How to Make an MVP Pitch Deck [Structure, Writing, Design & FAQs]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Jan 5
- 6 min read
Updated: Nov 10
Our client, Mathieu, asked us a question while we were working on their MVP pitch deck:
"If we don’t have traction yet, how do we prove we’re worth investing in?"
Our Creative Director answered,
“Investors don’t buy your product, they buy your vision. If you can sell it right.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on many MVP pitch decks throughout the year, and we’ve observed a common challenge with them—founders either over-explain their idea or fail to make investors care. Too much data with no clear story makes the pitch forgettable, while too much passion with no solid business case makes it look risky.
So, in this blog, we’ll cover how to structure, write & design an MVP pitch deck. We'll also answer a few FAQs in the end.
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 Founders Feel an MVP Pitch Deck Is a Nightmare
We’ve had countless conversations just like the one we shared earlier. Founders often admit, “We don’t know where to start when we have nothing concrete to show.” That uncertainty quickly spirals into frustration as they find themselves staring at a blank screen, unsure of the next step.
It’s not uncommon to see co-founders gather around, brainstorming for hours, only to end up with two or three disjointed slides. The story gets muddled, the focus drifts, and the momentum stalls.
Sound familiar?
If you’ve been in this situation, you’re not alone and you don’t have to stay there. This blog is here to guide you, step by step, on how to build a pitch deck that conveys your vision, even when all you have is the spark of an idea. Let’s get started and tackle this together.
Suggested Narrative Flow for Your MVP Pitch Deck
Every strong pitch deck follows a rhythm — not a rigid formula, but a flow that makes your story feel inevitable. Start with tension, build logic, end with conviction. The structure is less about order and more about momentum. Your audience should feel like each slide naturally leads to the next, pulling them deeper into your reasoning.
A simple flow that works almost every time: Problem → Insight → Solution → Validation → Market → Traction → Business Model → Team → Ask. Notice how it starts with pain and ends with possibility. Don’t shuffle this unless you have a very good reason.
It works because it mirrors how people think: they understand the pain, get curious about the fix, and finally ask, “Why should I believe you can pull this off?” That’s when your team and traction come in to close the loop.
How to Write Slide Content That Lands
Most slides fail because people try to write essays in bullet points. Your deck isn’t there to explain; it’s there to guide. Each slide should deliver one clear idea, like a single heartbeat in your story. Here’s how to make that happen:
1. Write Headlines That Tell the Story
Your headline should carry the meaning even if someone skims the deck in ten seconds. Instead of “Market Opportunity,” write “A $4B Market Still Stuck on Spreadsheets.” That one sentence gives context, emotion, and curiosity all at once.
2. Keep Text Brutally Short
If you can say it in five words, don’t use twelve. Imagine every word costs money — you’d spend carefully. Replace full sentences with fragments that still make sense when spoken aloud.
For example, instead of writing “Our product helps small businesses save time through automation,” just write “Small businesses save 4 hours a week.” The slide’s job is to trigger your story, not tell it for you.
3. Use Data as a Punchline, Not the Setup
Don’t open a slide with a statistic; build up to it. Let the story earn the data. For example, instead of leading with “80% of small businesses struggle with cash flow,” start with “Most founders we spoke to said they check their bank balance more than their inbox.” Then reveal the data as proof. That’s how you turn numbers into narrative.
4. Show Progress, Not Perfection
Your MVP isn’t supposed to look flawless. Investors love learning curves. Instead of hiding your experiments, show what you learned from them. “We launched three prototypes, and two failed — which is why the third one works.” That’s humility wrapped in credibility.
How to Design Your MVP Pitch Deck So It Feels Smart, Not Flashy
Design isn’t about making things look pretty; it’s about making thinking visible. Your visuals should whisper confidence, not scream for attention. Here’s how to strike that balance:
1. Build Visual Hierarchy
Your most important point should always be the most visible. Use size, spacing, and color intentionally. If everything’s bold, nothing stands out. For instance, your problem statement might deserve the largest font on the slide, while supporting data can sit smaller below it. Let your visuals guide the eye, not confuse it.
2. Choose Colors with Purpose
Color sets the tone. Use darker hues for problem slides to show friction and lighter tones for solution or traction slides to suggest clarity. We once designed a deck where the color palette subtly brightened with each section — investors subconsciously felt the story “open up.” That’s visual storytelling at work.
3. Keep Imagery Human and Honest
Stock photos of people high-fiving do nothing. Use images that reflect real life — messy desks, real customers, raw moments. For Mathieu’s deck, we used a single photo of a tired business owner surrounded by receipts. It said more than ten lines of copy ever could.
4. Design for Attention Spans
Assume your viewer has the focus of a goldfish. Leave enough white space for their brain to rest between points. One big visual beats a crowded collage every time. A single quote, stat, or chart per slide keeps them with you.
5. Stay Consistent
Your deck should look like one thought, not ten. Same fonts, same spacing, same rhythm. Consistency doesn’t just look good — it builds trust. Investors subconsciously read coherence as competence.
Common Myths About MVP Decks
Let’s tackle a few myths we hear every week.
Myth 1: You need 15 slides.
No, you need clarity. Some decks work at 10 slides, others need 18. The number doesn’t matter as long as every slide earns its place.
Myth 2: You should follow a fixed template.
Templates are helpful, but they’re meant to be broken. The real structure depends on your story. If your traction slide makes more sense before your product slide, do it. Investors care about coherence, not conformity.
Myth 3: Investors read everything.
They don’t. They skim. Which means your headlines should carry the meaning even if someone ignores the rest. Treat each headline like a tweet that could stand alone.
Myth 4: You must show a full business plan.
No one expects a full roadmap at the MVP stage. They want to see thinking, learning, and feedback loops. Your ability to pivot matters more than your ability to predict.
FAQ: How do I present my MVP pitch deck live without sounding rehearsed?
The trick is to stop performing and start talking. Investors can smell a memorized pitch from across the room. It’s stiff, predictable, and forgettable. Instead, know your story so well that you can tell it in your own words, like you’re explaining it to a smart friend over coffee. Don’t read the slides; react to them. Pause where it matters. Let the conversation breathe.
And here’s the part no one tells you: confidence doesn’t come from polish, it comes from ownership. When you own your numbers, your problem, and your vision, your tone automatically sharpens.
FAQ: How do I keep my deck fresh once it’s done?
You don’t “finish” a pitch deck, you maintain it like a car. Every few months, it needs a tune-up. Update your traction, refine your numbers, kill old assumptions, and make sure the story still reflects where you are now. The biggest mistake founders make is treating their deck like a trophy instead of a tool. The market moves, your product evolves, and your story should too. A deck that doesn’t grow with you starts sounding like a history lesson instead of a pitch.
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.
How To Get Started?
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Just click on the "Start a Project" button on our website, calculate the price, make payment, and we'll take it from there.
We look forward to working with you!