How long should an investor pitch deck be?
Short answer
Keep your investor pitch deck to about 10 to 19 pages. Most decks I see run 40 to 70 pages, and busy investors will not read that many. The more valuable the investor, the less time they have. Pair a short deck with a one-page teaser so they can decide quickly whether to take a meeting.
Aim for 10 to 19 pages. That is my answer, and it goes against what most people do. In our workshops I tell raisers that most decks I see are 40 to 70 pages long, while most should be just 10 to 19.
Why a shorter deck gets read
Here is a simple test. Put the word Mickey Mouse on page 27 of your 44 page deck. Then ask your business partner and your spouse to look for mistakes. They probably will not catch it. If your own spouse will not read your pitch deck, an investor probably won't either.
"The more valuable the investor you go to, the less time they have to read 70 pages, right? They're going to ask for it to be summarized by AI or go through it quickly."
So the goal is not to say everything. The goal is to get the most valuable people to read 100% of what you send. A shorter deck makes that much more likely.
This clip covers the 10 to 19 page guidance and the Mickey Mouse test in my own words.
Summary and key takeaways from this video
Pair the deck with a one-pager
A short deck is only part of it. You also need a one-pager or teaser. That is a one-sided PDF that tells people what your investment is about and why it is compelling in two or three ways.
Build the deck first and make it great. Then take the best one to three visuals from it and put them on the one-pager. Someone should be able to glance at it, understand what you do, and want a call. If they are not interested within 7 to 10 seconds, the one-pager is not doing its job.
Here I explain why concise materials matter and how the deck, one-pager and one-liner fit together.
Match the materials to the size of the raise
Deal size changes how much you need. If you need to raise a quarter of a million in a few weeks, a one-page teaser and maybe a video may be enough. For 2 million or 5 million dollars, I would have the deck, video, website, one-pager, one-liner and logo all dialed in.
More sophisticated investors want more detail and more brevity at the same time. That sounds like a conflict. It is not. Put the depth in a data room or due diligence questionnaire and keep the deck tight.
Many sponsors talk to a securities attorney about how to describe their offering in a deck. Page count is a communication question.
What I have said on this at our events
The one-pager has a specific job, which is to get someone motivated to open the deck at all. Many raisers I meet have a pitch deck but nothing concise that sparks interest first, so their materials do not do them justice and may actually hurt them. A busy investor decides in a few seconds whether your deck deserves their time. Think of the one-pager as the invitation and the deck as what they read once they accept.
"The first one is that their materials don't do them justice and they're actually hurting them. The second is they don't have a one-pager. They have a pitch deck but nothing concise that then gets someone motivated to open a 42 page pitch deck."
On the record
- In the speaker's experience, most pitch decks run 40 to 70 pages, while most should be just 10 to 19 pages.
- A good one-pager should win interest within 7 to 10 seconds, using the one-liner, brand name and a main visual.
- For a raise of about a quarter of a million, a one-page teaser and a video may be enough.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: Social Media, Advertising, $1M mistakes | Top Insights & Strategies | Capital Raising Workshop, Investment Pitch Decks & Capital Raising Materials | Ep 6. Quotes come from the video captions, lightly edited for readability. Figures are the speakers' own estimates and experience.
General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
Talk to a securities attorney to explore options around offering deck content, investor communications and offering documents. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.
Your next steps
- Cut your deck to 10 to 19 pages by moving detail into a data room or appendix.
- Write a one-page teaser using the best one to three visuals from the deck.
- Write a one-sentence one-liner that says what you do and why to work with you.
- Have a friend look for a planted error to see how closely the deck is read.
- Run your deck through a scoring tool and fix the weak areas.
- Consider talking to a securities attorney about your deck before you send it.
- 1Cut your deck to 10 to 19 pages by moving detail into a data room or appendix.
- 2Write a one-page teaser using the best one to three visuals from the deck.
- 3Write a one-sentence one-liner that says what you do and why to work with you.
- 4Have a friend look for a planted error to see how closely the deck is read.
- 5Run your deck through a scoring tool and fix the weak areas.
Follow-up questions
Is a 40 page deck ever okay?
I would not start there. Most decks I see run 40 to 70 pages and most should be 10 to 19. If you have more detail, keep it in a data room for investors who ask.
Do I still need a one-pager if I have a short deck?
Yes. I recommend a one-sided teaser that shows your one-liner, brand name and main visual. It helps people decide in seconds whether to take a meeting.
Does deal size change how much material I need?
It does. A raise of a quarter of a million may only need a one-page teaser and a video. A 2 million or 5 million dollar raise calls for the full set of materials.
Related questions
- What financial slides should a fund manager's deck include?A fund manager's deck should show the numbers an investor tests first.
- What is an investor teaser and what goes in it?An investor teaser is a one-page, one-sided PDF that tells an investor what your deal is and why it is compelling in two or three ways.
- How do I explain my startup idea to investors?Start with the customer problem, then explain in plain language how your startup addresses it.
- How do you pitch an investor for the first time?I would pitch an investor for the first time by keeping the conversation short, relevant, and focused on their interests.
Work through it with the investor meeting follow-up checklist. See all pitch decks resources.