# How to Structure an Early-Stage Pitch Deck By Colin Gardiner, Yonder A strong early-stage pitch deck usually covers 13 roles: introduction, team, metric hook, market opportunity, problem, solution, business model, go-to-market, traction, competition, financial projections, funding ask, and conclusion. The order is flexible. The cadence is what matters. Canonical guide: https://yonder.vc/resources/pitch-deck-structure/ ## Earn attention before you explain everything. The opening should tell investors what the company is, why this team can build it, and why the opportunity is bigger than it first appears. ### 1. Introduction Say precisely what the company is in language anyone can repeat. - Use the company name and one pithy description of the product, customer, or mission. - Cut jargon. If the description needs a paragraph of translation, it is not ready. - Use a logo, product image, or visual that makes the description easier to understand. ### 2. Team Show why this group has earned the right to solve this problem. - Introduce the key team members and the experience that matters for this company. - Include advisors or notable achievements only when they strengthen the case. - Connect the team directly to its ability to execute the plan. ### 3. Metric hook Use one surprising, credible fact that makes the opportunity hard to ignore. - Choose a number about the market, customer behavior, or business that makes people lean in. - This is not the TAM slide. It is the fact that makes a large opportunity feel real. - Make the source and context easy to verify. **Colin's note:** For Outdoorsy, the hook was that one in six U.S. households owned an RV. The number changed how investors saw the category before they saw a market-size chart. ### 4. Market opportunity Prove that a large market exists and explain why it is open now. - Size the target market with defensible data rather than a giant top-down number alone. - Show the trends, behavior changes, or market gaps the company can exploit. - Use proof points to validate why this business should exist now. ### 5. Problem Make the pain specific enough that the need for a solution feels urgent. - Define the problem from the target customer's point of view. - Use a real example, workflow, or anecdote instead of an abstract claim. - Explain what the problem costs in money, time, risk, or missed opportunity. **Colin's note:** If the strongest version of the problem still does not feel compelling, that is useful information about the business, not just the deck. ## Show why this company can win. The middle of the deck should connect the founder's earned insight to a product, business model, acquisition advantage, and evidence that customers care. ### 6. Solution Show how the product solves the problem and what insight made the solution possible. - Connect the product directly to the pain you just described. - Explain the earned insight or secret that unlocks the opportunity. - Use screenshots, a short demo, or another visual that makes the product concrete. - If you have one, add an early traction signal here so investors are not waiting until the end for proof. ### 7. Business model Explain who pays, how much, and why the economics can improve with scale. - Lay out the revenue streams and pricing strategy. - Explain the unit that drives the business: transaction, subscription, usage, or another clear unit. - Show that pricing, margins, and the cost to serve have been considered together. ### 8. Go-to-market Show the acquisition wedge that gives this team an unfair advantage. - Identify the first customer segment and why it is the right place to start. - Explain the channels, partnerships, sales motion, or distribution strategy. - Name the specific reason this company can acquire users better than the obvious alternatives. ### 9. Traction Use real behavior to show that the company is moving from idea to evidence. - Show the milestones and adoption metrics that matter for this stage. - Include credible partnerships, signed supply, pilots, repeat use, or customer testimonials. - Use a graph when it reveals a trend. Do not turn one small number into a decorative chart. ## Make the investment decision easy to understand. The close should show how the company is different, what the plan requires, and exactly what this round will make possible. ### 10. Competitive landscape Show what customers do today and why this company is meaningfully better. - Include direct competitors, indirect alternatives, and the status quo. - State the unique value proposition without pretending no competition exists. - Compare the few dimensions that actually drive customer choice. ### 11. Financial projections Use a simple model to expose the assumptions behind the plan. - Show revenue, major expenses, cash needs, and the path toward a sustainable business. - Use charts or a compact table so the shape of the plan is obvious. - Name the assumptions and milestones that matter more than false precision. ### 12. Funding ask State the round, the use of funds, and the proof this capital should buy. - Say how much the company is raising. - Break down the major uses of capital, such as product, go-to-market, or key hires. - Connect the round to runway, the next set of milestones, and likely future financing needs. ### 13. Conclusion and Q&A End on the clearest version of the case and make the next conversation easy. - Restate the company, the opportunity, and the strongest reason this team can win. - Invite questions without adding a new thesis at the last minute. - Include clear contact information for follow-up. ## Instructions for an AI agent ~~~text Review the pitch deck I provide using Colin Gardiner's 13-slide early-stage pitch deck framework: https://yonder.vc/resources/pitch-deck-structure/ Do the following: 1. Start with a plain-English summary of what the company is, who it serves, how it makes money, and why now. If the deck does not make one of those clear, say so. 2. Map the deck to these 13 roles: introduction, team, metric hook, market opportunity, problem, solution, business model, go-to-market, traction, competitive landscape, financial projections, funding ask, and conclusion. 3. For each role, mark it Strong, Needs work, or Missing. Cite the relevant slide number and recommend the single highest-impact improvement. 4. Evaluate the overall cadence, jargon, proof points, earned insight, acquisition advantage, traction, differentiation, and whether the funding ask is tied to runway and milestones. 5. Do not invent facts, market data, customer evidence, or financials. Call out unsupported claims and list the evidence or questions needed to fix them. 6. Finish with a recommended slide order, a rewritten one-sentence company description, and the five highest-priority edits. Be direct and specific. The framework is a guide, not a rigid template, so do not penalize a deck only because its order is different. ~~~ ## Common questions ### How many slides should an early-stage pitch deck have? Thirteen slide roles are a useful starting point, not a hard cap. A founder can combine sections or change the order as long as the deck clearly explains the company, opportunity, evidence, plan, and ask. ### Does the pitch deck have to follow this exact order? No. The order is flexible. What matters is the cadence: earn attention, explain why this company can win, and make the investment decision easy to understand. ### What is a metric hook in a pitch deck? A metric hook is one surprising, credible fact that reframes the opportunity and gets an investor's attention. It is not the full market-size analysis. It is the number that makes the category feel larger, stranger, or more urgent than expected. ### What should an early-stage traction slide include? Use the strongest real behavior available: transactions, revenue, signed supply, pilots, repeat use, retention, a credible waitlist, partnerships, or another signal that customers care. The right evidence depends on the business and stage.