Series A Pitch Deck

Series A investment is generally the first round of funding more than one million dollars often used for commercialization and/or finishing the product. By this time, investors generally look for some type of market validation with a successful Beta test and minimum viable product that is ready to scale in the market with an investment, or at least a prototype or easily acquirable one. Therefore, most series a pitch decks will focus on addressing these points and several other factors that will influencer your funding decision.

The value proposition of a Startup company should be refined by the time you’re ready for a Series-A investment. While many Startup companies pivot, communicating that you’re unsure of the business model does not instill confidence for investors. Generally the problem that you are solving will be very clear and should be significant enough that they are willing to pay you for it. If investors doubt that the problem really exists then it will generate doubt. Its critical that these slides of the market problem and your solution be very clear. This may be either a problem that nobody has solved at all, or a problem that has not been optimally solved yet such as space travel.

Related: Avoid these 7 Pitch Deck Mistakes

Most Series A will have little, if any, operating history to go by. This makes forming financial projections several years out almost impossible to do with accuracy. Therefore, the financial projections are usually based on the information that is available from either a Beta test, early user traction, or the closest comparable company. Aside form the revenue projections, investors generally also see a breakdown of where money is being allocated by category and the key achievements you have reached up to that point. For instance, you may be spending 40% on product development, 20% on operations overhead and 40% on sales & marketing and acquired 100,000 users so far.

Related: Approaching Investors for Capital