An investment deck is a detailed overview that showcases a business to its potential buyers. It’s an essential tool that aims to catch the interest of investors and convince them to invest. The primary goal of an investment deck is to generate interest and secure funding for a business. 

Main Purpose Of Investment Deck

An investment deck is not a document that is set in stone and cannot be changed. It is a flexible business tool that should be adapted to different target audiences. The investment deck should evolve as your business progresses and investor interests shift. Design your deck to according different investor profiles, emphasizing aspects that resonate with their investment criteria. For early-stage investors, focus on market potential and team strength.

• Communicate The Business Idea: The investment deck states the business idea and a solution to a problem through its services and products. It also communicates the business’s target audience.
• Demonstrate Market Opportunity: It showcases and presents potential market, growth and competitive analysis. It shows the market demand, customer segments, and competitors.
• Highlight The Business Model: It outlines the revenue model, cost model, and profitability forecast.
• Introduce The Team: Showcase how the founding team has relevant experience, skills and passion for the business. It emphasises the specialization of the entrepreneurial team that has initiated the start-up. 
• Present Financial Projections: Provide realistic financial projections of revenue, expenses, and funding needs. Present realistic financial forecasts and funding needs.
• Secure Investor Interest: It aims to generate enough interest and positive response from the customer regarding the company. It is designed to get the investors to come back for another appointment, or invest in the company.
• Problem and Solution: It identifies the problem the business solves and recommends a solution the business can provide. 
• Business Model: It shows what the type of your business is, and how the business makes its money and turns a profit. It showcases your accomplishments and activities. 

Key Components of an Investment Deck

Key components typically include an executive summary, problem and solution, market analysis, business model, team, financial projections, and a call to action. These elements collectively convey a company’s value proposition, market potential, and investment opportunity to potential investors.

Cover page

The cover page is the first face that the audience gets to see. Start with your company’s name and a slogan that people will hardly forget.

• Company Logo And Name: The logo is a powerful and integral component of the branding process, as it allows you to create a unique image of your brand. The logo should be visually attractive and easily distinguishable at first glance. 
• Tagline Or Slogan: It is a brief statement that summarizes what your business is all about. Ensure it is catchy and in line with the concept you wish to portray to your clients.
• Compelling Visual: Select an attention-grabbing picture related to the overall concept of your communication. It should be brief and eye-catching while at the same time enticing the reader to explore the rest of the text.

Executive Summary

In just a few words, describe your business, its offerings, what sets it apart, and what you are solving for. Emphasize significant indicators as major accomplishments and financial targets.

• Brief Business Description: Explain concisely what your business is, who you sell to and how you generate revenue. You should demonstrate the strengths of your business and differentiate it from other businesses. Describe what value is created for customers and show that your product/service solves a valuable problem.

Market analysis

Always ensure you have proper knowledge of the industry and target market. Determine which markets are large and growing, which are experiencing slow or negative growth, and what trends are emerging. Evaluate your competitors to identify the opportunities.

• Industry Overview: Give an overview of the industry you are in. Elaborate on the market and its size, growth rate, main stakeholders, and recent tendencies. By understanding the industry’s dynamics, businesses can identify opportunities, mitigate risks, and develop effective strategies to compete in this evolving marketplace.
• Target Market and Customer Segmentation: Define your ideal customer. Create detailed customer personas to understand their needs, preferences, and behaviours. Creating detailed customer personas is the key to unlocking their needs, preferences, and behaviours. This leads to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately, business success.

Business Model

Describe how your business earns its revenue. Mention your sources of income that you intend to use in the business, your expenses and the profit margins that you expect to achieve.

• Organisational Structure: Organise a complete map of your company’s organisation. Explain how the company departments and positions coordinate. Common departments include:

1. Sales and Marketing
2. Operations
3. Finance
4. Human Resources
5. Research and Development

• Profit Margins: Profit margins are calculated by subtracting total expenses from total revenue and dividing the result by total revenue. The goal is to achieve sustainable profitability while balancing revenue growth and cost management.   
• Customer Segmentation: Identify and profile different customer segments, such as institutional investors, high-net-worth individuals, and corporate clients. 
• Value Proposition: Clearly articulate the unique value proposition of the investment deck. This includes the specific services offered, target clientele, and competitive advantages.

Design Principles for Investment Decks

An investment deck is the initial impression that the investors receive about your company. Well-defined designs are captivating and convey a meaningful message successfully. It is essential to help the viewers navigate through your presentation by using graphics and to make noticeable important information.

• Visual Hierarchy And White Space: A strong hierarchy is beneficial in focusing the viewer’s attention. Highlight Important elements like company logo, problem statement, and solution through size, and colour selection. It makes the text much more comprehensible. Utilize white space in a balanced manner to highlight the important aspects and provide adequate contrast. 
• Colour Selection: Select the right colours that can relate to your brand for its representation. To maintain the balance use dominant, accent, and neutral color palettes. 
• Typography: Choose fonts that are clear and match your brand identity and aesthetic. Within headlines, it is preferable to be more contrasting and keep the body text more readable. Just stick to two or three font styles as it is best to have some form of uniformity.
• Imagery and Graphics: Images and graphics divide the text and make the text more attractive and appealing to the readers. It should complement your message and maintain the audience’s attention. Utilize high-quality images and videos with the content being published and share interesting clips. Using charts and graphs in sharing information makes it easier to comprehend the details presented.

Conclusion

Investment decks are not about the nice-looking pictures and graphics they portray. They are a strategic management tool that tells your business story well. Understanding the principles of visual hierarchy, colour choice, typeface selection, images, and white space helps to design a deck that will impress investors and make a lasting impression. A well-designed investment deck can change investor’s perception and their decision. Spend time preparing a deck that reflects all necessary information about your business.

Contact Us

Are you indeed ready to woo those investors with a beautifully crafted investment deck? We have a professional and skilled team of designers, to assist you in coming up with a good and professional outlook for your business and relay the story of how it is likely to turn out. It is time to create a great investment deck, so let’s do it together. Call or email us today to talk about your project!