Get the facts straight: common pitch deck mistakes

Details, facts, and numbers can make or break your investment deal.

Zambia Investment analyst Nsamwa Mwale from Hivos Impact Investments at hivosimpactinvestments.com shares 5 shortcomings entrepreneurs make with pitch decks.

1. Complex pitch decks.
“I have gone through ‘pitch decks’ that are 50-100 slides and is centred around what the market potential and what could be, rather than articulating what you are doing to take over the market. Simple, clear, and concise is all we ask for. Make me want to know more. ”

2. Get the problem right
“An entrepreneur needs clearly explain the problem they are trying to solve and why this is relevant to the masses. Investors need to see that reflected in the pitch deck.”

3. Unrealistic goals
“A company with a historical growth rate of 2-5% anticipating a 300% growth with no clear indication of how this will happen. It comes off as ambitious than realistic.”

4. Missing growth projections
“If you are pitching for invesment, you need to know how much you need to grow your business to the next level and express this in a clear growth strategy or projection.”

5. No industry expertise in team
” If you are getting into an expert-based field, such as insurance, for instance, this should be reflected in the team expertise. Who is driving your expertise? Who is the grey hair of the company? Why did you venture into this field?”

As an entrepreneur, what have been some of your key learnings on pitch decks?

Tags: , , , , , ,