All You Need - Creating a Pitch Deck in 2025

You have a brilliant, world-changing idea. You’ve spent countless nights refining it, building it, and preparing to show it to the world. But when you stand in front of investors - the people with the power to make it all happen - you’re met with polite nods, vacant stares, and the dreaded phrase, "We'll be in touch."

If your pitch isn't landing, the problem isn't your vision. It's the story you're telling.

A pitch deck is more than just a presentation; it's the most critical storytelling tool in your fundraising arsenal. It must be clear, compelling, and concise. It needs to build trust and inspire confidence in under 10 minutes.

This is not another generic list of slides. This is the definitive guide to creating a pitch deck that wins funding in 2025. We will provide a step-by-step framework covering the essential slides, the common mistakes that guarantee failure, and the single most powerful tool for explaining a complex idea: the pitch deck video.

By the end of this guide, you will have a blueprint to craft a pitch that doesn't just explain your business - it makes investors believe in it.

What Is a Pitch Deck?

At its core, a pitch deck is a brief, visual presentation that provides a high-level overview of your business plan. It's designed to be presented to potential investors, partners, and customers to articulate your vision and persuade them to join your journey.

It is not a 100-page business plan filled with dense paragraphs. It is not a technical manual. A successful pitch deck is a storytelling tool. Its primary job is to spark interest and secure a second meeting where you can dive into the details. Whether presented live or sent via email, its purpose remains the same: to deliver a clear, compelling, and memorable narrative about your business.

The 10 Slides for Every Investor Pitch

While every business is unique, successful pitch decks almost always follow a proven structure. This 10-slide model, popularized by venture capitalists, covers the exact information investors need to see to make a decision.

1. The Vision / Hook Slide

This is your title slide, but it needs to do more than just state your company name. In one single, powerful sentence, you must explain what you do. This is your high-concept pitch.

• Goal: To grab attention and immediately communicate your core value.

• Example: "We are the Airbnb for office spaces."

• Expert Tip: Avoid jargon. Your hook should be so clear that anyone can understand it instantly.

2. The Problem Slide

You must now articulate the pain point you are solving. Why does your business need to exist? A well-defined problem creates an immediate emotional connection and establishes the market need for your solution.

• Goal: To make the investor feel the urgency and scale of the problem.

• Example: "Every year, businesses waste over £10 billion on office space that sits empty 40% of the time."

• Expert Tip: Use relatable examples and hard data to quantify the problem. The bigger and more painful the problem, the more valuable the solution.

3. The Solution Slide

Now that you've established the problem, introduce your product or service as the clear, elegant solution. This is where you reveal your "magic."

• Goal: To present your solution in a simple, easy-to-grasp way.

• Example: "Our platform allows businesses to rent out their unused desk space by the day or week, turning a fixed cost into a new revenue stream."

• Expert Tip: This is the perfect place for a 60-second product demo video. A short animation can show your product in action far more effectively than bullet points can.

4. The Market Size Slide (TAM, SAM, SOM)

Investors need to know the potential return on their investment. This slide demonstrates the size of your market opportunity.

• Goal: To prove that the market is large enough to support a venture-scale business.

• Example: "The global commercial real estate market (TAM) is £10 trillion. The flexible office space market (SAM) is £100 billion. Our obtainable market in London (SOM) over the next 3 years is £500 million."

• Expert Tip: Be realistic but ambitious. Use credible, third-party sources for your Total Addressable Market (TAM) numbers.

5. The Business Model Slide

How do you make money? This slide needs to be simple and clear.

• Goal: To explain your revenue streams in a way that is easy to understand.

• Example: "We take a 15% commission on every transaction made through our platform."

• Expert Tip: Keep it simple. Avoid complex models. If you have multiple revenue streams, focus on the primary one for clarity.

6. The Go-to-Market Slide

How will you reach your customers and grow your business? This slide outlines your marketing and sales strategy.

• Goal: To show investors you have a credible plan for customer acquisition.

• Example: "Phase 1: Direct outreach to the top 100 property managers in London. Phase 2: Launch a targeted B2B digital marketing campaign. Phase 3: Build a referral program."

• Expert Tip: Focus on your early-stage, actionable plan, not a vague five-year vision. Show that you know how to get your first 100 customers.

7. The Competition Slide

Every business has competitors. Acknowledging them shows you've done your homework. The key is to show how you are different and better.

• Goal: To demonstrate your unique value proposition and defensible advantage.

• Example: Use a 2x2 matrix plotting competitors on axes like "Flexibility" vs. "Cost." Place your company in the top-right, "High Flexibility, Low Cost" quadrant.

• Expert Tip: Never dismiss your competition. Instead, focus on what makes you uniquely positioned to win. This could be your technology, your business model, or your team.

8. The Team Slide

Investors invest in people first, ideas second. This slide introduces your core founding team.

• Goal: To convince investors that you have the right team to execute the vision.

• Example: Include headshots, names, roles, and 1-2 bullet points of highly relevant experience for each core member (e.g., "Ex-Head of Growth at WeWork," "Lead Engineer from Google's Real Estate Tech division").

• Expert Tip: Highlight domain expertise. Why is your team uniquely qualified to solve this specific problem?

9. Financials & The Ask Slide

This slide summarizes your key financial projections and clearly states what you are asking for.

• Goal: To show your financial plan and specify your funding needs.

• Example: "We are raising a £500,000 seed round to achieve a 12-month runway. These funds will be allocated to: 40% Product Development, 40% Sales & Marketing, 20% Operations." Include a simple chart showing projected revenue growth over 3 years.

• Expert Tip: Be specific and justify your ask. Investors need to see exactly how their money will be used to fuel growth.

10. The Contact Slide

End with a simple, clean slide with your contact information.

• Goal: To make it easy for an interested investor to take the next step.

• Example: Include your name, title, email, phone number, and a link to your website.

• Expert Tip: Keep it clean and professional.

The Unfair Advantage: Why a Pitch Deck Video is Your Secret Weapon

You've built the perfect 10-slide deck. But in a world where investors see hundreds of pitches a month, how do you truly stand out? You need an unfair advantage. That advantage is video.

A short, powerful animated pitch deck embedded on your solution slide or sent as a follow-up can achieve what static slides cannot.

• It Grabs Attention Instantly: A well-crafted fundraising video immediately sets you apart from the sea of text-heavy PowerPoints.

• It Simplifies Complexity: This is the most crucial benefit. If your product is technical or novel, you can't rely on bullet points. A 60-second animation can demonstrate your "how it works" with perfect clarity, ensuring no one is left confused.

• It Shows, It Doesn't Just Tell: You can show your product in action, visualize data in a compelling way, and build a world around your brand. Motion graphics make abstract concepts tangible.

• It Conveys Passion: A video allows you to control the narrative, tone, and pacing in a way that static slides can't, conveying the energy and passion of your team.

Struggling to make your complex idea clear? A pitch deck video is the single best tool to ensure your vision is not just seen, but understood and remembered.

Conclusion: Your Story, Clear!

A winning pitch deck is more than a collection of data; it's a compelling, data-backed story. By following this structure, you create a narrative that is clear, logical, and persuasive. You anticipate the questions investors will ask and provide clear, confident answers.

Remember that the goal of the pitch deck isn't to close the deal on the spot. It's to start a conversation. Your deck must be clear enough and compelling enough to make the investor say, "Interesting. Tell me more."