Our client - a new startup called Sixpence - had a disruptive idea, but it needed a lot of explanation as it was new to market.
The problem they were solving: We rely on reviews from strangers and guesswork when buying online.
Sixpence's solution:
See what your friends, family, and even celebrities are buying.
Discover trusted products based on real experiences.
Earn rewards for sharing your purchases and inspiring others.
Sixpence benefits everyone:
Shoppers: Find great products based on real experiences.
Content creators: Gain recognition and rewards for sharing.
Brands: Get free advertising to a targeted audience.
Sixpence makes shopping social, rewarding, and simple.
How to get the attention of investors
All this seems interesting, but... also very confusing!
Well, that's how the investors and audiences felt when Sixpence's founder pitched his social shopping product.
No sooner than that, Sixpence approached Tellable, with their sole request being that we make their product understandable and relatable in a pitch deck.
We had no intentions of having them feeling discouraged any longer. We dove right into understanding their business deeply and what has caused them this circumstance.
We were in the weeds, contemplating what makes people spend time on social media. Perhaps it's a cynical perspective, but isn't it the urge to discover what someone else is doing in life that allures us into opening social media apps? That's when we realised how that same, almost-primal curiosity will drive Sixpence's product, and therefore had to be a fundamental element in their business story.
The next half of our bridge was to make the concept of a "shopping social media app" far less abstract and far more tangible. When we were translating that into its real-world, human equivalent, the obvious option we arrived at was "shopping mall." So, putting two and two together, Tellable was standing in front of Sixpence's new curiosity mall.
It is an imagined place where people visit out of curiosity to explore what others are buying.
We went into the mall and envisioned people moving in all directions, with their faces showing us a range of emotions, discovering what their favourite celebrities, influencers, family and friends have purchased. Once we got out, we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt how Sixpence's pitch deck would begin.
Pitch deck storytelling
We firmly believed our story would hook the investors right off the bat!
Once we had this story at the beginning of the pitch deck - rather than starting with the usual topics like problem, solution, team - the investors were hooked and curious to know how the story would continue to unfold.
When we had their attention, we dived in to present more about Sixpence, the benefits of their app for different user roles, their investment ask, revenue model, their go-to-market strategy, etc.
Sixpence’s founder grew in confidence. He now had a compelling way to talk about his product, with simple and everyday words. A week later, we heard from him: a meeting he'd had with potential investors had come to a close with everyone in the room beaming.
"The pitch went great, people said presenting it with a narrative like we did is easier to understand."
~ Sixpence Founder
On one hand, there’s a complex idea: "a social media app to find out who’s buying what", then there’s a story: "curiosity mall.” What do you think wins the day, dear reader?
Want to make your pitch deck more engaging and effective?
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