Do you need a pitch deck?

When most people hear the word “pitch deck” they think of VC-backed unicorns like Airbnb, Yelp, Facebook, or WeWork and investment bankers from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citi Group or Credit Suisse.

However, pitch decks have evolved from tools of Silicon Valley to strategy boosting methods of every day companies, nonprofits, and local businesses.

Here are 20 ways you can use a pitch deck to win new business, present your idea, or help your nonprofit thrive.

Unique scenarios that require a pitch deck

Software Startups: The most obvious. If you are a software startup entrepreneur seeking a seed capital from angel investors and venture capitalists, an investor pitch deck is an absolute necessity for raising money.

Starting A Local Business: Starting a new local service company like a construction firm, plumbing business, or commercial cleaning business, you may be approaching banks for a start up business loan, equipment lease, or SBA loan.

eCommerce Business: Raising money to purchase inventory, secure key supplier relationships, and secure new customer accounts and purchase orders.

Real Estate: Seeking capital to purchase or build real estate or pitching your city’s local economic development council to develop a piece of land.

Family Business: You own a family business and need an SBA loan to expand your business, acquire new assets or or buy a competitor.

Management Buyouts: Your employer is ready to retire and has no successor in the business and you want to present your case for acquiring the business when the current owner retires.

Buying a Business: You are seeking capital to acquire your first company and approaching individual investors or bankers for capital.

Opening a Restaurant: You are starting up a restaurant or food truck concept and raising capital from friends, family and your local bank.

Opening a Retail Store: You are opening a retail location in a strip mall, traditional mall, or outlet center and must present your business plan to the landlord to show that you will be a good fit and cover your lease payments.

Pitch Competitions: You are competing for investments or grants at a local pitch competition and want to capture the audience and sponsors with your new concept to win cash.

Startup Accelerator Applications: You are applying to a startup accelerator or incubator like 500 Startups or Y Combinator and they require a deck for your application.

Government Grants: You are writing grant applications to fund research, development and marketing to solve a novel problem.

Crowdfunding: You are building your profile on an equity crowdfunding platform like Indiegogo, Fundable, Kickstarter or SeedInvest.

Sales Presentations: You are making a sales presentation to a new potential customer and need to organize your value proposition in a compelling sales pitch deck.

Nonprofit Fundraising: You are a nonprofit and raising funds from donors at a dinner event for charity gala.

Joint Ventures: You are seeking joint venture business partners to coinvest in a new initiative and must show proof of your skills and past successes to secure key partnerships.

Fortune 500: You’re a fortune 500 company and seeking to partner with or acquire smaller companies and must communicate your fit and value to the founding teams.

Trade Show Presentations: You were presenting at a trade show in front of hundreds or even thousands of people and want to create a stunning visual presentation.

Chamber of Commerce: You are giving a presentation at your local Chamber of Commerce and want to impress local business owners with your business presentation skills and portray your value in the community.

Political Campaigns: You are running for office and want to describe the economic or social problems in your town and how you will go about solving them.

Summary

Regardless of your personal or business needs, creating a stunning and smooth pitch deck presentation can accelerate your success and improve your chances of getting what you want. Taking the time to build a professional pitch deck can change your business forever, and developing presentation skills to complement your pitch deck are even more important.

Nee help with your pitch deck? Book a consultation to learn about our process and how we help companies raise capital with stunning pitch decks every day.