How to Make the Business Model Slide [For Your Pitch Deck]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Oct 29, 2023
- 8 min read
Updated: Aug 29
Drew, one of our clients, asked us a deceptively simple question while we were building his pitch deck:
“What exactly do investors want to see on the business model slide?”
Our Creative Director answered it in one breath:
“They want to see how the business makes money, in the simplest terms possible.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on dozens of business model slides throughout the year. And no matter what industry the startup belongs to — tech, wellness, logistics, education — we’ve noticed one common challenge. Founders tend to explain too much. They fall into the trap of complexity when what’s really needed is clarity.
In this blog, we’ll show you how to keep your business model slide razor-sharp and investor-ready.
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 the Business Model Slide Matters More Than You Think
Let’s get something out of the way: the business model slide is not a creative writing exercise. It’s a reality check. Investors aren’t reading it for entertainment.
They’re scanning it to answer one question: “Is this business capable of making real money, or is it just vibes?”
And trust us, they make that judgment in seconds.
You might have the slickest product in the room, but if your business model slide is vague, bloated or buried under jargon, your pitch is done before it even starts. We’ve seen pitches with incredible ideas get passed on simply because the business model was buried under too many arrows, boxes, and buzzwords. That’s the cost of not getting to the point.
The irony? Founders often know their business inside out. But when it comes to explaining how the money flows, they either overcomplicate it or try to impress. That’s when it falls apart.
This slide isn’t about flexing intelligence. It’s about proving there’s a clear and logical way for the business to make money and grow.
And if you can’t explain how your business earns and scales, why should anyone bet on it?
How to Make the Business Model Slide for Your Pitch Deck
If you’ve made it this far, good. You’re clearly not just building a pitch deck to look smart — you actually care about making it work. And that’s the first step.
Let’s be clear: your business model slide is not the place to reinvent storytelling. It’s the place to eliminate confusion. This one slide should tell an investor how you make money, from whom, how often, and what’s scalable about it. That’s it.
So, let’s break it down into the core elements we’ve seen work — across hundreds of decks, industries, and funding stages.
1. Start With the Revenue Logic
The most important thing your slide must answer is: Who pays, what do they pay for, and how often do they pay?
If that isn’t clear, nothing else matters. Don’t try to be cute with your words. Don’t say “value exchange” when you mean “subscription fee.” Avoid talking in layers like “We create a dual-sided value matrix between partners and consumers.” Nobody wants to decode your sentences.
Say it plainly. Here are examples from real decks we’ve designed:
Direct-to-Consumer Example: "Users buy a 3-month mental wellness program for $99. Renewals are offered quarterly.”
SaaS Example:“SMBs pay $49/month for access to the platform. Larger teams choose custom annual plans starting at $2,400.”
Marketplace Example:“We take a 12% commission on every transaction between buyers and sellers.”
That’s how simple it has to be. If your model has more than one revenue stream, list them. But don’t turn it into a pie chart of future dreams. Stick to what’s real today, and what will be real in the next year.
2. Make It Visual, But Don’t Make It a Mess
This is where most founders slip. They try to impress with layered diagrams, too many arrows, or some “ecosystem loop” that requires an interpreter.
Keep your visual to one idea: how the money flows. We often use what we call a “money wheel” or a left-to-right revenue flow chart — simple shapes, clear labels, nothing ornamental.
Example:
[Customer] → pays → [You] → delivers → [Value] → creates → [Retention]
That alone shows:
Who is paying
Why they are paying
What they’re getting
How it leads to future cash flow
If you have multiple customer segments or different pricing models, consider using columns or parallel flows — not layered diagrams that take 10 seconds to decode. If it takes longer than 3 seconds to “get it,” you’ve already lost the room.
Also, skip the icons unless they clarify the flow. Nobody ever wired money because of a nice rocket icon.
3. Show the Scalable Bit
Now we’re getting to the part most people leave out: What makes your business model scalable?
Investors don’t just want to know how you make money. They want to know how that money grows without your costs exploding with it.
Here’s how to think about scalability:
SaaS: Once the product is built, onboarding new users has low marginal cost. This should be highlighted.
Marketplaces: Network effects kick in as more users join. That can be your scaling lever.
Product Companies: If margins improve with volume, or if you own part of the supply chain, that’s your edge.
You don’t need to show numbers here. You just need to make it clear that there’s a path to growth that doesn’t require you to hire 100 people every time revenue doubles.
So write one line that answers this:“What makes this model better the bigger it gets?”
Example:“As user volume increases, our unit cost drops 27% due to backend automation.”That’s the sentence investors want to see. One that shows your brain is wired to scale, not just sell.
4. Don’t Include a Spreadsheet
Seriously, don’t. That’s what the financials slide is for. The business model slide is not about forecasting or assumptions. It’s about logic. It’s about proving that the way you make money actually makes sense.
If you include numbers, keep them light.
Use ballpark figures that support your logic — like CAC vs LTV — but don’t go down the rabbit hole of showing next year’s revenue targets. That comes later. Think of this slide as the architectural sketch of a house. If the sketch doesn’t make sense, the construction budget doesn’t matter.
Here’s how we’ve structured it in high-conviction decks:
Business Model:
- Revenue Stream 1: Subscription – $49/month
- Revenue Stream 2: Enterprise licensing – $2,000/year avg.
- Avg. LTV: $1,200
- CAC: $220
- Gross Margin: 76%
Business Model: - Revenue Stream 1: Subscription – $49/month - Revenue Stream 2: Enterprise licensing – $2,000/year avg. - Avg. LTV: $1,200 - CAC: $220 - Gross Margin: 76%
That’s it. Clean. Understandable. Confident.
5. If You Have Multiple Models, Rank Them
Sometimes you’re not working with one model. You might be doing both product sales and subscriptions. Or you’re testing two revenue streams side by side. That’s fine — just don’t present them as equals if they’re not.
We worked with a fintech client who had four revenue streams listed equally on their business model slide. It looked impressive — until an investor asked:“So what percent comes from this last one?”Their answer:“Oh, like 1.2%.”
That’s when everyone tuned out.
If you have multiple streams, rank them by current contribution or strategic priority. Label the future ones as "in development" or "future growth lever." That builds trust. That shows maturity. Investors know everything isn’t firing from day one. They just want to see that you know that too.
6. Connect the Model to the Market
This part is subtle, but it matters. Your business model doesn’t exist in a vacuum. If you charge $79/month, you’d better show that your market is willing to pay that.
A great business model slide doesn’t just talk about what you want to charge. It hints at why customers will agree to pay.
So tie it back to:
Pain points
Alternatives in the market
Time or money saved
Efficiency gained
Example: Currently use 3 separate tools to manage what our platform solves in one — our $79/month replaces $300/month in spend.”
That’s how you make your price feel like a no-brainer.
7. Use Words Investors Use
If you’ve sat in on even one investor Q&A, you’ll hear the same words tossed around: "Unit economics,” “margin profile,” “revenue engine,” “monetization strategy.”
Use their language. It shows you know how to talk business, not just product.
Instead of:
“We charge a fair fee for our awesome service.”
Say:
“Our monetization strategy is usage-based, with 78% gross margin and minimal churn.”
Instead of:
“We’re still exploring different revenue options.”
Say:
“Currently monetized via direct sales. Evaluating channel partnerships as a secondary stream.”
See the difference? It’s not about being robotic. It’s about signaling you’re playing the same game.
8. Don’t Hide the Weak Spots
Let’s be real. No business model is bulletproof in its early stages. If your margins are thin or your CAC is high right now, don’t try to hide it with fluff. Address it head-on — and talk about how you plan to improve it.
This shows you’ve thought it through. And most importantly, that you’re not drinking your own Kool-Aid.
Here’s what honesty looks like:
“Current CAC is high due to manual sales. Introducing automated onboarding and referral program next quarter to improve efficiency.”
No investor expects perfection. They expect awareness and intent to optimize. So give them that.
9. Format It Like a One-Pager
If you’re wondering what the perfect layout is, here’s what we recommend from experience:
Top Line: One sentence summary of how you make money
Left Column: Visual flow of customer → payment → value
Right Column: Revenue streams, pricing tiers, key numbers (LTV, CAC, Margin)
Bottom: One sentence on scalability, one on next steps in the model
That’s it. No more than one slide. No transitions. No animations. No gimmicks.
Just clarity.
Example of a Good Business Model Slide
Over the years, I've seen many good business model slides in pitch decks. But for ease, let's consider the business model slide of a famous pitch deck. The Airbnb pitch deck's business model slide.
Why is it a good example?
Airbnb’s business model slide stands out for one simple reason, it’s clear. They lead with the headline: 10% commission per booking, no hiding behind jargon. From there, they tie everything back to the market slide, using a specific, believable slice of the market: 84 million users representing 15% share. Then they anchor the whole model with a projected revenue of $200 million.
What makes it work is how intentionally simple it is. Instead of overwhelming investors with a spreadsheet on a slide, they cherry-pick the numbers that matter most. Clear logic, clean math, and no fluff. That’s what makes investors listen.
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.