Timing argument for Plugmere, a fictional kerbside EV charging operator
Why now slide with three dated shifts
A why now slide argues that the moment for an idea has arrived, by showing what has changed recently and when. This one makes the timing case for Plugmere, a fictional kerbside EV charging operator, with one statement and three dated shifts: buyers in 2024, councils in 2025 and hardware costs in 2026.
What is on the slide
- Eyebrow and statement
- WHY NOW. A third of EV enquiries now come from drivers with no driveway, councils have started saying yes to kerbside chargers, and a site costs half what it did.
- 2024: Buyers
- Drivers without a driveway made up 34% of EV enquiries in a Plugmere survey of 2,400 people, up from 11% in 2021.
- 2025: Councils
- Nine inner councils adopted kerbside charging policies in 2025, against two in 2023, so permits take weeks.
- 2026: Hardware
- A kerbside site now costs $14,000 to install, half the $28,000 Plugmere was quoted in 2023.
When this is the right slide
Pick this slide when an audience will ask why an idea works now, and you have three recent, dated changes with numbers that together explain why the window has opened this year.
What to swap it for
Context: Dual Statement + Photo Panel. Use the dual statement with a photo panel when the timing case is two labelled statements, such as the shift and its effect, and photographs can show the setting.
What this slide shows
The slide renders in its dark colour mode. A small orange eyebrow reads WHY NOW. A statement in large cream serif type fills the upper half over four lines: A third of EV enquiries now come from drivers with no driveway, councils have started saying yes to kerbside chargers, and a site costs half what it did. A thin rule separates it from three columns, each with an orange heading and one sentence. 2024: Buyers. Drivers without a driveway made up 34% of EV enquiries in a Plugmere survey of 2,400 people, up from 11% in 2021. 2025: Councils. Nine inner councils adopted kerbside charging policies in 2025, against two in 2023, so permits take weeks. 2026: Hardware. A kerbside site now costs $14,000 to install, half the $28,000 Plugmere was quoted in 2023. Plugmere is a fictional operator of kerbside chargers, and the figures are its own fictional survey and costs; $14,000 a site matches its trial budget of $84,000 for six sites.
When this is the right slide
Use a why now slide in an investor pitch, a strategy paper, a business case or a grant application whenever the audience will ask why this idea will work now. It is the right slide when you can point to two or three recent, dated changes that together open a window: a cost curve, a rule change, a shift in what customers do. The big statement layout suits a pitch where the timing is a central part of the argument, because the statement is the size of a headline and the evidence sits right under it. It is the wrong slide when your evidence is a single trend, which reads as thin on a three column layout, and wrong when the timing is not the point, such as a mature business seeking a loan, where the investor's question is cash flow. It is also the wrong slide if the shifts cannot be dated: a why now without years asks the audience to take the timing on trust.
How to adapt it
First, put an outside source behind at least one shift where one exists, such as a government vehicle registration series, and keep the citation in the speaker notes or appendix, since sources are not printed on the slide itself. Second, for a board or strategy audience, change the shifts to what has changed inside the market you already serve, such as a competitor's exit or a new regulation, and the statement to the decision it makes possible. Third, when one shift is much stronger than the others, give it the statement and use the columns for supporting evidence. Keep each column to one sentence of about 20 words, with the year in the heading. Check every number against the rest of the deck, so the $14,000 per site here matches the use of funds and rollout slides.
What makes this slide work
Each shift carries its year in the heading
2024: Buyers, 2025: Councils, 2026: Hardware. The years run in order across the slide, so the audience sees the change build to now, and every heading can be checked against its sentence.
Three shifts from three directions
Customers (34% of EV enquiries from drivers without a driveway), regulation (nine councils with kerbside policies) and cost ($14,000 a site against $28,000). Different kinds of evidence make the timing case stronger than three customer numbers would.
The big statement summarises all three
A third of EV enquiries now come from drivers with no driveway, councils have started saying yes to kerbside chargers, and a site costs half what it did. One sentence in display type carries the argument; the three columns prove it.
Questions people ask
What counts as evidence on a why now slide?
A change with a date and a number: a cost that fell, a rule that changed, a behaviour that grew. Here each shift has a year and a figure. Vague trends, such as growing interest in EVs, are not evidence, because they were equally true five years ago and do not explain why this year is different.
How many shifts should a why now slide show?
Three is usual: enough to show the change is not one lucky event, few enough to remember. They work best when they come from different directions, such as customers, regulation and cost. Three customer statistics make one point three times; three different kinds of change make the timing case.
Should a why now slide use the company's own data?
Yes, alongside outside data where it exists, and labelled as your own. A survey of 2,400 people run by the company is useful evidence if the slide says so, as this one does. Investors will ask how it was gathered, so keep the method and sample in the appendix or the data room.
Where does the why now slide go in a pitch deck?
After the problem and solution, and before the market size or business model. By then investors know what you do; the why now slide answers their next question, why has nobody done this already, or why will it work now when it did not before. Some decks fold it into the market slide.
What is the difference between why now and market size?
Market size says how big the opportunity is. Why now says why it is opening up at this moment. A large market that has been large for decades does not explain timing. The two slides support each other: the shifts on this slide are often why the reachable market has grown.
How old can the evidence on a why now slide be?
Recent enough that the shift is still news to the audience, usually the last two or three years. A why now built on 2019 data reads as stale in a 2027 pitch. Put the year in each heading, as here, so the audience can judge how fresh each shift is at a glance.
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