AI is all over the place, and predictably, gross sales groups are among the many early adopters. So I wasn’t stunned to see Scalestack elevate $1 million to assist make gross sales groups’ lives simpler.
So, as we’ve performed each week for the previous 18 months or so (I can’t consider that is going to be the 75th pitch deck teardown!), we’re going to place the deck Scalestack used to boost its spherical underneath the proverbial microscope and see what it acquired proper and the place it might have performed higher.
Let’s go!
We’re searching for extra distinctive pitch decks to tear down, so if you wish to submit your personal, right here’s how you are able to do that.
Slides on this deck
Scalestack closed its $1 million spherical with an 18-slide deck. The corporate left all of the slides in, however redacted some income figures and MongoDB’s ROI from its product:
- Cowl slide
- Group slide
- Abstract/traction slide
- Drawback slide
- Drawback influence slide 1
- Drawback influence slide 2
- Drawback influence slide 3
- Answer slide
- Traction slide
- Buyer story slide 1
- Buyer story slide 2
- The way it works slide
- Product slide
- Market slide
- Competitors slide
- Positioning slide
- Why now slide
- Closing slide
Three issues to like
Over the previous couple of months, I’ve been experimenting with constructing an AI-powered deck evaluate instrument. It gave this deck solely a 67% likelihood of elevating cash (you may see the full report here). After all, Scalestack did elevate cash, and it did a bunch of issues extraordinarily nicely, which exhibits that AI has an extended solution to go.
Taking a better have a look at Scalestack’s deck, I’m not stunned the corporate raised cash. It has three huge issues going for it: a killer workforce, spectacular traction, and a buyer testimonial to die for.
An important workforce
An organization’s workforce is its coronary heart and soul. Within the early days of a startup, when there may not be a considerable monitor report or intensive monetary knowledge, the workforce’s background and capabilities might be one of the crucial persuasive elements of your pitch.
It’s important to current your workforce successfully and showcase why they’re the precise individuals to convey the enterprise to success. That’s what Scalestack acquired proper, and it cleverly begins the story with a workforce slide.
[Side 2] It’s superior to see this firm come out the gate unapologetically. Picture Credit: Scalestack
You realize what buyers love? Founders with confirmed monitor information. This slide exhibits that its workforce is well-connected within the startup world and has operational expertise as well.
I’d have beloved to see hyperlinks to the founders’ LinkedIn profiles as nicely, however this works fantastically nonetheless.
Lengthy-time readers may discover that this slide is lacking one thing I typically argue for on workforce slides: Founder-market match. Nothing in these biographies screams “gross sales” or “AI” to me, so why am I so smitten by this firm? Nicely, that’s as a result of it doesn’t matter if you click on via to the following slide:
Traction for dayyyyssss
Your startup’s workforce is vital, however traction will make up for all of the sins you may think about. It is sensible, then, that after a workforce slide that good, Scalestack follows up with a traction victory lap. The precise knowledge is redacted, however you get the image.
[Slide 3] Hyper progress exhibits the beginnings of product-market match. Picture Credit: Scalestack
Even with redacted numbers, this slide tells a hell of a narrative: Marquee clients, rising ARR and a powerful pipeline. That checks lots of packing containers. The workforce will most likely have been capable of elevate cash with simply these two slides, which is why I don’t give them that laborious of a time for lacking some vital components. Wouldn’t it have been higher to incorporate all the information buyers can be searching for? Positive, however if in case you have traction and a stable workforce, you’re 90% of the best way there.
In case you’re elevating cash, take a tough have a look at these two slides. That’s what you’re up in opposition to, even for a corporation elevating “solely” $1 million. Does your organization seem like that? If not, are you able to inform a narrative that has the same chorus?
And in case you can, will you be capable of finish the story with one thing this highly effective?
A hell of a buyer testimonial
Let’s get one thing straight: Buyer testimonials are, by and enormous, vainness metrics that don’t inform the story by themselves. Nevertheless, they will make for highly effective narrative parts.
[Slide 11] This isn’t a testimonial as a lot as a “We made ourselves indispensable” slide. Completely baller. Picture Credit: Scalestack
You’d higher consider that if I had been main an funding in Scalestack, I’d wish to have a chat with Mr. Underhill. If he’s simply as smitten by this firm on the reference name as nicely, it’d go an extended solution to convincing me to take a position.
Is all of it excellent, although? Nicely, no. Objectively, this isn’t an excellent pitch deck, as a result of it’s lacking some main components of the pitch. So in the remainder of this teardown, we’ll have a look at three issues Scalestack might have improved or performed otherwise, together with its full pitch deck!