How to Build a Pitch Deck That Gets Funded (Pre-Seed to Series A)

You’ve built the product, you’ve felt the spark of "Product-Market Fit," and now you’re ready for the big leagues. But between you and that bank-account-changing wire transfer stands one document: the pitch deck.

In the startup world, your deck is your calling card. It’s not just a collection of slides; it’s a narrative of your company’s future. If you follow the advice of legendary firms like Sequoia Capital or the world’s most successful accelerator, Y Combinator, you’ll learn one thing very quickly: Investors don’t invest in slides; they invest in your clarity of thought.

In this guide, we’re going to break down exactly how to build a pitch deck that gets funded. We’ll look at the specific nuances of the Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A stages, because what works for a $500k check will get you laughed out of the room when you're asking for $15 million.

Part 1: The Pre-Seed & Seed Deck

Selling the Dream and the Team

At the pre-seed funding and seed stage, you usually don't have years of data to hide behind. You might have an MVP (Minimum Viable Product), a few early users, or perhaps just a very compelling prototype.

The Goal: Prove that you have found a massive problem, you have a unique solution, and you, the founder, are the only person on the planet capable of winning this market.

Y Combinator advocates for extreme simplicity. Their "standard" seed deck is often just 10 slides. Why? Because if you can't explain your business in 10 slides, you probably don't understand it well enough yet. If you are struggling with the layout, you can use specialized pitch deck software to ensure your message remains the focus.

The Recommended Slide List (10 Slides or Less)

1. Company Purpose: Define your company in one single, declarative sentence. Example: "We are the Stripe for South East Asia."
2. Problem: What is the specific pain point? Don't be vague. Instead of saying "healthcare is broken," say "Doctors spend 4 hours a day on manual data entry."
3. Solution: This is your "Eureka" moment. Show your product and explain how it kills the pain you just described.
4. Why Now?: This is the "Sequoia Slide." Why hasn't this been built before? Is it a change in regulation? A new technology? A shift in consumer behavior?
5. Market Potential: Use TAM, SAM, and SOM, but keep it realistic. Investors want to see that if you win, you win a billion-dollar category.
6. Competition: List your competitors and be honest. If you say you have "no competition," investors will assume you haven't done your homework. Focus on your unfair advantage.
7. Business Model: How do you make money? Subscription? Transaction fees? Keep it simple.
8. Team: At the seed stage, this is arguably your most important slide. Why are you and your co-founders the "right" people? Highlight past exits, technical expertise, or deep industry experience.
9. Traction (if any): Even at Pre-Seed, show something. A waitlist of 5,000 people, three pilot programs, or 15% week-over-week growth.
10. The Ask: How much are you raising, and what milestones will that money get you to?

Pro-Tip from YC: Use a 30pt font minimum. If you need smaller text to explain your idea, your slide is too crowded. Make it legible, simple, and obvious. If you want a starting point that already has the right flow, check out this Y Combinator pitch deck template or the classic Sequoia Capital template.

Part 2: The Series A Deck

Selling the Machine

By the time you hit Series A, the "vision" is no longer enough. You are no longer just selling a dream; you are selling a growth machine. Investors at this stage are looking for "Product-Market Fit" in the rear-view mirror. They want to see that if they put $1 in the top of your machine, $3-$5 comes out the bottom.

The Goal: Demonstrate scalability, unit economics, and a clear path to becoming a market leader.

The Recommended Slide List (12–15 Slides)

At Series A, you can add a bit more "meat" to the bones. You’ll include everything from the Seed deck but with much more data-driven depth. According to Y Combinator’s Series A guide, the focus should shift toward how you will sustain and accelerate your growth.

1. Title & Vision: Start with the "North Star." Where is this company in 5 to 10 years?
2. The Progress Since Seed: A quick summary of what you did with your last round of funding. This builds immediate credibility.
3. The Problem & Solution (Refined): By now, you should have deep insights from your actual customers. Use their quotes and their data.
4. The Product / "The Magic": Show the product in action. If it's software, show the UI. If it's deep tech, show the "underlying magic" that makes it work.
5. Market Size & ICP (Ideal Customer Profile): You should now know exactly who your customer is. Don't just say "Small Businesses." Say "E-commerce brands doing $1M-$10M in revenue."
6. Traction & Growth: This is the "Money Slide." Use graphs showing Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), active users, or volume. Investors love a "hockey stick" curve.
7. Unit Economics: This is crucial for Series A. What is your LTV (Lifetime Value) vs. CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)? Is your churn low?
8. Go-To-Market (GTM) Strategy: How do you scale? Is it a sales team? Content marketing? Product-led growth? Show that you have a repeatable way to get customers.
9. Competition & Moat: Now that you're in the market, who is trying to kill you? How do you defend your position? (Network effects, proprietary tech).
10. The Team: Highlight your "Growth Team." Who have you hired since the Seed round? Did you nab a VP of Sales from a successful scale-up?
11. Financial Projections: A 3-year forecast. While everyone knows these are guesses, they show how you think about the business's levers.
12. The Raise & Milestones: Be specific about the "Why" and where the funding takes you.

Final Thoughts: The Golden Rules of Pitching

Regardless of whether you are raising $100k or $100M, these three rules from the pros always apply:

• Storytelling Beats Data: People remember stories, but they use data to justify their emotions. Start with a narrative about a user who was struggling before your product changed their life, then use your metrics to prove that story is happening at scale.
• Design Matters (But Clarity Matters More): You don't need a $5,000 designer. You need a deck that is clean, professional, and easy to read. Avoid "wall of text" slides at all costs. You can find more tips on pitching your startup in the LeadLoft Academy.
• Know Your Numbers: If an investor asks about your churn rate or your margins and you have to "check with your team," you’ve lost momentum. You are the captain of the ship, you must know your instruments by heart.

Close the Loop: The Value Exchange

The biggest mistake founders make is ending their deck on a "Thank You" slide. A pitch is a business proposal, not a school presentation. You must leave the investor with a crystal-clear understanding of exactly what their capital is buying and where it will take the company. Once you have your deck ready, your next step is to find the right partners using an investor database to ensure you are targeting firms that align with your industry and stage.

Don't just say you're "raising money." Frame the venture funding round as a strategic step toward dominance. You can even use investor matching services to find people who have already backed similar milestones. Instead of "We're raising $3M for hiring," try this:

"We are raising $3M in Seed capital to scale our engineering team and aggressively capture the Southeast Asian market. This investment provides us with an 18-month runway to achieve $5M in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and solidify our position as the category leader."

When you end with that level of conviction, you aren't just asking for a check, you're offering them a seat on a rocket ship that already has its coordinates locked in.

Good luck. Now, go build something great.