#418 From Technical to Fundable: Pitch Deck Insights with Sergio Yankovenko

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Mehmet: Hello and welcome back to a new episode of the CTO Show with Mehmet. Today I'm very pleased joining me, Sergio. Sergio, thank you very much for being with me here on the show today. The way I love to do it, as we were discussing before, I'd like my guests to introduce themselves, to tell us a bit more about your [00:01:00] background and, you know, your journey and what you're currently up to.

Mehmet: So the floor is yours.

Sergio: Thank you to inviting me to the show and to just a bit to as you see my, my name is Sergio and I am digital consultant and creator already more than eight years. And I have the proof of tech action about a half a billion funded to startups who worked with me before.

Mehmet: Great. Thank you for being here with me. Yeah, that's Sergio again. You, you are like into kind of a very interesting domain, which is, you know, helping startup founder, you know, get their pitch deck polished and, you know, being good. So what was your motive to, to choose this as a, you know, profession for you, Sergio?

Sergio: I have this business mindset as I came from family and to I [00:02:00] try to translate the great ideas to some business logic and to understand from the business perspective because all the time the founders, what I met they some kind of more like dreamers. They wanted to create their own product, but to the investor and to the people who will finance these ideas need to use quite different approach because they not understand.

Sergio: For example, if you if you are a developer this quote, quote detail or this software feature, what you bring to the. To the, your product,

Mehmet: right? So, you know, it's a very interesting domain to be in Sergio. And, you know, I was checking you, you've done a lot of that actually, and you helped a lot of founders.

Mehmet: So more than 400 projects and you had them raise 560 million almost. It's really impressive. [00:03:00] So I always like to start, you know, by what are like some of the mistakes or the pitfalls that you've seen, I think, especially first time founders falls into when they bring their pitch deck to you. So usually what are the common mistakes you see?

Sergio: The common mistake probably this is unrealistic expectation. And try to invest or dive deep to your project. You need to firstly understand the investor is not tech professional. Like you what is why You're looking for the founders like you, but you need to show the potential and just little, little detail about your project to make them starving to your to continue discussing with you, but not to overload.

Mehmet: Okay, that's that's great. [00:04:00] Now, some of the founders might come and say, Sergio. Okay, I get what you're saying. But really, my idea is very technical. It has a lot of potential. But I'm not finding the way how I can explain this into business. Maybe they are like coming from a deep technical background or maybe, you know, you know, they have never done kind of a presentation for a project before.

Mehmet: So what kind of tactics, I would say, usually you give these founders so they can truly translate, I would say, technical terms into something that investors which cares about the business you know, we'll understand,

Sergio: I use some comparison model to translate the, your complicated idea idea to something what investor can be familiar.

Sergio: You always able to find something be familiar what you can compare your [00:05:00] project. Technical bit, the ground is quite good. You should have it, have it. But we need to find this some kind of balance between technical details and between business. Because you need to show investor the money first.

Sergio: How they Able to monetize your product and how they able to earn with your product

Mehmet: great so A question that always comes also says you like how long or short the pitch deck should be so From your experience again, like what are the most successful ways? You've seen it,

Sergio: we haven't one time, one time recipe to eat, but there should be, uh, long enough to explain details, but short enough to not make them bored.

Sergio: So [00:06:00] the standard approach, what I use, it's about 12 to 15 slides. Sometime it can be a bit more, but if you have some more details we can move it to like appendix section and show this slides only if someone asked you about it, for example, could you show me architecture of your application? Okay.

Sergio: I have the slide for this. But most of the time you need to stay in this limit. 12 15 slides would be perfect.

Mehmet: Wow. That's you know, very good And I think I I see a lot of people who you know send Let me ask you this because i've seen these, you know decks which are like 30 40 pages sometimes so from Reaching out perspective.

Mehmet: So let's say if I want You know, I have prepared the pitch deck [00:07:00] and I have maybe multiple versions of my pitch deck So which one I should send to the investors first before I do the actual the actual You know presentation to them or should I go with one pager? What what what have you seen the most successful ways?

Mehmet: When dealing with investors

Sergio: when you spend the Only email approach you enough to have this Pitch deck what can read himself it about 12 slides and with less tags because right now according to the data DocSend the typical investor spend about three minutes 35 seconds To read one pitch deck And if you send about 40, 50 slides, page deck no one will read it because it's too complicated, [00:08:00] it's a time assuming, and you need to understand it deeply, most of the investors will to, to trash, or maybe I will read it later, but most of the time it never happened.

Sergio: So. About the one pager, you need to send it just after your actual presentation. So, we can divide three type of pitch decks. One, it's what you send it to make them interesting. Second one, it's for actual presentation when you're on the boardroom or video call with investor. And second one, it's like some kind of one pager just to remind it's a K numbers after actual meetings happen.

Mehmet: Okay. Got it. Now one other thing, which always, you know, a question that keep being repeated, I would say, Sergio, how to do [00:09:00] the balance between the design, the aesthetic side of the presentation versus the text, right? And what have you found the best balance between something which is just too much graphics and, you know, transitions in the slides and something which is also too much text?

Mehmet: So what are like some of the best practices also that you, you can share with the audience? First

Sergio: of all, we need to not overload slides with the text. Because right now we are the scanning the text and we not read it deeply you can just check how you if you open any article on the internet, you just quickly scanned it not deeply and concentrated in it.

Sergio: So you need to try to stick only one idea to one slide. Okay. And about graphic effects this [00:10:00] is complicated stuff because the design is less important to the page deck than content. Design should support your ideas. Not you Your aim not sell the design actual your presentation your aim to sell your business, correct?

Mehmet: Right, of course the aim is to to tell the business now We see a lot Sergio people on linkedin and different places where they tell you. Okay take this Template and you're gonna succeed, right? For example, some people they say the sequoia template some people they go and say the y combinator template what's your take on this what you can tell us?

Sergio: I never use from my approach. I try to never use templates because if you go to the white combinator or different big companies, yeah, they have some templates because they [00:11:00] used to see and they wanted to see this slide, what they seen before. But if you go to other investor then, then you need to use personal approach as yet, as I like to say do your homework.

Sergio: You need to understand which type of investor you planning to present. And from the, their perspective. Choose the slides what you wanted to show to them because angel investor looking one type of information. VC funds looking different type of information. Some family offices, uh, looking third part of information and you need to use some kind of personal approach to each of these investors.

Mehmet: Right. Correct. Actually, this is what you thank you for your answer. Also, my next question, which is difference between, you know, angel investors [00:12:00] versus VCs. Now, have you seen any time where, you know, the founders needed to pitch? You know, multiple times to the same people or like, usually it's like, like how long, you know, usually it, you know, from what you heard from them, like, is it like just on the spot or is it like they needed to do multiple follow ups?

Mehmet: It's just a quick question. Like, if you have information about that.

Sergio: Mostly you pitching one investor one time. If they interesting, we go go to actual contract and detail how how investor in investment will happen. If sometime it's too rarely, but can be the investor. Okay. I need this type of information.

Sergio: For example, you can get the answer like yeah, your project quite interested, but I need from [00:13:00] you this information and this information. In that case, you can go them again, but mostly it's not some kind of pitching, it's just, okay, provide me your business plan and then communication via email or personal, you can bring your business plan.

Sergio: plan or answer some other questions. But from from my approach, I try to prepare to founders as much as possible. So for example, after clients work with me, I give them answer about 300 different questions, what investor can ask. So I have some kind of PDF when with all details of particular business and you can take a look and be prepared on the first meeting.

Sergio: So, because to invest or it's big red flag, then he asked you some question and you didn't know the [00:14:00] answer.

Mehmet: Got it. Got it. Now one of the other things, you know, like what you can tell the founders about the importance also of storytelling, like why it's, it's very important to try to, you know, instead of just going over the Decks one by one to try to do it in a, in a story way, I would say

Sergio: the storytelling in pitch decks is key.

Sergio: You need to, for example, if you first time founder and you, you want not to pitch like angel investor. They wanted to listen to your background. You can't have any MVP yet, but you have only idea. So you need to show this passion, this fire in in your eye to make them quite interested to your project.

Sergio: If you go to another [00:15:00] type of investor, it's related to what I said before, you need to do your, your homework and yeah, I'm sure the content and storytelling is most important in the pitch deck than just graphical design.

Mehmet: Right. Yeah. One, one other aspect also, maybe you touched base a little bit, but so you said like each, of course, each startup is different and we don't move by template, but and you mentioned about, you know, the number of slide between 10 to 12, but I've seen also the I mean, and this is regarding, I think, to the storytelling.

Mehmet: So I've seen people, for example, they mix where to put each part. So for example, you know, they start with the team first, and then they go to the market size, and then they tell us about the problem they are solving, or sometimes they, so. On a high level, is there like a best practice also in structuring the pitch deck itself in terms like which [00:16:00] one comes, you know, before and which one should, should should be at the end?

Mehmet: If you can, you know, just tell us, for example, which one should be the first one. I mean, the second, probably after the title and which one usually should be at the end.

Sergio: This is the, depends what the type type of investor, if you go to the angel, you need to show your experience. So here, the team slide at the first would be make more credibility.

Sergio: But mostly you need to first two slides, it's problem. And solution so people able to open your file and okay you have this problem and you have this solution. The next one it can be team slide to show your experience. The next one can be a market competitor or market size. Also if you go to the VC funds, they more interesting in numbers.

Sergio: So you need to show your potential [00:17:00] revenue. You need to show the market size. And I'll everything about numbers because they have mostly many startups. So what they found that and they mostly less interesting in your story more than in actual. Okay,

Mehmet: that's that's cool and interesting. I would say.

Mehmet: So it's a good hint because as you said, it's different between again, angels and and VCs, of course during the pitch itself, right? So, have you seen like people despite like, okay, they have the best pitch ever. Maybe of course you help them and you know, but, but it failed. So what, what could go wrong?

Mehmet: I would say, is it like the way they presented itself? Is it because they looks like not you know, confident enough? What can go wrong even if the pitch deck is [00:18:00] perfect?

Sergio: The confidence is important. I'm sure. But what can go wrong? It's if you choose wrong investor. For example, if your project about NetDedge And you will go to investor who mostly investing in agrotech your pitch deck even if it would be perfect, it gets failed because the investor not investing in this type of project,

Sergio: Different investors have some kind of sectors.

Sergio: Some investor investing only crypto project, for example, some of them only in method. Some of them in application, different types, because especially for early stage founder you need not, not only money for, for investment. For, from investor, you need something like calls smart money.

Sergio: When investor can bring to you not only funding, but they [00:19:00] own connection. They own contacts. What can help bring your, for your project forward. So important to find the investor who kept these contacts.

Mehmet: Absolutely. Yeah. So I like this concept of smart money because it's very important, especially because you'd not, you don't, you don't need just the money.

Mehmet: You need also someone to help you. And I think there was just maybe another topic, but some of the founders, they think, yeah, just give us the money and we will figure it out. They forget about the power that this investor can help them open doors and, you know, get them to get their solution in front of of the right clients.

Mehmet: So absolutely, you know, it's a very good point. I want to ask you Sergio something that we, we, we didn't touch base on which is are you seeing, you know, because what you do currently is something fantastic again, like you help, like you have 400 plus projects [00:20:00] done and you have, you know, this amount that you help founders to raise when it comes to.

Mehmet: AI and automation that's happening in this You know in this domain How do you protect your own business? You know Sergio like Is AI getting your job, you know easier to do or do you see it as a threat? How do you see things here?

Sergio: You need to understand the AI it's not a magic pill you you can go to any AI tools and say them, okay give me the pitch deck and probably the AI pretty good send you something, but the most mistake was what I see in the especially to market size slide.

Sergio: You founder go to, for example, open AI and okay. Calculate me market size and AI will bring [00:21:00] some data, but this data not relevant. And what they heard from the investor, the one cash, okay. You show me the billion potential market where you take this data and founder not able to answer. So, and for investor, okay.

Sergio: You just imagine this number or, or what, and this meetings would be fail because the to investors, it's seems like, UI about the, your potential market size and this is fail. This totally fail. So, to create the fish deck with ai, you need to brand, bring your experience. And this is not one case solution.

Sergio: Yeah, I can help you be more prepared. I can this is not not threat this like helper, but not the Case solution, what you can just simply use [00:22:00] instead of actual professional leaf experience.

Mehmet: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. And to your point, like I cannot do everything for you, as you said, like right word and I like it.

Mehmet: It's not the magic pill. 100 percent on this now. If I want to ask you Sergio, how are you seeing the fundraising, you know, going? Is it becoming easier? Is it becoming harder? Like, how things are, are moving currently?

Sergio: Right now it's becoming harder. Because of many startup failed and investor became more picky to each project they after they may, you may first interest then investors take a look more closely to your project, more closely to your experience.

Sergio: So right now it's harder to rise. Some amount then, for example, five [00:23:00] years ago especially I heard from one VC fund. They back to the AI, they too they use some kind of AI filter on their, their email. So when you send the email to VC fund this page there go to some AI pre check this is relevant to them or not relevant And if you go to not not specified investor you know, you will have any answer from them.

Sergio: Yeah,

Mehmet: right. It's it's like, Similar to when you apply for a job and they have the that system that checks. Yeah. Yeah.

Sergio: Yeah, it's Quite similar to that.

Mehmet: Yeah, they call it ATS systems, right? So it's just check for a couple of keywords, right? And if they find it and to your point Sergio And I think you know This is important because you mentioned a couple of minutes ago that the founders need to understand who they are presenting to and usually In [00:24:00] case of VCs every VC they will have list Of previous companies that they invested in so this makes their life easy Usually they would have their thesis also available on their website means you know What kind of investment they do the size check they do so you understand are you a good fit for them or no?

Mehmet: And with angels, it's a little bit complicated because, you know, not all the angels, they share, you know, the, the previous work that they have done. So this makes the, let's make it a little bit tricky, I would say. Sergio, as we almost come to, to the end of this you know, very insightful episodes, like if I want to ask you kind of final Words of advice to, to to founders, especially the first time once, and when it comes to be prepared for raising and, you know, preparing their deck, what, what you can share with us.

Sergio: You need to ask the reasonable amount because sometime I met the first time [00:25:00] founders what haven't MVP yet, haven't actual working business yet, but on the last asking slide, they asked couple millions funding without nothing yet to create it and nothing yet work it you need to clearly understand how much amount you need.

Sergio: And how you plan to spend it? Just you allow me, I can share some funny story, but I hurt to last time from one from one investor. He said, okay why you You can imagine some boardroom when startup first time founder go to the them to present the project and the investor asked, Why are you asking the one million to your project?

Sergio: The founder say it's because I go into divorce with wife and I need how half million give her to the house.

Mehmet: Yeah, it's, it's makes [00:26:00] sense. It makes sense by the way. It's absolutely, it's absolutely nice. I would say a story because it's, it's Reality, actually, right? 100%. Sergio, really, really, you know, very insightful. And, you know, I am enjoying, you know, the talking to you. If people want to get in touch, if they want to get your services, or maybe get a consultation, how they can reach out to you.

Sergio: The best way is contact me through my LinkedIn as you can see on screen or somewhere on the description with the link, my links they, they can book the direct call with me or just message and I try to help them.

Mehmet: Great. Sergio, thank you very much for being with me here today. It's been some while since we didn't discuss about you know, the art of being prepared to, it's an art of pitching.

Mehmet: This is what I call it. And of course, preparing the pitch deck and preparing the storytelling, which you talked about and knowing the investor is, Critical [00:27:00] and crucial part in the success of fundraising. So thank you for sharing You know your experience with us today. And as you said, yes, the links will be in the show notes So people can go and they can find sergio's linkedin in the show notes and get in touch with him also as well and Of course, they will be in the description if you're watching this on youtube and this is for the audience.

Mehmet: This is how I usually add all my Episodes if you just discovered this podcast by luck. Thank you for passing by. I hope you enjoyed it If you did, so please give us a thumb up share it with your friends and colleagues and you know Keep coming again. And if you are one of the people who are loyal to us and keep listening to us Thank you for doing so.

Mehmet: Thank you for sending all your comments feedback and questions I read them all keep them coming and thank you for tuning in today. We will be again in a new episode very soon Thank you. Bye. Bye

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