Why Entrepreneurs Need a Mobile Friendly Pitch Deck To Impress Investors for a Successful Seed Funding

Investors spend only few minutes to look at pitch decks

Entrepreneurs from all around the world are pitching their ideas to generate funds for their startups. But most of them fail to grab the attention of investors during the first round of seed funding because they are missing key details.

The most successful startups spend an average of 40 investor meetings and over 12 weeks to close a round.

Venture Capital Firms Only Spend Three Minutes Per Deck

Investors spend just three minutes and forty-four seconds on average to review a deck.

The attention span of investors has decreased. Every day, they receive thousands of pitches.

Entrepreneurs must create a persuasive pitch deck to grab the attention of private equity, angel investors or venture capital firms.

Don't forget to be artistic and professional when you craft your dream deck.

It is an inescapable fact that when your pitch deck reaches the investors desk it will get just 3 to 4 minutes on the first review.

Why Entrepreneurs Need to Craft a Mobile Friendly Pitch Deck?

If an investor doesn’t get your idea, and doesn’t know you and your track record with some degree of intimacy, your pitch deck is in the waste bin.

Here is a shocking fact: 12 percent of pitch deck reviews are conducted on a mobile phone. Your deck is in miniature!

It has been proved by various eye-tracking studies that mobile readers prefer to look at images than text. 

Here is an imperative: your pitch deck must be legible and understandable on a smartphone.

The ideal pitch deck will be tightened and not shortened.

Entrepreneurs should strive to give investors as much information as possible on-screen without the need for them to swipe.

It's important to make your slides compelling.

How to Make Your Pitch Deck Stand Out 

It's important to create a mobile friendly pitch deck that packs a punch.

Here are some key rules to make your pitch deck stand out:

1) Your pitch deck should include 12 slides
2) No more than 200 words in total
3) Use a 14pt font size and appealing visuals
4) Share crisp clear diagrams
5) Implement a "standard" slide sequence
6) Your product or service should fit with the investors' interest
7) Provide a clear and concise message
8) Demonstrate your management team’s ability to execute
9) Promote diversity and inclusion as well as top female talent as part of your board
10) Know the size of the market (large or fast growing)
11) Understand your strengths and weaknesses and know by hard the financials 
12) Urgency of the problem solved 
13) Significant barriers to competitive entry
14) Exit plan strategy and the time expected to exit

If your pitch deck isn't compatible on a smart phone, it will be binned or rejected. Do you want to take the risk?

Conclusion

Having a pitch deck optimized for mobile users will directly put you ahead of the curve. Loading time is another point that has to be addressed so don't forget to compress the size of your file. Mobile defines the future and if you want your business or startup to be a part of it, you should act now. Know the differentiators, customers, board and partners. Obsess over the details that sets your product or service apart from the market. 

About the Author

Bill Lewis is a sought after Board advisor and counsel. He is also a renowned entrepreneur, technologist and workshop speaker. He mentors Founders and Growth CEO’s on their fund raising journey. He has already raised over $400 million for his businesses. You can book a virtual coffee with him to take your company to the next level.