7 Steps to a Venture Capital Fund Pitch Deck

How VCs Raise Capital

With the ever-increasing challenges facing Venture Capital (VC) Funds, getting investors to partner with your firm can be a daunting process.

Despite the challenges, a fund manager must constantly reach out to new investors to help them meet their firm’s investment needs.

Besides, the fast-evolving business landscape requires VC funds to be on their toes, especially on technology matters. Even if you have a fairly-profitable firm, you may still need an additional capital injection, once in a while, to cater for expansion, system upgrades, among other emerging needs.

For this reason, mastering how to create persuasive venture capital fund pitch decks can go a long way in simplifying the investor-sourcing process. Essentially, an excellent presentation should provide an overview of your strengths and a bold statement of why your firm is the best place to invest for a high return on investment (ROI). Doing this raises your chances of grabbing investor attention and securing a second meeting.

If you’re wondering how you can achieve this, here is a rundown of seven essential steps to follow when preparing the investor pitch deck.

Venture Capital Fund presentation development and design by Launch Module Media.

Prepare a Company Overview

A company overview is an opportunity to highlight crucial details about your firm. It gives the investor an inside view of the fund and lays the foundation for your presentation. Done well, it can hook a potential partner from the get-go and lead to better reception of the other sections.

Start by briefing the investor about who you are, what you do, and why you do it. Remember to throw in figures, like your fund size, average investments, among other key firm metrics. As a rule of thumb, ensure you weave the overview within a captivating story that smoothly connects with the presentation’s ‘why.’

Draft an Investment Thesis

Summarize your investment model, highlighting your strengths and market position, then explain how these give you an edge over the competition. Discuss anything spectacular about your investment strategy, as this will add more credibility to your fund. Likewise, mention how you go about sourcing and evaluating investment deals.

Investors focus more on the investment thesis to gauge whether investing in a fund is viable. Hence, do your best to create a strong thesis that’s hard to ignore.

Outline the Fund Structure

In this section, analyze your fund figures to give the investor a clear picture of the firm. Elaborate on the investments, then provide an estimate of the amount you require to perform optimally.

You may also include the expected return on investment (ROI) to let the investor know their investment will be worthwhile. Finally, ensure you use graphics and illustrations to break down the information and make it easier to understand.

Provide a Fee Structure

In investment language, a fee structure is a schedule outlining the investor’s financial obligations to the firm. In most cases, the carry and management fees are set at a standard rate of 20% and 2%, respectively.

However, a firm is at liberty of setting higher rates, so the fees can be higher than usual. As such, an investor would be interested in knowing your carry and management fees, so arm yourself with this information.

Boost investor confidence by highlighting your VC Fund’s performance.

Talk About Your Performance

Your firm’s credibility can significantly influence the success of your venture capital fund raise. One key indicator of your credibility is an impressive track record. Ensure you give a brief of the firm’s performance metrics, highlighting any strategies you may have used that have resulted in a good performance.

Include parameters like internal rate of return (IRR), fund status, etc. The importance of doing this is that it boosts the investor’s confidence by acting as a testament to your firm’s profitability.

Another way of proving positive performance is by highlighting your portfolio. Here you can talk about their success stories, then demonstrate how your investment fits into the picture. But ensure you get permission from the funded businesses before disclosing their details.

Again, ensure you summarize this information in graphics and charts to enhance understandability.

Discuss the Market Opportunity

By taking an interest in your venture capital fund pitch deck, an investor wants to know more about the market you’re serving. Mention your existing market, and give a preview of any untapped zones. Most importantly, talk about the strategies you intend to use to reach and influence the under-served market.

You can also comment about your competitors and how you have differentiated your fund. Then discuss how you plan to harness the market potential to gain an advantage over the competition.

Demonstrate Your Expertise

This step should crown your VC fund raise drive. As an opportunity to show the investor why your firm has the best team to partner with, it can significantly enhance your firm’s credibility.

Include profiles of your general partners, as well as limited partners’ portfolios. Mention their unique expertise and how each impacts the firm’s performance. Doing this can improve your brand perception and pave the way for you to raise more capital.

Bring the story of your VC Fund to Launch Module for an expert presentation.

Conclusion

Getting financiers for your venture capital fund can be challenging. However, securing external financing, from time to time, is essential for the smooth running of your firm. For this reason, you need to be constantly on the lookout for new investors to partner with. One sure way of getting the investors interested in your fund is by arming yourself with a compelling presentation whenever the situation calls for it. Among other things, your venture capital fund pitch deck should amplify your strengths, as well as provide a bold statement of why your firm is a great investment opportunity. Essentially, you can achieve this by following these steps;

1. Prepare a company overview
2. Draft an investment thesis
3. Outline the fund structure
4. Provide a fee structure
5. Talk about your performance
6. Discuss the market opportunity
7. Demonstrate your expertise

Armed with a compelling presentation, you can ‘venture’ out confidently and bag those high-value investors you wish to reach. Otherwise, if the process of preparing your investor deck sounds hectic, we can shoulder the burden for you by creating it on your behalf. We have helped both big and small brands create persuasive presentations that grab investor attention. Call us now at 844-200-6160, or fill out our contact form to get started.

About the author

Leslie Morales is the CEO of Launch Module and a Certified High Performance Coach. Learn more about Leslie and her team on our About Us page.