Best practices for a great pitch deck and presentation
30 december 2022

Best practices for a great pitch deck and presentation

The advice in this article is based on the experiences of the Angelwise team and of various VC partners.

 

Before contacting any investors, make sure you know their investment strategy. Nothing triggers a worst response than to try an pitch to someone who is not investing in your type of company.

 

And remember: you have only one chance to make a first impression.

The 13 page slide deck

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13

Purpose



Problem



Solution



Product



Team



Why now



Market



Competition



Business model




Traction



Financials



Exit



Ask

 

Grab the attention of the investors on what your company is about with some compelling data or statement.


Describe clearly what problem you’re addressing and the benefit (from the customer perspective) of fixing it.


Demonstrate how you’re fixing the problem and what the metrics are that demonstrate your customer is getting value.


Describe what your product is, how it solves the problem you attack and map out how the product will evolve.


Introduce the team that will make your company a success, who are the founders, management, board and advisors.


Highlight why the timing is right for your company to introduce your product.



Demonstrate who your target customer is and that you’re operating in a big, growing market.



What are the current solutions that you will displace or complement and what is your USP vs. competition (any IP?).


Who do you sell to and how, pricing, marketing & sales strategy and process, CAC & LTV.




Show your traction, articulate revenue to date, positive commitments and/or indicators of future revenue growth


Include a table with a forecast with # customers, revenue, gross profit, opex, EBITDA, # employees and cash, starting with the current/last trading year.


Define your exit strategy and horizon, identify current M&A in your space and potential acquirers.


Clearly express what your are looking for in terms of investment, what is the use of funds, and specify other financing sources.

 

 

Purpose

Grab the attention of the investors on what your company is about with some compelling data or statement.


Problem

Describe clearly what problem you’re addressing and the benefit (from the customer perspective) of fixing it.


Solution

Demonstrate how you’re fixing the problem and what the metrics are that demonstrate your customer is getting value.


Product

Describe what your product is, how it solves the problem you attack and map out how the product will evolve.


Team

Introduce the team that will make your company a success, who are the founders, management, board and advisors.


Why now

Highlight why the timing is right for your company to introduce your product.


Market

Demonstrate who your target customer is and that you’re operating in a big, growing market.


Competitipon

What are the current solutions that you will displace or complement and what is your USP vs. competition (any IP?).


Business model

Who do you sell to and how, pricing, marketing & sales strategy and process, CAC & LTV.


Traction

Show your traction, articulate revenue to date, positive commitments and/or indicators of future revenue growth


Financials

Include a table with a forecast with # customers, revenue, gross profit, opex, EBITDA, # employees and cash, starting with the current/last trading year.


Exit

Define your exit strategy and horizon, identify current M&A in your space and potential acquirers.


Ask

Clearly express what your are looking for in terms of investment, what is the use of funds, and specify other financing sources.

 

Presentation tips

A few tips for delivering your pitch presentation:


Be prepared

This is the determining factor on how well or not your idea will fly before an investor. “Do the work. Out-work. Out-think. Out-sell your expectations. There are no shortcuts.” (Mark Cuban)


Know your audience

Do some background check on the investor, this can help you tailor your pitch.


Expertise and ambition

Demonstrate that you are a business-savvy and ambitious intellect who knows how to roll up his sleeves and get dirty in the real world, willing to go to any length (positively of course) to achieve his vision of conquering the relevant market space. Highlight your (and your team’s) achievements.


Unnecessary information

Maximize the time you have by being brief and precise, with the relevant data points.


Be visual

Visual messages always make the most out of your pitching presentation, avoid to many words.


Know your business

Have the right facts and figures figured out, know your long term goals and a plan to achieving them.


Brief, clear and open

Don’t get lost in detail, or in complexity. Make sure you explain in concrete details how you intend to create a space for yourself in the market. What size of the market do you occupy? What are your go-to-market plans? Give current stats in the market to validate your knowledge base the industry you are in.


Clear ask

Make sure you know what the investment will be used for, be open on your other (existing or potential) investors.


Easy to contact

Provide all your contact details, and set-up an easy way to schedule a (follow-up) meeting.


Be prepared




Know your audience



Expertise And Ambition






Unnecessary Information



Be Visual




Know your business




Brief, clear and open






Clear ask





Easy to contact




This is the determining factor on how well or not your idea will fly before an investor. “Do the work. Out-work. Out-think. Out-sell your expectations. There are no shortcuts.” (Mark Cuban)



Do some background check on the investor, this can help you tailor your pitch.



Demonstrate that you are a business-savvy and ambitious intellect who knows how to roll up his sleeves and get dirty in the real world, willing to go to any length (positively of course) to achieve his vision of conquering the relevant market space. Highlight your (and your team’s) achievements.



Maximize the time you have by being brief and precise, with the relevant data points.



Visual messages always make the most out of your pitching presentation, avoid to many words.



Have the right facts and figures figured out, know your long term goals and a plan to achieving them.



Don’t get lost in detail, or in complexity. Make sure you explain in concrete details how you intend to create a space for yourself in the market. What size of the market do you occupy? What are your go-to-market plans? Give current stats in the market to validate your knowledge base the industry you are in.



Make sure you know what the investment will be used for, be open on your other (existing or potential) investors.



Provide all your contact details, and set-up an easy way to schedule a (follow-up) meeting.


In short, tell a short but great story and demonstrate that you and your team will deliver the plan. Make sure you show how you work with your customers. Be real.


Follow-Up

Be ready to follow-up with:

  • Data to support your presentation
  • Your business and financial plan, this should be complete but not overly complex. Make sure there is a clear link between the drivers of your business and the financial results.
  • Company structure, including current cap table (and a history if relevant)
  • Detailed product demonstration (better yet – a demo account)
  • More detailed information on questions asked


16 juli 2025
DeltaBlue haalt 3,3 miljoen euro op om commerciële expansie in Europa te versnellen Hasselt , 19 Juni 2025 – DeltaBlue, onafhankelijke Belgische aanbieder van hybride cloud infrastructuur en managed services, haalt 3,3 miljoen euro groeikapitaal op. De kapitaalronde werd onderschreven door het eigen management, bestaande aandeelhouders en nieuwe investeerders zoals de Limburgse investeringsmaatschappij LRM, Angelwise, de broers Schaefer, ervaren ondernemers in technologie en e-commerce. DeltaBlue, gelegen op de Hasseltse Corda Campus, helpt bedrijven hun cloudreis te vereenvoudigen. Zo maakt het met haar krachtig platform cloud-native beheer sneller, slimmer en efficiënter. Dat maakt van hen een interessante partner voor (digitale) agentschappen, applicatiebouwers en MSP’s (Managed Services Provider). Bram Pieters, oprichter van DeltaBlue : “Voor veel organisaties is cloud infrastructuur vandaag een bottleneck. Niet alleen qua technologie, maar ook qua governance en kostenbeheersing. Met DeltaBlue bieden wij een oplossing op maat van Europese bedrijven die willen innoveren, zonder in te boeten aan controle of compliance. Zo ondersteunt ons platform bedrijven bij het sneller lanceren van digitale producten, zonder IT-complexiteit. Het is ook ideaal voor het behouden van datasoevereiniteit, want data en workloads blijven binnen de EU. Verder garanderen we met DeltaBlue een veilige, betrouwbare en voorspelbare cloud omgeving én wordt vendor lock-in verminderd dankzij open standaarden. Op die manier evolueert IT dus van een kostenpost naar een echte groeiversneller voor business.” Om haar commerciële expansie in België én Europa te versnellen, rondt het IT-bedrijf nu een kapitaalronde van 3,3 miljoen euro af. Bram: “In een tijd van snelle innovatie binnen cloud en AI is DeltaBlue uniek gepositioneerd om in Europa het verschil te maken als onafhankelijke cloud provider met betrouwbare next-gen infrastructuur. We hebben gerichte investeringen gedaan en zijn nu operationeel winstgevend. Met de kapitaalronde schakelen we een versnelling hoger in onze go-to-marketstrategie en Europese uitrol.” Gesterkt door strategische klanten Dat het innovatieve platform succesvol is, wordt alvast bevestigd door heel wat klinkende namen. “PrestaShop selecteerde exclusief DeltaBlue voor haar nieuwe Europese PaaS-aanbod. Ook Dynapps, de grootste Odoo-integrator in de Benelux en Twizzit, een SaaS-platform voor sportclubs, behoren tot ons klantenportfolio. Verder hebben we een partnership met Monotote, de AI e-commerce technologiepartner van o.a. Nike. Een andere referentie waarop we trots zijn is Take The Lead, expert in digitale transformatie”, licht Bram toe. Hybride cloud zonder compromis Samengevat zit de kracht van DeltaBlue dus in de eenvoud waarmee complexe IT-infrastructuur beheerd wordt via haar cloud platform (app.delta.blue). Voor bedrijfsleiders betekent dit: sneller op de markt, minder risico en volledige controle over digitale groei. “Bedrijven hoeven zich niet langer zorgen te maken over provisioning of complexe cloud architectuur. Ons managed cloud platform is ontworpen om IT-teams te ontlasten én bedrijfscontinuïteit te garanderen. Van ontwikkelingsomgeving tot productie, alles is veilig, schaalbaar en EU-compliant. Dankzij standaardcomponenten kunnen nieuwe producten sneller live gaan en wordt kostbare ontwikkeltijd bespaard”, aldus Bram. “We zijn verheugd DeltaBlue te kunnen ondersteunen in hun verdere groei. DeltaBlue heeft met zijn unieke technologie een mooie opportuniteit om een belangrijke speler te worden in de snelgroeiende en veranderende Cloud markt,” volgens Jan Vorstermans, Managing Partner bij Angelwise. Over DeltaBlue DeltaBlue biedt een vendor-neutrale hybride cloud infrastructuur, waarmee organisaties workloads kunnen beheren over: - on-premise omgevingen - private cloud-oplossingen - hyperscalers zoals AWS, Azure en Google Cloud - én Europese aanbieders zoals IONOS, Leaseweb, OVHcloud en UpCloud Bovendien verlaagt DeltaBlue dankzij zijn gestroomlijnde orchestration-model de operationele overhead bij het beheren en verdelen van cloud toepassingen. Zo realiseren klanten een optimale Total Cost of Operations (TCO) zonder in te boeten op flexibiliteit of veiligheid. Over LRM LRM is een rendement gedreven investeringsmaatschappij, die in en vanuit Limburg duurzame economische groei ontgint en stimuleert. LRM is de stuwende kracht in een uniek regionaal ecosysteem en stelt risicofinanciering en expertise ter beschikking aan bedrijven en projecten, die zorgen voor welvaart én welzijn in Limburg en Vlaanderen ( www.lrm.be ). Over Angelwise Angelwise is een early-stage investeringsfonds dat zich er vooral op richt om startups en jonge bedrijven maximaal te ondersteunen naar een volgende fase in hun groei, liefst samen met business angels of andere early-stage fondsen. De belangrijkste aandeelhouders van het fonds zijn PMV, COI, BAN Flanders, de fondsmanagers en meer dan tachtig business angels. Het fonds is opgericht in 2021 en heeft ca. € 20 miljoen opgehaald om een ecosysteem van bedrijven te bouwen dat de digitale transformatie van de maatschappij mee kan realiseren. Voor meer informatie, zie www.angelwise.be .
16 juni 2025
Angelwise celebration event: Angel Awards On June 12 2025, we welcomed our investors, founders, and partners for an evening of connection and celebration at the beautiful offices of Cresco Advocaten in Antwerp. We shared recent successes, looked ahead to exciting opportunities, and honored standout founders with our Angel Awards. A heartfelt thank you to Cresco for hosting us, to Inés from The Beacon for her inspiring talk on innovation in Antwerp, and to everyone who joined us in building the Angelwise community. Onwards
16 mei 2025
Perfect-ID, the company behind Palmki, proudly announces the appointment of Frank Staut as its new Chief Technology Officer. With his extensive background in technological innovation and digital transformation, Frank will lead the strategic and technical development of Palmki’s biometric solutions. His arrival reinforces Perfect-ID’s ambition to establish palm vein technology as a secure and user-friendly international standard for access and transactions. More information on: Info