Startup Pitch Deck Skill

---
name: startup-pitch-deck-skill
description: >-
  Startup presentation knowledge — pitch deck structures, board updates, launch
  decks, palettes, investor-readiness checklists.
license: Apache-2.0
compatibility: opencode
category: Startup/Business
---

## What I do

I provide comprehensive domain knowledge for creating startup presentations:

1. **Pitch Deck Structures**: Standard 10-12 slide fundraising decks with detailed slide-by-slide guidance
2. **Board Update Templates**: Quarterly board meeting presentation outlines
3. **Product Launch Decks**: Press, customer, and investor launch presentation frameworks
4. **Demo Day Presentations**: Accelerator and conference short-form decks
5. **Design Principles**: Visual philosophy, typography rules, and color palettes
6. **Common Layouts**: Problem/Solution split, Market Size Pyramid, Competitive Matrix, and more
7. **Investor-Readiness**: Checklists and common mistakes to avoid
8. **Stage-Specific Guidance**: Tailored advice for pre-seed through Series C

## When to use me

Use this skill when:
- Creating any type of startup presentation (pitch deck, board update, product launch)
- Designing slides for investors, board members, or stakeholders
- Selecting appropriate color palettes and layouts
- Verifying investor-readiness of presentation content
- Understanding stage-specific presentation requirements

## Startup Presentation Types

| Type | Purpose | Typical Length |
|------|---------|----------------|
| **Pitch Deck** | Fundraising, investor meetings | 10-12 slides |
| **Board Update** | Quarterly/annual board meetings | 15-20 slides |
| **Product Launch** | Press, customers, investors | 10-15 slides |
| **Demo Day** | Accelerator demo, conferences | 5-7 slides |
| **Partner Deck** | Business development, partnerships | 8-12 slides |
| **Recruiting Deck** | Hiring, employer branding | 6-10 slides |

## Pitch Deck Structure (Standard 10-12 Slides)

### Essential Slide Sequence

1. **Title/Cover**
   - Company name, logo, tagline (one sentence that captures the essence)
   - Optional: Founder photo, subtle background

2. **Problem**
   - Pain point clearly articulated
   - Market gap or inefficiency
   - Use data, quotes, or relatable scenarios
   - "The world loses $X billion because..."

3. **Solution**
   - Your product/service as the answer
   - Value proposition in one clear statement
   - Visual of product (screenshot, mockup, demo)
   - How it solves the problem differently

4. **Market Opportunity**
   - TAM (Total Addressable Market)
   - SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market)
   - SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market)
   - Use pyramid or concentric circles visual

5. **Business Model**
   - Revenue streams (subscription, transaction, licensing, etc.)
   - Pricing strategy
   - Unit economics (LTV, CAC, payback period)
   - Gross margin if impressive

6. **Traction**
   - Key metrics (users, revenue, growth rate)
   - Hockey stick growth charts
   - Major milestones achieved
   - Customer testimonials/logos
   - "What's true now that wasn't true 6 months ago?"

7. **Competition**
   - Competitive landscape matrix (2x2 or feature comparison)
   - Your unique positioning
   - Why you win (moats, advantages)
   - Be honest but confident

8. **Go-to-Market Strategy**
   - Customer acquisition channels
   - Sales motion (self-serve, sales-led, hybrid)
   - Marketing strategy
   - Partnership strategy

9. **Team**
   - Founders with relevant experience
   - Key hires and their backgrounds
   - Advisors (notable names)
   - Why this team will win

10. **Financials**
    - Revenue projections (3-5 years)
    - Key assumptions
    - Break-even timeline
    - Use simple tables, not complex spreadsheets

11. **The Ask**
    - Funding amount sought
    - Use of funds breakdown (pie chart)
    - What milestones this funding achieves
    - Expected runway

12. **Contact/Appendix**
    - Founder contact info
    - Links (website, demo, calendar)
    - Appendix for detailed data (optional)

## Board Update Structure

### Quarterly Board Deck Outline

1. **Executive Summary** (1 slide)
   - Key wins this quarter
   - Key challenges
   - Ask/recommendations

2. **KPI Dashboard** (1-2 slides)
   - Revenue, growth rate
   - User/customer metrics
   - Unit economics

3. **Financials** (2-3 slides)
   - P&L summary
   - Cash position and runway
   - Budget vs. actuals

4. **Product Updates** (1-2 slides)
   - Shipped features
   - Roadmap progress
   - Key metrics improvements

5. **Team/Org** (1 slide)
   - Headcount
   - Key hires/departures
   - Open roles

6. **Go-to-Market** (1-2 slides)
   - Sales pipeline
   - Marketing metrics
   - Customer wins/losses

7. **Strategic Discussion** (1-2 slides)
   - Key decisions needed
   - Market updates
   - Competitive intel

8. **Looking Ahead** (1 slide)
   - Next quarter priorities
   - Risks and mitigations
   - Requests from board

## Product Launch Deck Structure

1. **The Moment** - Why now?
2. **The Problem** - Customer pain point
3. **The Solution** - Your product reveal
4. **Demo** - Product in action (screenshots/video)
5. **Differentiation** - Why you win
6. **Traction** - Early results/beta feedback
7. **Market Opportunity** - Market size and timing
8. **Team** - Who's building this
9. **The Ask/CTA** - Try it, sign up, partner

## Design Principles for Startup Presentations

### Visual Philosophy

- **Clean & Minimal**: Every element must earn its place
- **One Key Message Per Slide**: Don't overwhelm
- **Data-Driven**: Use charts, metrics, and numbers prominently
- **Large Readable Numbers**: Traction metrics should be unmissable
- **Consistent Branding**: Use 2-3 brand colors throughout
- **No Clutter**: Avoid walls of text, dense bullet points

### Typography Rules

- **Titles**: 40-60pt, bold
- **Body text**: 24-32pt, readable
- **Numbers/metrics**: 72-120pt for key stats
- **Font**: Sans-serif (Arial, Helvetica, Inter)
- **Maximum 6 bullet points** per slide, ideally fewer

### Color Recommendations

For investor presentations, select from these startup-appropriate palettes:

| Style | Best For | Background | Primary | Accent |
|-------|----------|------------|---------|--------|
| Cool Modern (Navy) | Enterprise B2B, Fintech | #09325E | #FFFFFF | #7DE545 |
| Cool Modern (Blue) | SaaS, Tech platforms | #FEFEFE | #1284BA | #FF862F |
| Deep Tech (Blue) | AI/ML, Deep tech | #162235 | #FFFFFF | #37DCF2 |
| Deep Tech (Green) | Climate tech, Clean energy | #193328 | #FFFFFF | #E7E950 |
| Cool Modern (Bold) | Consumer tech, Apps | #FEFEFE | #133EFF | #00CD82 |
| Minimalism (Clean) | Professional services | #FFFFFF | #000000 | #A6C40D |

### Common Slide Layouts

**Problem/Solution Split**
- Left: Problem description with pain icons
- Right: Solution with product visual
- Use contrasting backgrounds

**Market Size Pyramid**
- TAM at top (largest number)
- SAM in middle
- SOM at bottom (your target)
- Animate or use color intensity

**Competitive Matrix**
- 2x2 grid with axes (e.g., Price vs. Quality)
- Plot competitors and yourself
- You should be in winning quadrant

**Traction Hockey Stick**
- Line chart showing growth over time
- Highlight inflection points
- Add key metric callouts

**Team Grid**
- 3-4 team members per row
- Photo, name, title
- 1-line credibility statement
- LinkedIn-style layout

**Financial Table**
- Clean table with 3-5 year projections
- Revenue, costs, profit rows
- Conservative, base, optimistic scenarios

## Investor-Readiness Checklist

Before final delivery, verify:

- [ ] **Problem is relatable**: Can anyone understand the pain?
- [ ] **Solution is clear**: What you do in one sentence
- [ ] **Market is big enough**: $1B+ TAM for venture scale
- [ ] **Traction is impressive**: Show momentum, not just static numbers
- [ ] **Differentiation is clear**: Why you vs. competitors
- [ ] **Team is credible**: Why this team can execute
- [ ] **Ask is specific**: Dollar amount and use of funds
- [ ] **Design is professional**: Clean, not cluttered
- [ ] **Story flows logically**: Each slide builds on the previous

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

- **Too much text**: If you're reading your slides, they're too dense
- **Vague metrics**: "Growing fast" vs "300% YoY growth"
- **No competition**: Saying "we have no competitors" shows naivety
- **Unrealistic projections**: Hockey sticks without justification
- **Weak team slide**: This is often the most important slide
- **Asking range**: "We're raising $3-5M" = you need $3M
- **No clear ask**: Investors want to know what you need

## Stage-Specific Guidance

### Pre-Seed Deck
- Emphasize: Team, problem, early validation
- Market size: TAM focus, less detail on SAM/SOM
- Financials: 12-18 month projections only
- Ask: Typically $500K-$2M

### Seed Deck
- Emphasize: Traction, product-market fit indicators
- Market size: Full TAM/SAM/SOM breakdown
- Financials: 2-3 year projections
- Ask: Typically $2M-$5M

### Series A Deck
- Emphasize: Growth metrics, scalable economics
- Market size: Quantified SOM with go-to-market proof
- Financials: 3-5 year projections with unit economics
- Ask: Typically $5M-$15M

### Series B+ Deck
- Emphasize: Scale, category leadership, expansion
- Market size: Positioning in total market
- Financials: 5+ year projections, path to profitability
- Ask: Typically $15M-$50M+

## Demo Day Structure

For accelerator or conference presentations (5-7 slides, 3-5 minutes):

1. **Hook** - Grab attention in first 10 seconds
2. **Problem** - Pain point with relatable story
3. **Solution** - Product reveal with demo visual
4. **Traction** - Key metrics that validate
5. **Team** - Why you'll win
6. **The Ask** - Funding, partnerships, or users
7. **Contact** - Website, email, social

## Integration with Other Skills

| Skill | Integration |
|-------|-------------|
| `pptx-specialist-subagent` | Actual PPTX creation (delegates to `pptx-generate-slide-skill`; requires user-supplied Slide Master template) |
| `continuous-learning` | Extract presentation patterns for future reference |
| `verification-loop` | Verify presentation meets investor-readiness criteria |

## References

- Standard pitch deck structures used by top-tier VC firms (Sequoia, a16z, Y Combinator)
- Board meeting best practices from experienced startup boards
- Product launch frameworks used by successful startups