Module 01 · The fundraising deck~8s dwell · weight 8
Cover / Purpose
Define the company in a single declarative sentence a stranger could repeat. Harder than it looks, and the first filter of the three-slide test.
Include
- Company name + one clear line on what you do (verb, user, outcome)
- A clean, legible cover, no buzzword salad
- Contact info so a warm reader can act (email + a demo or site URL)
- Stage + city if it clarifies the pitch (e.g. 'Pre-seed · Berlin')
Cut
- Taglines that require decoding ('reimagining synergy for X')
- Mission-statement abstraction on slide one
- 'As seen in' logos before you have real traction
- Stock photography behind a wordmark
Red flags a reader notices
- Reader can't repeat what you do after one read
- Jargon in the first 10 words
- No contact info anywhere on the deck
Pitfalls behind them
- The tagline is a mission statement, not a description of what you sell.
- The company name is set in a display font that reads as a logo, not a category.
- Everything on the slide could be pasted into any competitor's cover.
60-second self-test
- · Read your cover to someone outside your category and ask them to repeat it, if they hesitate, rewrite.
- · Cover your logo with a finger, does the remaining sentence still name the company?
Template
[Company]: [verb] [specific user] [specific outcome], instead of [status quo].
Weak
"NexusFlow: reimagining synergistic hospitality experiences for the modern traveler."
Strong
"Airbnb: book rooms with locals, rather than hotels."
Concrete verb ('book'), named user ('locals'), and a familiar reference point ('hotels'). A stranger repeats it back verbatim.
Quick quiz
1. Which cover line is stronger?
- ○ Reimagining synergistic hospitality experiences.
- ✓ Book rooms with locals, rather than hotels.
Concrete verb, named user, familiar reference. A stranger can repeat it.
2. Investors spend roughly how long on the cover slide on average?
- ○ ~3 seconds
- ✓ ~8 seconds
- ○ ~30 seconds
DocSend measured ~8s on the company-purpose slide. Enough to decide whether to keep reading.