Companies don’t often release pitch decks, but when they do, they can provide a wealth of useful information for other businesses. If you’re an entrepreneur looking for some inspiration for your next round or simply interested in the characteristics of effective investor decks from companies that have made their mark in the world, take a look at the 6 decks we’ve sourced below.
1. Airbnb
Remember when Airbnb was AirBedandBreakfast? The once fledgling startup based in San Francisco was valued at a whopping $25.5 billion in 2015. Not bad for a company that once raised money on special edition breakfast cereals. This early pitch deck of the now ubiquitous online lodging company utilizes white space and simple geometric shapes to hit key points without extraneous or distracting design.
2. Snapchat
Like it or hate it, Snapchat is the new darling of the social media world and won’t be disappearing anytime soon. Valued at $16 billion this year, the company pitched a Snapchat for Business deck in 2014, detailing its user metrics and functionality, and showing brands how they can use the platform for their own ends. Educational, straight-to-the-point, and example-laden, it’s an excellent deck to check out for any business trying to push their products.
3. Mint
Mint was founded in 2006 as a free personal finance service in which users could track credit card, loan, and bank transactions all in one place. Eventually acquired by Intuit for $170 million in 2009, Mint present this pitch deck in 2007. Classic in the sense of format and design, there is nothing particularly innovative about this deck but the content clearly wowed its investors, proving that no amount of design work can substitute for quality content.
4. Buffer
Buffer, a company that designs software for social media management was launched in 2010. Over the next 5 years it gained more than 2,000,000 registered users and by 2014, it was valued at $60 million. Buffer released this version of its pitch deck three years ago and the clear delivery of the company’s notable successes makes it worth a look.
5. Buzzfeed
Emerging media giant Buzzfeed hardly needs an introduction. 9 years after its launch, it now has over 700 employees and was valued in 2015 at an incredible $60 million. Back in 2008 when it only had 5 employees, the company created this pitch deck to display its three kinds of content, its revenue model, and its potential competitors.
6. Moz
A SaaS company that sells inbound marketing and analytics tools, Moz was founded in 2004 originally as SeoMoz. In 2016, Moz was valued at $120 million and had raised a total of $21.9 million in funding. Its pitch deck is an excellent example of how you can use a lot of graphics to get your point across.
Here at the 1871 incubator, we’re pretty familiar with the up and downs of the start-up scene and an investor pitch deck is perhaps one of the highest stakes PowerPoint presentations in the business world. If you’re looking for professional graphic design help for your own presentations, you should check out our How it Works page to easily request quality, timely design for PowerPoint and beyond.
