Saltbrook Pitch Night
Pitch competition deck: eight slides for five minutes
A pitch competition deck has to prove one idea fast enough that a judge can repeat it after the night, so every slide carries less than an investor deck would. Saltbrook, an invented Byron Bay sunscreen brand, uses eight slides timed to 300 seconds, three numbers and one chart.
Every slide, in order
The whole deck as it renders, one slide after another. Read it the way the audience would.
The structure
What each slide is doing, so you can reuse the order even with different content.
- Slide 1cover
- The one line, on screen while the founder says it. 15 seconds of the five minutes.
- Slide 2intro
- The problem in one sentence and three short facts. 40 seconds.
- Slide 3pillars
- The product as three claims a judge can repeat after the night. 40 seconds.
- Slide 4metrics
- Three numbers only, said slowly. 45 seconds.
- Slide 5metrics
- One chart: monthly sales, so the judges see the slope and the January dip. 40 seconds.
- Slide 6persona
- The customer, from first purchase to habit, so the 39 percent has a face. 40 seconds.
- Slide 7takeaway
- Three things for the judges to write down. 40 seconds.
- Slide 8closing
- The ask, in one line, with 40 seconds left on the clock and time to stop early.
Slide by slide
Slide one is the one line, on screen while it is said. Slide two is the problem in a sentence and three short facts. Slide three is the product as three claims about feel, shade and habit. Slide four is three numbers. Slide five is monthly sales with the January dip explained. Slide six is the customer journey in five stages. Slide seven gives the judges three things to remember. Slide eight is the ask: 600,000 dollars and introductions to six pharmacy buyers. The timings live in each slide purpose, because speaker notes never appear on a projected or exported slide.
How to adapt this deck
A three minute pitch drops slides three and seven and gives the numbers more time. A competition judged on social impact should replace slide seven with the impact measure and how it is counted. A business to business company should swap the consumer journey for the buyer journey inside a customer, with the moment the purchase order is signed as the last stage, because that is the step judges doubt.
What pitch judges look for
Y Combinator advice on pitching says to explain what the company does in one sentence, early, in plain words, and then give the most impressive evidence that it is working. Pitch night judges score clarity, traction and the ask, usually on a sheet with a few minutes per company. This deck puts the one line on the cover, the evidence on slides four and five, and the ask alone on the last slide so it is the image left on screen during questions.
What makes this deck work
Every slide has a time budget
Each slide purpose carries its seconds: 15 for the cover, 45 for the numbers, 40 for each of the rest, adding to 300. A deck planned to the second leaves room to finish early, which judges notice more than an extra slide.
Three numbers, said slowly
Slide four shows 778,000 dollars of sales in eight months, 39 percent buying again and six pharmacies. The monthly bars on slide five add up to the same 778,000, so the one chart in the deck confirms the headline rather than adding a fourth number.
The customer has a face
Slide six follows one invented customer from a borrowed tube to a second order seven weeks later. It turns the 39 percent repeat rate into a story a judge can retell, which is what wins audience votes on the night.
Questions people ask
How many slides for a five minute pitch competition?
Six to eight. At about 40 seconds a slide, eight fills five minutes with a little slack for applause and the switch between speakers. More slides means rushing the numbers. This example uses eight and plans the seconds for each, adding to exactly 300.
What should be on the first slide of a competition pitch?
The one line that says what the company does and why it matters, and nothing a judge has to read while you talk. Saltbrook uses sunscreen people finish, then buy again, with the event name and timing in small type.
Where do I put my speaker notes and timings?
Speaker notes are stored per slide and shown in present mode, with a pop out window for a second screen, but they never appear on the slide or in exports. This page shows the timings in each slide purpose so the plan is visible.
Should a competition deck show only one chart?
Usually, yes. Judges get a few seconds per slide, and one chart of the number that matters is read; three charts are skimmed. Monthly revenue is the common choice. Explain any dip in the subtitle, as this deck does for January.
What should the ask be at a pitch night?
Something the room can act on: an amount, introductions, or both. Saltbrook asks for 600,000 dollars and six pharmacy buyers, then says where to find the founder after the judging. An ask for feedback alone wastes the last slide, which stays on screen through questions.
Can I generate an eight slide deck on the free plan?
The free plan generates up to six slides, so an eight slide deck needs a paid plan, or a six slide generation with two slides added by hand. Slides can be duplicated and reordered in the rail, and the theme applies to new slides automatically.
Build your own in about a minute
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