Make a stronger first impression with a clear, confident deck that tells your story, highlights your value and earns investor attention.
You’ve got a great idea, a growing product and maybe even some early traction. But if your pitch deck is confusing, cluttered or just plain boring, you could lose investors before you’ve even opened your mouth.
Your pitch deck isn’t just a bunch of slides. It’s a tool to tell your story, make your value clear and build confidence in what you’re doing. Design plays a much bigger role in that than most founders realise.
Here’s how to design a pitch deck that looks great, tells a strong story and helps you stand out in a crowded inbox.
Before you open PowerPoint or Google Slides, nail your narrative. Your deck should have a clear flow, guiding investors through the key points they care about.
At minimum, include:
Keep it focused. One key idea per slide is usually enough. You’re not writing a novel. You’re creating a visual tool to support a conversation.
Investors are busy. They see hundreds of decks every month. Often, someone on their team is scanning your slides before the decision-maker even sees them. And when they do, they’ll likely skim rather than study.
That’s why clarity and layout are crucial. Your job is to highlight key messages and make them impossible to miss. Avoid large blocks of text and cluttered visuals.
Tips that help:
The easier it is to understand your idea quickly, the more likely investors are to stay engaged. A clean, well-structured deck shows confidence and clarity.
Don’t just talk about your product. Show it. Use clean screenshots, simple mockups or illustrations that make your solution feel real.
Graphs and charts work well too, but keep them simple. The takeaway should be obvious at a glance. If someone has to study it to get the point, it's too complex.
Skip the cheesy stock photos. If you use images, make sure they feel modern and relevant to your audience.
Even if your product is early, your pitch deck should reflect your brand. This doesn’t mean it needs to be overdesigned, but it should feel intentional.
Use your brand colours, fonts and logo. Make sure the tone of voice matches how you communicate elsewhere. Consistency builds trust, and a cohesive deck helps you look organised, even on a tight timeline.
Will you present your deck live or send it as a PDF? That choice should shape how you design it.
If presenting live, keep slides minimal and use them as visual support. If sending it in advance, include a bit more context so it makes sense on its own.
You might even create two versions: one for delivery and one for sending. Keep the structure the same but adapt the content slightly.
Small design tweaks can take your deck from scrappy to polished:
These details show you’ve taken care with your presentation. That care reflects well on your startup.
A strong pitch deck isn’t just about what you say. It’s about how clearly and confidently you say it. Good design helps your message land, keeps attention, and creates a solid first impression.
At The Marketing Mix, we help startups design decks that get read, remembered and shared. If you're getting ready to raise or want to polish your story, let’s talk.
