Get Investors To Invest In You - Your Pitch Deck Team Slide

As an entrepreneur, you've probably made your fair share of startup pitch decks, or you're in the process of making one at the moment. But have you ever wondered why it is essential to create a pitch deck in the first place?

Pitch decks, aka investors pitch decks, can make all the difference in initial investment, funding, and future growth of a budding business.

A no-nonsense, value-packed pitch deck can get investors to sit up and take notice of all your hard work. Since you only get one shot at creating a lasting impression, make sure you put good thought and energy into it.

What Are Investors Looking For In A Pitch Deck?

Investors want to know two things about your business idea:

• Does it offer good to great returns?
  ‍
• Will it be a safe investment or a high-risk proposition?

And you give them the answers in your pitch deck.

Your potential investors want to know about the inherent risks and threats to your business and your industry at large. There's always some risk, so don't even think about saying that their money is 100% safe with you. Instead, take the time to research the numbers to prove that you'll do the right things at the right time to maximize their investment.

And despite all that, you'll also have to tell them about your exit strategy in case things stop working out.

Show a clear understanding of the forces that might impact your business and how you plan to deal with them. Companies that are self-aware of the risks and ready to garner profits quickly are always at the top of the list.

Again, a pitch deck allows you to establish trust and transparency in the investor-entrepreneur relationship and show self-awareness.

However, while these are essential components of your startup pitch deck, many startups forget the importance of highlighting their team's skills, experience, and technical abilities. After all, you might have everything required for a promising startup, but if you don't have a solid team backing your ideas, none of the investment will matter.

How Does A Team Slide Interest The Investors?

When it comes to the Team slide, investors want to know:

• What makes your team the best at its job?
  ‍
• Are they willing to go all out to ensure the continued growth of the business?

When an investor looks at your business at its earliest stages, 'who you are' matters a lot more than your idea. Your team is an integral part of your success from the get-go, so make sure To include a slide on the pitch deck that introduces your top people to potential investors.

But that doesn't mean merely adding their pictures and names. Take the time to tell your audience why you and your team are the right people to build and grow this company. You can have the solution to a problem, an innovative product, and all the marketing knowledge, but if you lack a worthy team, your investors won't invest a penny in your idea.

The key here is explaining how you are different from the other players in the market and why your investors should choose you. But how do you demonstrate your team's expertise on a pitch deck?

Ability

Highlight their technical skills, experience, and expertise at solving customer pain points.

Does your team have engineers or analysts who have a professional background in decoding systems and have spent years studying and analyzing trends?

Can your people create a product, code a system, interact with the market and do a profitable business? What experience do they have in marketing, sales, finance, and more? A strong background and experience in entrepreneurship and the startup culture will be a massive bonus for investors.

Commitment

You can have a perfectly well-equipped team, but your investors are not likely to be impressed if they lack resilience and perseverance. They want to see people who have the skills and knowledge and stubbornness to get things done no matter what it takes.

Give examples of past instances where you showed commitment and resilience in the face of adversity. What did you have to sacrifice to launch your company? What are you willing to give up to push the success of your company?

A startup with the most committed and dedicated team is likely to win investors. So demonstrating that your team has all the required technical knowledge, industry experience, and the passion for starting up a business will get your investors interested in your idea.

What Goes In Your Team Slide

You have to convince investors that you have the right team to execute your vision. Here's how you can do that:

Highlight Professional Background Of Your Founders

Include a brief professional profile and headshots of your founders and other associated stakeholders. While many businesses opt to show each employee's photos, some even take a creative approach and represent their employees through an avatar or a graphic illustration. This is a brilliant way to allow your employee's personality to shine through while also reflecting the vibe of the business you're trying to create.

Highlight their qualifications and their contributions to the launch of their startup. However, keep in mind not to include too much information to make your pitch deck team slides sound boring. Ideally, highlight your founder's or stakeholder's most significant achievement and how it relates to your startup. What are the previous companies they have worked for before, and what contributions they made in this specific space?

Explain What Your Team's Expertise Brings To The Business

Display your team's domain expertise and strengths to your investors to help them realize why you are the best team to solve their problems.

Highlight the founders and put the major spotlight on them by creating a separate team, where you show off your and your partners' skills.

However, a more concise approach to this will be to have a leadership team slide and include both the founders and executives on the same slide to display their professional expertise. Your investors will be more interested in the kind of expertise and skills your team brings as a whole, not just your co-founders.

Ensure A Consistent Slide Design

Use a readable font style and high-resolution images to enhance the quality of the slide and relay your business's personality.

Keep the design simple and consistent throughout the team slide. It will also be an excellent idea to fragment your slides into segments. For example, if you are dividing your team slide into four parts, assign a color to each element and follow the color code when elaborating on each component.

Add Links To The Team's Online Profiles

Add links to the bios of your founders and other key team members that you have used on the website. Include the links to their LinkedIn profiles, their social media profiles, and their contact information to help the investors get more information on each member. It would help if you also put in everyone's mobile number.

Major Selling Points Of A Good Team Slide

Once you are done creating your pitch deck, make sure that it:

Lays The Groundwork

It is essential to scrutinize your prospective investor's portfolio to determine the kinds of businesses that they have shown interest in previously. Your investor's current and past projects can establish a more trusting relationship between the founder and the investor. It will also help you build a lasting relationship with your investor.

Secondly, conducting adequate research on your investors will also show you the networking profile they have. Investors with an extensive network and contacts mean that they can help your business in multiple aspects and will also be able to share their networks with you.

Shows Your Team's Potential To Deliver

The investor will want to know the domain expertise you and your team have, the duration of your involvement in this industry, and your past experiences. They might also want to know which companies have you worked for in the past? What kind of networks have you been able to build around you?

Perhaps even add the years of experience that your team has in each segment. Outlining these leadership skills and domain authority will hook the investor's interest from the start.

Uses Visuals To Make An Impact

Rather than using lengthy bios, display your team's expertise with the help of visuals and images. Start by adding headshots of the people on your team, followed by logos of past companies and graduation institutes (assuming they are recognized brands).

Specify the titles and roles of each person in your team. Add the links to each team member's LinkedIn profile. To give a quick overview, you can add a group picture of your team. Smiling faces always reflect a welcoming work environment.  

Conclusion

Investors want to know how their investment will help a startup and what positive return it will garner for all the parties involved in the venture. They want to see if your team can handle the pressure of the business and what value your team brings to the company.

Don't forget to add the team slide to your investors' pitch decks. And use it carefully to communicate your team's expertise, drive, and determination to win the deal of a lifetime for your business.

‍