Questions

I've seen some light hearted pitch decks before, and as someone who appreciates comedy, I enjoy that... but I often wonder what an analytical minded or more money motivated VC/investor thinks when they see rap lyrics or cheeky humor in pitch decks. I know this is an extremely subjective question, so I'm hoping to get some input from some investors/vcs/angels rather than entrepreneurs.

The single biggest problem with pitch decks is that every investor wants something different in the deck. A deck is most useful at two points of the raise: To establish an initial meeting and, in the case of a VC firm, if the partner likes it, as the primary material they circulate to their partners to get internal buy-in.

Decks should be optimized to frame your company's opportunity in the simplest of terms, in the best of light, and presented in a fashion that carries the least amount of *perceptual risk.*

So for the primary reasons of looking to reduce perceptual risk and because each investor would reach so differently, I would avoid the use of comedy in your deck. The only exception to this rule is if you feel strongly that the inability to appreciate the comedy is indicative of the kind of investor you wouldn't take money from. In that case, you can do so, knowing that while your overall chances of success in raising might decrease, your chance of investing from a very particular type of investor might actually increase.

Happy to talk this through in more detail in a call if you'd like.


Answered 10 years ago

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