The content of the "team" slide is unique to each startup but it's also the most similar, formally, between decks. Rows of portraits (probably inside circles), names, titles, and if smart, prior affiliations.
Here are some ideas to improve it. 1/10
Here are some ideas to improve it. 1/10
The main problem with the team slide is that unless you've recruited household names to your startup, the standard format leads to one of two responses:
2/10
2/10
1) "Oh cool, some Google/Facebook alums on the team, but I wonder if these were stars or seat-fillers? Who do I know that can provide references?"
2) "I haven't heard of any of these companies — can this startup recruit?"
3/10
2) "I haven't heard of any of these companies — can this startup recruit?"
3/10
It's important to convey that you've assembled a team with relevant experience, but in most pitches it's a pro-forma exercise that leads to a moment of silence as VCs do a quick scan of the info and decide if it passes the credibility test. 4/10
This often breaks the momentum of the meeting. Most of the time, it has the lowest data density of any slide in the deck. It's treated as a formality when it should be a focus. 5/10
How to improve it?
Consider adding 1-2 lines about each person, explaining their accomplishments — e.g.
💰 Liz landed 10 $1M+ accounts at Stripe last year
🎨 Bill was the first designer hired at Slack
👩💻 Jen built Airbnb's most popular open source repository
6/10
Consider adding 1-2 lines about each person, explaining their accomplishments — e.g.
💰 Liz landed 10 $1M+ accounts at Stripe last year
🎨 Bill was the first designer hired at Slack
👩💻 Jen built Airbnb's most popular open source repository
6/10
Include LinkedIn/Twitter/GitHub/Dribbble links for all the key team members in the email you use to send the deck. If nothing else, this will streamline the diligence process. Then you can use the team slide to tell a more interesting story. 7/10
Present the team slide as an org chart and highlight the 5-10 key hires you'll make post funding. You'll convey a sense for where you think the opportunity is going forward and create opportunity for discussion about strategy. 8/10
Don't be creative for the sake of it, but think hard what makes your team special and figure out how to tell that story. I'm guessing it won't look like a LinkedIn search result. 9/10
NB: Companies that are raising big growth rounds or prepping for IPOs should play it safer. However, by that point you should have some "household names" on the team and the investors you're dealing with tend to be more conservative. 10/10
