Wingly Pitch Deck Breakdown: All 18 Slides

Executive Summary: The BlaBlaCar of the Skies

Wingly’s Series A pitch deck, produced in 2015, represents a pivotal moment for the flight-sharing economy. By 2015, the 'sharing economy' was a well-understood venture capital theme, but aviation remained a fortress of regulation and high entry barriers. Wingly’s deck succeeds by not just promising a marketplace, but by proving they have the regulatory 'keys' to the castle. With a €3m ask to scale across Europe, the deck balances the romanticism of flight with the cold reality of insurance, certification, and unit economics.

Slides 1-3: The Problem and The Context

Slide 1: Title The deck opens with a clear value proposition: "The Flight Sharing Platform: Making private aviation accessible to everybody." The background image of a cockpit immediately establishes the industry context.

Slide 2: The Problem Wingly identifies three specific pain points in the private aviation sector, which they claim is "stuck in the 90's." First, it fails to leverage the internet for growth. Second, it suffers from a perception of being reserved for the wealthy elite. Third, the booking process is difficult because it relies on traditional brokers. This slide sets up the 'democratization' narrative that is central to their mission.

Slide 3: Market Context To validate the timing, Wingly points to two trends: the success of community-based startups (Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, BlaBlaCar) and breakthroughs in air mobility (Lilium, Airbus, Pipistrel). This slide is designed to make the investor feel that a 'sharing economy' for planes is the logical next step in a proven technological progression.

Slides 4-6: The Solution and Product Pillars

Slide 4: The Intersection Using a Venn diagram, Wingly positions itself at the overlap of 'Aviation' and 'Internet.' They claim to bring mass-market pricing and smart matching to an industry characterized by new propulsion and electric aviation. This slide attempts to bridge the gap between a software marketplace and a hardware-heavy industry.

Slide 5: The Central Player This slide illustrates the marketplace mechanics. Wingly acts as the hub connecting private pilots, air operators (empty legs), and general aviation offerings to the end passenger. It also mentions 'External sales,' suggesting a B2B or API-driven distribution strategy.

Slide 6: The Three Pillars The product strategy is distilled into three points: the largest flight offering, an integrated UX, and a focus on transparency, trust, and safety. These pillars serve as the outline for the next three detailed slides.

Slides 7-9: Deep Dive into Operations

Slide 7: Pillar 1 - Flight Offering Wingly provides hard numbers here: a community of 17,000 pilots, operations in 3 countries, and coverage of 500+ cities. The use of lifestyle photography helps humanize the service, moving it away from the 'wealthy elite' perception mentioned earlier.

Slide 8: Pillar 2 - Integrated UX This slide walks through the user journey: browsing, payment, confirmation, messaging, and ratings. It is a standard marketplace flow, but necessary to show that the complexity of aviation has been simplified into a modern mobile experience.

Slide 9: Pillar 3 - Trust and Safety This is arguably the most important slide in the deck. Wingly lists four critical safety components: transparent pilot profiles, regular document checks, EASA certification (approved by national regulators in Europe, UK, and Switzerland), and re-insurance by Allianz. For a Series A investor, this slide mitigates the single largest risk factor: a catastrophic accident leading to legal dissolution.

Slides 10-12: The Team and Market Opportunity

Slide 10: The Team The founders (Bertrand Joab-Cornu, Emeric de Waziers, Lars Klein) are presented alongside a heavy-hitting advisory board. The inclusion of Philipp Rösler (Former Vice-Chancellor of Germany) is a strategic masterstroke, signaling to investors that the company has the political capital to navigate European aviation laws.

Slide 11: Market Size Wingly uses a nested circle diagram to show the Total Addressable Market (TAM) of $1.8T for transportation, a $35B Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) for private aviation, and a $2.5B Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) for leisure aviation. While the $1.8T figure is broad, the $2.5B leisure figure provides a realistic starting point.

Slide 12: The Roadmap The company outlines a clear evolution. They start with a 'Leisure Marketplace' (2016-2020), move to a 'Commercial Model' (2020-2022) that functions like a taxi ride, and eventually integrate EVTOL and drones (2023-20XX). This shows that while they are starting with hobbyists, they have ambitions to become a core part of the transportation infrastructure.

Slides 13-15: Traction and Business Model

Slide 13: Market Leadership A simple transition slide claiming they have become the market leader in the private pilot segment over the last 4 years.

Slide 14: Key Metrics The deck provides impressive traction data: 300,000+ members, a monthly GMV of 450,000€, and a team of 22 people. The Net Promoter Scores (89 for passengers, 75 for pilots) are exceptionally high, suggesting strong product-market fit and community loyalty.

Slide 15: Business Model Wingly clarifies its revenue stream. On a 130€ booking, Wingly takes a 25€ commission. The slide breaks this down into a 10€ flat fee plus a 15% variable fee. This transparency regarding the 'take rate' is essential for investors to model future earnings based on GMV growth.

Slides 16-18: The Ask and Conclusion

Slide 16: Phase Two A transition slide signaling the shift toward commercial operators.

Slide 17: The Ask Wingly seeks a €3m round. The use of proceeds is clearly defined: product and engineering investment, scaling acquisition in existing and new markets, and launching the transportation model. This is a standard and appropriate allocation for a Series A round.

Slide 18: Contact The final slide provides contact information and a Paris address, closing with a high-quality image of a passenger in a helicopter, reinforcing the aspirational nature of the brand.

What Works in This Deck

Regulatory De-risking: By highlighting EASA certification and Allianz insurance on Slide 9, Wingly addresses the 'elephant in the room' immediately. Most aviation startups fail at the regulatory hurdle; Wingly proves they have already cleared it.

Political Credibility: The inclusion of a former Vice-Chancellor on the team slide (Slide 10) is not just for show. In a highly regulated European market, having someone who understands the corridors of power is a significant competitive advantage.

Clear Unit Economics: Slide 15 leaves no ambiguity about how the company makes money. The breakdown of the 25€ commission on a 130€ flight allows investors to quickly calculate the lifetime value (LTV) of a customer if they know the flight frequency.

What Is Missing

Unit Economics Detail: While the commission is clear, the deck lacks data on Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and churn. For a marketplace, knowing how much it costs to acquire a pilot versus a passenger is vital information that is omitted here.

Competitive Landscape: The deck does not mention other players in the flight-sharing space. Even if Wingly is the market leader, acknowledging competitors and explaining their 'moat' (beyond just regulatory approval) would have strengthened the pitch.

Historical Financials: While monthly GMV is provided, there is no chart showing the growth trajectory over the previous 4 years. Investors generally prefer to see the 'hockey stick' curve rather than a single data point.

What a Founder Should Copy

The Phased Roadmap: Slide 12 is an excellent example of how to pitch a 'small' starting market (leisure flights) while maintaining a 'huge' vision (EVTOL and drones). It tells investors: "We are starting here to be safe and legal, but we are going there to be a unicorn."

The 'Three Pillars' Framework: Using Slide 6 to set the agenda for the next three slides is a great way to maintain narrative flow. It helps the audience categorize information as they receive it, making the deck much more memorable.

High-Quality Visuals: Wingly uses professional, aspirational photography that matches the 'private aviation' brand. The images aren't just decorative; they reinforce the idea that this is a premium experience made accessible, which is the core of their value proposition.