LatinAmericaStartups.com Pitch Deck Teardown

LatinAmericaStartups.com: A Tactical Accelerator Blueprint

The LatinAmericaStartups.com Winter 2016 Digital Accelerator deck is a 79-slide educational document designed to guide founders through the earliest stages of company formation. Unlike a traditional seed deck meant to solicit capital from VCs, this is a curriculum deck meant to solicit effort and discipline from founders. It operates on the premise that traction and non-dilutive capital are the prerequisites for traditional investment.

Slides 1-4: The Foundation of Ideation

Slide 1 introduces the program as the 'First Digital Accelerator' for the Winter 2016 Cohort. The branding is consistent, featuring the Latin America Startups logo and a recurring footer link to the lead instructor's personal website. Slide 2 immediately shifts to a lead-generation and educational upsell, offering an e-book titled 'How to Scale a Startup in 6 Months' for 99 cents. This slide sets the tone for the deck: it is a 'blueprint guide' focused on raising $250k in 'free money' and coding an MVP.

Slide 3 lists 'Startup Start Platforms' such as Startup Weekend (54 hours), Lean Startup Machine (72 hours), and Startup Monthly. This suggests that the accelerator views itself as a follow-on or complementary program to these existing ecosystems. Slide 4 breaks down 'Ideation (The Basics)' into three columns: How to Ideate, How to Test, and How to Report. It suggests tactical steps like searching for successful and failed campaigns on eBay and Amazon, and using Balsamiq for mock-ups. The emphasis here is on speed, with a goal to 'get feedback within a week.'

Slides 5-8: The Non-Tech Founder's Path to MVP

Slide 5 provides an 'Agenda' specifically for the 'Non Tech Founder Check List.' It covers ideation, beta plans, and costs. Slide 6 and Slide 7 focus on 'Option 2,' which involves learning to code or using 'Low Cost App Maker Platforms.' Slide 7 is particularly resource-heavy, citing articles from Business News Daily and TechWorld that list the '24 best mobile app building platforms' of 2016. The deck explicitly encourages founders to find solutions that 'are affordable and let you create professional-looking apps without having any coding skills.'

Slide 8, titled 'Before We Begin,' acts as a technical and operational audit. It asks founders if they are prepared for traffic, checking for FAQs, contact pages, social media banners, and Google Analytics integration. This slide reinforces the idea that a startup is not just a product, but a tracked and professionalized web presence.

Slides 9-12: User Targeting and Marketing Execution

Slide 9 introduces 'Bucket 4: User Targeting & Empowerment.' It outlines a '3 prong strategy' involving Hubs, Connections, and Communication. Tactically, it suggests manually reaching out to competitors' users on Twitter and Facebook and using 'Email Insights' to track competitor newsletters. A screenshot of Dropbox's referral program is used as a visual aid for the 'refer friends' mechanic.

Slide 10 and Slide 11 pivot to 'Marketing 101,' promising a launch with press and marketing in 30 days. Slide 11, 'Week 3- Campaigns & Ad Spend,' is highly specific about budgeting. It suggests boosting campaigns with as little as '$1-$10 facebook boosts' and '$10-$20 Google Adwords.' This micro-budget approach is tailored for bootstrapped founders in emerging markets. Slide 12 provides a 'Go To Market' example targeting 'Student Travelers,' with specific mentions of pilots in Haiti and Brazil, accompanied by photos of on-the-ground activity.

Slides 13-16: The 'Free Money' and Investment Strategy

Slide 13 and Slide 14 represent the core financial philosophy of the deck: 'Funding 101- How to Raise $1 Million With Your Bills in 6 Months.' Slide 14 lists ten specific corporate grants and contests. The figures are exact: $5k Walmart Community Grant , $25k FedEx Competition , and a $1 Million Forbes Prize Competition . The deck frames these not as long shots, but as a systematic process of 'turning bills into funding.'

Slide 15 continues this theme, advising founders to 'Pitch Local' via Eventbrite and Meetup for prizes ranging from $500-$5000 . It sets a high-volume target: 'complete at least 20 apps due in 1 quarter.' Slide 16, 'Bucket 3: Smart Capital Investments,' introduces the first mention of equity investors but carries a heavy disclaimer: 'DO NOT DO THIS BUCKET BEFORE YOU HAVE TRACTION!!!' It quotes Jason Calacanis on the necessity of a $5k-$10k prototype and provides a specific email script for cold-emailing angel investors on AngelList and Gust.

Slides 17-20: Conclusion and Cohort Success

Slide 17 suggests that after the initial steps, founders should 'Then Do a Pre-Accelerator,' specifically mentioning Startup Next, a Techstars program. Slide 18 is a 'Conclusion' slide featuring a detailed infographic by Anna Vital titled 'How To Raise Money for Your Startup.' This infographic summarizes the 12-step journey from MVP to a functional prototype to finding VCs for $0.5M+ rounds.

Slide 19 is the 'Intro' slide for Christine S. Ntim, which, interestingly, appears near the end of the 20-slide sample. It lists extensive credentials: Forbes 30Under30 , AdAge 40Under40 , and Managing Director of Startup Grind Dubai . It also lists her educational background at Dartmouth and Singularity University. Finally, Slide 20 celebrates the 'Demo Night Winners,' providing URLs for comunidadfeliz.cl , ifurniture.pe , and Lectogeeks.com , serving as the ultimate proof of concept for the accelerator's methodology.

What LatinAmericaStartups.com Does Well

Tactical Specificity: The deck avoids vague advice. It names specific tools (Balsamiq, ThunderClap, KickoffLabs) and specific dollar amounts for ad spends and grants. · Volume-Based Approach: By suggesting founders apply for 20 grants per quarter, it treats fundraising as a sales funnel rather than a lottery. · Low-Barrier Entry: The focus on low-cost app makers and micro-ad spends makes the curriculum accessible to founders who do not have significant personal capital or technical co-founders. · Scripted Outreach: Providing a word-for-word email template for angel investors (Slide 16) removes a major friction point for first-time founders.

What is Missing from the Deck

Unit Economics: While the deck explains how to get users and 'free money,' it does not address LTV, CAC (beyond the $1-$10 test spends), or churn. · Business Model Depth: There is no discussion of revenue models (SaaS, marketplace, etc.) or how to achieve long-term sustainability after the grant money runs out. · Competitive Landscape: The deck focuses on the founder's journey in a vacuum, without slides dedicated to market sizing (TAM/SAM/SOM) or direct competitor analysis. · Team Structure: Beyond the lead instructor, there is no information on the accelerator's broader team, mentors, or partners.

Founder Takeaways: What to Copy

The 'Advice First' Fundraising Script: The template on Slide 16 is a classic and effective way to build relationships with investors before a formal 'ask.' · The Grant-First Strategy: Founders often overlook non-dilutive corporate grants. Creating a 'Bucket 1' list of 10-20 corporate contests is a viable way to fund an MVP without giving up equity. · The 30-Day Launch Cadence: The structured weekly approach to marketing (Slide 11) is a good model for founders who struggle with the 'build it and they will come' fallacy. · Tool Stacking: The deck demonstrates how to stack free or low-cost tools (WordPress + Unbounce + Google Analytics) to create a professional appearance without a dev team.