled axes and a clear time period.
- Consistent style. One font family, a small palette, aligned elements.
- Real screenshots over mock-ups where possible.
- Export to PDF for sending, so it looks the same on every device.
Presenting vs sending
Investors may read your deck without you, or watch you present it. The two situations need different decks.
| Presenting deck | Sending deck | |
|---|---|---|
| Text | Minimal — you do the talking | Enough to stand alone |
| Length | Fits your time slot, with room for questions | Fine to be a bit longer |
| Demo | Live or recorded | Screenshots and short captions |
Practise the presentation out loud, time it, and prepare answers to the questions you'd least like to be asked.
Common mistakes
- Too much text. Dense slides don't get read.
- Vague market sizes with no working shown.
- Inflated or unclear metrics. Total sign-ups presented as active users, or projections presented as results. Investors check, and trust is hard to win back.
- No clear ask. The reader should know exactly what you want.
- Hiding the competition.
- Ten slides of product, one line of business. Investors are buying into a company, not a feature.
- Designing before the story is clear.
Pitch deck checklist
- One-line description anyone understands
- Problem backed by customer evidence
- Market size worked out bottom-up, with assumptions shown
- Traction metrics clearly labelled and honest
- Business model and pricing stated
- Competition, including the "do nothing" option
- Team slide shows why you
- Specific ask with milestones
- Appendix for detail
- Sending version exported as PDF
- Reviewed by someone who'll tell you the truth
Show, don't describe
A working product makes a deck far more convincing than mock-ups. With Mythex you can build a functional web app from a chat description — with a database and a public link — and use real screenshots, a live demo and early usage in your deck. See what an MVP is for how small the first version can be, and the SaaS walkthrough for building one. If you need a written plan alongside the deck, how to write a business plan covers it.
Questions
How many slides should a pitch deck have?
Most early-stage decks land somewhere around 10 to 15 slides. Cover the core story — problem, solution, market, traction, team, business model and the ask — and move detail into an appendix you can show if asked.
Should I send my pitch deck before a meeting?
Many investors ask for one first. Consider two versions: a presenting deck with sparse slides that support you talking, and a sending deck with enough text to make sense when read alone.
What if I don't have traction yet?
Show the strongest evidence you do have: customer interviews, a waitlist, pilots, letters of intent, pre-orders or a working prototype people use. Be honest about the stage; investors see many decks and notice when numbers are dressed up.
Do I need financial projections in a pitch deck?
Early-stage investors usually care more about how you'll use the money and what milestones it gets you to than about detailed long-range forecasts. Keep a simple model ready in case they ask, and make its assumptions clear.