How to Make a Pitchbook [Step-by-Step Breakdown]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Jul 4
- 6 min read
While working on a recent pitchbook for a client, Julia, she asked us something that made us pause for a second.
“So… how do you make people care in the first five slides?”
Our Creative Director replied, “You don’t make them care. You show them why they should.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on many pitchbooks throughout the year. And in the process, we’ve noticed one common challenge: most people don’t know whether they’re selling a story or showing a spreadsheet. They try to do both, and fail at both.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through how to make a pitchbook that actually gets the result you want, attention, interest, and a meeting that doesn’t feel like a polite courtesy.
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 You Should Care About Getting the Pitchbook Right
We’ve seen pitchbooks tank million-dollar opportunities just because they assumed the reader would read. Harsh truth? No one reads your pitchbook. They scan. They skim. And unless something grabs them early, they mentally check out before slide five.
Whether you’re a startup looking to raise your next round or a financial firm pitching M&A advisory, your pitchbook is your proxy in the room. It’s often shared, forwarded, discussed, and sometimes judged without you ever being present. That makes it your brand, your credibility, and your value proposition all compressed into one highly misunderstood format.
And yet, most pitchbooks look like a junior analyst's Excel sheet got accidentally exported into PowerPoint. You get the 30-slide dump with charts no one asked for, bios no one reads, and jargon that even your team has to double-check.
Here’s what the numbers say:
Investors spend just 3 minutes and 44 seconds on average reviewing a pitch deck. (DocSend Research)
Decision-makers only read 20 to 28% of the text on a slide. (Nielsen Norman Group)
And only 15% of business presentations are rated as effective by their own creators. (Prezi Survey)
What this tells us is: you don’t have time, you don’t have the reader’s full attention, and you certainly don’t have their goodwill. You have to earn all three. Fast.
The way we see it, your pitchbook either opens doors or gets you ghosted.
So the question isn’t whether you need a pitchbook. It’s whether you’re building one that earns the right to be read.
How to Make a Pitchbook [Step-by-Step Breakdown]
Before you even touch your slides, you need to make one thing painfully clear — a pitchbook is not a PDF with your company’s life story. It’s not a list of facts about what you’ve done, and it’s definitely not just a bunch of logos and charts stacked together. It’s a tool designed to create movement. It should move the reader from knowing you to being interested in what you offer. From curiosity to conversation.
We’ve broken this process down into six steps. Each one is deliberate. Each one filters the fluff and forces clarity.
Let’s get into it.
1. Know Exactly Who You're Pitching (No, Really)
The biggest mistake we see? People build one pitchbook for everyone. That's like giving the same resume to apply for a chef’s job and a data analyst position. It doesn’t make sense.
Whether you’re pitching to an investor, a potential acquirer, a strategic partner, or a client, the question you need to answer is: What do they care about?
Not what you think they care about.
What are their real motivators?
A VC wants growth and return. A corporate buyer wants risk mitigation and synergy. A private equity firm wants margin and maturity. A startup client might care about speed and innovation. A government client might care about stability and compliance.
Different audiences. Different pitchbooks.
The best ones don’t start with what you do. They start with what they need.
2. Build a Real Narrative (Not Just a Slide Order)
Most pitchbooks are structured like a grocery list. Introduction. Problem. Solution. Market. Team. Ask.
Yes, that’s a format. But it’s not a story.
A good pitchbook should feel like it’s taking you somewhere. Each slide should lead naturally into the next. It’s not about following a template. It’s about sequencing information in a way that builds trust and tension.
Ask yourself: What is the one belief your audience must have by the end of the presentation?
Now reverse-engineer that belief. What do they need to see, understand, and feel before they get there?
That’s your narrative.
A financial advisor pitching M&A services might structure the story like this:
Market landscape and opportunity
Company’s strategic position
Potential deal structures
Comparable transactions
Why we’re the best partner
A startup raising capital might tell it like this:
The problem no one’s solved well
Why now is the right time
How our solution changes the game
The traction we’ve already got
The team that’ll take it further
What we need to scale
Same principles. Different stories. Each one custom to the audience and the goal.
3. Nail the First Five Slides
Most people over-focus on the back half of their pitchbook. That’s where they cram in charts, numbers, bios, case studies, or logos. You know, the proof.
Here’s the thing — no one reads the back half if the front half doesn’t make them care.
Your first five slides are your hook. That’s where your audience decides if you're worth their time. It’s where the tone is set. The positioning is clear. The problem is relevant. The vision is believable. And the opportunity is obvious.
Don’t waste those slides with fluffy intros or corporate mission statements from 2012.
Use them to:
Frame the world the way they see it
Introduce what’s broken
Show them what’s possible
Position yourself as the one who gets it
Tease the payoff if they keep reading
This is where 80% of attention is won or lost. Build it intentionally.
4. Make Your Data Speak Human
Look, we love charts. We love numbers. But only when they work like evidence, not like decoration.
Too many pitchbooks slap a bunch of graphs in just to look “financial.” It’s visual noise.
Data should support your narrative, not interrupt it.
Here’s how to make your numbers actually matter:
One idea per chart. If your graph is making three points, it’s making none.
Label what matters. Don’t assume your audience will find the insight.
Add context. A 12% increase in revenue means nothing unless we know what changed.
Use comparisons. Show “before vs. after” or “you vs. them” to create contrast.
Simplify. If you need a legend, the chart is too complicated.
And if you're including financial projections? Don’t just paste in a spreadsheet. Pull the key takeaways. Lead with what the numbers mean, not what they are.
Remember, clarity beats complexity every time.
5. Design Like It’s a Product, Not a School Project
Presentation design is not decoration. It's communication.
Your pitchbook is competing for attention. Every layout decision, font choice, color, and icon should make your message easier to grasp.
Here’s what we’ve learned designing pitchbooks across industries:
Don’t overload slides. 70% whitespace is a good rule of thumb.
Use visual hierarchy. Bold headlines, supportive subheads, minimal body text.
Break long content. One point per slide forces clarity.
Choose images wisely. Not stock photos for the sake of it. Use visuals that add meaning.
Stay brand-consistent. But not at the expense of readability. Dark backgrounds, light fonts, illegible typefaces — drop them if they don’t serve the content.
Good design doesn’t shout. It guides. If the reader has to work to understand the slide, the slide failed.
6. End With What’s Next — Not Just What’s Past
Many pitchbooks end with team bios and company history. That’s like ending a movie with the credits instead of the climax.
What you want is momentum.
If someone has read through your entire pitchbook, you’ve earned their attention. Don’t fumble the close.
Here’s what we recommend including toward the end:
A clear call to action — what you want from them (meeting, intro, decision)
Recap of the value — what they’ll gain if they engage further
Reinforcement of your edge — why you’re different or uniquely positioned
Optional appendix — case studies, extra data, or technical breakdowns
End on purpose. Leave them curious, not confused.
That’s how you make a pitchbook that earns a second conversation — not just polite applause.
It’s not about being flashy. It’s about being intentional. Every slide, every word, every visual should do a job. And if it doesn’t, cut it.
We’ve seen startups close funding in two weeks because their pitchbook made the investor think, “I get it. I’m in.”
We’ve seen M&A advisors win clients over competitors because their pitchbook didn’t feel like a brochure — it felt like a battle plan.
If your pitchbook isn’t doing that, it’s not doing enough.
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.