Skeleton · Pitch deck
10-slide seed deck skeleton
📋 Template · 🎯 Pre-seed → Seed · ~280 words total
Copy this skeleton into Keynote / Slides. Each slide has a word target. Investors spend ~3 min 44 sec on a first-look deck — design for that.
The skeleton
SLIDE 1 · TITLE (≤15 words)
[Company name]
[One-line description: "We do X for Y, [specific number]."]
[Founder name · email · date]
SLIDE 2 · PROBLEM (~50 words)
[One specific customer archetype].
[The problem they have, with one quantified consequence — money lost, time wasted, error rate].
[Why it persists today — what's broken about existing solutions].
SLIDE 3 · SOLUTION (~30 words + screenshot)
One sentence on what you do.
One product screenshot.
One mechanism: how it works in plain English.
SLIDE 4 · WHY NOW (~50 words)
Force #1 — regulatory shift, technology unlock, behaviour change.
Force #2 — same.
Force #3 — same.
Why these three combine to make THIS year correct.
SLIDE 5 · MARKET (~40 words, bottom-up)
TAM = [units] × [price] × [years]
SAM = [your reachable subset]
SOM = [your 5-yr realistic capture]
Source for each.
SLIDE 6 · PRODUCT (≤20 words + 3 screens)
3 product screens in user-journey order.
Optional: 30-sec demo link.
SLIDE 7 · TRACTION (~30 words + 1 chart)
KPI 1 (e.g. ARR): [number, growth rate]
KPI 2 (e.g. retention): [number]
KPI 3 (e.g. paid logos): [number]
ONE chart, axes labelled, going up-and-to-the-right.
SLIDE 8 · BUSINESS MODEL + GTM (~50 words)
ACV: [number] · CAC: [number] · LTV/CAC: [ratio] · Payback: [months]
Distribution channel #1 — proven CAC ± 20%
Distribution channel #2 — early signal
Pricing model: [SaaS/usage/marketplace fee/etc.]
SLIDE 9 · TEAM (~40 words, 3 founders max)
Founder 1 — name, one-line "why uniquely qualified for this problem".
Founder 2 — same.
Founder 3 — same.
(Skip prior education unless directly relevant. Skip advisors.)
SLIDE 10 · ASK (~35 words)
Raising: [USD amount] [stage]
At: [pre-money]
Use of funds: [3 buckets with rough %]
Already committed: [USD] from [investors named]
Looking for: [lead / co-investor / specific operator]
Contact: [email]
APPENDIX (optional, 5–10 slides)
- Detailed financial model
- Architecture / technical deep dive
- Competitive landscape
- Founder backgrounds
- Customer references
- Hiring plan
- Cap table
The 30-word rule. If any slide has more than 30 words on it, the slide is a document — not a slide. Cut, or move to appendix.
Want the deeper logic?
Read the 10-slide seed deck guide → for slide-by-slide failure modes and the difference between a "send" deck (read alone) and a "pitch" deck (with you presenting).
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