Crafting the Ultimate Pitch Deck: 6 Things Investors Really Want to See

If you’ve ever watched a full episode of Dragon’s Den, you know the drill. One founder stumbles through their numbers. Another shows up with a flashy prototype but no clear plan. Someone’s pitching a “revolutionary” app for dog yoga, and you can see the Dragons glazing over in real-time.

But then, someone walks in and tells a story.

Not just about the product, but about a problem you’ve felt. At that moment, something clicks. A sentence that makes a Dragon lean in and say, “Now that’s interesting.”

That’s the pitch deck investors remember. The one they casually mention to their partner over dinner. The one they retell in the partner meeting with just enough conviction to get a second look.

A well-crafted investment deck can help raise funding by effectively communicating the company’s value to investors.

And here’s the truth most founders miss: Investors don’t invest in pitch decks. They invest in a story. In people who can make them feel something.

Because no matter how hard we want to believe otherwise (of course, buying a third Stanley mug at 2.00 am was a logical decision), we make decisions emotionally first and rationalise them later.

A pitch deck that effectively communicates the business idea can spark interest and leave a lasting impression on investors.

This blog post is about crafting that kind of investor pitch deck: the one that earns the second meeting not just with data, but with a unique and compelling story.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

First, Understand the Potential Investors’ Mindset

Here’s something most pitch decks forget to consider: investors are people, too.
Busy ones, usually staring down a back-to-back calendar filled with half-hour Zooms, product demos, and pitch decks that blur together by 3 p.m.

So we hear you; standing out to potential investors is a real challenge.

They don’t remember your traction slide. They definitely don’t remember slide 12. But they do remember how you made them feel.

The one founder who told a story they couldn’t shake. The one pitch they mention to their partner later that night, casually over dinner: “I think we might invest in something pretty interesting.”

Your goal isn’t just to win the meeting. It’s to earn that memory.
So convincing investors often comes down to telling a memorable story that sets you apart.

Homework Before the Fun Work

Before we move on to how to turn your investment deck into a memorable story, let’s get the slightly boring, technical aspects out of the way.

We will talk about how to get and keep the investors’ attention for longer than 8 seconds, but let’s talk about how to structure an investment deck so they will not only feel immersed in your story but also have all the information they need.

We highly recommend you stick to the 10-20-30 rule for a well crafted pitch deck: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30-point font.

It forces clarity. Forces brevity. Forces you to say what matters fast.
Focusing on the key elements and using minimal text on each slide helps keep the entire presentation clear and impactful.

Remember, investors see hundreds of decks. They’re not zooming in on your font size, they’re zooming out when they see walls of text. So make sure every slide earns its place.

Keep your charts legible, your ask specific, and your time tight.
Storytelling opens the door but only with precision you get invited in.

People Remember What’s Wrapped in Story

Now onto the fun part.

There’s a reason we remember movie quotes and bedtime tales long after we forget what was on the quarterly report. Our brains are wired for narrative. A compelling narrative makes your business concept memorable to investors, ensuring they understand your mission and value proposition.

According to cognitive psychology, people retain facts far better when they’re part of a story structure, not as isolated data points, but as beats in a journey.

Before you build your deck, ask yourself: What’s the one sentence I want them to remember after I leave the room?

Make it sticky. Make it speak to the heart of your business.
Then wrap your entire story around it. That sentence is the one they’ll repeat in the partner meeting. It might just as well be the one that gets you funded.

1. Lead with Emotion, Not Information

It might sound counterintuitive, but your pitch deck doesn’t need to start with what you’re building. It needs to start with why anyone should care.

This is the part that hooks people. It’s your first few pages in a novel. It’s what gets them to lean in.

Start with tension. An emotion. A very real human experience. One that makes them think: “Yes, I’ve felt that. I get it.”

And only once that emotional connection is there and they’re nodding along do you introduce what you’ve built. This is the moment to present your idea and show how it addresses the problem you’ve highlighted.

2. Tell the Problem Like a Story

Too often, the “problem” or title slide becomes a bullet-point graveyard. But the problem slide should clearly illustrate the pain point, setting the stage for your solution and engaging investors from the start. So if you treat this like the beginning of a story, you can communicate a business idea that actually resonates.

This must be where you deliver the emotional hook, the thing that earns you 90 more seconds of attention.
Before they see your graphs, they need to see themselves in your story. Get this right, and everything else lands more easily.

Let’s say you built a travel app that connects travellers with locals. Very cool.

Saying “43% of travellers feel overwhelmed when planning a trip” is the kind of problem statement that gets a polite nod from investors… right before they forget what your company does.

Now let’s craft a compelling story that gets them to care.

“My wife has a Pinterest board titled “Southern Spain” that she brings up in casual conversation roughly once a week (and in every argument where I’m accused of not surprising her enough). It’s filled with dream-like photos of cliffside towns, tapas, and a specific bikini she’s had in her Amazon cart for three years now.

We both want to go. Badly. But we dread the planning.

We don’t want to miss the best spots, but we also don’t want to end up speed-marching through every church in Andalucía until they all start blending together. We want to eat like locals, not tourists. But we don’t want to scroll through blogs from 2007 trying to figure out where that one hidden paella place is.

Now, meet Maria. She’s a university student who’s lived in Seville her whole life. She knows where the best paella is (her dad plays football with the owner). She’s mapped out every can’t-miss beach, every perfect little pension, every cultural gem since she was a child.”

Now you got them to lean in, maybe raise a curious eyebrow. All is set for the solution you bring to the table.

3. Introduce the Solution and Business Model Like It Was Inevitable

This is where you say: we saw that problem and here’s how we solved it. 

Keep it short. Keep it crisp. And make sure it fits the tone of the problem you just laid out.

“Two hours for her. Two dozen tabs and at least one argument for us. Why not let Maria plan the trip, and make money doing it?”

Let that sink in for a few seconds. Now they’re ready to hear your solution.

“So we built the App: a platform where locals build and manage entire trips for travellers, from hotels to hidden beaches, complete with reservations, cultural tips, and real-time support. Just like a friend who lives there would.”

You don’t need to oversell. Investors almost instinctively know if an idea is worth it.
So stick to the truth.
If the problem is set up well enough, the solution will feel like common sense.

4. Let Data and Financial Projections Prove the Story

It’s time to show your numbers. Metrics. Traction. Growth.

Now that they’re intrigued you can finally show off key metrics and financial projections to provide key insights into your business’s potential, building credibility and attracting investor interest.

But remember, data doesn’t convince people on its own. It reinforces what they already believe. So use it to build trust, not to carry the pitch.

“We’ve grown 300% in 6 months, with 62% of users coming back for a second trip. 78% of those users request the same local guide.”

Now we’re not just seeing growth, we’re seeing love. We’re seeing product-market fit.

Every number in the pitch deck should move the story forward.

5. Show What’s Next

Investors want to know where you’re headed. But not every product needs to be the next global unicorn by slide 8.

Instead, be specific. Show that you have a handle on reality and you know how to grow in stages.

“We’re expanding from Spain into Portugal and Greece next quarter, and scaling our vetting system for local hosts. Our goal is to onboard 5,000 guides by year two, with 35% of bookings returning from repeat travellers. Our go-to-market strategy is designed to capture the market opportunity in these new regions, ensuring we maximise reach and profitability as we expand.”

That kind of storytelling shows vision and restraint. Now it sounds like a plan and you know what you’re doing.

6. Make the Ask a Natural Next Step

Don’t end with a vague slide. End with direction.

Tie your funding ask directly to the story they’ve just heard.

“We’re raising $1.8M to grow the team, expand our destinations, and build embedded payment features so Maria (and 5,000 other guides like her) can get paid faster and manage more trips. This round will help us raise venture capital, and secure funding for our next stage of growth.”

The money isn’t the story. But it funds the story. Make that connection clear.

The Pitch Deck That Gets Forwarded, Not Forgotten

In the end, the best pitch decks aren’t about flawless metrics.
They are not just summaries of businesses.

They are your chance to make someone believe in the future you’re building.

Because investors don’t invest in bullet points.
They invest in clarity, conviction, and the story they can’t stop thinking about on the way to their next meeting.

So give them that story. Give them the sentence they’ll repeat in the partner room.
And give them the confidence that you are the one to make it real.

That’s how great ideas get funded. If you can get that right, you’re mostly there.

Whatever your business idea is, we wish you all the best with it and if you need help turning that story into a memorable pitch deck, we’re one message away.