The One Slide 99% of Founders Get Fundraising Wrong – TechCrunch

The “Request and Use of Funds” slide is an opportunity to shine as a founder. Don’t waste it.

There is a slide that almost all founders get it wrong when putting together a pitch deck to raise money from venture capitalists. The slide is commonly known as the “request” and is usually near the end of the pitch deck.

It’s supposed to do something quite simple: explain how much money a startup raises and for what. It shouldn’t be rocket science, but it’s almost universally difficult to get it right.

Here are the most common mistakes:

1. Completely forget to include the slide.
2. Not naming a specific dollar amount you are raising.
3. Including an evaluation on the slide.
4. Omit what the funds will be used for.
5. Listing a specific track, i.e. “This will allow us to race for 18 to 24 months.”

Let’s explore in detail why these mistakes are so detrimental to your fundraising process and how you can best include these points in your deck.