Build a clear pitch deck that is easy to review

Explain what the company actually does

Michael Seibel’s Y Combinator guidance recommends a direct explanation of the business without promotional jargon. The immediate aim is understanding that enables useful questions, rather than presenting every detail at the start.[1]

Editorial exercise: write a sentence answering who the customer is, what task you help them do and which alternative they use today. A hypothetical example is: ‘We help maintenance teams organise repair requests instead of spreading them across conversations.’ Rewrite any sentence that requires several unfamiliar terms to be explained first.

Organise the questions before designing slides

Sequoia’s framework covers company purpose, customer problem, solution, timing, market, alternatives, business model and team. Use those topics to examine whether the explanation is complete, rather than treating the sequence as a compulsory formula for every company.[3]

Create an outline without styling: the reader’s question, your answer and its evidence. Move supporting detail to an appendix when it interrupts understanding. If an answer is missing, write down what needs investigating instead of filling the gap with ‘huge market’ or ‘no competitors’. Check that each transition answers the question raised by the previous section.

Make numbers interpretable

In your review worksheet, record each number’s definition, period and source. Visually distinguish an achieved result, an estimate and an assumption. In a hypothetical example, ‘usage increased’ needs the user group, the activity measured and the start and end dates. Do not compare unlike periods without explanation or present projected revenue as money already received. Make it possible to trace a headline figure back to its underlying calculation.

Make the meaning visible on opening

Kevin Hale’s Y Combinator design guidance stresses readability, simple ideas and explicit meaning. In its short-presentation context, it discourages crowded material that makes the audience decipher a slide before understanding it.[2]

Practical test: open the exported file on a phone, rather than reviewing only inside the design tool. Can a new reader understand the chart title, units and period? Do elements overlap? Check exported Arabic text and the direction of mixed numbers and foreign names where relevant. A successful export is not proof that the file is readable.

Review confusion and prepare the appropriate version

Ask someone to review the document independently and mark unclear passages without you explaining them during the exercise. Distinguish disagreement with the idea from difficulty understanding the sentence. After revising, give the version a clear date and check pages, links and attachments. Follow the recipient’s file-or-link instructions and share only material you are entitled to disclose. One version will not necessarily suit every recipient.