After screening hundreds of applications for the Vestbee Summer Pitch CEE program and selecting the most promising projects, we asked leading VC professionals from funds like Elevator Ventures, Day One Capital, J&T Ventures, Tilia Impact Ventures, Roosh Ventures, Hard2Beat, N1 Fund, PurposeTech, and Lead Ventures: what mistakes do they see over and over in startup pitch decks — and how can founders avoid them? Their answers were occasionally funny but honest (see for yourself!).
Here are the most common pitch deck mistakes VCs noticed:
- Confusing and overloaded pitch decks
- Buzzwords and vagueness instead of clarity
- No real market understanding
- Skipping the traction slide
- Bad or missing competition analysis
- The “empty shell” deck
- No clear ask
Let’s take a closer look at each mistake and how founders can do their best (funny quotes included — see for yourself!).
Confusing and overloaded pitch decks
Startups often try to say everything in their first deck and end up saying nothing clearly. Investors require clarity and relevance.
— Peter Kromer, Principal at Day One Capital:
- Less is more. 10-15 slides max. Keep it tight, relevant, and focused on the big picture. There is a time and place for a deep dive, but not in your intro deck.
— Magdalena Chalas, Investment Manager at Elevator Ventures:
- Highlight the essentials: clearly present your product’s features, the business model, and pricing structure. Explain what you’re charging your customers for and why the solution matters.
Buzzwords and vagueness instead of clarity
Founders often try to impress investors and their peers, relying on visionary language and complex terminology. But in trying to sound experienced, they sometimes forget the basics — to clearly explain what their startup actually does.
— Peter Kromer, Day One Capital:
- Don’t start with buzzwords and vague slogans. Instead of saying “We’re revolutionizing AI-powered synergies for scalable disruption,” just tell us what you do in clear terms. If we don’t understand it in two sentences, we move on.
— Matous Palecek, VC Analyst at J&T Ventures:
- Founders often treat decks like investment-grade documents. But they’re sales tools and nobody likes complicated ads. Think of pitch decks as quick ads: short, simple, covering the basics (ICP, problem, solution, traction, team, ask), and grabbing attention from the first slide. Everything else can be saved for later conversations.
— Kseniia Ocheredko, Investment Lead at N1 Fund:
- Good storytelling matters, but not when it masks weak fundamentals. A story with no operational grip is just performance. In short, I don’t invest in decks. I invest in the clarity of thought the deck reveals.
No real market understanding
Many founders misunderstand or misrepresent their market opportunity, often copying a standard diagram without depth.
— Filip Bogdziun, Investment Manager at Hard2Beat:
- Many decks replace real market analysis with generic Venn diagrams and random TAM/SAM/SOM numbers. They lack segmentation, customer insight, and a clear go-to-market strategy, showing little understanding of who the product’s really for and how to reach them.
— Andrew Grey, General Partner at Tilia Impact Ventures:
- Founders often fail to grasp the true nature of competition in their market. Is success driven by distribution, network effects, deep technology moats, cost leadership, capital intensity, or exceptional execution? If you understand your market dynamics, then you understand what investors will prioritise when evaluating whether your startup has the potential to become the category winner.
— Radoslav Cuha, Associate at PurposeTech:
- If the founding team lacks deep insight or real experience with the problem, it shows in flawed assumptions, weak strategy, and a product that doesn’t resonate. Investors want founder-market fit and founder-future fit: a team that understands today’s pain and is credible enough to build tomorrow’s better future.
Skipping the traction slide
Founders often avoid showing traction when they think it’s too early. But investors are looking for evidence of motion, not just revenue.
— Serhiy Tokarev, General Partner at Roosh Ventures:
- Founders sometimes choose not to include the traction slide because they think only revenue matters. It doesn’t work because the goal of this slide is to show that the team can produce results. Show experiments, user feedback, technical milestones — anything that proves you can deliver.
— Peter Kromer, Day One Capital:
- Tell us where you are today, what you’ve accomplished so far, and what milestones you aim to hit in the next 12–24 months. Show us the trajectory of what you plan to prove, build, or unlock.
Bad or missing competition analysis
Many decks claim there are no competitors or present simplistic comparisons that miss the point.
— Henrik Neninger, Senior Associate at Lead Ventures:
- Saying that “we do not have competitors in this field” is an absolute red flag. The investors may not know the exact dynamics within the targeted market and the interconnectedness between the established players along the value chain. It’s best if you visualize the competitive landscape and provide an overview of your major competitors and how you stand out compared to them.
— Filip Bogdziun, Hard2Beat:
- Many founders use “feature comparison” tables where their product wins, but these miss real advantage by focusing on features, ignoring use cases, and relying on clichés like the 2x2 “ease vs innovation” grid. Claims of “no competitors” only highlight a lack of homework. A good competition slide shows why customers will choose you despite alternatives.
The “empty shell” deck
The majority of investors we spoke with said that polished slides lacking real content are a common frustration.
— Filip Bogdziun, Hard2Beat:
- In pitch decks, it’s rarely the technical or visual flaws that stand out — it’s what the slides say (or more often, fail to say) about the founders’ understanding of the business itself. What stands out the most are the slides made just to “tick a box”, added only because they’re expected, but offering little to no real value.
— Kseniia Ocheredko, N1 Fund:
- Some of the most “correct: decks, visually tight, structurally complete, still raise red flags, not because of what they lack, but because of the way they avoid tension, contradiction, or unanswered questions. A deck that reads like all the answers are already known makes me nervous. I want to see what the team is still wrestling with, the hypotheses they’re actually testing.
No clear ask
One thing investors keep asking — how much are you raising, and what’s the plan for the money? Surprisingly, many startups still forget to answer this.
— Serhiy Tokarev, Roosh Ventures:
- Sounds obvious, but many founders finish without stating (or repeating) how much they’re raising and why. This is problematic because it leads to a missed opportunity. Every pitch should end with a clear, confident ask.
— Magdalena Chalas, Elevator Ventures:
- Include round size, timeline, and how the funds will be used. Be explicit about what you need from the investor and how their capital will help you grow.
Mistakes during the live pitch
Even with a great deck, a weak live presentation can raise doubts and shake investors’ confidence in your startup. No matter how strong your slides are, how you communicate in person matters just as much. Here are some common mistakes VCs have noticed during online pitch sessions:
- Ignoring time limits: instead of going over, focus on being concise, clear, and impactful.
- Not answering the question directly: don’t avoid the question entirely, provide relevant input that demonstrates your understanding and expertise, even if the answer isn't exact. In case, you don't know the answer, be open about this and provide additional information in follow-up correspondence.
- Not researching the investor’s fund strategy: understand their investment focus, ticket size, and typical stage before the meeting. Tailor your presentation accordingly – don't pitch FinTech B series company to Seed stage HealthTech investor.
- Waiting for investors “aha moment”: be clear on your “secret sauce.” Knowing what your major differentiator is and being able to clearly communicate this to investors is make-or-break for a good pitch. Try to think about how an excited investor will describe your company to a colleague in two or three sentences.
Every investor sees hundreds of pitch decks. Most of them make the same avoidable mistakes, VCs said. The good news is that most of those issues can be improved. Just “don’t be boring or generic,” says Peter Kromer from Day One Capital. This advice can be the core of your approach. If that comes through, you’re already ahead of the pack.
