Basic to every startup/newco is having a pitch deck. An executive summaries as well, and while you know this, we wonder if we have pitch decks all wrong. Or if you believe that there’s a set order of slides to which you must strictly adhere.

Wrong.

Charlie O’Donnell of Brooklyn Bridge Ventures’ somewhat unofficial mantra is ‘Always Be Selling’ and truth be told, no matter what your official title is in your startup/newco, you’re doing sales. Especially in a lean company: unless you’re in a completely non-public facing role, you’re a salesperson for your company, which brings us to your investor presentation, your deck and everything in between.

According to Katherine O’Neill of NJ Jumpstart Angels, Broad Street Angels et al who spoke at a recent StartupOneStop investor breakfast, “The biggest failure companies make when they’re making a pitch is not saying within the first two or three sentences what their company does, the value of it, important clients, traction and sales and what they have accomplished. It sets up the analysis for me. If you don’t tell us that up front, we’re lost: we’re looking for missing pieces we don’t know if you’ve launched, we don’t know what you’ve got, we don’t know if there’s a patent, do you have revenue? And you’ve lost our interest because you’re not making the sale of your business.”

Always be selling.

Which is why we wonder if the investor deck needs a bit of rethinking as well. Especially if you have traction and you’re tackling a so-called ‘crowded spaces’ and let’s be honest: at this point in tech, which space isn’t crowded.

You needn’t go chapter and verse on the suggested pitch deck layout: problem, solution, product, business model, market size (and it better be big – big market=big opportunity=big exit). Investors do need the information, but if, say, the team has stellar street cred and a successful exit or two, don’t wait until later in the deck to mention the team: third or fourth slide, baby.

Speaking of crowded spaces, if you’re in one and you’re getting traction, again, don’t keep it a secret. Investors have short attention spans. If you have that information on a later slide, trust us, if you don’t get them in, as O’Neill said, the first few minutes, you’ve lost them by the seventh slide.

You’ve heard ad nauseam that the pitch deck needs to tell a story. Specifically, it’s the story of your company. You started a fresh food delivery service (there are a number of those around), but your Aunt Minnie in Ohio couldn’t get fresh produce delivered and even Amazon Fresh doesn’t serve her area. She has a ton of new neighbors, thanks to the urban flight caused by Covid, so you started a fresh food delivery service in secondary markets and have seen a 20% Month Over Month increase in business. You’re also now employing more locals – for investment, you may want to look at oft overlooked Opportunity Zones. But investors don’t want the story of your Auntie – they care about MOM.

Don’t do your presentation backwards and note to self: O’Neill pointed out what she called the investor dog whistle: the ability of investors to hear what you’re not saying. You’re not the first person through their door – or over their zoom. They hear what you’re saying and what you’re not saying.

“We’re scanning,” O’Neill warned. “We’re scanning for information – founders tend to dribble information. Why didn’t you say this up front? You’ve got great clients – why didn’t you say that??? In the first two sentences you’ve got to set the framework, then you can feed the stuff in and if you don’t say that stuff in the beginning, we’re going to search for it and we’re going to say that you’re not good sales people – you don’t know what’s going on.” Next.

Don’t save the best for last. Again, investors have seen it all, heard it all, and have short attention spans, so tell them something that they don’t know – or that they need to know that sets you apart and gives them confidence to write the check. They don’t care about every nuance of the tech – their focus is first and foremost on the bottom line.

And speaking of best for last, O’Neill also suggested that you leave them with a statement that’s going to make a lasting impression.

Forbes recently published A Guide To Investor Pitch Decks For Startup Fundraising. Along with the 15 slides that addresses what your company is doing and remember: the shorter the better. If you can tell your story in 10-12 slides, even better. As for the story you tell: it’s the story of what you’re doing, why it’s a great investment, and how you’re going to make them money. As Brian Cohen, Chairman Emeritus of the New York Angels and Founding Partner of New York Venture Partners often says, investors are in the exit business. And as we’ve said ourselves in the past, demonstrate to investors that you can get them to an exit, or they’ll be more than happy to show you to the door. Or more lately, ‘end meeting for all.’

We know that we’ve mentioned a lot of this before, and seemed a good time for a refresher course, as summer is over, officially as of this week, and investors are not only ‘back,’ but geographic location isn’t as critical a factor as it once was. The field has expanded but the rules haven’t changed: be honest, tell your story in a way that convinces investors that you and your company are a great bet. Sell them on you and the team. After all, investing is basically a bet on whether or not you’re the racehorse – and the team – that’s going to make it to the finish line. Bigly.

O’Neill also advised that it’s critical to have a good lawyer and a good accountant – preferably ones affiliated with the startup world, who can help with introductions.

Finally, if and when you get that zoom meeting, don’t clam up – or give them information that they don’t need or that doesn’t move the conversation forward. The purpose of the first meeting is to get to the next meeting. You may be the best founder in the world but as soon as the meeting starts, your job is sales. Remember that investor dog whistle and no matter who initiated the session, the investor is going to know exactly who’s zooming who.

Onward and forward.