Provide your company name, contact info (it is surprising how many decks don’t have contact info), and a logo/slogan. Don’t use excessive graphics or color, particularly background graphics.

Tell me what your product or idea is and why it’s valuable. This is often called the value proposition. Just give us a brief overview that summarizes what you have, why it’s better, and why someone would part with money to buy it.

What’s the problem you’re trying to solve and how will your product/service achieve this? Be explicit and make us understand why this problem needs your product/service to be rectified. Graphics/pictures is very appropriate here. Sometimes a simple graphic or video tells the whole story.

We know you’re asking for money, so don’t hide – tell us now. How much do you want and what terms are you proposing? We don’t want to go through your whole deck only to learn at the end that you want $20M for a 2% stake in your non-revenue producing company.

Who is your customer? Describe the market you intend to infiltrate and who your competition might be. Show us how and why you’re better than everyone else. A straight-forward chart/matrix is great for this purpose. It should show all the great attributes that your product has, and that the competition lacks.

This establishes barriers to entry and the more you have the better – but if none do not include a slide.

Path to market (sales/marketing/production) – Share how you intend to get this product into the marketplace and generate revenue. If this involves several channels, show us your current/initial focus and how you will ultimately expand your sales efforts.

Financial Assumptions – Include information on return on investment, evaluation justification, break even points, etc. Please provide projections but avoid hockey-stick projections that overestimate your sales. Include present revenue, expense, margins, and any other key performance indicators appropriate to your business (such as customer acquisition cost). We want to see your performance to-date and your future direction.

Who’s running this thing? Give us a brief overview of your team members, their skillsets, and how this will make your endeavor succeed.

Reiterate your ask and tell us how you plan to allocate the funds you’re seeking. A pie chart is a good vehicle for presenting this vital information.

Contact information.

Put all the other information here. You can include additional background information, research, financial details, case studies, etc. Consider putting hyperlinks in the presentation that link the reader to further info. This is also very effective when delivering this presentation in person.