A pitch deck is not a business plan compressed into slides. Its job is narrower: earn a conversation and set the agenda for it. Understanding that job changes what you put on every slide.
Two versions for two situations
The 10-slide template is the send-ahead version, read without you in the room. The 20-slide template is the presented version, where you talk and the slides support. Build the short one first; the long one expands it.
Investors read for reasons to stop
Most decks are dismissed within minutes. Each slide is a chance to lose the reader, so every slide must earn its place by answering a question the reader has in that moment. Anything that does not is a risk, not a bonus.
Clarity beats persuasion
Adjectives and enthusiasm read as noise. Plain statements with specific numbers and named customers do the persuading. If a slide sounds like marketing, rewrite it until it sounds like a report.
Action Step
Open the 10-slide template and write, for each slide, the single question an investor is asking at that point in the deck. Keep that list beside you for the rest of the course.
This lesson is educational content for founders and operators. It is general information, not professional advice for your specific company. Adapt every framework to your own situation and consult a qualified professional where a decision carries legal, financial, or tax consequences.