How did Utrust raise $21 million with such a short deck?

Utrust raised its capital in 2017, a year defined by the cryptocurrency boom. During this period, many projects raised funds via Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) or specialized crypto-seed rounds where the community's focus was on the technical vision, the scale of the potential network, and the quality of the product interface. The deck’s focus on a '760k+ merchant pool' (Slide 8) provided the necessary scale narrative to justify a large raise.

Why is the lack of a team slide significant?

In traditional venture capital, the team is often considered the most important slide, especially at the Seed stage. Omitting it suggests either that the founders were already well-known in the crypto space or that the deck was intended to be paired with a comprehensive whitepaper or website that detailed the leadership. For a standard startup, omitting the team is generally a disqualifying mistake.

What does '760k+ total merchants pool' actually mean?

This figure on Slide 8 likely refers to the aggregate reach of Utrust's integration partners, such as Magento or Payrexx, rather than merchants directly signed to Utrust at that moment. By listing logos like Magento and Uphold, Utrust is demonstrating 'platform play' potential—showing that their technology can be toggled on for an existing massive user base rather than building from zero.

Is the lack of financial projections a problem?

For a Seed round in a nascent industry like crypto-payments in 2017, detailed five-year projections were often viewed as speculative fiction. However, the total absence of a business model—explaining how they take a cut of transactions—is a weakness. The deck relies on the assumption that 'Cheaper' and 'Faster' (Slide 6) will inherently lead to a profitable volume-based business.

How does the deck handle competition?

It avoids a traditional 'competitor grid.' Instead, Slide 5 ('Landscape of Digital Currency Payments') frames the entire existing market as the competition, characterizing it as 'Obsolete Tech,' 'Unregulated,' and having 'Complicated UX.' This positioning allows Utrust to present itself as the first 'modern' solution rather than fighting for market share against specific named rivals.

Utrust Pitch Deck (2017): 11-Slide Seed Deck

See all 11 slides of the Utrust pitch deck — a 2017 Seed deck — with a slide-by-slide teardown of what the deck does well and where it falls short.

The Utrust pitch deck is a masterclass in minimalism, perhaps to a fault. Spanning only 11 slides, it relies heavily on iconography and high-fidelity product mockups rather than dense data or financial projections. Raised during the 2017 crypto boom, the deck successfully positioned the company as a bridge between traditional commerce and digital currencies by highlighting a '760k+ total merchants pool' and '20M+ direct access customers' through its partner network. However, the deck is notably missing a team slide, a business model slide, and a specific financial 'ask.' It functions more as…

Key takeaways

The deck uses a minimalist 11-slide structure that prioritizes visual communication over text-heavy explanations.
Slide 8 highlights significant reach through partnerships, claiming a pool of 760k+ merchants and 20M+ customers.
Product readiness is demonstrated on Slide 4 through high-fidelity mockups across desktop, tablet, and mobile interfaces.
The roadmap on Slide 7 shows a transition from 'Initial Funding' in 2017 to 'Regulatory compliance' in 2018.
The deck completely omits a team slide, which is highly unconventional for a $21 million raise.
There is no mention of the specific amount being raised or the valuation within the slides themselves.
The 'Landscape' slide (Slide 5) identifies 'Obsolete Tech' and 'No protection' as the primary industry pain points.
Slide 6 defines the value proposition in three words: 'Cheaper, Faster, Safer,' without providing specific percentage improvements.

The Minimalist Vision of Utrust

The Utrust pitch deck, used to secure $21,000,000 in 2017, is a striking example of the 'less is more' philosophy. In an era where crypto whitepapers were often 50 pages of dense technical jargon, Utrust opted for an 11-slide visual narrative. This deck doesn't try to prove the math; it tries to sell a future where digital payments are as seamless as traditional ones. By focusing on high-level concepts like a 'Cashless Society' and 'Digital Ownership,' the company positioned itself as a foundational layer for the next generation of commerce.

Slide 1: Title and Branding

The deck opens with a clean, purple-to-blue gradient background featuring the Utrust logo and the tagline: "Digital Payments made Simple." The inclusion of the website URL immediately directs investors to a live environment, which is a subtle way of signaling that the project is more than just a concept. The branding is professional and leans into the 'fintech' aesthetic rather than the 'hacker' aesthetic common in early crypto projects.

Slides 2-3: The Macro Context

Slide 2, titled "The Future of Money," uses three simple icons to define the market drivers: Cashless Society, Virtual Wallets, and Digital Ownership. This is a classic 'Why Now?' slide, though it lacks specific data points to back up these trends. It assumes the investor already believes in the shift toward digital assets.

Slide 3 features a world map with various cryptocurrency logos (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, Dash, Ripple) and fiat symbols (CHF, $, €). The title "Cryptocurrencies?" suggests a fragmented market that needs a unifying solution. The map indicates a global problem, setting the stage for a global solution. The visual clutter of the icons connected by dotted lines represents the current complexity Utrust intends to solve.

Slide 4: The Product Reveal

This is arguably the strongest slide in the deck. Under the header "A radically better digital currency payment solution," Utrust displays high-fidelity mockups of their interface on a desktop monitor, a tablet, and a smartphone. The desktop view shows an 'Orders' dashboard with clear status indicators like 'Paid,' 'In Dispute,' and 'Refunded.' The mobile view shows a balance of $18,213.78 and a breakdown of holdings. This slide proves the team has considered the user experience (UX) for both the merchant (dashboard) and the consumer (wallet).

Slides 5-6: Problem and Solution

Slide 5, "Landscape of Digital Currency Payments," identifies four specific pain points: Obsolete Tech, Unregulated, No protection, and Complicated UX. By highlighting 'No protection,' Utrust hints at its unique value proposition: a consumer protection layer for crypto transactions, similar to PayPal.

Slide 6, "Our Solution," responds directly to the previous slide with three icons labeled Cheaper, Faster, and Safer. While these are standard claims in the payments industry, the simplicity of the presentation makes the message unmistakable. However, the deck misses an opportunity here to explain how it is cheaper or how the safety mechanism works technically.

Slide 7: The Roadmap

The roadmap, titled "From Inception to Business," is divided into 2017 and 2018. For 2017, it lists Initial Funding and MVP . For 2018, it targets Tech Development, Regulatory compliance, Business Partnerships, and Marketing. The inclusion of 'Regulatory compliance' is a critical signal to institutional investors that the company is not looking to bypass legal frameworks—a common fear in the 2017 crypto market.

Slide 8: Traction and Ecosystem

This is the 'Big Number' slide. It claims a "760k+ total merchants pool," "20M+ direct access customers," and presence in "180+ countries." Below these figures is a 'wall of logos' including Uphold, Magento, Payrexx, Swisscom Blockchain, and Nexo. This slide is designed to show that Utrust isn't building a silo; it is integrating into the existing e-commerce infrastructure. By partnering with platforms like Magento, they gain theoretical access to every merchant on that platform.

Slides 9-10: Global Scale and Growth Strategy

Slide 9, "Technology Live & Global," features another world map, reinforcing the 'Live with first partners' status. It’s a bit redundant following Slide 8 but serves to emphasize that the product is not vaporware.

Slide 10, "Growth & Scale," identifies the three pillars of their go-to-market strategy: Financial Institutions, Payment Service Providers, and Merchants. This indicates a B2B2C approach, where Utrust acts as the plumbing for larger entities rather than just trying to acquire individual merchants one by one.

Slide 11: The Contact Slide

The deck concludes with the logo, the website, the Twitter handle (@UTRUST), and an investor relations email. Notably, there is no 'Ask' slide. There is no mention of how much money is being raised, what the valuation is, or what the specific use of funds will be. In the context of a 2017 ICO or private sale, these details were often handled in a separate 'Terms' document or on the token sale website.

What Works in the Utrust Deck

The primary strength of this deck is its visual clarity . In a sector (crypto) known for over-complicating simple concepts, Utrust stays remarkably focused. The product mockups on Slide 4 are professional and look 'ready for market,' which builds immediate trust with an investor. The use of a 'merchant pool' metric on Slide 8 is a clever way to show massive potential reach without having to claim 760,000 active direct customers, which would have been unbelievable for a Seed stage startup.

The deck also does a good job of framing the problem . By identifying 'No protection' as a key landscape issue, Utrust carves out a niche. Most crypto payment processors at the time were focused solely on the transaction; Utrust focused on the trust between the buyer and seller, which is a much more relatable problem for traditional commerce.

What is Missing from the Utrust Deck

The omissions in this deck are significant and would be fatal in a traditional VC setting. First and foremost, there is no team slide . Investors invest in people, especially at the Seed stage. Not seeing the faces or backgrounds of the founders is a major red flag. Second, there is no business model . We know they process payments, but we don't know their fee structure, their margins, or their path to profitability.

Furthermore, the deck lacks a competitive analysis . While they mention the 'landscape,' they don't name competitors like BitPay or Coinbase Commerce. Acknowledging competitors and explaining why you are better is a sign of market maturity. Finally, the lack of a clear 'Ask' makes the deck feel more like a marketing brochure than a fundraising tool. An investor should leave a pitch knowing exactly what the company needs and what they will do with it.

What a Founder Should Copy

Founders should emulate Utrust’s commitment to high-quality design . A clean, well-branded deck suggests a clean, well-branded product. The way they grouped their roadmap (Slide 7) into thematic buckets rather than a long list of dates is also a best practice; it shows strategic thinking rather than just a task list.

Another takeaway is the 'Platform Play' strategy shown on Slide 8. If you are a B2B startup, don't just list your five small customers; list the total reach of your integration partners. It paints a picture of the 'ceiling' of your business. However, founders should be careful to label these as 'potential reach' or 'partner pool' to maintain honesty. Lastly, the three-word value proposition ( Cheaper, Faster, Safer ) is a great example of how to distill a complex technical product into a message that a non-technical investor can understand in three seconds.

Final Analysis

The Utrust deck is a product of its time—a high-gloss, high-vision document designed for a fast-moving, hype-driven market. While it lacks the structural rigour required for a 2024 Series A, its ability to communicate a global scale and a 'radically better' user experience through minimal text is something every founder can learn from. It succeeds in making crypto payments look 'simple,' which was exactly what the market was looking for in 2017.

Frequently asked questions

How did Utrust raise $21 million with such a short deck?: Utrust raised its capital in 2017, a year defined by the cryptocurrency boom. During this period, many projects raised funds via Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) or specialized crypto-seed rounds where the community's focus was on the technical vision, the scale of the potential network, and the quality of the product interface. The deck’s focus on a '760k+ merchant pool' (Slide 8) provided the necessary scale narrative to justify a large raise.
Why is the lack of a team slide significant?: In traditional venture capital, the team is often considered the most important slide, especially at the Seed stage. Omitting it suggests either that the founders were already well-known in the crypto space or that the deck was intended to be paired with a comprehensive whitepaper or website that detailed the leadership. For a standard startup, omitting the team is generally a disqualifying mistake.
What does '760k+ total merchants pool' actually mean?: This figure on Slide 8 likely refers to the aggregate reach of Utrust's integration partners, such as Magento or Payrexx, rather than merchants directly signed to Utrust at that moment. By listing logos like Magento and Uphold, Utrust is demonstrating 'platform play' potential—showing that their technology can be toggled on for an existing massive user base rather than building from zero.
Is the lack of financial projections a problem?: For a Seed round in a nascent industry like crypto-payments in 2017, detailed five-year projections were often viewed as speculative fiction. However, the total absence of a business model—explaining how they take a cut of transactions—is a weakness. The deck relies on the assumption that 'Cheaper' and 'Faster' (Slide 6) will inherently lead to a profitable volume-based business.
How does the deck handle competition?: It avoids a traditional 'competitor grid.' Instead, Slide 5 ('Landscape of Digital Currency Payments') frames the entire existing market as the competition, characterizing it as 'Obsolete Tech,' 'Unregulated,' and having 'Complicated UX.' This positioning allows Utrust to present itself as the first 'modern' solution rather than fighting for market share against specific named rivals.

Cover slide of the Utrust pitch deck — Seed 2017 — Utrust pitch deck, slide 1 (2017)

Utrust pitch deck: the facts

Company: Utrust
Year: 2017
Stage: Seed
Slides: 11
Sector: Payments / Cryptocurrency
Deck type: Seed Pitch Deck
Outcome: Raised $21,000,000
Headquarters: Portugal (based on catalogue data)

Utrust pitch deck PDF

The full Utrust 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 Utrust pitch deck was used for

This deck is Utrust’s 2017 fundraising presentation for its UTK token initial coin offering, used during the height of the ICO era to support a seed‑stage capital raise for a crypto payments platform. The company set out to build a PayPal‑like, blockchain‑powered payment processor that allows merchants to accept cryptocurrencies while settling in fiat, with consumer protection features. The ICO included a pre‑ICO starting August 28, 2017, followed by a public sale from September and culminating in November 2017 when Utrust raised roughly $21 million. The brief 11‑slide, visual‑first deck therefore aimed to explain a complex crypto‑payment solution and the UTK token economics to investors and token buyers at seed stage in 2017.

Business model: Cryptocurrency payment processor and crypto-to-bank platform that enables e‑commerce merchants to accept multiple cryptocurrencies while receiving fiat (e.g. EUR, USD, GBP) directly into their bank accounts, with buyer protection and crypto‑to‑cash settlement.

Year: 2017
Founded: 2017
Founders: Nuno Correia, Roberto Machado, Filipe Castro, Artur Goulão
Headquarters: Zug, Switzerland (company incorporated in Switzerland; ICO contact location in Zug).
Industry: Payments / Cryptocurrency

Round: Seed / ICO token sale for early-stage product development of a cryptocurrency payments platform.

Raising: Token sale (pre‑ICO and public ICO) targeting up to 700 million tokens and around $45.5 million, ultimately resulting in about $21 million raised.

Raised: Approximately $21 million raised via the UTK token initial coin offering (ICO) completed in November 2017.

Total funding: Raised approximately $21 million via an initial coin offering (ICO) of the UTK token in November 2017.

Use of funds as presented: Funding the development and launch of Utrust’s blockchain-powered cryptocurrency payment platform, including merchant tools, buyer protection mechanisms, and subsequent regulatory and licensing efforts.

What happened after the Utrust deck

Following its 2017 UTK token ICO that raised roughly $21 million, Utrust transitioned from an ICO‑era startup to an operating crypto payments company, launching its crypto‑to‑bank platform, securing merchants, rebranding, and obtaining regulatory licensing such as a virtual asset service provider approval from Banco de Portugal.

Pre‑ICO launch on August 28, 2017, joining the Crypto Valley blockchain consortium and preparing a public ICO.
Public ICO in late 2017, raising approximately $21 million through the sale of UTK tokens, with part of the supply locke
Product development and real‑world traction beginning in the second half of 2018 as the payments platform launched and m
Rebrand and continued evolution of the corporate identity reflecting a maturing payments business.
Obtaining a virtual asset service provider operating license from the Portuguese central bank (Banco de Portugal) in 202

What the Utrust deck got right

Clear, relatable value proposition. Utrust’s deck benefited from a simple, strong narrative: a PayPal‑like crypto‑to‑bank platform solving a clear pain point for e‑commerce merchants who want to accept crypto but settle in fiat, making the complex technology easy to grasp for investors and token buyers.
Effective alignment with ICO market timing. The company’s timing during the 2017 ICO boom and its positioning as a practical payment solution rather than a purely speculative token helped it raise a substantial $21 million with a relatively short, visual‑first deck.
Focus on consumer protection and merchant usability. Emphasizing buyer protection, volatility management and seamless merchant integration differentiated Utrust from other crypto projects and likely gave comfort that the platform addressed real commerce needs, not just trading or speculation.
Experienced founding team in crypto. The founders were early cryptocurrency adopters with deep involvement in the crypto community, which would lend credibility to the technical and market understanding behind the deck’s claims about building a trustworthy payments ecosystem.
Structured token sale with lockups. The deck supported a staged fundraising structure (pre‑ICO, public ICO) with defined token distribution and lockup components, which later sources describe as including five‑year lockups for part of the supply, signaling some attention to long‑term alignment.
Post‑raise execution consistent with initial vision. Subsequent execution—launching the platform, attracting merchants, rebranding, and securing a Portuguese virtual asset service provider license—validates many of the deck’s original claims about building a compliant, scalable crypto payments business.

What could have been stronger

Sparse detail on tokenomics and governance. The deck is reported as only 11 slides long and heavily visual, which likely limited detailed disclosure on token mechanics (allocation, lockups, vesting) and regulatory considerations relative to best‑practice standards that emerged after the ICO boom. This makes it harder for investors to fully assess governance and long‑term alignment purely from the deck.
Limited treatment of regulatory and compliance risk. Given the timing in 2017 and the focus on explaining the payment solution, the deck likely under‑emphasized regulatory and compliance risk (e.g., licensing, KYC/AML obligations, securities treatment of tokens), which later became central issues for crypto‑payment businesses.
Potential lack of clear traction and execution detail. A brief, visual‑first deck for a complex payment and token model risks glossing over concrete traction metrics, merchant pipeline data, or prototype status, leaving investors uncertain about execution readiness at the time of the ICO.
Insufficient quantification of UTK value capture. In the ICO context, investors and token buyers need clarity on how UTK captures value from transaction flows; a short deck may not have provided granular forecasts or scenarios linking payment volume growth to UTK demand and price dynamics.
Possibly light competitive analysis. While the deck likely positioned Utrust as a PayPal‑like solution for crypto, it may not have rigorously mapped the competitive landscape (other crypto payment processors, exchanges, wallets adding merchant tools), reducing investors’ ability to compare differentiation and defensibility.

How an investor would read this deck

What draws attention

Regulatory path and licensing, including later developments such as the Portuguese virtual asset service provider license, and whether the original deck anticipated or addressed this trajectory.
Actual merchant adoption and transaction volumes post‑ICO, compared against whatever projections or claims were made in the 2017 deck about market penetration and use cases.
Token economics: UTK supply distribution, lockup periods (e.g., 50 million UTK locked for five years), and ongoing utility and demand drivers relative to payment volume.
Governance and team stability, including founder roles (Correia, Machado, Castro, Goulão) and later leadership changes such as the appointment of a new CEO.
Resilience to crypto market cycles, given that Utrust’s market capitalization peaked in the January 2018 bull season and then shifted focus to building real‑world traction.

Risks that stand out

Regulatory and compliance risk around crypto payments, including changing interpretations of token offerings and the need for licenses such as virtual asset service provider status.
Dependence on broader crypto market conditions; Utrust’s token and platform value are exposed to volatility and cyclical interest in cryptocurrencies, as evidenced by its early market‑cap peak during the 2018 bull run.
Execution risk in scaling merchant adoption in a competitive payments ecosystem with established players and emerging crypto‑payment alternatives.
Token‑holder alignment and long‑term sustainability of the UTK token model, given fixed supply distribution and past lockups.
Operational risk in managing global payment flows, fiat settlements, and consumer protection features across jurisdictions with differing regulations.

Questions this deck invites

How exactly are merchants onboarded, and what are Utrust’s current metrics on number of merchants, transaction volumes, and geographic coverage compared to the expectations set in the 2017 deck?
What are the detailed UTK tokenomics today (circulating vs. total supply, lockups, treasury holdings) and how do they compare to the structure at ICO (including the reported 21 million USD raise and five‑year lock on 50 million tokens)?
What licenses and regulatory approvals does Utrust now hold (e.g., Portugal’s virtual asset service provider license), and were any regulatory assumptions in the original deck later challenged or revised?
How has the competitive landscape for crypto payments evolved since 2017, and what concrete advantages (fees, buyer protection, integration, settlement options) allow Utrust to retain or grow share?
What specific milestones were achieved with ICO funds (product releases, partnerships, compliance infrastructure), and how does this execution track against the roadmap implied in the 2017 seed‑stage deck?

What founders can take from the Utrust deck

A highly visual, concise deck can still support a large fundraise if the underlying narrative is timely and compelling—in Utrust’s case, leveraging the 2017 ICO wave and the clear pain point of crypto payments for e‑commerce.
Positioning a crypto startup as a familiar analogue (a PayPal‑like or Stripe‑like platform for cryptocurrencies) helps investors quickly grasp the value proposition despite technical complexity.
Clearly articulating buyer protection and volatility‑management features can differentiate a payments token from purely speculative ICOs and make the platform more attractive to mainstream merchants.
Anchoring a token sale to a specific, operational product roadmap—crypto‑to‑bank settlement, merchant tools, and later licensing—can create a stronger story for long‑term value than abstract protocol pitches.
Launching a pre‑ICO and staged public sale, with public communication about token distribution and lockups, can build momentum and perceived credibility, but it also increases the need for transparent, durable tokenomics.
Operating as a regulated payments firm post‑ICO (e.g., obtaining a virtual asset service provider license) illustrates how early crypto fundraising narratives must eventually translate into compliant, sustainable businesses.

Utrust pitch deck: common questions

What does Utrust do?

Utrust is a blockchain‑powered cryptocurrency payment platform that lets e‑commerce merchants accept multiple cryptocurrencies from buyers while receiving settled fiat currencies such as euros, US dollars or British pounds directly into their bank accounts, with buyer protection and crypto‑to‑cash conversion.

When and where was Utrust founded?

Utrust was founded in 2017 and is incorporated in Switzerland, with public materials and ICO contact information listing Zug, Switzerland as its location. It has operational presence in Portugal as well, including a Portugal‑based license as a virtual asset service provider.

How much did Utrust raise in its 2017 fundraise and how was it structured?

Utrust raised about $21 million by selling its UTK token in an ICO process that included a presale and a public sale; the public ICO took place in November 2017 at a token price of around $0.065. Earlier, Utrust conducted a pre‑ICO starting August 28, 2017 and prepared an October ICO launch aiming to sell 700 million tokens.

Who are the founders of Utrust?

Sources consistently list Nuno Correia, Roberto Machado, Filipe Castro and Artur Goulão as Utrust’s co‑founders. Subsequent leadership materials also highlight Sanja Kon as CEO, reflecting later-stage executive changes.

What happened after Utrust’s 2017 ICO fundraise?

According to later analyses, Utrust used the ICO proceeds to build and launch its crypto‑to‑bank payments platform, achieve real‑world merchant traction from the second half of 2018, and continue product development and licensing, including obtaining a virtual asset service provider license from Banco de Portugal in 2022.