As a startup entrepreneur and business owner, you know that securing funding is essential for long-term success. That’s why crafting the perfect startup fundraising ask slide is so important. It will clarify your development plan, values, goals, and approach to business for investors.
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What is a startup fundraising ask slide in an investor pitch deck?
The ask slide is the last element of the startup pitch deck. It should provide clear information about the amount of capital you are fundraising and present investors the quantifiable outcomes you plan to achieve with the funding.
What to include in your team slide while preparing an investor pitch deck?
The most important is to outline what resources you need and what goals you will achieve with them. If you already have investors, tell who they are and share details of the previous round(s) - the social proof is important to many business angels and VCs. If you’ve put some money into the business yourself, it is also a good and strong signal to investors - having skin in the game proves you are determined and truly believe in the project.
Here are some examples of the questions that should be answered in your ask slide:
- How much money do you need? - Present on the slide the exact amount proven by right numbers and calculations;
- What will you accomplish with this money? - Quantify your expected outcome to be more credible;
- How much have you raised so far and from whom? - Be proud of your previous closed funding rounds and show progress reached thanks to them.
The investment you need is relatively easy to calculate. For a business which is just beginning, you will need to calculate the expenses associated with the goals you plan to reach. Additionally, you should include a financial cushion to give a safety margin. While expressing your needs you can use simple yet informative statement:
We are raising [ EUR X ] as equity / debt which will give us [ Y months ] of runway and help us achieve:[ quantifiable milestone], [ quantifiable milestone ], [ quantifiable milestone ].
Benefits of an effective ask slide in investor pitch deck
Creating an effective ask slide can provide a number of benefits - first of all, if presented in the right way, it will get the attention of potential investors and increase your chances of success. An effective ask slide will also help you create a powerful story about your startup, which make it easier for investors to understand your business model and value proposition and consequently connect with your vision.
Moreover, an ask slide should clearly communicate your startup goals and objectives to potential investors, how you will achieve them and how much money to do need to make it happen. A clear, concise, and engaging presentation will help you make a strong case for why potential investors should invest in your startup.
Tips for getting investors to pay attention to your ask slide
While crafting an effective ask slide, make sure to present to investors a clear picture of your further development steps and their expected outcome. Your vision should assure them that the money you are asking for will take your startup on the rapid growth track.
Here are a few tips for making sure your ask slide gets the attention it deserves:
- Make sure that the amount that you ask for is well justified in objectives and milestones to achieve;
- Show not only the whole sum that you fundraising but also the insights on how you are planning to spend the money;
- Make the ask coherent with your overall business strategy;
- End with a call-to-action. Your ask slide should end with a clear call-to-action that encourages the investors to get to know your startup closer.
How to craft an effective ask slide in an investor pitch deck?
Creating an effective ask slide can be a challenging task, there are a few key steps you should take to pass the most important message about fundraising to investor’s in the right way.
- Remember about the main message. Show investors how much money you need and what outcome you expect to have after spending them.
- Quantify the outcome. Numbers speak to investors - remember to show the goals that you plan to achieve with in a quantitative way
- Understand your audience. You should tailor your ask slide to the specific investors you’re targeting.
- Create a compelling story. You should focus on creating a compelling story that highlights your unique value proposition. It should explain in an easy way where the startup is at the moment and where this funding is going to take it.
- Focus on the key points. Your ask slide should focus on the key aspects of your development plan that will be easy to understand and help you make your case to investors.
- Use visuals. Visuals can be a great way to make your ask slide more engaging and easy to follow.
- Keep it concise. Your ask slide should be concise and to-the-point.
- Test it. Before presenting your ask slide to potential investors, you should test it on a few friends or colleagues to make sure it highlights the main message, is consistent with startup vision and clarify your goals and funds distribution.
Examples of successful ask slides
To get a better idea of how to create an effective ask slide, we recommend you to look at some examples of successful pitch decks. Opendoor has a well-crafted ask slide. Here you can clearly see how much funds they need, what actions will be taken after fundraising and what these actions will achieve. It’s also a good practice to quantify milestones, as they did in the first point - it shows investors that you base your query on numbers and calculations which increase the credibility and highlight your involvement and understanding of the business.
Another example worth mentioning is Revolut’s ask slide. They based the fundraising amount on specific numbers and quantified each predicted outcome. It makes their ask reliable and credible.
Common mistakes to avoid when crafting an ask slide in investor pitch deck
When crafting an effective ask slide, there are a few common mistakes you should avoid:
- Don’t forget to inform about the amount of money that you need;
- Don’t forget to clarify and quantify what you are trying to achieve with the needed funds;
- Don’t be too long-winded. Your ask slide should be concise and to-the-point;
- Don’t be too salesy. Your ask slide should focus on the value proposition rather than on making a sale;
- Don’t be too technical. Your ask slide should be easy to understand and follow;
- Don’t be too generic and superficial with the use of the funds. Your ask slide should be tailored to the specific investors you’re targeting;
- Don’t put a pie chart on the slide with % distribution of funds - this is not telling the investors anything about your vision and goals.
Conclusion
Creating an effective startup fundraising ask slide is essential for getting investors on board. To craft the perfect ask slide, you should start with understanding your audience, and building a compelling story. Remember to focus on the key points -amount that you are raising for the startup and quantified outcomes that you are planning to achieve. At the same time, keep it concise and simple. Transparent communication is a key to success. Also, bear in mind that this slide is the last impression that you leave investors with after presenting a pitch deck. By following the tips outlined in this article, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your fundraising goals.
Get more insights on how to create a perfect investor pitch deck! Click here to download Perfect Pitch - The Ultimate Startup Guide, an ebook prepared by the team of experts and investors addressing the question how to make your startup fundraising process successful.
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