How to Create a Pitch Deck: Part 2 – Unveiling the Business Opportunity

Think back to when Airbnb first pitched its idea to investors. At the time, they weren’t just selling a new way to find holiday rentals—they were presenting a game-changing business model that tapped into an entirely new market. Airbnb didn’t just show they had a great product; they demonstrated a massive, untapped opportunity in the travel and hospitality industry. It’s a classic example of how unveiling the business opportunity can make or break a pitch.

In Part 2 of "How to Create a Pitch Deck", we’ll explore how you can present your own business opportunity in a way that grabs investors' attention and convinces them to get on board. We’ll dive into the key slides that show your market potential, competitive advantage, and scalability—elements that can transform your pitch into a powerful investment proposition. If you haven’t already, have a look at the EWOR Pre-Seed Unicorn Slide Collection for more insights and hand-picked examples to inspire you as you create your slides.

A Recap on How to Structure Your Pitch Deck 

A strong pitch deck isn’t just about showcasing your business opportunity. It’s about crafting a cohesive story that builds momentum and guides investors through each critical aspect of your business. 

In Part 1, we discussed the slides that show why your solution matters, aka your:

• Mission and Vision,
• Problem,
• Solution,
• Product, and 
• Value Proposition slides.

Now, in Part 2, we’ll dive into the business opportunity itself, showing how to highlight market potential, competitive advantage, and scalability. But remember, this is just one part of your pitch deck. In Part 3, we’ll shift the focus to the final crucial element: how to present your team and their ability to execute the opportunity you’ve laid out.

Let’s get started with the business opportunity slides that will help you capture investors’ attention and build confidence in your venture.

The Why Now Slide

The ‘Why Now’ slide is a key component in explaining the timing of your start-up’s business opportunity. It demonstrates why your solution is uniquely poised to succeed at this particular moment, whether due to technological advances, market dynamics, or other factors aligning in your favour.

Key Elements

• Timely Technological Advancements: Highlight recent innovations or breakthroughs that make your solution feasible or more effective now compared to the past.
• Market Evolution: Showcase how shifts in the market, such as customer behaviour, regulatory changes, or economic conditions, have created an opening for your start-up.
• Team Readiness: Emphasise why your team is uniquely equipped to address the problem at this moment, whether due to expertise, partnerships, or strategic positioning.
• Specific Urgency: Articulate a compelling, specific reason why delaying action would result in missed opportunities or diminished potential.

Compelling ‘Why Now’ Scenarios

Technological Feasibility:
A fusion reactor company utilizing a recent physics breakthrough to test materials against radiation exemplifies a strong 'Why Now' story. Advances in technology made this innovation possible, and now the company is at the forefront of this exciting new frontier. With the ability to offer solutions that were once out of reach, they’re positioned to lead the charge in an emerging market.

Market Readiness:
Apple’s success with the iPhone is a classic example of market readiness. Years before the iPhone, General Magic had a similar vision, but it was the technological maturity in batteries and touchscreen technology that made Apple's timing perfect. When the tech finally caught up, Apple seized the opportunity, and the iPhone became a game-changer, revolutionizing the entire mobile phone industry.

Economic or Regulatory Catalysts:
Imagine a start-up addressing supply chain inefficiencies during a global crisis or taking advantage of new regulations promoting sustainability. These types of economic or regulatory catalysts can create a compelling case for immediate relevance. In these situations, businesses can capitalize on external factors that amplify the urgency and opportunity of their product or service, positioning themselves as essential in the current market.

Common Pitfalls

• Over-Reliance on Trends: Avoid using trends like generative AI or climate change without directly tying them to your solution’s unique approach. These broad themes are widely recognised and do not establish urgency.
• Generic Market Growth Statistics: Simply pointing to a growing market is insufficient. Instead, link growth projections to your start-up’s specific value or potential.
• ‘Nice-to-Have’ Factors: Elements like using a popular platform (e.g., TikTok) should only be included if they are essential to your strategy, not just supplementary tools.

The Market Size Slide

The market size slide is your chance to convince investors that your start-up has the potential to capture a substantial and growing market. By clearly defining the size and scope of your opportunity, you can show investors why your venture is worth their backing.

Though the more typical approach, and what you’ll want to include on this slide, is the calculated Total Addressable Market (TAM). This represents the entire market that could potentially be addressed. For example, the space tech industry is estimated at around $400 billion. However, when you narrow your focus to a specific niche, such as satellite technology, the relevant market size might shrink to around $15 billion. This becomes your Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM), which represents the portion of the TAM that your product or service can realistically target.

Further refining this concept is the Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM). The SOM represents the specific segment of the SAM you can capture, taking into account practical limitations such as your current resources, strategy, and market constraints.

Key Elements:

• Total Addressable Market: Highlight the entire market opportunity if there were no constraints, providing a sense of the broader potential. For example, the space tech industry's TAM could be $400 billion.
• Serviceable Addressable Market: Define the portion of the TAM that your product or service can realistically target. For instance, the satellite technology market within space tech could be $15 billion.
• Serviceable Obtainable Market: Narrow down to the specific segment of the SAM you can capture, given your current resources, strategy, and limitations.
• Market Niche: Showcase your unique market positioning and how your product or service addresses a distinct and unmet need.
• Potential for Growth: Use relevant statistics, trends, and benchmarks—such as the ability to achieve €100 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)—to emphasize the scalability of your business.

Common Pitfalls

• Overestimating Market Size: Avoid inflating your numbers by defining your market too broadly. For example, the revenue of restaurants is not your market size if your product targets stock-keeping software.
• Neglecting Pricing Impact: Ensure your pricing strategy aligns with your market size calculations, as lower pricing can reduce overall revenue potential.
• Simplistic Market Share Assumptions: Claiming a fixed percentage of a large market without addressing competition or barriers can undermine credibility.
• Confusing Problems with Markets: Broad issues like climate change encompass multiple markets. Clearly delineate the specific segment you’re targeting.
• Redundant Market Data: Avoid spending time proving the growth of well-known markets. Instead, focus on your specific niche and its strategic importance.

The Competition Slide

The competition slide is your opportunity to show investors that you understand the competitive landscape and clearly differentiate your solution. This slide should demonstrate why existing solutions fall short and how your product offers a superior approach to addressing the problem.

Key Elements

• Competitor Identification: Acknowledge both direct and indirect competitors, showing a comprehensive understanding of the market. Investors expect transparency and awareness of all significant players.
• Unique Differentiators: Highlight the aspects of your value proposition that set you apart. These could include strengths, features, pricing, or customer experiences that make your offering superior.
• Visual Representation: Use one of the following methods to illustrate your competitive edge:
  
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Competitor Matrix

Plot competitors on two axes (e.g., scalability vs. quality) and position your venture in the top-right quadrant to emphasise your superiority.

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Comparison Table

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Compare features or capabilities directly against competitors, focusing on dimensions that are important to customers.

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Direct Comparison

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Select two or three main competitors and outline how your product differs in key areas.

Common Pitfalls

• Ignoring Key Competitors: Failing to acknowledge well-known competitors or understating their significance can signal a lack of preparation or industry awareness.
• Irrelevant Labels: Avoid arbitrary or meaningless axis labels in a matrix or table. Ensure that the dimensions chosen align with customer priorities and directly connect to the problem your product solves.
• Feature Overload: Limit comparisons to around five dimensions or features to maintain clarity and avoid overwhelming investors.
• Overly Technical Language: Keep comparisons high-level and accessible to investors who may not have deep technical knowledge. Save detailed explanations for an appendix or follow-up materials.

The Business Model Slide

The business model slide is where you explain how your start-up generates revenue and achieves profitability. This slide is critical for showcasing that you’ve thought strategically about creating, capturing, and delivering value to both customers and investors.

Key Elements

• Revenue Generation: Detail how your start-up makes money. Highlight your pricing strategy and any tiered structures or freemium models, depending on your product.
• Distribution Strategy: Explain how you will deliver your product or service to customers. This could include direct sales, partnerships, or online platforms.
• Business Model Type: Specify the type of model you are using, such as subscription, marketplace, or razor and blade. For well-known models, a mention suffices; for unique ones, provide a brief explanation.
• Customer Willingness to Pay: Offer evidence, such as surveys, pilot program data, or early sales, to demonstrate market validation for your pricing approach.
• Optional Unit Economics: If relevant, showcase strong unit economics (e.g., LTV:CAC ratios above 3:1) to highlight financial viability and scalability.

Common Pitfalls

• Overcomplication: Avoid including a full business model canvas or excessive detail. Stick to a concise explanation of how your start-up generates and captures revenue.
• Unfavourable Unit Economics: Be mindful of your LTV:CAC ratio. Ratios below 3:1 can signal challenges in achieving profitability. If your ratio is weak, outline plans for improvement.
• Unrealistic Projections: Avoid idealistic or speculative claims, such as relying solely on ad revenue or user data sales. Present a credible business model that aligns with market realities.

The Go-To-Market (GTM) Slide

The Go-To-Market slide outlines your strategy for reaching and acquiring your target customers. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate that you have a clear, actionable plan for driving growth and making the best use of the funding you’re seeking for this business opportunity.

Key Elements

• Target Customer Segment: Define the specific group of customers you are targeting. Include details about your target persona, such as demographics, behaviours, or needs, to give investors a clear picture of your audience.
• Distribution Channels: Highlight the primary channels you will use to reach your audience. If you have traction, showcase which channels are already driving growth, such as regional rollouts, marketing to specific age groups, or targeting companies of a certain size.
• Unique or Unfair Advantage: Emphasise innovative tactics or strategies that set your GTM plan apart from the competition. For instance, Airbnb leveraged events like Oktoberfest and data from Craigslist to drive initial adoption, showcasing creativity and strategic thinking.

Common Pitfalls

• Generic Growth Tactics: Avoid vague or overly common strategies, such as simply running ads or using TikTok without a specific angle. Your GTM slide should highlight unique, tailored approaches that demonstrate ingenuity.
• Lack of Innovation: Avoid listing basic strategies like SEO or social media unless they are part of a larger, distinctive strategy. Investors are looking for creative methods that give you a competitive edge and are hard to replicate.

That's a Wrap

In Part 2 of our series on creating a pitch deck, we’ve focused on presenting the business opportunity—showing investors your market potential, competitive advantage, and scalability. These elements are critical in demonstrating why your venture is primed for success. However, your pitch deck is only complete when you address the full picture of your business.

In Part 3, we’ll dive into the final components that tie everything together: the Traction and Milestones Slide, which showcases your progress and achievements; the Financial Projections Slide, where you’ll present realistic expectations for growth and profitability; the Ask Slide, detailing exactly what you need from investors; and the Team Slide, which highlights the people who will bring this vision to life.

Like what you've read and are ready to supercharge your startup journey? Explore our Founder Resources—the ultimate toolkit for founders, featuring expert-crafted templates, guides, and strategies to help you build, launch, and grow with confidence.

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