Karma Pitch Deck Teardown: A Masterclass in Early-Stage

Executive Summary and The 'Hurry' Slide

Slides 1-2: The Hook

Karma opens with a minimalist title slide featuring a chameleon logo and a direct mission statement: "Too much food is being wasted. We can stop it." This immediately establishes the company as a mission-driven, sustainability-focused enterprise. Slide 2 is a highly effective "Summary (if you are in a hurry)" slide. It breaks down the entire pitch into five questions: What, Who, Why, How, and When. This is a bold move that respects the investor's time while front-loading their most impressive stats, such as the 80% month-over-month customer retention and the backing of founders from Klarna and Spotify. It also explicitly states they are raising a Series A to "scale and land grab" after raising approximately $1M previously.

The Problem and Market Opportunity

Slides 3-4: Quantifying the Waste

Slide 3 uses a high-impact visual of the Earth with a third of it highlighted to represent the 1/3 of all food produced that is wasted. It narrows the focus to the "consumption space"—restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores. Slide 4, "Addressable market," is one of the most data-dense slides in the deck. It provides a granular breakdown across five regions: Sweden, Germany, UK, France, and the US. For each, it lists the addressable surplus in metric tonnes, the number of restaurants/stores, and the "Karma-Value." The US market is identified as the largest opportunity by far, with an estimated €338.7Bn in potential value. This slide proves the founders have done the math on international expansion before even leaving their home market.

Product and Value Proposition

Slides 5-6: The Solution

Slide 5 shows the mobile interface, emphasizing a "60 sec setup" and "15 sec maintenance" for sellers. This addresses a major friction point for busy restaurant owners: time. Slide 6 splits the value proposition between the "Customer" (the seller) and the "User" (the consumer). For sellers, it's about revenue and visibility. For users, it's about "Great food for less" (50% discount) and the environmental impact. The mention of an "Ambassador program" on this slide hints at their growth strategy, which is detailed later in the deck.

Traction and Partnerships

Slides 7-8: Proof of Concept

Slide 7 is the "Traction & metrics" powerhouse. It claims 300+ signed customers, 45,000+ saved meals, and 100,000+ registered users. The charts show a clear hockey-stick growth curve in GMV and user acquisition starting in early 2017. Interestingly, the deck includes a link to a "LIVE data room," which suggests a high level of transparency and confidence in their real-time numbers. Slide 8 showcases "Partnerships" with major Swedish brands like ICA (a massive grocery chain) and Scandic (a large hotel operator). The fact that they have a pilot with ICA involving 1,300+ stores is a significant indicator of enterprise-level scalability.

The Team and Backers

Slides 9-11: Pedigree and Social Proof

The "Founders" slide (Slide 9) highlights a balanced team: a CEO with a medical background and startup experience, a COO with a previous exit, a CPO specialized in product development, and a CTO with 23+ years of programming experience. Slide 10 is a placeholder for the broader team, which was redacted for privacy. Slide 11, "Our backers," is perhaps the strongest slide for a Seed/Series A company. Listing the founders of Spotify, Klarna, and Avito as personal backers provides a level of credibility that few startups can match. It signals to new investors that the "smart money" in the region has already vetted and committed to the team.

Media and Competition

Slides 12-13: Market Positioning

Slide 12 uses a collage of press clippings to show that "Fighting food waste is trending." This builds the narrative that Karma is riding a macro cultural wave. Slide 13, "Competitive landscape," uses a feature-comparison matrix. Karma differentiates itself by being the only one where the "User knows what they buy" (as opposed to mystery bags) and offering "Pickup convenience" anytime during the day. It also notes their 5% transaction fee, positioning them as a lean, high-volume marketplace.

Business Model and Growth Strategy

Slides 14-16: The Mechanics

Slide 14 and 15 are heavily redacted, labeled as "Secrets." However, Slide 14 does confirm the 5% seller transaction fee and an average transaction value of 6.7€. Slide 15, "Model evolution," suggests the company has plans to diversify its revenue streams through 2019, though the details are hidden. Slide 16 introduces the "Ambassador Program," which uses crowdsourcing to identify and onboard new restaurants. This is a clever way to solve the "feet on the street" problem that plagues many local marketplace startups.

Roadmap and The Ask

Slides 17-18: The Future

Slide 17 provides a timeline for 2017, showing a clear progression from their Swedish roots to a UK launch. The milestones are specific: 250+ locations, then 500+, then 1000+, with corresponding GMV targets. This shows a disciplined approach to scaling. The final slide (Slide 18) is a simple "Thanks!" with contact information for the CEO and COO. Notably, the specific dollar amount for the Series A "Ask" is not on this slide, though the summary slide earlier mentioned they were raising to "scale and land grab."

What Karma Does Well

The deck is exceptionally strong at establishing social proof . By listing high-profile individual backers and major corporate partners (like ICA) early on, they remove the "risk" associated with a young team. The Summary Slide is a best-in-class example of how to capture an investor's attention in under 30 seconds. Furthermore, their market sizing is not just a single "Trillion Dollar" number; it is broken down by actionable regions with specific metrics (metric tonnes of waste), which makes the opportunity feel real and attainable.

What is Missing from the Deck

The most glaring omissions are the unit economics beyond the transaction fee. While they mention a 5% fee, there is no data on Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) or Lifetime Value (LTV), which are critical for a marketplace Series A. The redacted sections (Slides 14-16) also hide the "how" of their business model evolution and ambassador program. While this might be a tactic to drive a meeting, it leaves a gap in the narrative regarding long-term profitability. Finally, there is no detailed use of funds ; they mention scaling and a land grab, but don't specify how the capital will be allocated between engineering, sales, and marketing.

What Other Founders Should Copy

Founders should emulate Karma's granular traction reporting . Instead of just showing "users," they show signed customers, saved meals, and cohort retention. This multi-dimensional view of growth is much harder to fake and much more convincing. The Partnership Slide is also a masterclass in showing how a small startup can leverage large incumbents to achieve scale. If you have a pilot with a major player, don't just list the logo—list the number of locations it could potentially reach, as Karma did with ICA's 1,300+ stores. Lastly, the "If you are in a hurry" summary is a high-value addition to any deck, ensuring your key message is delivered even if the investor only looks at two slides.