Raise money

What slides should my pitch deck have, and in what order?

The short answer

Use the battle-tested Sequoia structure: purpose, problem, solution, why now, market size, competition, product, business model, team, and financials, in roughly that order. Ten to twelve clean slides, one idea per slide. Don't reinvent the format; investors read hundreds of decks and expect this flow.

Go deeper, your way

3 hand-picked resources, 3 link-checked. Pick how you want to dig in.

📄 Article
✓ Link checked Freemium Intermediate

Why we picked it A modern, tactical fundraising and pitch playbook aggregating advice from top operators and investors. Strong on how to build the narrative and materials that actually move investors today.

A Playbook for Fundraising (and building your pitch)

From Lenny's Newsletter by Lenny Rachitsky 25 min read

  • Spend real time (weeks) building the deck and narrative; the story is the product you're selling
  • Make the pitch conversational and use slides as backup, not a script
  • Nail the 'why now' and the narrative before obsessing over design
Open lennysnewsletter.com →
📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Intermediate

Why we picked it First Round Review turns storytelling from a buzzword into concrete pitch structure, drawing on a former Pixar CTO's approach. Perfect for founders whose facts are strong but whose narrative falls flat.

Take Your Fundraising Pitch from Mediocre to Memorable with Storytelling

From First Round Review by First Round Review 20 min read

  • Zoom out to the trend and 'why now' before zooming into your product
  • Lead with the team and the change in the world, then make your solution feel inevitable
  • Use narrative to make investors lean in; numbers support the story, not replace it
Open review.firstround.com →
📋 Template
✓ Link checked Free Beginner

Why we picked it The de facto global standard for pitch deck structure, straight from Sequoia. The same outline Airbnb's founders used; if you follow one template, follow this one.

Writing a Business Plan (The Sequoia Pitch Deck Template)

From Sequoia Capital by Sequoia Capital 10 min read

  • Ten-slide structure: purpose, problem, solution, why now, market size, competition, product, model, team, financials
  • Define your company in a single declarative sentence up front
  • One idea per slide; the deck earns the meeting, it doesn't answer everything
Open sequoiacap.com →

Terms in this answer

Business Model Pitch Deck

People also ask

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