PITCH DECK COACH

Get a pitch deck that gets you funded

Hi, I'm Malcolm Lewis, the Pitch Deck Coach. 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.

Founder testimonials

I had the pleasure of working with Malcolm in recent weeks after spending countless hours trying to create the perfect company deck... and achieving no results. Working with him has been a game-changer.

Malcolm has helped me and my team achieve the result we wanted in a fraction of the time I spent in the past few years. He quickly understood our business model and clearly provided the guidelines for us to work on. After only a week he had reconstructed the deck with a brand new perspective.

I felt he was part of our team, working together on a common goal.

To all Founders wanting to create their company's first deck... stop wasting your time, invest instead in collaborating with Malcolm. For any direct inquiries, feel free to reach me at stefano@4urspace.com

Stefano Sanchini

Co-Founder & CEO, 4URSPACE

Malcolm is extremely knowledgeable, business savvy and a great story teller. He can take a raw narrative and transform it into crisp, data-driven and tight pitch deck that comes across as very convincing. I highly recommend him.

Kapil Gupta

Co-Founder & CEO, Stealth SaaS startup

Malcolm was instrumental in helping my company Salesmsg understand who our best customers are. He ran a really engaging, fun, and tight process for interviewing our customers and extracting PURE GOLD. The insights gained from working with Malcolm have been reverberating throughout our company ever since working with Malcolm. He has a unique mind and thinks differently which provides a left brained approach to growth.

Chris Brisson

Founder & CEO, Salesmsg

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

Investor 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

Read dozens more testimonials on LinkedIn.

My pitch deck coaching services

Pitch Deck Review

· $0

Get free feedback on your current pitch deck.

I'll provide a 45-minute review of your current deck. It'll help us both decide if I can help you make it better.

Book free review

Why me? · Testimonials

Pitch Deck Build

· Hourly

Get an effective pitch deck in 3-4 weeks

I'll help you build a concise, compelling pitch deck from scratch. I'll base your new deck on the template and guidelines I share in my pitch deck template and guide. I charge hourly so you get what you pay for. Most decks end up costing. $4-5,000. Bonus: You'll be a black belt in pitch decks when we're done.

Get a better pitch deck in a fraction of the time.
Understand what investors are looking for and avoid common errors.
Give investors all 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?

Most pitch deck consultants focus on pitch deck design. They can make your deck look great, but a pretty deck is secondary to a great story well told. As a former founder, CEO, and CMO, I know how to craft a story that engages and delights investors. Here are three reasons why you migh choose me as your pitch deck coach:

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, 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 love sharing my hard-won startup expertise with early-stage startup founders.

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.

Singular Focus

Many pitch deck consulting firms offer pitch decks as one of several services that also include sales presentations and other pitches. I focus 100% on pitch decks.

Personal Service

I work alone on a small number of select projects each month. This ensures that my clients enjoy my full attention for the entire duration of our project.

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.

Nail your story before you worry about design

If you want to impress investors with your pitch deck, you need more than just a pretty design. While it's easy to find someone to make your deck look nice, the real challenge is creating great content. This guide is here to help you with that. Instead of focusing on design first, concentrate on crafting a compelling story for your pitch deck. Save the design for later, and think of it as the finishing touch on top of everything else.

Frequently asked questions

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

Check out my founder and VC and investor testimonials. 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 of founder/CEO/CMO/product marketing experience. I have 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 like myself to nail your pitch.

What pitch deck services do you offer?

Check out my services. It boils down to as little or as much help as you need. I work on an hourly basis so you only pay for what you need.

What kind of startups do you help?

My typical pitch deck clients are early-stage startups looking to raise their seed or series A round. While I am based in the United States, I have no geographic preference and have helped clients from almost everywhere in the world including North America, South America, and Europe. Recent clients include B2B SaaS companies, web3 companies, and industrial product companies.

How much do you charge for a pitch deck?

Budget $3,500-4,500 for your new pitch deck. Anyone charging less is not taking the time required to understand your business and work with you to make your pitch deck story significantly better. I provide a range because some decks require less work than others.

How long will it take you to build my pitrch deck?

Depending on my workload and your availability, 2-4 weeks. I can sometimes do it faster if necessary.

What's your pitch deck process?

There are 3 steps in my process. Step 1 is the 'Research' step. I'll work with you to learn as much as I can about your business. Step 2 is the 'Outline' step. I'll develop an initial version of your story in Google Sheets. You wouldn't build a house without a blueprint. Similarly, you shouldn't build a pitch deck wtihout an outline. The goal is to get the flow and words right without the distraction of slides. Step 3 is the 'Deck' step. I'll turn our finalized outline into slides.

How will we work together during your pich deck process?

I'll create a shared Google Doc with tabs for your deck outline, research links, competition info, and your financial model. We'll meet regularly on Zoom. And we'll set up a WhatsApp group for quick and efficient Q&A outside of our Zoom sessions.

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

Yes. I charge by the hour. We cn review your current deck and work from there. If you've done most of the work, you'll only need a few hours from me to polish it up and make sure you've avoided common mistakes.

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

As in all things, you get what you pay for. Perhaps they spend less time learning your business and digging deep for the information I know investors need. Or perhaps they employ junior staff. All I can tell you is that my pricing is based on a reasonable fee for the time I expect to invest in your deck.

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.

My guarantee is that I can help you proactively addresses the four common risk factors — market, product, team, and execution risk — while also providing an 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 far more likely.

I've seen several pitch deck templates. Why do I need your help to fill in the blanks?

Because it's not as easy as you might think to fill in the blanks. Especially if you're doing it for the first time. If you're able to produce a great pitch deck from a template without any help from me or anyone else then great. But most founders don't build pitch decks for a living, so they inevitably waste time without expert guidance.

How important is pitch deck design?

Content is king. Deck design is icing on the cake. 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. But I can give you some suggestions on where and how to build your target investor list.

Can I pay you with company stock?

Sorry, no.

Will you sign an NDA?

Sure, if you really think it's necessary. But know 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.

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.

Partners

Do you need help preparing detailed financial projections? My friends at ProjectionHub offer 70+ unique, CPA developed, financial forecast worksheet templates to help you provide investor-ready projections in no time at all.

Got questions?

Contact me