What is the primary problem Silvernest is trying to solve?

Silvernest addresses the dual issues of financial insecurity and social isolation among the elderly. Slide 2, titled 'The Situation,' uses imagery of an empty wallet and a pensive senior to highlight these pain points, specifically noting that 31 million seniors live alone. The solution is presented as a way to generate extra income and provide companionship through house sharing.

How does Silvernest differentiate itself from standard roommate matching sites?

According to Slide 4, Silvernest is a comprehensive management platform, not just a matching service. It includes 'Compatibility Matching & Background Screening,' 'Customized Lease Creation,' and 'Rent Management.' By handling the legal and financial aspects of the roommate relationship, they provide a layer of security tailored to the concerns of older homeowners.

What level of traction did the company have at the time of this deck?

Slide 6 shows that as of September 2016, the platform had 6,000 users and a presence in all 50 states. The slide highlights significant growth velocity, claiming 35% month-over-month growth over a seven-month period, which accelerated to 64% month-over-month growth in the final two months shown on the chart.

Who are the key members of the Silvernest leadership team?

The team is led by CEO and Co-Founder Wendi Burkhardt. Other key executives listed on Slide 5 include Kelly Hickey (CFO), Margaret Ann Burness (VP of Marketing), Chase Terwilliger (VP of Product & Biz Development), and Kari Henley (Director of Comm. Relations). The slide emphasizes their collective background at major firms like Johnson & Johnson and Home Instead Senior Care.

What critical information is missing from this pitch deck?

This deck is exceptionally lean and omits several standard components. There is no mention of the business model or how the company generates revenue. It lacks a competitive landscape analysis, detailed financial projections, and a specific 'Ask' slide detailing how much capital is being raised and how it will be deployed.

Silvernest Pitch Deck (2015): 8-Slide Breakdown

See all 8 slides of the Silvernest pitch deck — a 2015 Later deck — with a slide-by-slide teardown of what the deck does well and where it falls short.

Silvernest’s deck is a study in brevity, consisting of only eight slides that rely heavily on emotional imagery and high-level growth metrics. The company targets the 'aging in place' demographic, specifically the 31 million seniors living alone (Slide 2). By focusing on four core pillars—listings, matching, lease creation, and rent management (Slide 4)—they position themselves as a full-stack solution rather than just a classifieds site. Despite the lack of detailed financial projections, unit economics, or a specific 'Ask' slide, the deck successfully communicates momentum, citing 6,000 use…

Key takeaways

The deck identifies a massive addressable market of 31 million seniors living alone (Slide 2).
Product functionality is distilled into a four-step process: Listings, Matching/Screening, Lease Creation, and Rent Management (Slide 4).
The team slide leverages significant corporate logos, including Motorola, RE/MAX, and Oracle, to establish credibility (Slide 5).
Traction is shown through a 64% month-over-month growth rate over a two-month period (Slide 6).
The platform achieved geographic reach across all 50 U.S. states by September 2016 (Slide 6).
The deck projects a 5-10x growth multiplier for the year 2017 (Slide 7).
The presentation completely omits a business model, competition analysis, and a specific funding request.
Visual storytelling is prioritized, using high-resolution photography to contrast the 'problem' of isolation with the 'solution' of companionship (Slides 2 and 3).

The Minimalist Approach to a Massive Demographic

Silvernest entered the market in 2015 with a clear focus on the 'silver economy.' Their pitch deck is a notable example of the 'less is more' philosophy. With only eight slides, the deck functions more as a visual narrative than a data-heavy technical document. It relies on the strength of the macro trend—an aging population—and the pedigree of its leadership team to carry the weight of the investment thesis. According to catalogue facts, this approach helped the company secure $5.6 million in funding.

Slides 1-3: The Emotional Hook

Slide 1: Title Slide The deck opens with a clean, minimalist title slide featuring the Silvernest logo—an orange stylized nest. Contact information for CEO Wendi Burkhardt and a link to their AngelList profile are positioned in the top right corner. This sets a professional, tech-forward tone immediately.

Slide 2: The Situation This is the 'Problem' slide. Instead of bullet points, Silvernest uses high-impact imagery: a close-up of a concerned elderly woman and a small inset of an empty leather wallet. The text is sparse but powerful, stating '31M ALONE' over an image of a suburban house. This slide successfully identifies two problems at once: the loneliness epidemic among seniors and the financial strain of maintaining a home on a fixed income.

Slide 3: The Solution The 'Solution' slide serves as a direct emotional counterpoint to Slide 2. It features two women laughing over tea, with the text 'The SOLUTION IS SIMPLE.' By placing the Silvernest logo directly under this text, the deck positions the brand as the facilitator of this positive outcome. It moves the conversation from 'isolation' to 'companionship' without needing to explain the mechanics of the software yet.

Slides 4-5: Product and People

Slide 4: How it Works This slide introduces the functional aspects of the platform. It breaks the service down into four distinct pillars: 1. Home Listings, 2. Compatibility Matching & Background Screening, 3. Customized Lease Creation, and 4. Rent Management. A mock-up of the website on a tablet is shown to the right. This slide is crucial because it demonstrates that Silvernest is a 'full-stack' roommate platform. By including background screening and lease creation, they address the specific safety and legal anxieties of their target demographic.

Slide 5: The Silvernest Team The team slide is a 'logo play.' While it features headshots and titles for five key executives, the bottom half of the slide is dedicated to the logos of companies where they previously worked. Notable names include Motorola, RE/MAX, Oracle, Johnson & Johnson, and Home Instead Senior Care. For an early-stage startup, this level of corporate pedigree suggests that the founders have the operational experience to scale a complex business in a regulated industry like real estate or senior care.

Slides 6-7: Traction and Future Outlook

Slide 6: The Success Traction is presented through a simple line graph covering January 2016 to September 2016. The deck highlights '35% M.O.M. IN 7 MONTHS' and an acceleration to '64% M.O.M. IN 2 MONTHS.' The slide also notes a milestone of 6,000 users and geographic coverage across 'ALL 50 STATES.' This slide is designed to prove product-market fit and show that the model is scalable across different U.S. markets, not just a local pilot.

Slide 7: The Future (NCOA) This slide is somewhat cryptic but focuses on growth. It features the logo of the NCOA (National Council on Aging) and a graphic indicating '5-10X in 2017.' The 'New & Improved!' badge over a laptop screen suggests a platform relaunch or a significant update to the user experience. This slide serves to show momentum and a roadmap for the coming year, even if it lacks specific tactical details.

Slide 8: Closing

Slide 8: Contact The deck concludes with a repeat of the contact information and a simple line-art illustration of a neighborhood. There is no 'Ask' here—no mention of the dollar amount being raised or the valuation. This suggests the deck was used as a teaser or as a backdrop for a verbal presentation where those details were discussed in person.

What Works in the Silvernest Deck

Emotional Resonance: The transition from the 'lonely' imagery on Slide 2 to the 'social' imagery on Slide 3 is a classic storytelling technique that works well for consumer-facing platforms. · Clarity of Value Proposition: Slide 4 clearly explains that they aren't just a listing site. By including 'Rent Management' and 'Lease Creation,' they define their moat as a service provider that handles the 'messy' parts of property management. · Pedigree: The team slide is exceptionally strong. The inclusion of 'Home Instead Senior Care' is a perfect industry-specific signal that the team understands the aging market. · Traction Velocity: Highlighting month-over-month growth percentages rather than just raw numbers can make a small user base (6,000) look much more impressive to investors looking for momentum.

What is Missing from the Silvernest Deck

Business Model: There is zero information on how Silvernest makes money. Do they charge a subscription fee, a percentage of rent, or a fee for background checks? This is a major omission for a 'Later' stage deck. · The Ask: A fundraising deck usually ends with a clear request for capital and a breakdown of how that capital will be used (e.g., 40% marketing, 30% engineering). This deck omits the 'Ask' entirely. · Competitive Landscape: The deck does not address how it competes with general platforms like Craigslist or Airbnb, or other senior-specific services. · Unit Economics: There is no mention of Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) or Lifetime Value (LTV), which are standard requirements for assessing the viability of a marketplace model.

What a Founder Should Copy

The Four-Pillar Product Summary: Slide 4 is a masterclass in distilling a complex service into four easy-to-understand steps. Founders should aim for this level of simplicity when explaining their product. · Visual Consistency: The deck uses a consistent color palette (orange and mint green) and high-quality photography that aligns with the brand identity. It looks like a finished product, not a rough draft. · Focus on Macro Stats: By citing '31M ALONE,' Silvernest anchors their pitch in a massive, undeniable demographic trend. Starting with a large, verifiable number helps validate the market size immediately. · Leveraging Logos: If your team has worked at recognizable companies, use the logos. It is the fastest way to build 'borrowed' credibility in a short presentation.

Frequently asked questions

What is the primary problem Silvernest is trying to solve?: Silvernest addresses the dual issues of financial insecurity and social isolation among the elderly. Slide 2, titled 'The Situation,' uses imagery of an empty wallet and a pensive senior to highlight these pain points, specifically noting that 31 million seniors live alone. The solution is presented as a way to generate extra income and provide companionship through house sharing.
How does Silvernest differentiate itself from standard roommate matching sites?: According to Slide 4, Silvernest is a comprehensive management platform, not just a matching service. It includes 'Compatibility Matching & Background Screening,' 'Customized Lease Creation,' and 'Rent Management.' By handling the legal and financial aspects of the roommate relationship, they provide a layer of security tailored to the concerns of older homeowners.
What level of traction did the company have at the time of this deck?: Slide 6 shows that as of September 2016, the platform had 6,000 users and a presence in all 50 states. The slide highlights significant growth velocity, claiming 35% month-over-month growth over a seven-month period, which accelerated to 64% month-over-month growth in the final two months shown on the chart.
Who are the key members of the Silvernest leadership team?: The team is led by CEO and Co-Founder Wendi Burkhardt. Other key executives listed on Slide 5 include Kelly Hickey (CFO), Margaret Ann Burness (VP of Marketing), Chase Terwilliger (VP of Product & Biz Development), and Kari Henley (Director of Comm. Relations). The slide emphasizes their collective background at major firms like Johnson & Johnson and Home Instead Senior Care.
What critical information is missing from this pitch deck?: This deck is exceptionally lean and omits several standard components. There is no mention of the business model or how the company generates revenue. It lacks a competitive landscape analysis, detailed financial projections, and a specific 'Ask' slide detailing how much capital is being raised and how it will be deployed.

Cover slide of the Silvernest pitch deck — Later 2015 — Silvernest pitch deck, slide 1 (2015)

Silvernest pitch deck: the facts

Company: Silvernest
Year: 2015
Stage: Later
Slides: 8
Sector: Other (Senior Home Sharing)
Deck type: Pitch Deck
Outcome: Raised $5,600,000
Headquarters: United States

Silvernest pitch deck PDF

The full Silvernest deck is embedded on this page and can be read slide by slide in the browser — no download or account required. Each slide is covered in the breakdown above.

What the Silvernest pitch deck was used for

This deck is an 8‑slide, lean, visual-first fundraising presentation used by Silvernest around 2015–2016, at a later seed/early stage, to pitch its senior home-sharing / roommate matching platform for aging homeowners and empty nesters. The available teardown article states the deck emphasized early traction and the founding team’s pedigree and was ultimately associated with raising a cumulative $5.6M in outside funding, though the deck itself predates some of that capital. Given the timing and description, the deck most likely supported Silvernest’s initial convertible note/early seed fundraising that led into the oversubscribed $1.3M seed round announced in June 2017.

Business model: Silvernest operates an online home-sharing / roommate-matching platform that pairs aging or baby-boomer homeowners and empty nesters with compatible roommates for long-term home sharing, helping them generate rental income and age in place.

Lead investor: Series A: Incenter.
Investors: Seed: Halogen Ventures, 1843 Capital, Rockies Venture Club, Investor’s Circle, 500 Startups, plus additional angels and, Series A: Incenter, a Blackstone Group portfolio company.
Founders: Wendi Burkhardt, Chuck McKenney, Debra McKenney
Industry: Home sharing / Proptech / Senior housing & aging-in-place services.

Round: Seed / early VC for the period around this deck; Series A by 2018.

Year: Seed round in 2017; Series A in 2018. The deck itself dates from around 2015, during the initial financing effort preceding the seed.

Raising: At the time of CO Impact Days in March 2016, Silvernest was raising $200,000 to close an initial financing round of $300,000 via a convertible note.

Raised: Seed round: $1.3M (announced June 22, 2017). Series A: $3M (announced September 2018). Earlier initial financing noted at $300,000 via convertible note and impact investors.

Founded: Launched in late 2015.

Headquarters: Originally based in the Denver/Boulder, Colorado area; later company profiles list a headquarters address in Saint Paul, Minnesota (30 E 7th St #2350, Saint Paul, MN 55101).

Total funding: Multiple third-party data providers and competitive landscape reports state total funding of approximately $5.6M, primarily from a $1.3M seed round and a $3M Series A, along with earlier notes/bootstrapping.

Use of funds as presented: Reports on the $3M Series A state that funds were used to grow the Denver-based team, expand the user base, and build out new platform features and functionality for the home-sharing service.

What happened after the Silvernest deck

Since launching its platform in late 2015, Silvernest has progressed from founder bootstrapping and early impact-focused financing to an oversubscribed $1.3M seed round and a $3M Series A led by Incenter, accumulating roughly $5.6M in total funding and continuing to operate as a private senior home-sharing and roommate-matching service.

Launch of Silvernest’s platform in late 2015 targeting boomers and empty nesters for long-term home sharing.
Early financing via a $100,000 convertible note and impact investors identified through CO Impact Days, following $200,0
Completion of an oversubscribed $1.3M seed round announced in June 2017, with participation from Halogen Ventures, 1843
Participation in 500 Startups’ 18th batch and various award programs, which increased national visibility.
Closing of a $3M Series A round in 2018 led by Incenter, bringing total funding at that time to about $4.45M and later r
Subsequent listings in company databases as a still-private operator of a senior home-sharing platform, with latest deal

What the Silvernest deck got right

Clear, mission-driven focus on aging homeowners and empty nesters. Silvernest targets a well-defined, underserved demographic—aging homeowners, baby boomers, and empty nesters—offering a clear solution to monetizing spare rooms and combating loneliness, which later coverage validates as a compelling niche with strong demographic tailwinds.
Compelling, technology-enabled home-sharing product. The company’s model is anchored in a proprietary roommate-matching platform that simplifies discovery and long-term pairing, a structure that investors later backed through seed and Series A rounds, indicating that the core product story was strong enough to attract capital.
Meaningful founder bootstrapping shows commitment. Founders Wendi Burkhardt and Chuck and Debra McKenney bootstrapped the company with approximately $200,000 of their own capital before raising from outside investors, demonstrating commitment and reducing early-stage risk for investors evaluating the deck.
Proven ability to attract both impact and institutional capital. Silvernest successfully converted early impact-focused attention (e.g., CO Impact Days) into institutional seed financing and then a Series A led by Incenter, suggesting that its initial pitch and deck framed the opportunity in a way that resonated across both impact and venture investor segments.
Strong external validation via accelerators and media. Participation in 500 Startups’ Batch 18 and subsequent awards and media coverage provided external validation of the team and concept, strengthening the credibility of any deck that emphasized “high-pedigree” backers and advisors.
Coherent growth and product expansion roadmap aligned with funding use. Later reports note that the Series A funds were earmarked for expanding the team, user base, and platform features, implying that the company had a coherent growth roadmap that could have been outlined in the original deck and later executed upon.

What could have been stronger

Limited visibility into traction and financial detail from the deck itself. Because the available OCR reveals no readable slide text, the deck’s quantitative traction, unit economics, or market sizing claims cannot be evaluated or verified against later reality, making it hard for an investor to assess how well the narrative was substantiated at the time.
At the time of the deck, investor validation and round structure were still emerging. The teardown description and later funding history suggest the deck predates the fully-formed investor roster and round structure that emerged by 2017–2018, so prospective investors at the time would have seen less proof of institutional validation than appears in hindsight.
Unclear depth of competitive and differentiation analysis in the deck. External coverage focuses heavily on mission (aging-in-place, social connection) and product concept (roommate matching), but without deck text it is unclear how thoroughly competitive dynamics versus other home-sharing platforms or senior housing options were addressed, leaving a potential gap in differentiation analysis in the deck.
Potentially limited clarity on financing strategy and capital roadmap. Silvernest’s later funding path involved convertible notes, impact investors, accelerators, and traditional VCs; with no slide text, it is unclear whether the deck clearly articulated this staged capital strategy and future financing needs, which investors often look for.
Unknown level of treatment of legal, regulatory, and risk issues in the deck. Given the company’s focus on an older demographic and long-term home sharing, regulatory, legal, and risk frameworks (landlord-tenant law, fair housing, insurance) are critical; without slide content, it is unknown whether the deck addressed these issues robustly, which could be perceived as a risk gap.

How an investor would read this deck

What draws attention

Evidence of early user traction and engagement among aging homeowners and boomers, if included in the deck, would be central, as later coverage highlights that Silvernest achieved sufficient traction to secure an oversubscribed $1.3M seed and a $3M Series A.
The founding team’s experience and personal commitment, including bootstrapping with $200,000 of founders’ capital, would signal conviction and resilience important in a regulated, trust-sensitive housing market.
Investors would focus on the demographic and macro tailwinds around aging-in-place, empty rooms in older adults’ homes, and the need for supplemental income and social connection, which external articles explicitly cite as drivers for Silvernest’s model.
The scalability of the matching platform—its proprietary algorithm, ability to sign up both homeowners and renters efficiently, and potential network effects—would be a key area of attention, as described in later media coverage.
The path from early notes and impact investors to institutional seed and Series A rounds would be examined as evidence that the company could graduate from mission-driven capital to more traditional venture funding.

Risks that stand out

Operating a home-sharing platform for older adults entails meaningful legal, safety, and reputational risks; any incident could damage trust and constrain growth, making the robustness of safeguards critical.
The model depends on sustained demand from both aging homeowners with spare rooms and compatible renters; demographic tailwinds help, but local housing markets and economic cycles could affect adoption.
Competition from generalist home-sharing platforms and other senior living or co-housing solutions could limit Silvernest’s ability to capture and defend a distinct niche.
Reliance on external capital, including notes, seed, accelerator, and Series A funding, means future scaling could be vulnerable to fundraising conditions and investor appetite for mission-driven proptech.
The eventual shift of headquarters/address from Colorado to Minnesota, as reflected in later profiles, could signal organizational or strategic changes; investors may view such moves as an execution or focus risk unless clearly explained.

Questions this deck invites

How did user acquisition, active matches, and retention metrics evolve between the initial 2015–2016 fundraising period reflected in this deck and the later 2017 seed and 2018 Series A rounds?
What concrete safeguards, background checks, legal frameworks, and insurance structures does Silvernest use to manage risk for older homeowners and their roommates, and how were these presented to early investors?
How does unit economics look for a typical match (customer acquisition cost, subscription or fee revenue, churn), and how did those economics compare to what was projected in the original deck?
What did Silvernest learn from its initial convertible note and impact-investor financing (including CO Impact Days), and how did those lessons shape subsequent product and go-to-market priorities?
How does Silvernest differentiate defensibly from broader home-sharing platforms (e.g., Airbnb) and senior housing alternatives, and to what extent has that differentiation been borne out in actual market adoption and partnerships?

What founders can take from the Silvernest deck

Mission-driven, niche platforms (like senior home sharing) can translate social-impact narratives into venture-backable stories when they demonstrate early traction and are willing to move from impact investors and notes to traditional seed and Series A rounds.
A lean, visual-first deck can be effective when the underlying concept is intuitive and supported by strong macro trends, as in Silvernest’s case of monetizing spare rooms for aging homeowners while addressing loneliness and financial insecurity.
Bootstrapping with meaningful founder capital (in Silvernest’s case, around $200,000) can strengthen investor confidence by showing commitment and enabling early product validation before raising larger institutional rounds.
Participating in curated impact investing events and accelerators (e.g., CO Impact Days and 500 Startups Batch 18) can help mission-oriented startups broaden their investor base and eventually close oversubscribed rounds.
Clear articulation of demographic and societal tailwinds—aging populations, empty nests, desire to age in place—can be a powerful anchor for a pitch, especially when paired with a concrete, technology-enabled solution like a matching platform.
Building a funding path that moves from convertible notes and angel/impact investors to structured seed and Series A rounds shows the value of treating fundraising as an evolving strategy rather than a single event.

Silvernest pitch deck: common questions

What does Silvernest do?

Silvernest is an online roommate-matching and home-sharing service that pairs aging homeowners, baby boomers, and empty nesters with compatible housemates for long-term arrangements, helping them generate rental income, remain in their homes, and gain social connections.

How much funding has Silvernest raised?

Public funding records and company profiles indicate that Silvernest has raised about $5.6M in total funding, primarily through a $1.3M seed round in 2017 led by a group of venture and angel investors and a $3M Series A round in 2018 led by Incenter, along with earlier convertible notes and founder bootstrapping.

What fundraise was Silvernest’s 8‑slide pitch deck used for?

The 8‑slide pitch deck referenced by Pitch Deck Hunt dates from around 2015, when Silvernest was a young, later‑seed stage company using a lean, visual-first deck to pitch its senior home-sharing concept and early traction to investors; it predates the 2017 seed and 2018 Series A announcements but helped set up those later rounds.

Who invested in Silvernest’s seed round?

The $1.3M seed round announced in June 2017 included investors such as Halogen Ventures, 1843 Capital, Rockies Venture Club, Investor’s Circle, and 500 Startups, following an earlier initial financing round closed via a convertible note and impact investors identified through CO Impact Days.

Who led Silvernest’s Series A, and when did it happen?

Silvernest’s $3M Series A round, announced in 2018, was led by Incenter, a portfolio company of Blackstone Group; reports note that this round brought total funding to about $4.45M at that time, with later analyses citing an eventual total around $5.6M.

Sources

Funding and outcome facts on this page were researched on 2026-08-22 from the pages below.

Silvernest pitch deck slides

Silvernest pitch deck slide 1 of 8 — Silvernest pitch deck — slide 1 of 8

Silvernest pitch deck slide 2 of 8 — Silvernest pitch deck — slide 2 of 8

Silvernest pitch deck slide 3 of 8 — Silvernest pitch deck — slide 3 of 8

Silvernest pitch deck slide 4 of 8 — Silvernest pitch deck — slide 4 of 8

Silvernest pitch deck slide 5 of 8 — Silvernest pitch deck — slide 5 of 8

Silvernest pitch deck slide 6 of 8 — Silvernest pitch deck — slide 6 of 8

What each slide of the Silvernest pitch deck says

Slide 5

The SILVERNEST TEAM [ de \ ) A \ CEO| CO-FOUNDER CFO VP OF MARKETING VP OF PRODUCT & DIRECTOR COMM Wendi Burkhardt Kelly Hickey Margaret Ann Burness BIZ DEVELOPMENT RELATIONS REMIX gD oracie @ yi MOTOROLA Gohmon «Johnson Home Instead é i SALES AND LOGITICS COMPANY [SENIOR CAREN wendi@silvernest.com angel.co/silvernest

Slide 6

wendi@silvernest.com angel.co/silvernest The SUCCESS 0 osf.” J \ M.O.M. IN \ ‘6000 \ 2 MONTHS \ USERS A\ NS ; 35% M.O.M. IN A 7 MONTHS pS JAN. 2016 JULY SEPT.

Slide text above is read directly from the Silvernest deck PDF embedded on this page.