The 5 Slides Every Pitch Deck Must Have (with Checklist)
Pitch decks are massively important if you want to raise funds for your startup. In this post, we'll explore the top five pitch deck must haves. (Checklist template inside!)
Most founders overload their pitch decks. But after interviewing investors and studying the best decks in startup history (Airbnb, Uber, LinkedIn), I’ve learned this: you only need 5 slides that matter.
I put together a Pitch Deck Checklist to help you build investor-ready decks, track your progress, and make sure you never waste a meeting.
👉 Get the Checklist (Yes, it's free)
✅ The 5 Slides Investors Care About
- Problem — make it urgent, obvious, and painful.
- Is it framed clearly in one sentence?
- Can investors nod their heads immediately?
- Solution — your product in one sentence or screenshot.
- Is it simple, no jargon?
- Does it feel inevitable?
- Why Now — the timing advantage.
- Market shift, new tech, regulation?
- Why this moment is perfect.
- Traction — proof > promises.
- Users, revenue, waitlist, or retention.
- What’s the smallest traction signal you can show?
- Vision — where it’s going.
- Bold but believable.
- What makes this a billion-dollar story?
📊 How to Use the Checklist
- Open the Google Sheet.
- Review each slide line by line.
- Mark status: Done / Needs Work / Missing.
- When everything is “Done,” your deck is ready to send.
👉 Open the Pitch Deck Checklist
💡 Pro Tip
Pair this checklist with your Investor Update Template (coming soon) to keep investors warm between pitches. Founders who consistently update their network are the ones who get funded.