Guy Kawasaki Pitch Deck Template [The Only 10 Slides You Need]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- 24 hours ago
- 6 min read
A few weeks ago, our client Jamie asked us a question while we were designing their pitch deck:
“What’s this Guy Kawasaki pitch deck template everyone keeps talking about, and does it really work?”
Our Creative Director answered with zero hesitation:
“Yes. It works because it forces you to stick to what matters.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on many pitch decks throughout the year, and we’ve noticed one common challenge: founders overcomplicate their slides instead of simplifying them.
So, in this blog, we’ll break down the Guy Kawasaki pitch deck template and explain why these 10 slides are more than enough to capture investor attention.
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.
Guy Kawasaki Pitch Deck Template [The Only 10 Slides You Need]
Here’s the original pitch deck template Guy Kawasaki published on his website...
This template has been referenced by thousands of founders across the world because it strips your story down to the bare essentials. Ten slides, that’s it. Not twelve. Not twenty-five. Ten.
We’ve applied this framework countless times while building pitch decks for clients, and we’ve seen firsthand why it works. It’s not about what you want to say. It’s about what investors actually need to hear in order to make a decision. Let’s break down these slides one by one and look at how you can apply them to your own pitch.
Let's get into the only 10 slides you need in your pitch deck...
1. Title Slide
It’s easy to treat this slide like an afterthought, but it sets the tone for the entire deck. A sloppy title slide makes your pitch feel sloppy before you’ve even started.
What to include:
Company name and logo
Tagline (make it short and punchy, not a sentence)
Presenter’s name and title
Contact details
How to apply it: Design it clean and professional. Avoid clutter, random icons, or motivational quotes. Think of this slide as the face of your company. If it looks polished, you’ll be taken seriously from the first second.
2. Problem / Opportunity
This is where investors decide whether they should lean in or tune out. If the problem doesn’t feel real, urgent, and significant, nothing else you say matters.
What to include:
The problem in one or two sentences
Who experiences this problem (your target audience)
The size of the opportunity created by solving it
How to apply it: Be ruthless with your clarity. Don’t drown the investor in backstory or industry jargon. Tell a simple story: Here’s the pain, here’s who feels it, and here’s why solving it matters. If you can connect it to a bigger market trend, even better.
3. Value Proposition
Now that you’ve set up the problem, this slide is about showing why your solution is worth paying attention to. This isn’t just “what your product does.” It’s the unique value it delivers.
What to include:
A one-line description of your solution
How it directly addresses the problem
Why it’s better than existing alternatives
How to apply it: Imagine your product is on a billboard. You’ve got eight words max to tell someone why they should care. That’s your value proposition. Keep it human, not technical. If you sound like you’re reading from a patent application, you’ve already lost them.
4. Underlying Magic
This is where you reveal what Guy Kawasaki calls your “secret sauce.” It doesn’t mean revealing your trade secrets. It means showing the core innovation that makes you different.
What to include:
The unique technology, process, or design insight
Screenshots, demo visuals, or mockups
IP, patents, or proprietary know-how (if relevant)
How to apply it: Show, don’t tell. A crisp visual of your product or a before-and-after comparison works far better than bullet points. Investors should walk away with a mental picture of your “magic” that sticks with them after the meeting.
5. Business Model
This is where investors switch from curiosity to practicality. They’re asking: Okay, but how do you make money?
What to include:
Who pays you (customer segment)
How you charge (subscription, licensing, transaction fees, etc.)
Lifetime value of a customer if you have early data
How to apply it: Don’t just say “we’ll make money through ads.” That’s vague. Be specific about the mechanics of your model. If you’re early-stage, focus on how your model is designed to scale. Investors don’t expect perfect numbers, but they do expect you to have a thought-out plan.
6. Go-to-Market Plan
A great product without distribution is a failed product. This slide answers the question: How will you get your first 100 customers and then your first 10,000?
What to include:
Target audience and channels
Sales strategy (direct, partnerships, online, etc.)
Marketing tactics that will drive adoption
How to apply it: Be realistic. “We’ll go viral” is not a strategy. Show you understand how your customers behave and how you’ll reach them where they already are. If you’ve tested channels and found early traction, highlight that here. It makes your plan credible.
7. Competitive Analysis
If you skip this or claim “we have no competitors,” you lose trust immediately. Every business has competition. Even if no direct competitor exists, your customers are already solving the problem in some way.
What to include:
Key competitors or substitutes
A visual comparison chart or quadrant
What makes you different and better
How to apply it: Keep the comparison sharp. Pick two or three axes that matter most (cost, speed, usability, etc.) and show how you outperform. Don’t waste time trashing competitors. Investors respect companies that acknowledge competition while clearly carving their own space.
8. Management Team
Investors want to know if the people behind the idea can actually deliver. Your team is often the biggest factor in whether they invest.
What to include:
Founders and core leadership team
Relevant expertise or track record
Key advisors if they add weight
How to apply it: Highlight why this team is uniquely suited to solve this problem. Keep bios short and relevant. A slick design with photos and one-liners is far more effective than text-heavy paragraphs. If you’re missing expertise in a critical area, admit it and show you’re planning to hire for it.
9. Financial Projections and Key Metrics
This is where you show the potential upside. But remember, projections are guesses. What matters more are your assumptions and the metrics you’re already tracking.
What to include:
3 to 5 years of revenue and expense projections
Key assumptions behind the numbers
Traction metrics like users, revenue growth, or retention
How to apply it: Avoid the hockey-stick graph that magically skyrockets in year three without explanation. Show ambition, but ground it in logic. If you’re pre-revenue, highlight traction signals like user sign-ups, pilot programs, or partnerships. The more credible your assumptions, the stronger this slide becomes.
10. Current Status, Accomplishments to Date, Timeline, and Use of Funds
This final slide closes the loop. After seeing the opportunity, solution, and model, investors want to know: Where are you now, and what will you do with my money?
What to include:
Milestones you’ve already achieved (product, revenue, partnerships)
Current status (MVP, beta, paying customers)
How much you’re raising
Exactly how you’ll use the funds
The milestones you expect to hit with this round
How to apply it: Be specific. “We’ll use the money for growth” isn’t enough. Break it down into clear buckets like product development, marketing, and hiring. And tie those uses of funds directly to milestones on your timeline. This tells investors you know how to execute.
The Power of Sticking to Ten
The genius of Guy Kawasaki’s template is not the slides themselves. It’s the discipline they enforce. Ten slides means you can’t hide behind filler. You’re forced to get clear, concise, and brutally honest about what matters.
We’ve seen founders try to add slides about vision statements, customer testimonials, or ten-year roadmaps. It always backfires. More slides don’t make you look prepared. They make you look scattered. Investors value clarity over quantity. Follow the ten-slide rule, and you’ll already be ahead of most decks they see.
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.