Free tool
Pitch deck checklist for seed and Series A founders
Tick what your deck already does and get a readiness score for your stage, plus the three fixes that matter most. Nothing you tick leaves your browser.
- Pre-seed, seed and Series A
- Critical checks weighted
- Saved in this browser
Tick what your deck does and see what to fix first.
The deck order we use
The order we build most decks in, slide by slide.
Most decks open with what the company does before anyone cares why it matters. We start with the problem.
The vision gets its own slide
Nothing else on it. It is the one line people repeat after the call.
One line under each name
On the team slide, the thing each person has done that makes them right for this company.
Built to be read without you
Decks get forwarded and opened without you, so every slide has to make sense on its own.
Decks for teams that raised
Teams we designed decks for, and what they raised.
Rounds as announced or confirmed. The raise is theirs; we designed the deck and the brand around it.
$100.5M+ undisclosed
Raised by founders we designed decks for
Announced and confirmed rounds only. Quotient and Zinq AI are not counted.
See every round on our fundraising page- Series A
$72M
Raised across three rounds
Case study: N3XT - Seed
$12.5M
Seed round, raised as Datawizz (now Gamut)
Case study: Datawizz - Series A
$11M
Series A
Case study: Lightdash - Seed
$5M
$1.8M pre-seed and $3.2M seed
- Seed
$5M
Raised to date, from our case study
Case study: Quotient - Seed
Private
Amount not disclosed, backed by Stockdale Capital Partners
Faqs
Questions about pitch decks
Want a second opinion?
Send us your current deck. We’ll tell you what we would change first.
What should a pitch deck include?
The problem, why now, what you do, proof and the ask, in that order, plus the market, the business model and the team. Give the vision its own slide, put one idea on each slide and show data as charts, so the deck makes sense when it is read without you.
How is a seed deck different from a Series A deck?
At pre-seed and seed, investors see dozens of decks a week, so a clear structure and a strong first five slides do most of the work. At Series A the deck gets forwarded to partners who were never on the call, so it has to work on its own, in email and on a phone, and the proof has to show growth that lasts.
How do you write the ask slide in a pitch deck?
Write it as a plan. "Raising $3M" is half a slide, so add the months of runway, the hires and what ships by when.
How is the readiness score worked out?
Each check has a weight for your stage: critical checks count three, important ones two and polish one. The score is the share of that weight you have ticked. Investor-ready needs 85 or more and every critical check ticked. Your ticks stay in this browser and are never sent anywhere.
How much does pitch deck design cost?
At DesignMe, early-stage decks run $2,500 to $5,000 and decks for Series A and above run $5,000 to $10,000. Our pitch deck pricing guide breaks down what moves the price.
Can a good pitch deck guarantee we raise?
No. A clear deck gets read properly and makes the next meeting easier to win, but the round depends on your company, your market and your investors.
Next step
Close the gaps, then get your deck designed.
We shape the story, design the slides and chart your numbers, so the deck still makes sense when it’s forwarded without you.
Story first
You approve the outline before any design starts.
Numbers as charts
Traction, market and financials that land in a second.
Built to be read without you
Every slide makes sense when the deck is forwarded.