The Latest from SaaStr: 5 Things That Can Make a Great VC Pitch Deck

I have a strong, semi-proven thesis that in SaaS, market size doesn’t matter that much … at least in the traditional top-down sense.

Yes, many of the big winners in SaaS entered already large markets, from CRM (Salesforce) to ERP (Workday) to Collaboration (Workday, Asana).  But others started off in what seemed like … material but smaller markets.  Like Shopify and Okta, to pick two.  Or of my investments, ones like Algolia and Salesloft, that yes, in theory, were playing in larger markets, but in practice, their entry points were quite narrow.

If you can get to $2m in ARR in 2 years, you can get to $4m the next.  From there, it’s on to $10m in ARR.  And if you can get to $10m in ARR in, sa,y 4 years … and that compounds, as it will … you have a real shot at $100m.  For real.  It will be incredibly hard, yes.  You may not get there, yes.  But if you can get to $10m in any reasonable amount of time … your market is big enough to get you to $100m.

For a little while in the Peak of Late ’20-Early ’22, it almost seemed like you didn’t need a great pitch deck anymore.  At least, sometimes. The frenzy to back the hottest startups led to so many corners being cut.

Well, a great pitch deck matters again. Funding at every stage is harder, and no one wants to invest in another FTX.

So how can you make your pitch deck better?  Well, here’s what I love, that I don’t see enough.  That makes a good pitch and deck … great.

A great email with the deck, that explains everything in the email itself, including Why and all the core metrics.  This helps a ton when you forward it to other investors at the fund.

A one-slide deck. OK, I know this is controversial, but it shouldn’t be. The best verbal pitches are “elevator pitches”. The best PowerPoint decks and PowerPoint pitches, IMHO, are “one-slide decks.” This doesn’t mean literally one slide, but it means the first slide can totally stand on its own. What (you do — one line). Who. Why. Where (you are in terms of Progress). Next (you are going). If you can make an amazing 1-slide deck, you can also make an amazing 10 or 20 slides deck. But often not vice-versa. And also. If you can do a great 1-slide deck. You can do a great email intro & summary of the opportunity, too.

This edition of the SaaStr Daily is sponsored in part by MERGE

Merge’s Unified API allows you to access 150+ integrations across HR, payroll, ATS, accounting, CRM, and ticketing systems.

Despite all the advancements in technology, creating a product with a great user experience remains challenging. Many companies believe excellent product design comes from hiring the best engineers and signing up for the latest software instead of building from the users’ perspectives.

Stripe is one of the few who have unlocked the code to great product design by changing their approach to the product design process and constantly engaging with users. Stripe’s CTO, David Singleton, shares how they use a system of feedback, iteration, and fast shipping to create products that meet users’ expectations. 

Most investors don’t care how many hours you work, per se … all they care about is that you get it done. Grow the company, hit the plan, etc. How you get it done — that’s your job. It’s up to you. None of my VCs ever asked me how many hours I worked. They asked about the plan, the numbers, the team, and the future.  And I’ve never asked any of the 30+ founders I’ve invested in.

Having said that, investing millions of dollars is a big people risk. Especially if you didn’t know the founders before the fundraising.

As a VC maybe I get 3 weeks to get to know you before a term sheet. Sometimes, less.  Then give you $1m-$2m-$4m dollars — where is the time to build trust? There isn’t any.  Not really.

So what is important is not the hours worked, but the signals that you are doing everything possible to win.  So VCs look for:

• Email responsiveness. Most great CEOs respond to key emails with shocking alacrity. If you aren’t responsive to early-stage VCs, that can create huge anxiety. Don’t wait a week or whatever to respond, even if you have other stuff that seems more important to do.
• Ethical lapses. You’d be surprised how many founders treat the company’s money as their own. They “borrow” funds, take nutty vacations on the company’s dime, etc. Not most, of course. But to be clear — more often than you’d think.

This edition of the SaaStr Daily is sponsored in part by SAP

Revenue has always been at the top of list of "Things Businesses Want More Of."

But not like this.

A global SAP survey shows companies are seeing beyond traditional growth tactics and are shifting focus on sustainability as a critical way to boost revenue, increase efficiency, and mitigate risk.

So you’ve heard that product-led growth is all the rage, and now you want to transition from a sales-led motion to a product-led one. Some of the benefits of PLG are:

• The ability to grow faster
• A more accessible product for potential customers
• Greater communication and closeness with customers

At this week’s Workshop Wednesday — held every Wednesday at 10 a.m. PST for those of you who want to connect with SaaS experts — Growth Advisor at FastSpring and Director of Growth at Planday, Frederic “Fred” Linfjard shares his insights on how to evolve from a sales-led to product-led GTM strategy constructively. 

Linfjard’s role is to look at the big picture for how to scale and grow businesses based on opportunities and goals that lie ahead. He creates a culture of experimentation versus only looking at historical data and forecasting. 

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