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I think six slides + an actual working MVP with some traction is probably the best proposition for first-time funding. Keeping your deck to just six slides, wh

by thafman 16y ago

I think six slides + an actual working MVP with some traction is probably the best proposition for first-time funding. Keeping your deck to just six slides, when you have nothing else to show might not be the best idea.

ojbyrne 16y ago
My disdain for Powerpoint culture makes me ask, while we're cutting, how about we just drop the six slides and show the product?
- jgrahamc 16y ago
  I suggested something similar not long ago: http://blog.jgc.org/2010/06/imagine-theres-no-powerpoint-it-isnt.html http://blog.jgc.org/2010/06/imagine-theres-no-powerpoint-it-...
  - ojbyrne 16y ago
    And it should be reiterated at every opportunity. I just think that the whole Strunk & White like sentiment of paring things down to the minimum that the OP espouses, raises the question - why not 1 slide? And if we get to 1 slide, well, why not 1 bullet point? And then, poof, why do we need slides at all?
- replicatorblog 16y ago
  You can forward .ppt slides around in larger groups and help provide the context for the product. Also, while investors/partners seem to not always believe the slides they help visualize your thinking on the market opportunity/product e.g. 1. Team - Are the founders going to be able to grow the business, what have they built before. 2. Market - What is the market and how do you frame it. How big is this opportunity? Who are your partners, where are you distributed? 3. Economics - Sales projections, unit economics, how money would be spent (Hiring, marketing, etc.) 4. Competition - Are you aware of the competitors and what is your strategy to compete? How are people solving this problem now why are their solutions not good enough? 5. Pipeline - Your MVP is likely rough, how are you going to improve it? What is the timeline. Obviously not needed for all projects, but if you need investment or to hook a 3rd party these questions are going to come up and are hard to communicate via product. Definitely the case where software is part of a solution not the end all product. Key to have a deck for biz dev and other commercial situations.
  - ojbyrne 16y ago
    Your argument is reasonable, I'm just sad that the people who control the money have the cognitive level of 6 year olds.
    - ojbyrne 16y ago
      I guess the person(s) who voted me down haven't read Tufte: http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_pp http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_pp or Norvig: http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/ http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/ and assumed I was making some random insult. I'm not.

by thafman 16y ago

ojbyrne 16y ago

My disdain for Powerpoint culture makes me ask, while we're cutting, how about we just drop the six slides and show the product?

jgrahamc 16y ago
I suggested something similar not long ago: http://blog.jgc.org/2010/06/imagine-theres-no-powerpoint-it-isnt.html http://blog.jgc.org/2010/06/imagine-theres-no-powerpoint-it-...
- ojbyrne 16y ago
  And it should be reiterated at every opportunity. I just think that the whole Strunk & White like sentiment of paring things down to the minimum that the OP espouses, raises the question - why not 1 slide? And if we get to 1 slide, well, why not 1 bullet point? And then, poof, why do we need slides at all?
replicatorblog 16y ago
You can forward .ppt slides around in larger groups and help provide the context for the product. Also, while investors/partners seem to not always believe the slides they help visualize your thinking on the market opportunity/product e.g. 1. Team - Are the founders going to be able to grow the business, what have they built before. 2. Market - What is the market and how do you frame it. How big is this opportunity? Who are your partners, where are you distributed? 3. Economics - Sales projections, unit economics, how money would be spent (Hiring, marketing, etc.) 4. Competition - Are you aware of the competitors and what is your strategy to compete? How are people solving this problem now why are their solutions not good enough? 5. Pipeline - Your MVP is likely rough, how are you going to improve it? What is the timeline. Obviously not needed for all projects, but if you need investment or to hook a 3rd party these questions are going to come up and are hard to communicate via product. Definitely the case where software is part of a solution not the end all product. Key to have a deck for biz dev and other commercial situations.
- ojbyrne 16y ago
  Your argument is reasonable, I'm just sad that the people who control the money have the cognitive level of 6 year olds.
  - ojbyrne 16y ago
    I guess the person(s) who voted me down haven't read Tufte: http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_pp http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_pp or Norvig: http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/ http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/ and assumed I was making some random insult. I'm not.