How to Create a Pitch Deck

Choose the reader and the purpose

A deck sent by email must make sense without narration. A live presentation can use less text because you provide context. Prepare the version the recipient will actually use, and test the exported file rather than only the editable source.

Write a one-sentence explanation of the business before designing slides. 'We help [customer] solve [problem] through [product]' exposes missing clarity more quickly than choosing colours. Y Combinator's pitch-design resource is a useful additional reference for presentation structure.

Sources: Y Combinator: How to design a better pitch deck

Use a concise working outline

The following is our suggested outline, not a mandatory investor template. Combine or reorder slides where your evidence requires it. A deep-tech company may need more technical validation; a marketplace may need to explain both sides of its market.

• Company: one clear sentence and contact details.
• Customer and problem: a specific situation, not a broad trend.
• Product: show the core workflow or demonstration.
• Evidence: pilots, revenue, retention or technical results, accurately labelled.
• Market: define the buyer and explain a bottom-up estimate.
• Business model: who pays, for what and how often.
• Distribution: how you reach and convert that buyer.
• Alternatives: include the existing workaround.
• Team: relevant responsibilities and experience.
• Ask: amount, use of funds and measurable milestone.

Turn vague slides into evidence

Illustrative weak claim: 'Customers love our product.' A more useful version is: 'Three of five pilot teams used the product again within four weeks; two have paid for the next month.' This is an invented example of reporting, not a result achieved by our community.

State the period, sample size and definition beside the number. A letter of intent is not revenue, a free pilot is not a paying customer, and pipeline is not signed business. Explain what the result suggests and what remains uncertain.

Make the commercial logic visible

Build an initial market estimate from a plausible customer count and annual spend, then show where those inputs come from. Distinguish the segment you can reach now from the much larger market you might enter later.

Connect distribution costs, pricing and delivery costs. For illustration, a product priced at EUR 100 per month cannot support unlimited hands-on onboarding without a plan to change the economics. Investors should be able to see the question, not discover it hidden in an appendix.

Design for reading

Give each slide one main point and enough contrast to read on a laptop or phone. Use a real product view when it explains the workflow. Remove tiny labels, decorative charts and unsupported superlatives.

Keep an appendix for assumptions, detailed cohorts and technical validation. Check that graphs have units, periods and sources. Ask someone unfamiliar with the business to explain it back after reading the deck; their misunderstandings tell you where to revise.

Check before sharing

Export a PDF, open it on a second device and test every link. Use a descriptive filename with a date or version. Do not include unnecessary personal data or confidential customer details in an unrestricted deck.

End with the next step you want: feedback, a pilot introduction or an investment fit discussion. Our investment page lists the material to send to hello@eestistartup.ee. A deck review or submission does not guarantee financing.

• Numbers match the financial model.
• Actuals and forecasts are clearly separated.
• Contact details and permissions work.
• The funding ask leads to a measurable milestone.