Pitch Deck
Use the OCV Pitch Deck Template to create your pitch deck. Start early enough and give yourself a few weeks to polish it.
Tips for drafting your deck
Your first draft includes slide titles only. The slide title is the conclusion or key takeaway of the slide. Use the active tense and avoid commas.
The slide content should speak for itself. Don’t rely on voice-overs.
Keep the open core slide simple. Avoid getting overly technical on the difference between the open source and proprietary products. The investor just needs to be able to defend open core model to partners.
Don’t include a demo in the mainline deck. You will not want to or need to demo in every situation. Be prepared to demo if needed.
The conclusion is one line. Make it concise and memorable.
Aim to get through each slide in 1-2 minutes. Slides that take longer to explain are trying to do too much and should be split into two slides.
Your deck should take <10 minutes to present. Reserve 20 minutes for investors to ask questions.
OCV Pitch Deck Template
OCV Companies are expected to use the OCV Pitch Deck Template to create their pitch deck. The template is based on Sequoia's tried-and-true pitch template. The deck template represents how investors think—don’t attempt to retrain investors on how to think about a pitch. Don’t change the flow or try to reinvent the wheel. You may need to add a slide or two for additional company or industry context, but overall, follow the template.
OCV Pitch Deck Template
Each numbered item represents a single slide.
Company Purpose: Define the company in a single declarative sentence. This is your title slide. Slide title example: “Uber: Next-generation car service”
Problem: Pain of the customer or customer’s customer, how the customer addresses the issue today. Slide title example: “Traditional cabs rely on outdated and inefficient technology.”
Solution: Value proposition to make the customer’s life better, where the product physically sits, and use cases. Slide title example: “A fast and efficient on-demand cab service that uses the latest consumer web and device technology.”
Why now: Historical evolution of the category, recent trends making the solution possible. Slide title example: “Everyone is carrying a geo-aware mobile device.”
Market size: The customer profile you cater to, calculate TAM, SAM, and SOM. Slide title example: “Professionals in American cities seeking the convenience of a cab and the experience of a chauffeur.”
Competition: List of competitors, list of competitive advantages. 2x2 matrix with your company up and to the right. Slide title example: “Uber is the only high-tech-enabled cab company.”
Product: Product line-up (form factor, functionality, features, architecture, intellectual property), development roadmap. Slide title example: “Book trips, pre-specify locations, and pay from your mobile device.”
Open Core: Two columns showing the difference between the open source project and the commercial product. What’s open source, what’s proprietary? Slide title example: “All-in-one rideshare service built on open core GPS.”
Business Model: Revenue model, pricing, average account size/lifetime value, sales and distribution model, customer pipeline/list. Slide title example: “3 Tier pricing model based on location, availability, and car.”
Team: Founders and management, board of directors/board of advisors. Slide title example: “Founded by the expert in collaborative software systems.”
The deal: $XMM to raise XYZ Series A milestones. The left side shows spending, and the right side shows milestones. Slide title example: “Raise $3M to develop app and buy 3 cars.”
Content & messaging standards
Follow these standards to avoid common content and messaging mistakes.
Company Purpose: Keep the positioning statement concise. Focus on differentiation vs. top competitors.
Problem/Solution: Don't duplicate problem description across slides. The problem slide should be separate from the solution.
Pricing: Avoid claiming "cost parity" and instead emphasize being the "most cost-effective" in market. Don't give price ranges; provide specific numbers.
Competition: Use a 2x2 matrix format with 4-6 companies, positioning your company top-right.
Design & formatting standards
Font size requirements: Use a minimum 30pt font for body text. It should be easily readable and only slightly smaller than the title text.
Single title rule: Each slide should have only one title (the summary/conclusion). Remove secondary headers like "Company Purpose" labels.
Content density: Reduce the amount of information per slide. If there's too much content, split it into multiple slides.
Visual hierarchy: Make slide titles larger and more prominent.
Chart standards: Start graphs from zero to avoid misleading representations.
Financial projections & business model
Timeline clarity: Use calendar years (Y1, Y2, Y3, etc.) with readable font sizes.
Long-term vision: Show 10-year projections to demonstrate exit potential.
Revenue breakdown: Include total revenue line and net profit projections.
Service revenue: If including services, ensure meaningful revenue contribution.
Funding ask: State amount confidently ("Raising $X million Series A") rather than as a request.
Team & Cap Table presentation
Experience focus: Only include team accomplishments with quantifiable results/numbers.
Equity clarity: Clearly show investment amounts in cap table, not just percentages.
Remove unnecessary labels: Don't include "Experience" or "Founder" labels. These are implied.
Include your AI strategy
Every pitch should include the company’s AI story. Companies with a clear AI strategy that can show fast growth will fundraise faster. Many VC firms will not allow investment in companies that cannot articulate a clear AI strategy.
Watch the AI segment below from OCV’s AI and Open Core Roundtable to hear Sid and Rich discuss the importance of including your AI strategy in your pitch deck.
Pitch Practice
OCV will schedule weekly pitch practice to review deck progress and provide feedback. Plan to iterate indefinitely—you’ll incorporate feedback and learnings every time you deliver your pitch, whether to the OCV team or investors.
Pitch practice starts the week after you’ve kicked off the fundraising process. You will practice your pitch in whatever stage it’s in, whether it’s just slide titles or a fully formed deck. We will give you detailed feedback after each session. Once you’ve practiced a few times with the OCV team, you’ll schedule a pitch feedback session with Sid Sijbrandij.
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