Mattermark Pitch Deck Breakdown: All 30 Slides

The Narrative Strategy: Becoming a Utility

Mattermark’s 2014 Series A deck is a classic example of 'The Great Game' in startup fundraising. It takes a functional product—a database of startup metrics—and wraps it in a narrative of global proportions. By 2014, Mattermark was already a darling of the Silicon Valley ecosystem, largely because its founders were vocal about their own metrics and the data-driven nature of the venture industry. The deck reflects this transparency and confidence.

Slides 1-2: The Vision and the Hook

The deck opens with a clean title slide (Slide 1) featuring the tagline: 'organizing the world’s business information.' This is a deliberate echo of Google’s own mission statement. Slide 2 hammers this home with the bold claim: 'Mattermark is Google for Business People.'

This slide establishes the scale of the ambition. It isn't just about tracking startups; it's about 250M+ companies , 1,000s of markets , and billions of people . By framing the company around these massive numbers, they move the conversation away from being a 'VC tool' and toward being a 'global search engine.'

Slides 3-4: Defining the Gap

To justify the 'Google for Business' moniker, the deck shows where Google fails. Slide 3 shows a search for 'what is the market size of saas,' which returns generic articles. Slide 4 shows a more complex query: 'startups growing headcount 20% month over month.' The results are blog posts and Wikipedia entries, not data.

This is a highly effective way to demonstrate a Problem . It shows that the current dominant tool for information retrieval (Google) is incapable of handling structured business data queries. It sets the stage for Mattermark as the necessary solution for anyone needing quantitative business intelligence.

Slides 5-7: Traction and Market Expansion

Slide 5 provides the roadmap for customer acquisition. It categorizes their journey into four stages: First 6 Months (VCs and Founders), Today (Sales and Marketing), Tomorrow (Consultants and Analysts), and Someday (all knowledge workers). This slide is crucial because it addresses the 'niche' risk. Investors often fear that tools for VCs have a low ceiling; Mattermark counters this by showing VCs were merely the entry point.

Slide 6 is the 'money slide.' It shows $125K MRR and a 377% CAGR . The chart shows a slight dip in growth rate around January '14, but a steady climb in absolute MRR through September '14. Highlighting a 20% month-over-month growth rate at the end of the chart provides the 'up and to the right' momentum investors crave.

Slide 7 shows Revenue by Use Case . It is an incredibly honest slide, admitting that 54% of revenue comes from VC customers . However, the stacked area chart shows the 'Business Development' and 'Corporate Development' segments growing as a percentage of the total, proving the expansion thesis from Slide 5 is already happening.

Slides 8-11: The Future State

Slide 8 acts as a transition: 'Core Questions to Answer.' This leads into Slide 9, which features a circular diagram of 'Data We Need.' It lists complex business needs like 'Suppliers Manufacturers Distributors,' 'M&A Recruiting,' and 'New Product Development.'

Slide 10 and 11 are minimalist. Slide 10 uses the phrase 'a.k.a BUSINESS PEOPLE' to redefine their target market as anyone in management, investment, or R&D. Slide 11 simply states: 'WE FOUND A WAY TO GO FASTER.' This implies a proprietary technological breakthrough or a data ingestion engine that allows them to scale their database faster than competitors or manual researchers.

Slides 12-15: The Leadership Team

The team section (Slide 12) introduces the key players. Mattermark chose to give each leader a dedicated slide, emphasizing their 'pedigree.' Slide 13 features Kevin Morrill (CTO & Co-founder) , highlighting his 10 years at Microsoft and his experience as a founder. Slide 14 introduces Bryan Tsao (Director of Product) , noting his 6 years at Kabam helping grow it to a $1 Billion+ valuation.

Slide 15 features Sarah Catanzaro (Data Team Lead) , with high-signal names like Palantir and Cyveillance . This team composition—spanning big tech (Microsoft), high-growth startups (Kabam), and elite data analytics (Palantir)—is designed to convince Series A investors that the company has the technical and operational maturity to scale the product globally.

What Works in This Deck

The Analogy: 'Google for Business People' is a perfect high-concept pitch. It is easy to remember, easy to share, and immediately explains the value proposition. · Visualizing the Problem: Using actual screenshots of Google search results (Slides 3-4) makes the pain point tangible. It’s not a theoretical problem; it’s a daily frustration for the target user. · Honesty about Concentration: By showing that 54% of revenue is from VCs, they build trust. They don't hide the fact that they are currently a niche tool, but they use the growth of other segments to prove they are outgrowing that niche. · Velocity: The 377% CAGR on Slide 6 is the primary driver for a Series A. At this stage, investors are buying growth, and Mattermark had it in spades.

What is Missing

The Ask: In the 15 slides provided, there is no mention of how much they are raising or what the valuation expectations are. While this is often left for the verbal pitch, a 'Use of Funds' slide is standard. · Unit Economics: There is no mention of LTV (Lifetime Value), CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), or Churn. For a SaaS company at $125K MRR, investors would typically want to see that the growth is efficient and the customers are sticking around. · Competitive Landscape: The deck mentions Google as a 'failed' competitor for this use case, but it ignores direct competitors like Capital IQ, Bloomberg, or Crunchbase. A slide addressing why Mattermark's data is superior to these incumbents is a notable omission. · Product Deep Dive: We see what the data can answer, but we don't see the actual interface or the 'magic' of the platform. The deck relies heavily on the vision rather than the product experience.

What a Founder Should Copy

The Roadmap Slide (Slide 5): This is a perfect way to show how a 'small' idea becomes a 'big' company. Start with a beachhead (VCs) and show the logical progression to the mass market. · The 'Core Questions' Transition: Using a slide to pause and ask 'What are the questions we are actually answering?' helps reset the investor's focus before moving into the future vision. · High-Signal Team Slides: If your team has worked at 'gold standard' companies (Microsoft, Palantir), use their logos prominently. It acts as a proxy for quality and reduces the perceived risk of the investment. · Data-Driven Problem Statements: Don't just say 'Search is hard.' Show a search failing. Visual evidence of a problem is always more persuasive than a bulleted list.