𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗕𝗲 𝗢𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗸? (Based on What Has Worked for Successful Startups)

By Wen ZhangWen Zhang

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗕𝗲 𝗢𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗸? (Based on What Has Worked for Successful Startups)

Every founder I coach asks me this question at least once.

• The problem? Everyone has a different answer.
• Guy Kawasaki swears by 10 slides.
• Sequoia wants to see market validation upfront.
• Some VCs care about your advisors, others couldn’t care less.

After working with hundreds of founders and analyzing decks that actually raised capital, I noticed something interesting: the successful ones aren’t following one “perfect” template.

They’re strategic about what they include based on their specific situation.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀

These 6 slides showed up in every funded deck I analyzed:

• Problem (customer pain point)
• Solution/Value Proposition (your unique approach to solving it)
• Business Model (how you actually make money)
• Competition (why you’ll win in this space)
• Founding Team (proof you can execute)
• Fundraising (what you need and what you’ll do with it)

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗜𝘁 𝗪𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴

Most founders treat their deck like a checklist instead of a story.

Here’s what I see in the decks that get funded:

→ They lead with urgency, not features
→ They show traction, not just potential
→ They prove market understanding, not just market size
→ They demonstrate momentum, not just plans
.
But to be real with you, length doesn’t matter as much as flow. I’ve seen 8-slide decks raise millions and 15-slide decks get rejected immediately.

The difference? The successful ones build a compelling narrative that makes investors think: “This team understands something others don’t.”

See the breakdown below for what successful startups recommend – but remember, your deck should reflect your story, not someone else’s template.

What’s the best pitch deck advice you’ve received?