A Series A pitch deck symbolizes a sequel to a movie. According to statistics, the second movie in a sequel is usually worse than the first. However, the business world is not as flexible as Hollywood. If you have a bad continuation of your startup, you won‘t raise any funds.
I was approached a year ago by a startup asking me to help fundraise their series A round. They asked for $10m and pitched me a 10% commission of $1m.
It was quite a high commission for a fundraiser, and I don‘t work based on commission when I help introduce startups to investors. However, I looked at their seed funding pitch deck. They‘ve raised $1m in the seed round. That‘s not bad for a health startup. So I asked a question that made me kill the whole project. I asked, “What have you done with your seed funding?“
They were not clear with their response. It went more in the direction of investing in salaries with no output. They‘re raising their Series A funding of $10m to continue doing what they said they‘ll do in their seed round.
So, yes, creating a Series A pitch deck is a whole new world. If a seed round says, “We‘re X.“, then a Series A round says, “Look what we‘ve done; invest your funds now!“
After analyzing several pitch decks, we‘re structuring the perfect Series A pitch deck.
Memorable Series A Pitch Deck Slides
We‘ve been analyzing pitch decks recently on Albusi (a lot of them.) So far we have:
We‘re adding a couple every week. But during this process, there are memorable slides of each and every deck that we need to showcase here before building the perfect Series A pitch deck template.
1. Uber‘s Future Prediction
Uber‘s deck had a slide that proved to be on spot for years to come. It wasn‘t their business model or their fleet. It was their environmental benefits slide.
This slide was the exact reason why Tesla went from almost nothing to one of the world‘s largest automotive companies. During Uber‘s pitch, intelligent investors knew that the environment was a major issue. Even though Wall Street has not been so kind to Uber‘s stock in the past couple of years, it goes without saying that it‘s a deck to learn from.
2. Airbnb‘s Competition Placement
There were only a few companies in this world who knew where they exist amongst their competitors very well. Airbnb is a perfect example.
That slide showcased that they have quite a strong business model that ought to last for years. Many companies followed similar business models, yet Airbnb has branded itself as a concept.
Unfortunately, similar to Uber, their stock is underperforming. However, this is expected as the world is in a recession.
3. Tesla‘s Team Series A Pitch Deck Slide
Your startup has a team that‘s hopefully good enough. However, when you pitch a startup like Tesla to an investor, the team slide showcasing a current billionaire and successful entrepreneur with other big names is quite strong that you might not need another.
Tesla‘s deck overdelivered. Their stock skyrocketed in 2022, converting any major investor in their deck at that time to a millionaire.
These are a few of the slides in those decks that I personally believe are quite memorable. However, to create a Series A pitch deck, we‘ll need to think differently, as those companies are dinosaurs.
The Perfect Series A Pitch Deck
I‘ve worked with clients who raised over $100m in their Series D fundraising round. Hence, I‘ve noticed that there are elements that have to be mentioned in a typical Series A pitch deck.
Let‘s structure the ultimate template, shall we?
Series A Slide 1 — Elevator Pitch and Calm Cover
Remember, a Series A deck is not about impressing with a design. This might have worked in a seed round. But now, what investors are really interested in is your figures. So we‘ll start easy by showing an elevator one-lined pitch with a plain cover (you could add a picture of your product, but not something that would grab attention.)
The elevator pitch is just a reminder to what the company actually does. Here is how I am envisioning it (By the way, I will be putting a google slides link of this template at the end of this article. So you do not have to worry about saving it or anything.)
Series A Slide 2 — Traction
It‘s unorthodox to start this way. But who are we kidding? If you‘re in your Series A round, the investor probably knows what you do. So let‘s immediately boast with some numbers. Here you could show a growth curve of users or customers. This depends on your business model.
Series A Slide 3 — Team & Growth
We‘re taking a break from numbers. We started strong. Now we need to calm down. So we‘re showing who we are as a team, as this might have changed ever since the seed. Additionally, we‘re showing that we are growing in terms of team members. It‘s one of the psychological games to show that our startup‘s failure won‘t be easy. We are affecting many lives. Hence, they‘re all working on improving our startup.
Series A Slide 4 — Timeline
What has happened for a while? This question needs to be shown in a single graph. It also will show what your future plans are in terms of fundraising and major milestones.
Series A Slide 5 — Revenue, Profit, Expenses chart
This is essentially what this deck is all about. You‘re a Series A startup. Hence, showcase that your product has a market fit that is in demand. If you can‘t prove that, then this deck simply won‘t work out.
Series A Slide 6 — Upcoming strategy
Uber, Airbnb, Tesla, Snapchat, Facebook, and whatever startup that existed always had a future plan. What‘s yours? Is it replicating the past? This might not be a good enough answer. Show the world that you have more thoughts.
Series A Slide 7 — Market growth
Showcasing that the market is growing is extremely vital. An investor could trust your word. But good market research is a reaffirmation that you‘re heading to a positive growing market.
Series A Slide 8 — Investment usage
What will you do with the money? Do you have a clear plan? FTX abused its funds. How will we make sure you‘re not going to do the same? The only assurance we have is what you‘ll say you‘re going to do with the funds so that we‘d monitor the progress over the years.
The Series A Pitch Deck Template
That‘s a wrap. Here‘s the template for you to copy and use as you wish.
Shoot me any questions in the comments and if you liked this article, there is a tiny like button at the bottom. Don‘t hold back.
Finally, if you‘re interested in creating your own Series A pitch deck, there are plenty of freelance business consultants here on Albusi that would create greatness. Just explore and you‘ll find a match.
Have a stunning day!
Al Anany
Meet The Author Of This Article
