Building a winning pitch deck is no easy feat. it takes a ton of work to represent your vision, value proposition, future plans, and everything in between in a clear, concise, and visually appealing way.
Founders looking to raise funds spend a reasonable amount of time creating a persuasive pitch deck. But, it takes a lot of time, and you are not sure if you are covering everything or missing something critical.
One way to get started is a pitch deck template, but that’s also not a sure-shot formula. And sometimes, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. So, why not get an idea from successful startup pitch decks that have already raised funds?
Haje Kamps’s ‘ Pitch Deck Teardown‘ on TechCrunch offers insightful reviews of successfully funded startup pitch decks. Inspired by the series, here’s our approach to identifying ‘Design Problems’ from those original decks and leveraging our experience designing 300+ pitch decks to redesign some of the slides.
So, whether you’re a startup founder who has raised n-rounds or this is your first, our Pitch Deck Redesign Series will help you get some inspiration and know the best practices.
Table of Contents
Transcend – Series B Pitch Deck
Transcend is an intuitive, online generative design platform that enables capital planners, project developers, and engineering professionals to rapidly generate preliminary engineering designs for critical infrastructure. The company recently raised a $20 million series B round.
Here’s how we redesigned the key slides from their original Series B Pitch Deck;
Cover Slide
Original
- Has multiple font sizes
Redesigned
- Set proper text hierarchy with only important cover text
Product Slide
Original
- Detailed image distracts the reader
Redesigned
- Supported pointer with icon
- Used only UI to show product
Value and Customer Slide
Original
- Mix up of two different things in single graphic
Redesigned
- Separated flywheel and Customer Segment for better understanding
Benefits Slide
Original
- Too much going on at the center
Redesigned
- Recreated the process graphic with decent white space for easy understanding
Netmaker – Seed Round Deck
Netmaker lets users create and manage VPN connections without the learning curve. The company recently raised a $2.3 million seed round. Netmaker automates a secure superhighway between devices, clouds, virtual machines, and servers using WireGuard®.
Here’s how we redesigned the key slides from their original Seed Round Pitch Deck;
Cover Slide
Original
- It has bad text hierarchy and generic visuals
Redesigned
- Adapted Netmaker’s website design language
- Created custom illustration
Market Size Slide
Original
- Graphic doesn’t match with brand theme
Redesigned
- Added a creative layout
- Highlighted market size data
Traction Slide
Original
- The slide has a very basic layout
- It consists of screenshort of a chart
Redesigned
- Adapted modern design
- Axed the axis labels to load off the chart
Product Evolution Slide
Original
- The slide has only text layout
- Black and white layout looks odd
Redesigned
- Reimagined evolution journey and highlighted target MRR
Simba Chain – Series A Pitch Deck
Simba is a proven blockchain platform built for speed, security, and scalability. The company recently raised a $25 million series A round. Its state-of-the-art technology autogenerates a robust family of APIs that support permissioned and public blockchains, allowing customers to launch blockchain applications without hiring costly consultants or consuming valuable tech expertise.
Here’s how we redesigned the key slides from their original Series A Pitch Deck;
Cover Slide
Original
- No visual hook point to grab attention
- It appears that the slide have wrong text hierarchy
Redesigned
- We recreated the brand theme (font & brand elements) and established the proper hierarchy
Problem Slide
Original
- Same icons are being used for all points
- The slide has a very generic layout design
Redesigned
- Added 3D icons for each pointer
- Established the proper hierarchy
Scaling Slide
Original
- The slide has a plain layout with only text, which does not look engaging
Redesigned
- Created 3D illustration to convey the story
Supported Blockchain Slide
Original
- The slide lacks any visual element
- Black and white layout looks odd
Redesigned
- Reimagined the slide with a 3D infographic
- We added names for better readability
Hour One – Series A Pitch Deck
Hour One is a self-service platform allowing businesses to create text-to-video solutions with realistic-looking human avatars using AI. The company recently raised a $20 million series A round. The startup plans to expand its Reels platform.
Here’s how we redesigned the key slides from their original Series A Pitch Deck;
Cover Slide
Original
- The slide lacks a visual hook to captivate the audience
- It appears generic and does not stand out
Redesigned
- We added relevant visuals in Hour One’s new branding
About Slide
Original
- The icons do not match the content or theme of the slide
- The visuals look outdated
Redesigned
- Highlighted previous funding details
- Created a mockup for product
- Used icons that aligned with the slide’s message and design
Market Size Slide
Original
- The slide layouts vary widely and do not follow a consistent style
- It also has bland text without hierachy
Redesigned
- Highlighted the numbers to show the impact and results
- Focused on the relevant area in the chart
Product Features Slide
Original
- Screenshots are not visible properly
Redesigned
- Created animated slide to highlight each feature individually
Mi Terro – Seed Pitch Deck
Mi Terro takes agricultural waste and processes it into proteins that can be used as a plastic replacement, fed as food to animals and much more. The company successfully raised a $1.5 million seed round.
Here’s how we redesigned the key slides from their original Series A pitch deck Pitch Deck;
Cover Slide
Original
- A generic template from PowerPoint gallery is being used
Redesigned
- We customized layout with organic shapes and a compelling image
Problem Slide
Original
- The slide has too much content and dated visuals, resulting in unclear takeaways
Redesigned
- We split the slide for a clearer understanding
- In 1st slide, we added customized and branded iconography
- In 2nd slide, we highlighted the main problem and added relavant images
Sustainability Slide
Original
- Simple text layout with bullet points and no visuals
Redesigned
- Made slide visually appealing by adding custom illustrations, highlighted key numbers, and made the layout more functional
Vori – Series A Pitch Deck
Vori, the revolutionary digital B2B inventory management platform optimizing the grocery supply chain, raise a $10 million Series A. The company plans to invest the capital in strengthening its talent pool, growing its U.S. operations, and diversifying its product portfolio.
Here’s how we redesigned the key slides from their original Series A Pitch Deck;
Market Slide
Original
- The slide has a typical layout
- No hierarchy for clear takeaway
Redesigned
- Creative layout with better visual hierarchy, highlighted key numbers, and clear takeaways
Problem Slide
Original
- Plain text with no visuals to support the story
Redesigned
- Added black and white theme to indicate problem
- Clear takeaway with relevant image
Market Size Slide
Original
- Global to U.S size ratio is not accurate in the slide
- Green text is difficult-to-read
Redesigned
- Designed elements that go outside the slide to portray huge potential market
MedCrypt – Series B Pitch Deck
MedCrypt, a healthcare security startup, raised $25 million in their Series B Round to help medical device manufacturers that think security-by-design when creating the next generation of medical devices. Here’s how we redesigned the key slides from their original Series B Pitch Deck.
Cover Slide
Original
Redesigned
Summary Slide
Original
- Using all caps can make text difficult to read
- The lack of supporting visuals makes the slide less engaging
Redesigned
- Used easy-to-read fonts to make the content more accessible to a wider audience
- Added logos for credibility
Market Slide
Original
- The typical table layout makes the slide boring
Redesigned
- Used easy-to-read fonts to make the content more accessible to a wider audience
- Added logos for credibility
Product Slide
Original
- The text is hard-to-read and inconsistent
- Acronyms are used without full forms
Redesigned
- Better font hierarchy and reading flow
- Added full forms for acronyms to maintain clear and concise context
