500 Startups Pitch Deck Template [Let's Get into It]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
A few weeks ago, our client Hugh was preparing to submit his deck to 500 Startups. He asked,
“Is there a standard format for this, or do I just make it up as I go?”
Our Creative Director didn’t even blink before replying,
“Yes. There’s a format. Stick to it.”
That’s the thing. As a presentation design agency, we work on countless pitch decks for accelerators and VCs every year. And no matter how different the startups or industries are, we see the same challenge pop up again and again: founders tend to overcomplicate. They either cram everything they know into the slides or try to reinvent the wheel with fancy structures. Both backfire.
So, in this blog, we’re going to break down the exact structure of a 500 Startups pitch deck and show you how to approach it without losing your mind.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
Why 500 Startups Wants a Format in the First Place
Investors don’t have time to decode messy decks. They see hundreds every week. The format exists to make their job easier and your pitch clearer.
When founders try to reinvent the wheel, they end up confusing investors instead of impressing them. Sticking to the format isn’t about being boring, it’s about being understood quickly.
Here’s why the structure matters:
Saves time for you and the investor
Keeps attention on your idea, not your design experiments
Forces clarity so only the essentials make it in
Think of it less as a cage and more as a shortcut. It makes sure your story lands in minutes, not after 20 confusing slides.
500 Startups Pitch Deck Template [Let's Get into It]
When you hear “template,” you probably think of something rigid. But in the case of 500 Startups, the template isn’t about restricting you. It’s about saving investors time and saving you from making rookie mistakes. Over the years, we’ve built decks for founders chasing accelerators, seed rounds, and Series A raises. The patterns repeat every time: the best decks follow a rhythm, and the worst ones ignore it.
500 Startups has made their format public, and it’s simple enough that anyone can follow it. What’s not simple is executing it well. That’s where most founders stumble. They either overload the slides with text, drown investors in industry jargon, or bury the real story under nice-to-have details.
Let’s break down their 10-slide structure, one by one, and talk about what it really means when you’re the one building the deck.
Slide 1: Logo and Elevator Pitch
This is the hook. You have seconds to set the stage, so don’t waste them on vague slogans or buzzwords.
500 Startups recommends a fill-in-the-blank formula:
A [product type] to help [target customer] with [#1 problem] by [#1 benefit] using our [secret sauce/differentiator].
Simple. Direct. Almost insultingly clear. That’s the point. If you can’t explain what you do to a 5-year-old, you’ve already lost half the room.
Our advice:
Keep the sentence short enough to fit comfortably on one slide.
Test it on someone outside your industry. If they don’t get it in 10 seconds, rewrite.
Pair the line with your logo. That’s all you need on this slide.
Don’t try to sell yet. Just introduce yourself like a human.
Slide 2: The Problem
Founders love to wax poetic about “changing the world.” Investors don’t care. They want to know the concrete pain your customer feels right now.
500 Startups makes this clear: explain the problem from your customer’s point of view, not as a broad industry statistic. If you’re building hospital monitoring software, don’t start with “40% of patients don’t get post-discharge help.” Start with the business pain: “Hospitals lose $30B annually because they can’t monitor patients remotely.”
Our advice:
Anchor the problem in money or time lost. Those are universal pain points.
Use one sharp stat, not five.
Avoid generic phrases like “there’s a huge need in the market.” That’s lazy.
This slide is about making investors nod along, thinking “Yes, that’s a real problem worth solving.”
Slide 3: Your Solution
Now you show the product. This is where a lot of founders either under-explain or go into feature-dump mode. Both are wrong.
Your solution slide should answer one question: How does your product directly solve the problem you just showed?
Our advice:
Show one or two key features, but focus on benefits.
Screenshots work better than paragraphs.
Keep the narrative simple: “Here’s the problem. Here’s how we fix it.”
At this point, investors should clearly see the link between Slide 2 and Slide 3.
Slide 4: How It Works
This is where you can go a level deeper. 500 Startups calls this the place for “nitty gritty” details, and they’re right. But don’t overdo it.
Think of this slide as your chance to prove you actually know what you’re talking about. If you have proprietary technology, a workflow that’s different from competitors, or a unique approach, this is where you show it.
Our advice:
Use diagrams, not essays. A simple flowchart beats three paragraphs.
If you have IP or a patent, highlight it here.
Keep in mind your audience: most investors aren’t engineers, so keep the explanation plain.
The goal isn’t to teach them the whole system. The goal is to convince them your product isn’t smoke and mirrors.
Slide 5: Traction
This is where the deck shifts from “story” to “proof.”
Investors’ ears perk up when they see numbers. Growth, revenue, users, engagement—whatever your best metric is, put it front and center. One clean chart beats any bullet list.
Our advice:
Don’t overload with vanity metrics. Stick to one or two that really matter.
If you’re pre-revenue, focus on user adoption or engagement.
Logos of paying clients work wonders if you’re B2B.
The point here is credibility. Investors don’t fund potential. They fund momentum.
Slide 6: Business Model
How do you make money? If you don’t, how will you? Simple question, but founders often complicate it.
500 Startups boils it down: direct models (like subscriptions or e-commerce) and indirect models (like ads or affiliates).
Our advice:
Lead with your current revenue source, not all the ones you dream about.
Prioritize clarity over ambition. “We make $X per user” is stronger than “We plan to monetize later.”
Use numbers. Show your unit economics if you have them.
This slide tells investors if your idea is a business or just a project.
Slide 7: Competition
Here’s where a lot of founders shoot themselves in the foot. Saying “we have no competition” is like saying “we don’t understand our industry.” Everyone has competition—direct, indirect, or substitute solutions.
500 Startups suggests framing it as: “Unlike [existing alternatives], [our product] does X and Y.”
Our advice:
Use a quadrant or comparison table to visualize your edge.
Be specific. Don’t just say “better UX.” Say “30% faster onboarding.”
Acknowledge the big players. Pretending they don’t exist makes you look naive.
Investors don’t need you to be the only player. They need you to show why you can win.
Slide 8: Market Opportunity
If the problem is small, the business is small. That’s why this slide exists.
500 Startups looks for billion-dollar markets. That doesn’t mean you have to be there today, but you need a credible path.
Our advice:
Bottom-up sizing (customers × spend × frequency) is more believable than quoting Gartner reports.
Show expansion potential. If your current niche is smaller, explain how you’ll grow into a larger market.
Keep the math clean. Overcomplicated charts scream insecurity.
Investors need to see that even if you take a small slice, it can become a huge business.
Slide 9: Progress to Date
This is your chance to brag, but do it with discipline. Milestones matter more than fluff.
Examples:
When you launched
First paying customer
Partnerships or awards
Previous investment raised
Our advice:
Use a timeline or milestone graphic instead of text blocks.
Highlight momentum, not just activity. “10K users in 6 months” is better than “we attended a conference.”
Keep it short—investors don’t care about every little win.
This slide shows you’re not just talking, you’re executing.
Slide 10: The Team
Finally, the people. Investors often bet on founders more than ideas. Ideas pivot. Teams don’t.
This slide should explain why you are the right group to pull this off.
Our advice:
Call out one strength per founder: industry experience, past exits, deep tech knowledge, or proven sales chops.
Keep bios tight. No one wants to read your full CV.
Include photos. A face makes it more real.
Remember, at early stage, the team is the startup.
Putting It All Together
That’s the structure. Ten slides. No more. No less. If you follow it, you’re already ahead of 80% of founders who overthink and overbuild.
The trick isn’t just filling the template. It’s making every slide count.
Each one has a purpose: introduce, frame the problem, prove the solution, show traction, and close with the people behind it all. Done right, this flow feels less like a presentation and more like a compelling story investors want to be part of.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.