An early-stage investor screens a deck in about a minute and a half. Here are the questions to answer in that time and the slide order.
Every cohort hundreds of applications reach Çimlen, and the average time a panel member gives a pitch deck at first glance is 90 seconds. In that short time the team, the problem and the progress must be understood. A good pre-seed deck stands out not through fancy design but through a clear story. The order below is a skeleton recommended by our mentors after reviewing hundreds of presentations.
1. One-sentence definition
On the first slide, describe what your company does in ten words: who you serve, which problem and how you solve it. For example: 'A pre-accounting assistant that automates invoice and expense tracking for SMEs'.
2. Problem
Describe the problem with a customer story and a number. Show how the customer solves it today and what it costs them. Investors want to believe the problem is real and painful.
3. Solution and product
Use a product screenshot or a short demo. Instead of a feature list, show which job the customer does faster.
4. Traction
At pre-seed this is the strongest slide: number of customers interviewed, pilots, first revenue, waiting list, weekly growth. If you have no numbers, write the three most important lessons learned.
5. Market
Instead of a big top-down market figure, multiply the number of customers you can first reach by the average price. Then explain the growth path.
6. Business model
How do you make money, what is the revenue per customer and what is the acquisition cost? If you do not know yet, state your assumptions clearly.
7. Competition
Do not say 'we have no competitors'. Show the customer's current alternative (a spreadsheet, a manual process, a large software suite) and explain why they would choose you.
8. Team
Write the experience that shows why the founders can solve this problem better than other teams. A balance of technical and commercial skills is expected in the team.
9. Financial plan and ask
Show how much investment you are seeking, what you will spend it on for an 18-month runway and which milestones you will reach in that period. Our runway calculator gives a quick start for this slide.
10. Contact and next step
On the last slide leave your email, phone and a link to access the product.
You can show your deck to our team in a pitch deck clinic session before applying. This content is general information and is not investment advice.
Three frequent mistakes
- Turning the deck into a product brochure: investors want to see customer behaviour more than features.
- Giving numbers without sources: note the assumption and source of each market size in a small footnote.
- Presenting for too long: 10-12 slides and at most a 15-minute talk are enough; leave the details to an appendix.
Finally, have someone outside the team watch the presentation and note the first three questions they ask. These questions are usually the points missing from the slides.