After you have fleshed out your business plan you will have the information you will need for a slide presentation (e.g., PowerPoint). This 12-slide presentation conveys

12 CRITICAL SLIDES

Title slide: your company’s name, a short company description, name of presenter(s) if presenting in person.

Your elevator pitch: a succinct description of your products or services, market, and competitive advantages. Use vibrant language, and if possible, embed audio or video to demonstrate your product or service.

Size of opportunity: this is what investors — VCs even more so than angels — want to know. To what size can your company potentially grow and what are your plans for future development?

Your specific target customers: who they are and the customer needs that your product or service will meet.

The market size: numbers and dollars, past growth, growth forecasts.

The competition: division of market share, how your product compares to theirs, your value proposition in comparison to the competition’s, and barriers to entry.

Your team: who they are, their past successes and experience, and why they are qualified to do the job.

The business model: how you will distribute your product, pricing strategies, how you will reach your customers.

Milestones: a time line that outlines when you expect to reach key achievements.

Financials: a brief summary of key points from your income statement, balance sheet, and/or cash flow projections.

Funding: how much you are asking for in this round, how many future rounds are expected, how much you will request during those rounds, and how the funds will be used.

The investment opportunity: potential exit strategies and financial return for investors.