Solution
Show the product, do not describe it abstractly. Completes the three-slide filter that decides whether the rest of the deck gets read.
Draft your slide, then click Mark complete to move forward. The checklist and quiz below are optional self-tests. You can mark complete anytime.
Include, tick each as you draft
Nothing checked yet. You can still mark this module complete and continue.
Cut
- ✕Abstract descriptions with no product shown
- ✕Feature lists longer than three items
- ✕Technical architecture on the main slide
- ✕Screens covered in marketing copy
Red flags investors call out
- !No screenshot, mockup, or demo
- !Solution doesn't obviously match the stated problem
- !The insight is 'we use AI' with no specificity
Common failure patterns
What experienced readers spot first when this slide is weak.
- 1The slide describes what the product 'enables' instead of what it does.
- 2There's no image, or the image is a logo instead of the product in use.
- 3Feature names appear before the outcome the user gets.
Run this against your own slide (60 seconds)
- ?Does the same user from the problem slide appear here, in the same units?
- ?If you deleted the words and kept only the visual, would a reader still see the change?
If either answer is no, the fix is above in Include or in the Weak vs. strong block below.
Starter template
[Product] lets [user from problem slide] [do X] in [Y minutes/dollars], without [ugly workaround].
Weak vs. strong, the same slide, rewritten
“An AI-powered platform that leverages machine learning to optimize back-office operations.”
“Nimbus turns payroll into one button in Slack, a new contractor is paid in 2 hours instead of 11 days, and monthly ops time drops from 6 hours to 20 minutes.”
Same user as the problem slide (Series B eng org), same units (hours, days), same workflow. Reader doesn't have to translate.
Check yourself
Sources
See the full methodology for how dwell seconds and scoring weights are derived.