PITCH DECK COACH

Get a pitch deck that gets you funded

Hi, I'm Malcolm Lewis. I'm a fractional CMO and pitch deck coach for tech startups. I’ve been a founder/CEO or marketing exec at 8 software startups that have produced 6 exits, including a $1B IPO and an $11B Secondary. I’ve also personally built a SaaS startup from concept to $10M in ARR and $7M in EBIT. I can help you build a pitch deck that can get your startup funded.

My pitch deck coaching services

MINI Pitch Deck Review

· $0

Get 30 minutes of FREE FEEDBACK on your current pitch deck.

I'll provide a quick review of your current deck. It'll help you decide if you'd like to buy my Full Pitch Deck Review service. Try before you buy.

Book free call

Why me? · Testimonials

FULL Pitch Deck Review

· $500

Make sure your current pitch deck includes everything you need to get funded.

We'll review your deck on a 3-hour Zoom call using my pitch deck template and guide as a benchmark.

Find out if your pitch deck is missing critical information
Get clear, actionable recommendations that will make your pitch deck better
Receive a video and transcript of our call for easy reference

Buy now

→ Refund if you need to cancel
Why me? · Testimonials

Elevator Pitch Workshop

· $250

Get an elevator pitch that explains your startup to investors in 30 seconds.

We'll hop onto a 1-hour zoom call and use my elevator pitch template to craft a crisp and compelling elevator pitch for your startup.

Buy now

Learn more

→ Refund if you need to cancel
Why me? · Testimonials

Pitch Deck Tutorial

· $500

Save hours of research with my crash course on how to build a compelling pitch deck.

I'll spend 3 hours on a Zoom call walking you through my pitch deck template and guide. By the end of our call, you'll have a crystal clear understanding of what investors are looking for and what to include in your pitch deck.

Buy now

→Refund if you need to cancel
Why me? · Testimonials

Pitch Deck Build

· $3,600

Get a properly-structured, professionally-designed pitch deck in 7-14 days

I'll build a pitch deck for you from scratch using the content framework and philosophy I share in my popular pitch deck template and guide.

Save dozens of hours of pitch deck research and development.
Outsource this critical component of your startup's future to an expert.
Give investors the information they need to fund your startup.

Book a free chat

→ Get your questions answered before you buy. No commitment.
Why me? · Testimonials

Why me?

Check out my profile on LinkedIn.

You'll see a common thread in all of my LinkedIn testimonials. I'm an expert at developing compelling stories that engage investors, customers, partners, and employees. And I love sharing my expertise with startup founders.

Startup expert

I’ve been a founder/CEO or marketing exec at 8 software startups over the last 25+ years. Those startups have produced 6 exits, including 4 acquisitions, one $1B IPO, and one $11B Secondary. I’ve also personally built (and sold) an investor-backed SaaS business from concept to $10M in ARR and $7M in EBIT. I developed the pitch decks for every one of these startups.

Rigorous process

Clients pick me because they have read my pitch deck template and guide and strongly agree with my philosophy on how to build pitch decks. Read my guide yourself and get in touch if you like what you see.

Personal service

I work alone on a small number of select projects to ensure my clients enjoy my full attention and benefit from my extensive pitch deck experience and expertise.

Testimonials

"Malcolm understands the business and experience of being an entrepreneur. More importantly, he understands how to help entrepreneurs build the story that will move prospective investors, customers, partners, and employees."

David Carlick

Formerly Rho Ventures and VantagePoint Capital Partners

"A pitch deck is the backdrop for telling your story: conveying your vision, your passion, the problem that you’re solving, your solution, and how you’re going to build your company. Malcolm’s experience is all around telling that story, to a variety of audiences, but always in a compelling way. "

Alex Osadzinski

Former Venture Partner, Trinity Ventures

"If you're working on your pitch deck, you want a lot of well-trained eyes on it, that are more objective than you are, can clarify your story, and connect it to the market opportunities with customers and investors. Malcolm has a career of developing these stories as an entrepreneur, investor, and coach, and is a critical ally to founders."

Carey Ransom

Founder & President at Operate

"It was very evident from our first call that Malcolm was going to get thoroughly involved in understanding our problem, solution, market opportunity, business model, competitive advantage, etc. Thanks to his extensive experience as an entrepreneur himself, he can help you present the best you have to offer to all your stakeholders in a simplified and consistent manner. "

Narayan Mahadevan

Founder & CEO, BridgeLabz

Read dozens more testimonials on LinkedIn.

Why you probably need help

Investors routinely report that most startup pitch decks they see are confusing and incomplete. That provides you with a great opportunity to stand out with a professional deck that answers the specific questions that investors need you to answer before they will consider funding your business.

Questions like:

Who does your product help and what pressing problem does it solve?
How big is the market for your specific product?
How unique and valuable is your product versus alternatives?
Do you have the startup experience and domain expertise to launch a new product?
What's your specific plan to acquire and retain customers profitably, at scale?
Do you have an attractive, realistic financial plan to drive significant investor returns?
What evidence can you provide to back up the claims you make in your pitch deck?

Make a strong first impression

Ignore these important questions, and many more, and you'll fail the investor's initial sniff test — and blow your best chance to engage them. But if you proactively answer your investors' questions with clarity and precision, in a professional-looking deck, you'll pass their first test and keep the funding conversation moving forward.

Learn more about what investors are looking for in my popular pitch deck template and guide.

Why pitch deck content is king

Here's the #1 thing to remember when you're looking for pitch deck help: Design is table stakes, content is king. Put another way, great design alone will not get you funded. You'll find plenty of people who can make your pitch deck look pretty — because it's easy. Content is much harder. But without strong content, you're adding lipstick to the proverbial pig. You need someone with deep startup experience to get your content right.

While I include design in my pitch deck builds, I focus 95% of my time and effort on nailing your content.

Frequently asked questions

Who are you, and why should I pick you to help me with my pitch deck?

If you haven't already seen them, check out the VC and investor testimonials above. For a deep dive into my 30+ year career — including dozens of testimonials — check out my LinkedIn profile page. The headline is I have 30 years, 8 startups, 6 exits, one $1B IPO, and one $11B Secondary under my belt. I'm not aware of anyone else with my level of successful startup experience offering 1:1 pitch deck coaching services. Anyone can make your pitch deck pretty. But you need a startup veteran and expert like myself to nail your story.

What pitch deck services do you offer?

If you haven't already seen it, check out my services section above.

What kind of startups do you help?

My typical pitch deck clients are early-stage software startups looking to raise their first or second round. While I am based in the United States, I have no geographic preference and am happy to help clients anywhere in the world. If you're not offering a software-based product or service then I'm probably not a good fit.

How come some other companies charge less for a pitch deck?

I often ask that myself. Perhaps they spend less time than I do in preparing your deck. Or perhaps they employ junior staff. All I know is that my prices are based on a reasonable fee for the time I expect to spend on your deck.

How long will it take you to build a pitch deck for me?

Depending on my workload and your availability, 1-2 weeks. I offer an expedited service where, for a fee, I'll prioritize and deliver your new deck in as little as 3 days.

What information do you need from me to build my pitch deck?

I have a detailed questionnaire that we will complete together before I start developing your deck content. The process is research followed by content development with deck design at the end.

I already have a pitch deck. I just want feedback. Can you help?

Yes. I offer a pitch deck audit service where I score your deck using my proprietary pitch deck scorecard and send you a detailed report with my feedback and recommendations. For an additional fee, I will join you on a 2-4 hour Zoom call to review your score, discuss my recommendations, and answer your questions. Depending on my workload, audits usually take 2-3 days.

Will your pitch deck get my startup funded?

It depends. As I explain in my pitch deck guide, investors are looking for the highest returns with the least risk. So your chances of getting funding are directly tied to your startup's risk and return profile, which is something I cannot control.

What I can promise is I can help you build a pitch deck that proactively addresses the three common risk factors — namely, market risk, product risk, and execution risk — while also providing a realistic yet attractive financial model that promises superior investment returns.

Put another way, I'll help you deliver the best possible pitch with what you've got to work with. I'll also identify where you might have information gaps to plug before you approach investors. Those two things will not guarantee you get funded, but they'll make it more likely.

You've shared your pitch deck template and guide. Why do I need your help?

Great question. Anyone can buy a recipe book. But it takes an expert chef to bring those recipes to life and create delicious meals that delight diners. If you're able to produce a great pitch deck from my guide without any help from me then I'll be very happy for you and glad that my guide was helpful.

How important is pitch deck design?

While your pitch deck must obviously look clean and professional, pitch deck design alone is not going to get you funded. When it comes to design, less is more. Investors care far more about your answers to their questions than your deck design. The best deck design enhances your content but does not dominate it. Take a look at AirBnB's classic pitch deck and note how its clean and simple design conveys professionalism without overpowering the pitch.

Will I have a say in my pitch deck's design?

Absolutely. I'll ask you to provide a visual style guide plus examples of deck designs you like. If you don't yet have a visual style guide, I'll use your website design as a proxy style guide.

Will I own the copyright to the pitch deck you build for me?

Yes. Our pitch deck consulting agreement will clearly state that my work product is your sole intellectual property.

Do you offer investor introductions?

Sorry, no.

Can I pay you with company stock?

Sorry, no.

Will you sign an NDA?

Sure, if you really think it's necessary. Be aware that most investors will not sign an NDA before reviewing a pitch deck.

Where are you located?

I'm in Newport Beach, CA, about an hour south of Los Angeles. I work on Pacific Time.

How will we work together?

We'll use Zoom for meetings. I'll provide a shared Google Docs folder for us to collaborate on the pitch deck and source materials.

I'm interested. What's our next step?

Purchase one of my pitch deck services or contact me and let me know how I can help you.

Got questions?

Contact me

You can also check out my list of frequently asked questions below.