Each layer of the pyramid is the entire story of the company at different levels of resolution.
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In the middle tier, countless layers go into deeper detail.
And the base is made of millions of data points.
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Think of 5 min as an extended version of your elevator pitch with visual accompaniment.
It's what want the VC to repeat to their partners at the Monday meeting
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But if the first *three* or so don’t capture a VC’s (or customer’s) interest, the sales job is going to be tough.
How to use the pyramid to create a “Minimum Viable Pitch”:
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Don’t assume you’ll be able to sustain VC focus through a linear progression of a dozen facets of your business:
🤔 Problem
💡 Solution
📱 Product
⌛️ Why Now?
🐋 TAM
⚔️ Competition
💳 Business Model
🏀 Team
💰 Financials
🗺️ Roadmap
⁉️ “The Ask”
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Slides are just the most efficient way to tell the stories that VCs want to hear.
Too much focus is paid to individual slides in the pitch deck, at the expense of the overall startup narrative — especially the hook at the start.
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👋 Product
🧮 CAC/LTV
🏰 Defensibility
🌌 Expansion opportunities
👩💼 Full team/advisors
All of these things just tell a deeper version of the story, but support the top of the pyramid.
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🔬 Technical diligence
💲 Financials
📏 Cohort analysis
📢 References
All of that comes later. Don’t get bogged down in details
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Tip of the pyramid - Uber = Mobility
Next layer - Uber = A marketplace that makes mobility ubiquitous, like any utility, by connecting drivers and passengers in real time
Eventually, you’ll make S-1 disclosures
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I can think of many times where founders have lost investors because they focus on picayune details too early.
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sequoiacap.com/article/how-to…
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In reality, you’re better served treating VCs like a magazine reader. Hook them with a strong narrative that lets them know why they should stay engaged.
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Your startup’s story should both be able to fit in a sentence and also an S-1.
/End