# 10 things Startups should Include in their Investment Pitch Deck Published: 29 Jul 2022 | Last updated: 21 Jan 2025 Author: Treelife Practice area: Startups Source: https://treelife.in/startups/10-things-startups-should-to-include-in-their-investment-pitch-deck/ ## Summary - A startup pitch deck should be built around a core, customisable framework of 10 sections rather than a rigid one-size-fits-all template. - The mission and objective statement should be limited to 8-10 words to remain short, crisp and precisely convey the problem the startup is solving. - A dedicated 'Why Now' slide should explain the market tailwinds that make the business idea more relevant today than in previous months or years. - The product slide should cover essential features, photos or videos, and UI screenshots to show what the product is and why it is viable and competitive. - A customer journey slide maps how the end user interacts with the app or website, giving investors and founders a clear view of the product experience. - The competitive differentiation slide must outline competitors, market positioning, and any unique feature or user experience not yet offered by rivals. - The revenue streams slide should detail every possible income channel, including a customer-wise and category-wise revenue breakdown if the startup is already generating revenue. - The product timeline slide should show deployment milestones, the most critical or time-intensive phase, and when investor capital will be deployed against goals. - Market sizing should be presented using Total Addressable Market (TAM), Service Addressable Market (SAM) and Service Obtainable Market (SOM) to help investors gauge growth potential. --- A well-designed, comprehensive but crisp pitch deck is vital for convincing investors that a product has massive growth potential and can scale. We broke down the deck into 10 main sections, they are explained below. We firmly believe that a unique  template is needed for every startup, keeping that in mind,we have attempted to build a fundamental framework around which customisations and further additions/deletions can be done for  every startup. ### **Broad framework: ** - **Impactful mission statement** The startup’s mission and objective statement should ideally encapsulate what the founders aim to achieve with its business. This should be short and crisp (8-10 words) so that it is impactful and precisely conveys to the investors what the startup is trying to solve.s - **Why Now?** This slide should essentially denote the reason that makes the startup attractive and lucrative  **right** **now **i.e what tailwinds have occurred within the space in which they are operating in which has made the business idea more relevant in the present than in the previous months or years. - **The Product** This slide is where the founders need to accurately denote what business the startup is in. It can include essential features of the product, photos / videos, screenshots of the UI and how the end user will experience the product. The slide should convey why the product idea is viable and competitive and demonstrate what the founders are trying to build and what the investors are putting money towards. - **Customer Journey** Mapping the customer journey gives the investors a complete idea of the customer experience. It illustrates how the end user will interact with the app or website and use the product of the company. Mapping a customer journey can be advantageous for the founders as well by giving them a clear idea of how the product experience is  like from the point of view of the end-user. - **Competitive Differentiation** With the emergence of multiple startups in each field, this slide should represent the differentiating factor(s) in the product that this startup has built that makes it stand out from the existing competition. This is the slide that outlines the startup’s competitors, positioning in the market, and the  business strategy it has adopted to try and succeed. It can also talk about any exclusive or unique feature or user experience within the product which is not yet implemented by any other startup in the current market. - **Revenue Streams** This slide is one of the most important slides that an investor will look at from a “ROI” perspective. Every possible channel of revenue streams of the startup should be explained in this slide, even if the startup is pre-revenue. It is usually an added advantage if the startup is already generating revenue, the slide can then include customer-wise and category-wise breakdown of revenue along with any existing clients working with them. - **Product Timelines** The Product timeline slide will help the investor understand the product deployment by the startup. Including a timeslide slide in the pitch deck will convey to the investors when the product will start generating revenue, what is the most critical or time-taking phase, what are the important milestones for the startup, when will the investor’s capital be deployed to hit the milestones and goals over the coming months and years, etc. - **Market Sizing ** Investors give importance to Market size because it allows them to estimate the future potential of the product and how big can the startup  get. This slide usually includes Total Addressable Market (TAM), Service Addressable Market (SAM) and Service Obtainable Market (SOM). - **Marketing strategies** The slide should denote the marketing plan of the founders towards marketing the product to the target audiences. - **Founders and Management Team** The face behind the idea and the execution of the product can be denoted to the investors with the Founders & Management Team slide. The contents of this slide usually include a short bio of the co-founders, their previous work experience, the roles and responsibilities undertaken by them respectively in the company, and a photo. If the Key Management team has been identified and is in place(COO, CTO etc.), the pitch deck can also include details about them. Keeping these factors in mind while creating a pitch deck can help you be well-prepared for anything and everything that an investor might want to know before investing in your company. ### Related posts: - [All you need to know about the E-Commerce Industry in India](https://treelife.in/startups/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-e-commerce-industry-in-india/) - [Data Privacy for Telemedicine Platforms](https://treelife.in/startups/data-privacy-for-telemedicine-platforms/) - [What’s your Market Size? Understanding TAM, SAM, SOM](https://treelife.in/startups/whats-your-market-size-understanding-tam-sam-som/) - [Quick Commerce in India: Disruption, Challenges, and Regulatory Crossroad](https://treelife.in/startups/quick-commerce-in-india-disruption-challenges-and-regulatory-crossroad/) --- This is informational content from Treelife. For advice specific to your situation, contact support@treelife.in