Pre-seed pitch deck checklist: twelve items mapped to the rubric

What investors read at pre-seed

DocSend 2020 pre-seed research found that investors reviewed a deck for under 3 minutes on average, and that funded decks held attention for about 4 minutes against about 1:30 for unfunded ones.

The same DocSend 2020 research reports a typical deck of about 20 pages with about 50 words on a slide.

Y Combinator's 2018 seed deck guide asks for a clear story, a close look at the founders, evidence of demand over forecasts, and a picture of where the company will be a year on.

There is little to measure at this stage, so the deck is read for the story and the people. The first pages have to carry the whole argument.

Rubric weights at pre-seed

In the getfund rubric v1, pre-seed puts the most points on team (18), problem clarity (14), solution and product evidence (10), out of 80 judged points.

The twelve-item checklist

Each item belongs to one rubric dimension. Check the list against your deck slide by slide and fix the items you cannot tick.

1. Name the customer and the pain in one sentence on the first content slide.Rubric: Problem clarity
2. Add one real example, quote or number for the pain, with its source if it is not yours.Rubric: Problem clarity
3. Show the product with a screenshot, photo, demo or workflow, not only a description.Rubric: Solution and product evidence
4. Say plainly whether the product is live, in a pilot or a prototype.Rubric: Solution and product evidence
5. State why now with a named change in technology, regulation or behaviour.Rubric: Market and why now
6. Size the first segment you will sell to, with the source or the multiplication.Rubric: Market and why now
7. State what you charge and who pays, even if it is still a plan.Rubric: Business model
8. Show the earliest real signal with a date and a definition, and call it what it is: a waitlist, a pilot or a letter of intent.Rubric: Traction and evidence quality
9. Give each founder a name, a role and the one background that fits this company.Rubric: Team
10. Cover product, technology and selling between the founders, or name the first hire.Rubric: Team
11. State the amount, the use of funds and what the money gets you to.Rubric: Ask and use of funds
12. Write each headline as a sentence that carries the point, and keep slides short.Rubric: Design and readability

Common failures

• A generic problem such as "inefficient" with no customer named.
• A product described in words and never shown.
• A market figure with no source or method.
• A team slide with names only.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a pre-seed deck be?

The getfund rubric v1 gives full points for 10 to 20 pages, and DocSend 2020 pre-seed research reports a typical deck of about 20 pages. Shorter is easier to read.

Do I need revenue at pre-seed?

No. Show the earliest real signal with a date and a definition and label it honestly. The rubric scores undated numbers such as a waitlist below dated usage or revenue, and above a claim of strong interest.

Which dimensions matter most at pre-seed?

Team and problem. Pre-seed gives them the most points in the getfund rubric v1, so fix those slides first.

Sources

• DocSend, 2020 pre-seed pitch deck research
• Y Combinator, 2018 seed deck guide
• getfund rubric v1, published on the pitch deck scorer page

More pitch deck guides