Author: Vero Maldonado & Leejay Abucayan
November 21, 2024

Pitch Perfect: How to Nail Your Company’s Story

Fundraising is more challenging than ever, especially in the current climate.

Still, many founders are faced with the harsh reality that they can’t wait any longer to raise another round. This makes it critical for your pitch to stand out from the pack — and a compelling story is integral to that.

One of the things we do as CōLab, a creative agency that lives within WestCap, is partner with our portfolio companies to help them nail their story. And we know a lot about telling good stories. Both of us have worked in tech for over 10 years, where we’ve helped executive leaders at both Airbnb and Slack rally investors, board members, and employees on their vision.

We’ve learned that a compelling story is equal parts data-driven and emotional. This is a tricky balance to strike. Often, we find that fundraising decks are a series of slides packed with graphs, numbers, and technical details about how the product works. And while that information is essential, it’s missing a critical component. It lacks a reason why people should care.

So with all that said, here are the main pillars we look to when designing a compelling pitch.

1. Clarity

Founders can talk about their product for hours. But when you’re pitching, you have to keep your story focused and the audience engaged.  Too many words on a slide can make people lose sight of what actually matters.

Keep it to 3
When listing anything — whether it’s key features or learnings — try to limit yourself to 3 points. There’s a reason why ABC and 123 are catchy and memorable. Anything past this will usually make people reach for their phone with eyes glazed over.

Explain it like I’m 5
No one knows more about your product than you. You’ve been living and breathing it for years.  And it’s easy to forget that others aren’t as familiar with your jargon or technical specs. Challenge yourself to simplify things until they’re painfully obvious.

Take it step-by-step
We’ve worked with founders who have complex products with many audiences. To show how all the pieces fit together, we rely on simple user journeys that explain the ideal experience from end-to-end. Think of it as showing the bricks before building the wall.

2. Delight

Fundraising decks are often serious and formal. Founders present in a monotone, while the audience stares in silence. It creates a tense atmosphere that doesn’t invite participation or provoke excitement. Designing intentional moments of levity into your pitch will make it feel more like a conversation and less like a presentation.

Show, don’t tell
Instead of typing out each point word by word, try using  visuals to better connect with your audience. Replace text-heavy slides with intentional images, diagrams, charts, or animations that illustrate your story and amplify your message. Allow the visuals to compliment — not compete with  — the presenter’s big ideas. 

Create ‘a-ha’ moments
You’ve probably had some exciting realizations about your product’s potential success. In your pitch, you want to help investors arrive at the same eye-opening conclusions you’ve reached. Those moments need to be baked in, not glossed over. Make key insights even more memorable by giving them their own slide, designed to look different than the rest.

Think outside the slides
We’re so used to the digital world that we often overlook the offline experience. A well-designed leave behind, whiteboard walk-through, or in-person product demo can help bring your product to life. And if you have a physical product, consider custom-packaging that reiterates your vision.

3. Humanity

In some ways, this is the most important value of all. Yes, investors need to understand your product and its potential. But they also need to connect with your vision on a deeper level. This will help answer the question: “Why should we believe in you and your product?”

Start with a universal truth
You want to get heads nodding from the start. That’s why we often kick off pitch decks with a problem or situation that’s widely relatable. It creates a foundation for the rest of your presentation. If we’re all in agreement on the problem, it opens the door for your solution.

Make it personal
Pitch decks are often theoretical. You’re talking about what could be. Which is why grounding your vision in a real life story helps drive the point home. Whether it’s sharing your own personal experience or that of an ideal customer, this narrative device is a powerful way to make your product’s impact more tangible.

Feature real people
It’s easy to lean on personas when showing how customers use your product,  but this can feel like make-believe. Adding a face and a name to each example shows you’re deeply connected with your customer base and have a well-informed understanding of their needs.

About the contributors

Vero Maldonado is a Creative Director at CōLab focused on all types of content — UX, brand, editorial, you name it. She’s part wordsmither and part therapist, helping companies find the right way to describe themselves and how that carries across owned channels: product, email, notifications, etc. Vero started off her career at Path, a small social network and cult favorite for tech designers, before joining Airbnb in 2014 as the company’s first content strategist. She helped define and grow the content strategy discipline, while also crafting the messaging for Airbnb for Work, Airbnb Experiences, and Airbnb.org. Before joining CōLab, she did a short stint at Slack where she led a messaging overhaul of Slack Connect.

Leejay Abucayan is CōLab’s Creative Director of Communications and a seasoned Presentation Designer with over a decade of experience helping startups—big and small—craft their stories. Leejay has brought his presentation design expertise to executive-supporting roles at Slack, Airbnb, and Square, while also partnering with global brands across industries as a freelancer. He’s tickled by visual storytelling, motion, clarity in messaging, a dash of humor (when appropriate), and the element of s u r p r i s e ✨