We have just finished reviewing a large number of startup pitch decks. Founders from across the ecosystem, at various stages, preparing for fundraising. Some early-stage, some early growth-stage. Some first-time founders, others serial entrepreneurs.

It was a revealing exercise.

There is a lot of raw founder talent out there. Real problems being solved. Genuine ambition on display. And yet, deck after deck, we kept seeing a pattern of missed opportunities. The same structural gaps. The same underselling of genuinely strong companies.

So we wrote it all down.

What follows are 15 firm, honest, and we hope — useful — recommendations for any founder currently building or upgrading their pitch deck. These are not abstract principles. They come directly from what we saw, and what we know many investors look for.

Take them seriously. Your deck is often the first impression. Make it count.

1. Don’t build tiny companies.

This may sound blunt, but it needs to be said. If your deck describes a business that will generate $2M in revenue and employ 12 people, you are not describing a venture-backable company. You may be describing a fine business. But not a venture-backable one. Investors are not looking for small. They are looking for transformational. Before you write a single slide, ask yourself honestly: are we building something genuinely big?

2. Do build scalable, high-growth companies.

The corollary to point one is this: build for scale from day one. That means a business model that can grow without linear cost increases. A product that can reach new markets without rebuilding from scratch. A team that can scale with the company. When you sit down to work on your deck, ask: where does the hockey stick come from? If you cannot answer that clearly, the deck is not ready.

3. Know which deck you are building.

There is not one pitch deck. There are several. The teaser deck. The investor deck. The demo day deck. The full due diligence deck. Each has a different purpose, a different length, a different level of detail. We see founders send a 40-slide full due diligence deck as their first outreach. We see others send a 6-slide teaser when they are already in detailed conversations. Know your audience. Know your moment. Build the right deck for the right context.

4. Don’t waste prime real estate.

Every slide has a headline. Most founders waste it. Instead of writing “Market Size”, write: “The European SaaS market is €48B and growing at 22% annually.” Instead of “Team”, write: “We are the most qualified team in Europe to solve this problem.” The slide headline is your most valuable real estate on the page. Use it to make a point, not label a category.

A practical habit: write the slide type — Team, Market, Ask, Traction — in the upper right corner of the slide. Then use the headline to deliver the key message. Every. Single. Slide.

5. Be more ambitious.

We say this with respect, because we know how hard the founder journey is. But time and again, we see founders undersell themselves, their markets and their vision. The TAM is presented conservatively. The projections are modest. The ambition is hedged. Investors fund ambition. They fund founders who believe they can change an industry. Your deck should reflect that belief. If you don’t believe it, work on that first. If you do believe it, let it show.

6. Make your roadmap longer than 24 months.

A 12 or 18-month roadmap is not a vision. It is a project plan. Investors are thinking about 5-15 year return cycles. They need to see where you are going, not just what you are doing next quarter. Build a roadmap that goes beyond 24 months. Show the milestones, the market expansion, the product evolution, the team build-out. A longer roadmap signals strategic thinking. It shows you understand the journey ahead.

7. Share your funding plan alongside the roadmap.

The roadmap and the funding plan should live together. For each phase of growth, show what capital is required, what it will be used for, and what milestones it unlocks. This is not just good storytelling — it is good investor communication. It shows you understand the relationship between capital deployment and value creation. It makes the investment thesis clear. Roadmap without a funding plan is a wish list. Roadmap with a funding plan is a strategy.

8. Improve all things financials.

This is non-negotiable. Weak financial slides kill deals. If your revenue model is unclear, fix it. If your unit economics are missing, add them. If your projections have no logic behind them, rebuild them. Investors will stress-test your numbers. You need to know them cold, and the deck needs to show them clearly. This includes your burn rate, your path to profitability or next funding milestone, your key financial assumptions and your LTV/CAC ratios. Do the work. The numbers matter.

9. Focus on your top 3 selling points.

We see decks that try to say everything. They end up saying nothing. Identify the three most compelling reasons to invest in your company. Make those three points impossible to miss. Put them front and centre. Repeat them across the narrative arc of the deck. Everything else is supporting evidence. Investors remember three things. Make sure you choose which three.

10. Show your AI slide.

If you are building in 2026 and you do not have a clear AI story, you are leaving a major question mark in the investor’s mind. This does not mean adding “powered by AI” to a bullet point. It means showing how AI is structurally embedded in what you are building. For example: “We have built a unique end-to-end AI stack. Two people and ten agents work like a team of twenty would have done two years ago.” Show the leverage. Show the efficiency gain. Show the defensibility. Your AI strategy is now a core part of your investment thesis.

11. Add your own GTM slide — and make it count.

There are certain slides that should appear in every deck, yet we regularly see them missing or buried. Your deck must clearly address: your value proposition, your beachhead market, your go-to-market channels, your traction to date, and your early customer love. Do not assume investors will piece this together from context. Give each its own moment. A great customer quote, an early logo wall, a clear pipeline breakdown — these build confidence rapidly. These slides tell investors that you understand your business, your market, and your customer.

12. Address investor liquidity and exit — head on.

This is a sensitive topic. Some founders love talking about it. Some feel it is premature. Some worry it signals they want to exit early. Here is our view: the topic is too important to ignore, and ignoring it does not make it go away. Investors in your company have a fiduciary obligation to return capital. They need a credible path to liquidity. Show that you have thought about it. Present your exit strategy — whether that is an M&A pathway, a strategic acquirer, an IPO horizon, or a secondary transaction mechanism. You do not need to have all the answers. But you need to have the conversation.

13. Show the round, the momentum and the closing strategy.

Your Ask slide is not just a number. It is a story of momentum. Who is already in? What are the terms? What is the timeline to close? What milestones will this round unlock? Strong rounds have social proof and urgency. Show that the round is moving. Show that serious people are already leaning in. If you have a lead investor, say so. If you have soft commitments, reference them. Investors want to join a round that is moving — not one that is stuck.

14. Show how you can build a venture-size, backable company.

This is the meta-question behind every investor review. Can this company return the fund? Is this a real venture opportunity? The entire deck, in a sense, is an answer to this question. But it is worth addressing it directly. Show your market scale. Show your margin structure at scale. Show your competitive position five years out. Show why this company — with this team, in this market, at this moment — can become something truly significant. That is what backable means. Make the case.

15. Focus on your top key metrics.

Founders often drown investors in data. More metrics do not equal more credibility. In fact, the opposite is often true: a founder who can identify and explain the three or four metrics that truly drive their business demonstrates a level of strategic clarity that inspires confidence. Pick your north star metric. Show its trajectory. Show what drives it. If you are pre-revenue, show the leading indicators that matter. If you are post-revenue, show ARR growth, NRR, CAC payback and gross margin. Know your numbers. Own your narrative.

A Final Word

The founders who raise successfully are not always the ones with the best product. They are often the ones who communicate their vision most clearly, who understand what investors need to see, and who treat the deck as a serious strategic document — not an afterthought.

Use this list. Work through it slide by slide. And go build something great.