Narrative Over Numbers: How To Build a Deck That You Can Use to Raise Millions of Dollars For Your Company
A founder-to-founder guide to raising millions with story as your sharpest tool.
A founder-to-founder guide to raising millions with story as your sharpest tool.
The Slides That Change Everything
I’ve raised more than $50M across startups at every stage, from scribbles-on-a-whiteboard to post-scale growth rounds. I’ve pitched to the world’s sharpest VCs, to high-net-worth individuals, to angel syndicates who barely knew my space.
I’ve also heard a lot of no’s.
And through it all, one thing has consistently worked better than anything else:
Tell a better story than the last founder who walked in the room.
You might think investors are making spreadsheet-driven decisions. And they are, eventually. But the spreadsheet doesn’t open the door. The story does.
The deck is not a formality.
It’s not “just a deck.” It’s your campaign.
It’s a narrative vehicle that moves capital.
So this isn’t an article about formatting slides. This is a manual on how to build belief.
Let’s go deep.
1. Stop Building Decks, Start Telling Stories
Think about the last time you got excited about something. Was it because someone showed you a P&L? Or was it because they said something that made you feel something?
Investors, even the most analytical ones, are human. They are wired to respond to emotion, signal, conviction.
Your job is not to educate them.
It’s to move them.
That’s why your deck isn’t a document. It’s a narrative asset.
“The best pitch decks read like the opening scene of a great film.”
— every VC who’s been on the other side of 1,000+ decks
You’re not here to dump facts.
You’re here to tell the biggest story you can backed by the clearest plan you’ve built.
2. The One Thing Every Deck Needs
If your deck doesn’t answer this clearly and quickly, you’re losing people:
Why now, and why you?
Every other part of your deck is scaffolding around this idea.
If an investor can’t explain your business to their own team 5 minutes after your meeting, they won’t invest.
They need to believe:
This problem is real
This market is ready
This solution is inevitable
This team is the one to do it
And if possible, they need to feel like they’ve discovered a breakout story before anyone else has.
“The best founders pitch inevitability. Not potential.”
— Peter Thiel, Zero to One
3. Slide-by-Slide, The Narrative Structure That Works:
Slide 1:The One-Line Vision
Hook people with the big picture. Not the tech. Not the features. The why.
Bad: “AI-powered CRM for midsize teams.”
Better: “Unlocking untapped growth for every mid-cap company on the planet”
Your opener should make someone lean in.
Tip: Think headline, not tagline.
Slide 2: The Market Shift (Why Now)
Show the macro forces at play:
Consumer behaviour
Technology changes
Regulatory moves
Generational shifts
You’re placing your business at the centre of a wave.
“Narratives beat spreadsheets. Great investors know how to read both.” — Naval Ravikant
Slide 3: The Problem (What’s Broken)
Bring this to life. Make it real.
Tell a short story, a stat, a lived frustration. You’re not just saying “this is a pain point”, you’re saying “this is a problem begging to be solved.”
Tip: Describe the pain in a way your investor could repeat at dinner.
Slide 4: The Solution (What You Built)
Now you earn attention.
This is where the simplicity of your product meets the size of the opportunity.
Keep it sharp:
What it does
Who it’s for
What makes it 10x better
Use visuals. Show the product in action if you can.
“You don’t need to show every feature. You need to show why it matters.”
Slide 5: Traction (Proof You’re On To Something)
This is your signal slide.
Even if you’re early, show some evidence of momentum:
Revenue
Retention
Waitlist
Press
Users
Testimonials
You’re showing that your story isn’t just compelling. It’s real.
Slide 6: Business Model (How You Make Money)
Clarity over complexity.
Even if you have multiple streams or future models, keep the core one clean.
Answer in a sentence:
Who pays, how much, and why?
Slide 7: Go-To-Market (How You Grow)
This is where a lot of founders waffle.
Don’t list every channel. Don’t write “paid social” and hope it flies.
Instead:
Who are your beachhead users?
How are you reaching them?
What’s working already?
Show cost-to-acquire vs LTV. Tell what channels specifically are driving traction. Give examples of customers and logos. Be specific how you are going to grow.
Slide 8: Market Size (How Big This Can Get)
This isn’t just a TAM slide, it’s your upside slide.
Investors want to know:
Could this be a $1B+ outcome?
Is this a growing market?
Are you in a category that feels early, but obvious in hindsight?
Tip: Use bottom-up sizing if you can, it feels real.
Slide 9: Why You (Team & Edge) - Probably the most important slide
Most investors back people first.
Tell them:
Who you are
What gives you unfair advantage
What past wins or insights you’re carrying into this
Who are the winners in yoru team
Make them believe you’ll figure it out even if things change.
Slide 10: The Ask (Round, Use of Funds, Close Date)
Be specific.
How much are you raising?
What’s it for?
When are you closing?
Don’t make people guess your terms or your timing. Clarity creates confidence.
4. What Great Decks Actually Do
They aren’t perfect. They aren’t over-designed. They aren’t bloated.
What they do is:
Sell belief
Create momentum
Make the investor feel smart for getting in now
A great deck is like a short film:
Clear protagonist (you)
Big stakes (the problem)
Massive upside (the market + product)
A reason to act now (your raise)
“Most VCs want to see three things: energy, clarity, and founder-market fit. A good deck delivers all three in 10 minutes.”
5. Storytelling Is Leverage
Here’s what I’ve seen firsthand:
The same product, told badly, struggles to raise
A less complete product, told brilliantly, raises oversubscribed rounds
That doesn’t mean lie. It means lead with narrative.
Narrative is leverage.
It compresses your pitch. It travels through networks. It gets you into rooms faster. It raises conviction.
Think of narrative like a magnet:
It pulls in capital
It attracts talent
It clarifies your thinking
It sharpens your roadmap
Your pitch deck is the first place that narrative is codified.
6. How to Actually Build It (Tactically)
Write your story before you build slides
Build 2 versions: short (10–12 slides), long (with appendix)
Keep one message per slide
Use product visuals, not paragraphs
End with a soft close call: “We’re allocating now, happy to talk further this week.”
7. Bonus Slides to Include If Relevant
Vision slide (what the world looks like when you win)
Customer love / testimonials
Roadmap (if it helps clarify your next moves)
Competitor map (show your edge visually)
Appendix: Detailed metrics, financials, pipeline
8. Final Thought: Make the Deck That Opens Doors
This isn’t just about design.
This is about persuasion.
You’re raising money to build something that doesn’t exist yet. That takes belief.
“The best startups are obvious in hindsight — but only if they’re told well in the present.”
So make this deck count.
Not just as a pitch.
As a strategic asset.
The best decks aren’t just shared, they’re forwarded.
Build yours like that.