Most founders spend two to four weeks on their first pitch deck. They write, revise, get feedback, redesign, and repeat — often producing something that still doesn't clearly answer the questions investors actually care about. AI changes this. You can build a complete, investor-ready pitch deck in 60 minutes if you know the structure and how to use AI for each section.

The 10 Slides Every Pitch Needs

Investors have seen thousands of decks. They scan fast. Your job is to answer 10 core questions as clearly and quickly as possible — one slide per question.

Slide 1: The Problem

What specific, painful problem exists? Quantify it: how many people are affected, how often, and what it costs them in time or money. What investors look for: a problem that is real, frequent, and large enough to build a business around. AI prompt: "Write a concise pitch slide description for the problem: [your problem]. Include market scope and emotional/economic impact."

Slide 2: The Solution

One sentence: what you've built and how it solves the problem. Avoid jargon. Show the product if you can — a screenshot or demo GIF is worth more than three paragraphs. Investor look for: clarity, simplicity, and a logical connection between problem and solution.

Slide 3: Market Size

TAM (Total Addressable Market), SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market), and SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market). Calculate from the bottom up — don't just cite a Gartner report. Show your math: number of customers × average revenue per customer. Investors look for: a SAM of at least $100M for VC-scale businesses, and a realistic SOM capture plan.

Slide 4: Traction

Revenue, users, waitlist signups, letters of intent, pilots, or notable partnerships. If you're pre-revenue, show momentum: growth rate of signups, pilot conversion rates, or customer interview results. Investors look for: any evidence that the market wants what you're building.

Slide 5: Business Model

How do you make money? Subscription, transaction fee, marketplace, licensing, usage-based? Include your current or target pricing. Show unit economics: LTV, CAC, and gross margin if you have them. Investors look for: a model that scales without linear cost increases.

Slide 6: Go-To-Market

Your first 90-day customer acquisition strategy: which channels, why, and what the cost and volume look like. Don't say "we'll use social media and content marketing." Say "we'll run LinkedIn outreach to [specific ICP] targeting [specific pain point] with a $X/customer CAC." Investors look for: channel specificity and a realistic path to first 100 customers.

Slide 7: Competition

A 2×2 matrix or feature comparison table showing where you fit relative to existing solutions. Never say "there's no competition" — investors will know you haven't done your research. Investors look for: a defensible positioning gap and awareness of the real landscape.

Slide 8: Team

Why are you the right people to build this? Relevant experience, domain expertise, previous wins. Include advisors if they have direct relevance. Investors look for: founder-market fit — evidence that you uniquely understand the problem and can execute.

Slide 9: Financials

12-24 month projections: revenue, gross margin, burn rate, and path to profitability or next funding round. Show the assumptions behind the numbers. Investors look for: realistic (not hockey-stick) projections with clear drivers.

Slide 10: The Ask

How much you're raising, the instrument (SAFE, priced round), what you'll use the funds for, and what milestones that gets you to. Investors look for: a specific number with a specific use-of-funds breakdown and clear 18-24 month milestones.

How to Use AI for Each Slide

Use the Pitch Generator to get structured first drafts for all 10 slides simultaneously. For each slide, you'll input your specific data and context — the AI handles the framing, language, and investor-facing narrative. Plan to spend 3-5 minutes reviewing and editing each slide for accuracy and voice.

Design Tips

  • Use a dark or light background — not both on alternating slides
  • One idea per slide, maximum three bullet points per slide
  • Data visualizations > tables > bullet lists for impact
  • Font size minimum 24pt for body text — investors often view on phones
  • Brand colors consistently throughout — coherence signals professionalism

Common Mistakes

The biggest mistake founders make is burying the problem. Lead with the pain — make investors feel it before you show the solution. The second most common mistake is vague market sizing: "The AI market is $500B" is meaningless. "There are 2.3M dental practices in the US; if 10% pay $200/month that's a $552M SAM" is investable. Use the Funding Readiness Scorer to identify other gaps before you start sending decks.

Once your deck is built, run it through Launchpad Nova's full suite to align your GTM, financials, and investor outreach strategy before your first meetings.