A pitch deck is an electrifying moment that tells a powerful story about a brand. From crafting the perfect build-up to a big idea, to clarifying thoughts into powerfully succinct messages, to uncovering new expressions for the brand, it's an energizing process from start to finish.

As satisfying as it is to have a beautifully composed pitch deck in your hands, getting there isn’t always straightforward. For many startups, pitch deck development can be bit daunting to some, a bit boring to others.

There are a multitude of resources available to help you form the bones of your pitch deck, from pre-built templates to AI like ChatGPT that will literally write the slides out for you. These are powerful tools to help you get a pitch structure and copywriting on paper—but don’t stop there.

Only you know the story that this presentation needs to tell. There’s an art to the buildup of information and brand reveal. Doing this well can make the difference between closing a round or closing up shop.

As a brand partner for early-stage startups, we've worked on dozens of pitch decks in a vast range of industries—from proptech and AI, to mattress and fitness brands. Our clients' pitch decks have landed in the hands of top VCs and secured six-figure funding in a matter of months.

Whether you're a new business crafting your first pitch deck, or a veteran founder working on a fresh idea, here are the five pitch deck rules we swear by, to help your presentation go from formulaic to one-of-a-kind.

5 Pitch Deck Rules We Swear By

1. Do not pass go if you don't have a brand strategy.

The best pitch decks begin to take shape once some foundational brand strategy has been established. Your brand is what you stand for—and if you don't know what you stand for, your pitch deck will feel generic (at best) and all over the place (at worst).

For that reason, we rarely dive into pitch deck development until we've achieved a foundational brand strategy—which, to us, means defining your brand's purpose, vision, values, personality, and more. We recommend doing this brand strategy work upfront to align your vision and find solid ground. It makes the whole pitch deck development process run that much more smoothly.

Here are some prompts to get started.

• If your brand were a person, how would they speak?

• What would their top values be?

• Why does what they do matter to them?

2. Don't start with the problem. Start by pointing out a recent, industry shifting change.

Lead your audience to the problem—and ultimately, solution—through a build up that feels natural and compelling. We do this by developing "universal insight" slides. Instead of jumping right into the pain points related to your product or service, get your audience on the same page with a relevant, not-so-obvious truth about the changing world we live in today.

Challenged to define a recent, industry-shifting change? Spend some time with these questions:

• What did your industry look like 5 years ago? 2 years ago? 1 year ago?

• What big events or innovations have caused new thinking and/or processes in how you work?

Ideally, readers will leave this slide in agreement with you—but also wondering: Am I prepared for this world? How does this change affect me, my business, and my way of life? The stakes should be high: Depict how ignoring this change can lead to devastating results (statistics and real numbers are great for this, if available). Any insights you uncover should hint to your service or product, to naturally lead into your big brand reveal.

3. Light the path to victory with your brand story.

How you position your idea and get your audience across the finish line is what matters most. Take some time to figure out the right flow for the presentation experience you want to deliver. Add, subtract, and restructure your slides based on the story you want and need to tell. The trickiest part is striking a balance between concision and elaboration—which can lose the reader.

An exercise to consider:

Record yourself as you pitch your brand to a close friend or colleague. Notice how you naturally build the story of your brand, and also where communication gets a little shaky. Listen to the questions your listener is asking, and where you can fill in the information gap.

Run through your pitch a few more times, and experiment with taking out certain slides or parts of your presentation. Does it have the same effect? This can help determine which parts might be more distracting than additive.

4. Go a level deeper. Your deck doesn't end with your solution.

Instead of simply ending on your big solution, take a moment to dig a level deeper to inspire deeper thinking about your industry.

Some questions for reflection:

• What are the bigger implications of your product or service?

• What are the real-world results and changes that you are witnessing because of your work?

5. The visual and the verbal must work in tandem.

Finally, remember that your visual and your verbal components hold equal weight. Strike the right balance between the number of phrases on each slide, the number of slides overall, and the role design can play in visually expressing ideas, emotions, and breakthroughs.

While the overall flow and connection between the visual and the verbal is vital, don't worry if you are still in the early stages of a fully-developed brand system yet. Build a pitch deck that feels cohesive, connected, and smart. It can make a huge difference between looking like an amateur and looking like you've closed a million rounds before.

Consider:

• What ideas can you show vs. tell in your pitch deck?

• How do you want viewers to feel at each slide of the deck?

You’ve got this. If you're looking for a brand partner to support your business's growth—and help build your pitch deck—we'd love to chat. Reach out to us here.