How to Make a Company History Slide [Turn timeline into story]

Our client Jane, a senior marketing manager at a well-established tech company, asked us an interesting question while we were working on their company history slide for an upcoming investor pitch:

"How can we make our timeline not just a list of events, but a compelling story?"

Our Creative Director answered,

“By turning each milestone into a pivotal moment that reflects growth, challenges, and vision.”

As a presentation design agency, we work on many company history slides throughout the year, and in the process, we’ve observed one common challenge: most history slides end up being nothing more than bullet points or simple timelines with no personality.

So, in this blog, we’ll talk about how you can transform your company history slide from a dry timeline into a captivating story that leaves a lasting impact on your audience.

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.

The Problem with Traditional Company History Slides

A company history slide often ends up being a bland series of dates and events, each one listed in chronological order, with little to no context or storytelling. The issue here is that while it might be informative, it doesn’t engage your audience in any meaningful way. People don’t remember lists of facts—they remember stories.

We've worked on dozens of company history slides for clients like Jane, and we’ve observed a common challenge: companies often focus too much on the factual timeline and forget to weave in the story behind those milestones. They forget to give the audience a reason to care.

Think about it: you might include your founding year, a few product launches, some key hires, and maybe a merger or acquisition. But if you simply rattle off these events in a dry, matter-of-fact way, what does your audience actually take away? Probably nothing.

The goal here is simple: transform this timeline into a story that illustrates how your company has grown, what challenges you've faced, and how your vision has evolved. A history slide should do more than inform—it should inspire.

Turning your Company History Slide into a Story

A timeline is just a tool. It’s a sequence of events strung together in order. But a story? A story is something that grips you, makes you care, and leaves you thinking long after you’ve heard it. This is where many company history slides go wrong—they rely on the timeline alone, not realizing that the real value lies in weaving those events into a narrative that connects with the audience.

So, how do you go from a dry timeline to a story that resonates? Let's break it down.

1. Start with a Strong Hook

Every good story has a hook—a moment that pulls the audience in and makes them want to learn more. Your company history slide is no different. The key here is to start with an event or milestone that grabs attention, whether it’s the founding of the company, a major breakthrough, or a challenge you overcame.

For example, when we worked with Jane's company, we decided to start their history slide with the pivotal moment they first realized they were onto something big. Rather than starting with the traditional “Company founded in 2010,” we began with a story about their first major breakthrough: an innovative product that addressed an urgent problem in the market. This helped the audience immediately connect with the company’s purpose and passion, rather than just the chronology.

A strong hook makes your audience stop and pay attention. It's not about starting at the beginning; it's about starting with something impactful. It could be a defining moment in your journey or a challenge you faced that shaped who you are today.

2. Turn Milestones into Pivotal Moments

Once you have your hook, the next step is to turn each milestone into a pivotal moment. Each milestone should reflect a key decision, challenge, or realization that shaped the company's journey.

Let’s take a closer look at how this works. When companies highlight milestones, they tend to focus solely on the surface-level facts—like “Product A launched” or “$10 million in revenue.” But these events don’t stand on their own. There’s always a story behind them. What was the market like at the time? What challenges did you face leading up to the product launch? How did this milestone reflect a shift in the company’s strategy or vision?

For example, instead of just writing “Launched our first product in 2013,” think about the circumstances that surrounded that product launch. Were you a small startup at the time, struggling to find funding? Were you entering a competitive market, unsure whether your product would even make a dent? Maybe this launch wasn’t just a win—it was a gamble that paid off, and the story of that risk and reward adds depth to your company history slide.

Turning milestones into pivotal moments adds depth and emotion to your company’s journey. It humanizes the process, making it relatable for the audience. It also creates a sense of progression. Each milestone isn’t just a point in time; it’s a moment of change, growth, and reflection.

3. Highlight the Struggles and Challenges

People don’t remember success stories without the struggle. The narrative is incomplete without highlighting the challenges, setbacks, and obstacles your company faced. Struggles make the success sweeter, and they create a more relatable story.

This is where many company history slides falter. They focus only on the wins, the shiny moments, and the accolades. But what about the failures? What about the times when things weren’t going well? These are the moments that make the story real.

When we worked with Jane, for instance, we made sure to include a section about a difficult year when their product development faced unexpected delays, and funding was tight. But instead of glossing over these challenges, we used them to highlight the resilience and determination of the company.

This helped their investors understand that they weren't just betting on a company with a smooth path—they were backing a team that knew how to adapt, innovate, and overcome adversity.

Think about your own company history slide. What were the struggles that almost broke you? What risks did you take that didn’t pay off right away? These are the moments that show character and give your story depth.

4. Use Data to Support the Narrative

Numbers and data are important, but they shouldn’t be the focal point of your company history slide. When used correctly, data can support and enhance the story, but the story should come first.

Instead of just saying, “We grew 500% in 3 years,” dig deeper into what led to that growth. Was it a specific product launch that pushed your numbers? Was it a market trend you capitalized on? Did you enter a new region or demographic? When you include data, make sure it tells a story. Numbers are powerful, but they’re more impactful when paired with context.

For example, when Jane’s company experienced rapid growth, we didn’t just slap a “500% growth” statistic on the slide. We showed the context behind it: how an early investment in research and development led to the creation of a highly successful product, which in turn drove that growth.

Data doesn’t need to be buried in a chart or graph; it can be integrated naturally into your narrative, making your story both credible and compelling.

5. Tie Everything Back to the Vision

As you take your audience through the journey of your company’s history, always bring it back to your vision. Why do these milestones matter? What is the underlying purpose behind all the success and struggles?

A history slide isn’t just about showcasing what you’ve done—it’s about showing your audience how those actions fit into a bigger picture. What is the mission or vision that guided each decision, each product launch, and each challenge?

For Jane’s company, we made sure that each milestone tied back to their mission of revolutionizing an industry and creating products that improve people's lives. This reminded the audience that every struggle, every breakthrough, and every success was part of a bigger plan—a vision that hasn’t changed, even as the company has evolved.

A great company history slide doesn’t just recount facts. It tells the story of your company’s journey, showing how each moment fits into the broader narrative of growth, innovation, and purpose.

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