Competition Slide Pitch Deck – The Perfect Analysis

You saying your better than someone else does not make it true, does it? What if you have higher grades in your studies? That still does not make you better than that other person. Then what would? How much money you donated to charity? All these are elements. You could be better than someone else in a specific element. So when it comes to your startup, it does not make sense to state that you’re better than your competitors in your competition slide of your pitch deck.

However, you can showcase which elements you excel in. For instance, if you’re showing that you’re better than your competitor in pricing. Then a person who cares about pricing would simply choose you.

Alright, so when you’re creating your pitch deck, you probably aim to showcase this to an investor or a venture capital. In that case, let’s ask the basic question – What do they want to hear?

The Competition Pitch Deck Slide Is The Essence.

If you’re investing in a startup, you would want to know how they think they’re going to win in the blue ocean of sharks. It’s a vital question that will determine whether you investor or not. If they say something like:

• “Oh, we’ll invest in marketing.”

You might not be very convinced. However, if they say:

• “It will be based on the milestone. Our GTM strategy states that we’ll micro-focus on regions, then expand to others when we have a stronger product market fit.”

This sounds more confident. It also conveys that the startup has a plan.

Thereby, the competition slide of the pitch deck is extremely vital. It relates to companies we already know. Any reader would always relate to the companies they know. So if you’re pitching a new ride-hailing app, they’ll probably think of Uber and wonder what your unique selling point is.

Your answer is the make-it-or-break-it in his selection process. So how do you convey it perfectly?

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The Different Types Of Competition Slides in Pitch Decks

I’ve seen numerous pitch decks, hence, I would categorize the types of competition slides as follows:

1. The XY Graph (The most common and my professional recommendation)

This slide says a million words. It’s similar to this image.

It showcases where you fit amongst the competitors when it comes to two of your chosen variables. This is basically summarizing two paragraphs. In this image above, the chosen variables are functionality and pricing. Instead of writing two long paragraphs, you just showcase where you belong compared to the companies that the reader knows.

The most important trick here is to be as honest as you could. The reader knows Uber. So if you say Uber has basic functionality and expensive pricing, then you ought to really have a sophisticated and cheap product.

2. The Tick and Cross Table (or a normal comparison table)

When you have more to say than the above two variables, it’s better to go for a more complex configuration. The below image showcases that option. It’s good, but it requires more time to explain than the first option.

3. Just Stating Your Competitiors (my least recommended option)

The final option would be just putting the logos of companies that are competing with you. Yet, it is not quite strong as it raises a lot of questions. It’s as if you’re saying we have competitors in the market, which shows that the market is existent. But you’re not stating how you’ll be able to win over them, which is slightly weaker when you think about it.

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Which One Should You Go For

Since I do not recommend the third option, I’ll analyse which option you should go for from the first two above.

You should go for the variables if your product can be easily explained, which is the optimum scenario. Not a lot of people prefer listening to a highly complex product. So, by all means, if you can afford to do the variable chart, then go for it.

However, if there is very high sophistication or elements that you can not leave unmentioned, then go for the tabular one and expect and extra few minutes of explanation.

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Could It Be More Than One Slide?

It could be both the above. Actually, it could be the three above options. However, a perfect pitch deck is short. The longer it is, the more you’re losing. Hence, simplicity is king when it comes to such matters.

Try to focus on making it short, but if you’re pitching for example to another company or VC that already invested in a similar product, they might want to hear more which justifies multiple competition slides in your pitch deck.

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Competition Slide Examples From Actual Pitch Decks

Let’s explore some decks that have competition slides we can learn from. We’ll start off with one of the favorite unicorns of entrerpenuership–Airbnb.

They went for the variable option and it couldn’t have looked better. Then let’s take a look at something in a different direction–Morty.

Most pitch decks create competition slides based on the reader. Hence, they might look even different than the two most common slides. This is a two edged weapon. On one hand, you’re showcasing the competitive market with your own rules. On the other hand, the investor or VC might not relate to the slide they commonly know.

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Take Home Message From This Competition Slide In Your Pitch Deck

Whatever you go for, it needs to answer the question–how are you better than those other competitors?

If you keep that in mind, you’ll be able to create the perfect slide. Yet, do not forget about the reader. The more research you do in regards to what they’re expecting, the more you’re in the right direction in terms of pitching it right.

Finally, if you need help designing and creating your whole deck, and can’t do it yourself. I sometimes help out clients by aiding them in creating their pitch decks. The full details of the average client request, timeline, and all other details are stated below.

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The pitch deck will depend on your industry. I am putting as an example here, an NFT pitch deck. Here’s how long it usually takes with the budget. It usually states the problem, solution, how it works, business model, market, team, competition, GTM strategy, projections, and contact information. Other slides might be added based on the exact product.

Timeframe		10 days
Budget		$600
Design		Included
Questions?		Email

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