Every successful pitch — whether to investors, clients, or executives — follows the same underlying structure. Master this framework and you can adapt it to any business situation.
The 10-Slide Framework
Guy Kawasaki, former Apple evangelist, popularised the 10/20/30 rule: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30-point font minimum. Here's what those slides should cover:
1. Title (10 seconds)
Company name, your name, contact info. That's it. Don't over-design.
2. Problem (2 minutes)
What pain point are you solving? Make it specific and relatable. If possible, tell a story about a real person experiencing this problem.
"Sarah runs a bakery. Every morning, she spends 3 hours on inventory management instead of baking. That's $50,000 in lost revenue per year."
3. Solution (2 minutes)
How do you solve this problem? Keep it simple — one sentence if possible. Then show, don't tell. Demo the product if you can.
4. Market Opportunity (2 minutes)
How big is the market? Use TAM (Total Addressable Market), SAM (Serviceable Available Market), and SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market). Be realistic — investors will check.
5. Business Model (2 minutes)
How do you make money? What are your unit economics? What's your pricing strategy?
6. Traction (2 minutes)
What have you achieved so far? Users, revenue, partnerships, press — anything that proves this is working. If pre-launch, show waitlist numbers or pilot results.
7. Competition (2 minutes)
Who else is solving this? Position yourself on a 2x2 matrix. Never say "we have no competition" — it signals you don't understand the market.
8. Team (2 minutes)
Why are you the people to build this? Highlight relevant experience. Investors bet on teams as much as ideas.
9. Financials (2 minutes)
Revenue projections for 3-5 years. Key assumptions. Be ready to defend every number.
10. Ask (1 minute)
What do you want? Be specific: "We're raising £2M at a £10M valuation to expand our sales team and enter the US market."
Delivery Tips
- •Know your deck cold — never read from slides
- •Make eye contact with decision makers
- •Pause after key points — let them sink in
- •Have backup slides for deep-dive questions
- •Practice your Q&A — anticipate tough questions
- •Send a follow-up email within 24 hours
The structure is universal. The content is yours. Now go close that deal.