Pitch deck: what it must contain for investors to read to the end

A good pitch deck has 12–15 slides and answers three questions: what problem you solve, how big the market is and why you will win. What it most often lacks is credible market data.

Problem and solution

One slide for the problem and one for the solution. Show a specific customer and how much they are losing.

Market size

TAM, SAM and SOM calculated bottom-up, from the number of customers and the price, not as a percentage of a global report.

Competition

A table with 4–6 competitors and the criteria customers actually compare.

Pitch deck structure, slide by slide

The order of slides may vary, but investors look for the same information in every deck. Below is a layout that works for most funding rounds.

Slide 1 Title: company name, one sentence on what you do, and contact details.

Slide 2 Problem: who has it, how often it occurs and how much it costs the customer.

Slide 3 Solution: the product and what the customer gains, ideally shown with pilot results.

Slide 4 Market: TAM, SAM and SOM calculated bottom-up, with a source under every figure.

Slide 5 Business model: who pays, for what, how much and how often.

Slide 6 Traction: revenue, customers, contracts and letters of intent, meaning only what you can document.

Slide 7 Competition: a comparison table and your advantage.

Slide 8 Go-to-market: sales channels and customer acquisition cost.

Slide 9 Team: who is responsible for what and why these particular people will deliver the plan.

Slide 10 Financials: a 3–5 year forecast and the assumptions behind it.

Slide 11 The round: how much money you need and what you will spend it on.

Slide 12 Contact and appendices: contact details and a link to detailed materials.

How to calculate TAM, SAM and SOM bottom-up

A single large figure from a global report rarely convinces an investor. It is hard to verify and says nothing about how many customers you can realistically serve. It is better to calculate the market from the bottom up, from the number of customers and the price.

TAM, the total market: the number of all potential customers multiplied by one customer's annual purchase value.

SAM, the serviceable market: the part of TAM you can reach with your sales model and within your geographic coverage.

SOM, the obtainable market: the part of SAM you can realistically win within 3–5 years with your budget and team.

An example of the calculation for software for manufacturing companies: take the number of companies in a given PKD (Polish Classification of Activities) division and size class from Statistics Poland (the REGON register and the Local Data Bank), the annual licence price from your own price list or competitors' price lists, and the share of companies already using similar tools from the Statistics Poland survey on the use of information and communication technologies in enterprises. Every figure on the slide should have a footnote with its source and data year.

Where to find data for your pitch deck

Statistics Poland: the Local Data Bank, the REGON register and sector publications. Number of companies, employment, sold production.

Eurostat: comparisons between EU countries, when foreign expansion is part of the plan.

The National Court Register and the Financial Documents Repository: competitors' financial statements, their revenue and profitability.

Reports from industry associations and the trade press: trends and data that public statistics do not collect.

Your own data: pilot results, customer conversations, letters of intent.

How to check a competitor in the National Court Register

The most common pitch deck mistakes

Market size given as a percentage of a global report, without converting it to Poland and to your segment.

Figures without sources, or data that is several years old.

A “we have no competition” slide. Investors will read it as a lack of market knowledge.

A revenue forecast that does not follow from SOM and grows faster than the market you can win allows.

Too much text on a slide. The key message should be readable in a few seconds.

Frequently asked questions

How many slides should a pitch deck have?

Usually 12–15. The version sent by email can include more detail than the one presented live, but both must show the same figures.

Is it enough to quote the market size from a global report?

As a reference point, yes. But the headline figure should come from bottom-up calculations for the market you are actually entering.

Where can I get data if Statistics Poland does not have it?

From conversations with customers and experts, from competitors' financial statements in the National Court Register and from industry reports. If the market is a niche one, we collect this data in an in-depth market analysis, including through interviews and surveys.

Need market data for your pitch deck?

You will find basic data for a pitch deck in the ready-made Market Scan by MarketHub reports. If you need data tailored to your question, we will prepare an in-depth market analysis. We quote non-standard scopes individually.

See Market Scan In-depth market analysis