Financial Technology Pitch Decks

How do you create a great pitch deck for your financial technology business? What is traction for a startup, and how do you capture it in a presentation? Those are all questions to ask yourself when seeking funding.

Fintech startups are hot. People are hungry for change. Those with capital understand markets need more efficiency and modernization. Real entrepreneurs can’t help but want to solve the problems that frustrate them and they see impacting those around them. Much of which is in the area of finance. 

If you have an idea for a new fintech startup or product, your pitch deck is going to be one of the most pivotal pieces of your efforts. 

It can make all the difference in attracting the best talent and advisors, as well as raising the money which is vital to launch and grow your business. 

So, how do you make a great fintech pitch deck?

Keys To Creating The Best Fintech Pitch Decks

There are many similarities in creating pitch decks for financial technology startups and other businesses. Yet, there are some differences. Especially, those which apply to what it takes to create a fintech company that can scale and last. As well as what investors may specifically expect you to do well in this space.

Here are some of those.

Demonstrating An Understanding Of Regulations

Finance is a highly regulated space. As much as you want to disrupt, innovate, and change things, and can, you also need to do it within the bounds of the regulatory framework. 

You may be able to help craft future regulations. Though you also have to protect your investors’ capital in the meantime. 

Still, while this can be complicated and burdensome, highly regulated spaces can also help provide a great moat around your business, and protect you from the competition.

Timeline

Between creating new technology, navigating regulations, and getting to a scale that makes things work, fintech startups can take longer to be able to stand on their own two feet than others, just as health tech startups can experience. 

You need to demonstrate your understanding of this and your preparation, by allowing for this in the timeline you are laying out, how much you are raising to get through to the next round, and the milestones you are setting.

How You Will Disrupt Versus Fit In

Fintech has changed a lot. It used to be about trying to displace and replace the banks. Today, it seems much more about partnering with, fitting in with, serving, and even merging with or setting yourself to be acquired by them. 

While you may not be able to lay this out in your pitch deck, especially in the early stages, this is a factor to keep in mind. It is a question you should be prepared to answer or debate with prospective investors when you present your pitch deck.

Marketing Costs & Strategy

Financial technology startups can be pretty capital-intensive. Regardless of how great your tech is, 90% of your success is going to rely on your marketing, including marketing for your fundraising campaigns, as well as customers. 

This can be something that even the most intelligent and best-educated technical founders struggle with. 

You can’t just rely on Google or Facebook ads to create a business. You can’t expect to land enterprise-level customers for big contracts in a matter of days. 

With this in mind, you may need to add quite a bit of budget to your funding ask in order to bring in the right help and execute a great marketing plan. 

Competition

There is a lot of competition in the financial technology space. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for your startup idea and product. Though you do need to show investors that you have completed comprehensive market research and know who your competition is now and is likely to be in the future. 

Your Competitive Advantage

Also known as your ‘USP.’ In order to stand out on this landscape, be able to win, and win the funding, you have to know your competitive advantage. 

If you are simply stating that you are ‘better’, or are competing on price, you may need to dig a little deeper. Find something tangible which is at least 10x better than any existing solutions. 

The best way to display this in your pitch deck is by using a chart to differentiate you from your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.

Team

The team is always a critical element in startup fundraising. Many people may want to change the financial system and their experience with finance companies. Yet, you also want your founding team to present as having both great business acumen and domain-specific expertise.

You may need to fill out your team and round out your skill set if you are lacking here. 

Financials

Finance is your thing, right? So, you had better nail your financial slides to be taken seriously. 

If you don’t have existing and historical financials, then you still want to include a financial forecast slide. 

Keep this simple to digest in 30 seconds or less. Be sure you are thinking big, not simply dreaming beyond what is possible in this time frame, or that you have a real plan to achieve. 

Ability To Focus & Execute

These are the two things that investors know separate all the dreamers from the entrepreneurs who will actually succeed and multiply their money. 

Show your ability to focus by sticking to a short number of slides in your pitch deck, with just a minimal amount of text and images. If you can’t be disciplined with this, how can they trust you will be focused once you get the money? Use a proven fintech pitch deck template to get this right, and speed up the process. 

Use data on any traction you have already achieved to show your ability to execute and get results. 

Summary

Fintech is popular right now. It is a great space to be in if you do it well. Yet, no matter how fantastic your idea is and how much positive impact you could bring, your ability to realize your vision is going to rely a lot on being able to raise funding. Make sure you have these items covered when creating your financial technology pitch deck if you want to be successful, and give your startup the best chance of success. 

BIO

Alejandro Cremades is a serial entrepreneur and the author of The Art of Startup Fundraising. With a foreword by ‘Shark Tank‘ star Barbara Corcoran, and published by John Wiley & Sons, the book was named one of the best books for entrepreneurs. The book offers a step-by-step guide to today‘s way of raising money for entrepreneurs. 

Most recently, Alejandro built and exited CoFoundersLab, which is one of the largest communities of founders online. 

Prior to CoFoundersLab, Alejandro worked as a lawyer at King & Spalding, where he was involved in one of the biggest investment arbitration cases in history ($113 billion at stake). 

Alejandro is an active speaker and has given guest lectures at the Wharton School of Business, Columbia Business School, and NYU Stern School of Business. 

Alejandro has been involved with the JOBS Act since its inception and was invited to the White House and the US House of Representatives to provide his stands on the new regulatory changes concerning fundraising online.