1. 7 FATAL
PITCH DECK
MISTAKESSCARING AWAY INVESTORS

2. Pitch Deck Master Course
2WATCH OUT FOR
THESE 7 FATAL MISTAKES
Most pitch decks fail due to the same
reasons. Investors see it over and over again.
The result: your business fails on closing your
round while you continue to burn cash looking
for the next investor. That’s why we wrote this
guide: to help you succeed by eliminating
these common pitch deck fails.
Wishing you all the success you deserve,
The Don’t Be A Little Pitch Team
www.dontbealittlepitch.com

3. Pitch Deck Master Course
3HAVING A POOR
LOOK AND FEE
Even the best pitch can miss the mark if it looks out-of-
date and poorly designed. Investors see hundreds of
decks each month, so do them a favor and make it easy
on their eyes. Plus you will stand out.
MISTAKE #1
PRO TIP
Use templates sites like graphicriver.net or hire
freelancers on Upwork to tidy up your deck. You can
even check out our Pitch Deck Master Course where we
give you free templates and resources. Make sure to
include page numbers on each slide and for your legal
protection, add the phrase “Confidential and Private”.
Pitch Deck Master Course

4. Pitch Deck Master Course
4
Pitch Deck Master Course
NOT SHOWING HOW BIG
THE MARKET OPPORTUNITY IS
Investors are looking for big opportunities and big
addressable markets. Your deck has to show that the
market is big enough to grow in and that there is an
opportunity to capture a meaningful portion.
PRO TIP
Don't show small ideas. We want big opportunities.
Make sure to show both your Total Addressable
Market (TAM) and your Serviceable Addressable
Market (SAM). Investors also want to see what
percentage of the market you plan to get over time.
MISTAKE #2

5. Pitch Deck Master Course
5NOT SHOWING THE TRACTION
YOU HAVE OBTAINED
The most important thing that EVERY investor wants to
see is early signs of traction or customers. People invest
in businesses, not ideas, so showing that people
actually want your idea instead of you just saying, “It's
great, trust me" is crucial for any investment.
PRO TIP
Traction can come in many forms. Highlight the
following: App downloads, early customers, revenue
or other key financial metrics, partnerships,
testimonials, and Press/PR.
MISTAKE #3
www.dontbealittlepitch.com

6. Pitch Deck Master Course
6NOT ARTICULATING A CLEAR
MARKETING STRATEGY
So you built something great. But that doesn't mean
people are going to automatically buy it. Most
entrepreneurs miss showing their plans on how they are
going to market their product or service.
PRO TIP
Show details on how you will reach your customers.
What channels or platforms will you use? How can you
cost-effectively get to your customers? How will you
use social media? Content marketing? How about SEO?
Do you have any partners you can leverage?
MISTAKE #4
www.dontbealittlepitch.com

7. Pitch Deck Master Course
7NOT KNOWING YOUR
CUSTOMER ACQUISITION
COSTS AND LIFE-TIME VALUE
Investors want to not just know how you will reach your
customers but how much it is going to cost to do so.
They also want to see what their life-time value is and
how you will continue to increase that.
MISTAKE #5
PRO TIP
Make sure to also have the answers to these following
questions: What channels will you use to acquire that
user or customer? What marketing costs will you incur?
What is the typical sales cycle between initial customer
contact and closing of a sale?
Pitch Deck Master Course

8. Pitch Deck Master Course
8NOT HIGHLIGHTING YOUR
TEAM’S EXPERIENCE &
CREDENTIALS
Many investors invest in people, especially those who
have a clear understanding of the market. They even
consider the team more important than the idea itself.
Most entrepreneurs forget to show why they have built
the team they have.
MISTAKE #6
PRO TIP
Highlight your team’s skills, experience, failures, and
and successes. Who are you key members? What
relevant domain experience do they have? Do you need
any additions to the team? What motivates all of you?
Pitch Deck Master Course

9. Pitch Deck Master Course
9SHOWING UNREALISTIC OR
UNINTERESTING FINANCIAL
PROJECTIONS
Projections that are too small or too big will make any
investor walk. If you are going to make $5M by year 5
then your opportunity might not be big enough. Too big
like $500M and the investor will think you're full of it.
PRO TIP
Your year 5 revenue should be around the $30-$50M
mark (EBITDA value of $10M+). Investors look for exits
of 6-12x+ EBITDA, which is about a $100M+ sale of a
company. Make sure your year 5 revenues create a
realistic but attractive opportunity for the investor. MISTAKE #7
www.dontbealittlepitch.com

10. Pitch Deck Master Course
10SO HOW DOES YOUR PITCH
DECK STACK UP?
Did some of those mistakes sound familiar? Could
you use a little help getting started?
Lucky for you, we’ve created an online course that
shows you how to put together that perfect pitch
deck, covering everything an investor looks for.
Just visit the link below to learn how to design your
deck in a way that perfectly tells your story and helps
you raise that investment round
www.DontBeALittlePitch.com
www.dontbealittlepitch.com