You’ve put in thousands of hours of research for your startup and now you’re ready to pitch to investors and secure funding. The onus is on you to show investors that your startup is viable. 

The true question is, how will you persuade them? Where can you find a yellow brick road that leads to a winning pitch? 

We have found the answer to this question for you. Lo and behold, Canva, the godsend of graphic design platforms for startups and non-designers the world over. 

Canva makes it easy to create and publish a variety of documents that would otherwise need the use of complex design software. As a result, it provides a number of customizable pitch deck templates to assist you in creating a memorable presentation. 

Pitch decks from successful companies such as AirBnB, LinkedIn, and YouTube are even included in some of the templates. How cool is that?!? 

Now it’s your turn to convince investors that your startup has the potential to be the next big thing. 

Here are six things to remember while using Canva to create a killer startup pitch.

Maintain a simple brand

It’s best to keep the visuals simple if you don’t yet have a fully formed brand. Select a two- or three-color scheme that reflects your brand and its identity. Color, like pictures, has the ability to transmit and communicate meanings and messages without the use of words. It’s critical to communicate the company’s personality to investors, which will not only help develop the future brand but also show that you appreciate design and innovation.

Clearly show and explain your MVP

We cannot stress enough the importance of having a minimum viable product (MVP) ready to present to investors. Seriously, we spoke with an associate at Sputnik ATX, an accelerator program for startups in Austin, and she expressed that they only consider companies for their cohort who already have an operational MVP. So be sure to dedicate a slide in your Canva pitch deck that clearly states your MVP and how it sells to customers. You should be willing to have the app ready during the presentation to show it in action as well.

Create a timeline with company milestones

Project timelines serve as a visual representation of a startup’s progress, benchmarks, expenditures, and rollouts. Your timeline doesn’t have to be complicated; it can be divided into two or three sections, each having major milestones highlighted. For example, you can set some of your milestones as having a successful launch which translates into having 10,000 registered customers in the first 12 months, hiring a core team and entering 10 markets.

Design easy-to-read visualizations and graphs 

Instead of including paragraphs of text, which aren’t engaging, consider using a chart or graph to highlight and accentuate crucial figures such as budgets, operations, and so on. Even better, you don’t even need to leave Canva’s website as they have great tools for creating graphs or even your startup’s logo. It really is a one-stop-shop for startups!

It goes without saying that using powerful visual content like graphics or symbols to simplify anything in your presentation will help you secure funding for your startup. Skimming and simplifying any information we take in is part of our human nature. In other words, let the visuals do the talking.

Introduce the team with professional high-resolution photos

This may seem like a no-brainer but including high-resolution headshots of you and your team can have a huge impact on an investor’s decision to fund your startup. Photos really are worth a thousand words, so use professional images to show off the people behind the product. After all, as noted in our interview with Amos Schwartzfarb, Director of Techstars Austin, the founder team is often cited as one of the most important reasons behind an investor’s decision to invest in a startup. You should also add pertinent information about each team member, such as their experience, motivation for beginning or contributing to the company, short and long-term roles, and job responsibilities.

Reduce the amount of slides

Money is vital, and time equals money. Investors don’t have hours in the day to sit and watch you be redundant. If you have an excessive number of slides in your presentation, you may be hurting rather than helping your chances. It’s one thing to want to try to include every detail, but you can accomplish it without using 25 slides. Plus, you should be able to clearly communicate your startup’s value in as little as an elevator pitch. Consolidate your slides when possible and keep the investors interested. Boring the investors will undoubtedly dry up their wallets and any hopes of your startup getting off the ground. 

About Kennedy Nunez: Kennedy is a Business Development Associate for Swyft, which is a tech PR firm in Austin and Houston and a top digital marketing and PR agency in Denver since its founding in 2011. Swyft recently opened a satellite office where it offers tech PR in San Francisco. Swyft was also listed as one of the top tech PR agencies in Texas by the B2B services review site, Clutch.co.