This video explains the importance of using charts effectively in pitch decks, especially for financial information, as investors spend most of their time on these sections. Well-designed charts enhance visual appeal, helping investors quickly grasp key numbers and reducing reading time.
What this video covers
If you’re ready to run your fundraising efforts, remember that charts, especially in the financial information, are absolutely everything because the financials section is where the investor reviews and spends the most amount of time. So in today’s video, we’re going to be breaking down to you how you should look and think about those charts and how you should put them in your pitch deck. Without further ado, let’s get into it.
The charts play a critical role in your pitch deck. Remember, on average, investors are going to be spending about two minutes and 41 seconds, 2:41, per presentation. That’s it. The #1 slide where they spend the most amount of time is the slide that is related to the financials. That’s why you want to have those graphs, those charts so that visual appeal is helping to avoid doing further reading and so they’re able to get right away what the numbers are all about.
Essentially, what you want to do here is remembering that one picture can have a thousand words of meaning. Instead of creating screenshots and dumping whatever information from your financial model, you want to make sure that you’re breaking it down and that it’s very easy for the investor to digest. That’s why those charts play a pivotal role in any presentation.
There are different types of charts, but the ones that you should keep in mind when you’re creating your pitch deck are the following:
IVL for segmentation and showing parts as a whole
Cartesian graphs: A variation of this in which the x-axis and y-axis form a cross.
Scatter charts: Used to demonstrate the relationship or the difference in different points or factors.
Bar graphs: Another super simplistic form. They are horizontal or vertical bar charts and can be used just like line graphs in a more visually impactful way than line graphs, perhaps.
Combination of charts: Make sure that you include a legend for clarity so that it is easily understood.
Histograms: Visually impactful and easy to digest. The main use is to show data by categories.
Waterfall charts: A type of graph that can show performance or trends over a timeline.
Gauge charts: As the name suggests, it displays a gauge. They can be created using a half-donut shape pie chart.
Area graph: A line graph with the value area below the line shading in.
Radar graphs: A spider graph is ideal for showing overall comparisons or scoring based upon multiple data points, which is why you want to use those radar graphs.
Where and how can you use those charts? In the pitch deck, the most important section is going to be the financials. That’s where you’re really going to be thinking about those graphs. The other areas and the way that you need to be thinking about those charts to be incorporated into your pitch deck could be the following sections:
The Problem Slide: you can collect some data points and some charts where you can associate.
The Solution Slide: drop in some pictures of the solution with some type of chart.
The Market Slide: You want to do a lot of data and segmentation, specifically, the total addressable market.
The Product Slide: You definitely want to include an image here and any real-world situation type of visual.
The Traction Slide: Show your growth and the metrics on how you demonstrated and how it’s dependent on the stage of the business, the business model, and the milestones.
The Team Slide: Include profile photos, but also any advisors, and any chart with some of the logos of previously-worked-at companies, and so forth.
The Competition Slide: Include a radar-style chart to demonstrate how your startup and product are different against competition.
The Financial Slide: Forecasting your finances out of the next one to three years.
Every chart that you include on the presentation needs to be backed up by data. You want to do the research. You want to include the source. It’s great that you’re going to be using the design, and by the way, the design is critical, so don’t try to do it yourself.
