Hire the Top 3% of Freelance Pitch Deck Consultants

In a Challenging Fundraising Environment, Founders Need Good Pitch Deck Consultants

With private equity and venture capital fundraising plunging to six-year lows in 2024, today’s tight fundraising environment calls for a pitch deck that distinguishes your company from the competition. For many, that means hiring a quality pitch deck consultant.

As the foundation of your fundraising efforts, a pitch deck must captivate potential investors and persuade them to invest in your business idea. Typically consisting of 10 to 20 slides, an effective pitch deck clearly presents your company’s story and vision, while quickly and concisely addressing common investor questions. It conveys a wide range of information such as market opportunity, competitive environment, growth potential, and financial projections.

Creating a successful pitch deck involves overcoming multiple challenges. Investors are pressed for time, so every word and image counts. Venture capitalists (VCs) spend only about three minutes and twenty seconds reading a pitch deck for seed rounds and may dismiss the opportunity in even less time.

Different types of investors use their own language and have specific questions that pitch decks must answer. Therefore, in addition to sharing technical details like key performance indicators (KPIs) and this funding round’s impact on growth, a compelling pitch deck will convey your company’s story in a way that resonates with the investor and positions you well for future negotiations—an outcome the right pitch deck consultant can help you achieve.

Many consultants are available, but there may be only a few who have the right expertise to create the optimal investor pitch deck for your use case. A consultant’s suitability for your company will depend on the scale and depth of their experience.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to identify the best pitch deck consultant for your needs. While this hiring guide focuses on finding top pitch deck consultants for venture capital firms and private equity (PE) investors, the key principles covered also apply to pitching investors in other areas of finance.

What attributes distinguish quality Pitch Deck Consultants from others?

A strong pitch deck consultant possesses excellent strategic planning, quantitative, and storytelling skills. They can identify the most impactful pitch deck elements, develop answers to key questions and convey them effectively, and understand the deck’s larger strategic and immediate tactical context. The value of a consultant’s pitch deck services derives not simply from their competence in creating the physical slide deck for investors, but from their ability to provide a presentation that successfully raises capital.

As you evaluate candidates, consider experience in terms of both scale (number of years worked, amount of capital deployed or raised, and number of deals closed) and depth (degree of involvement in bringing deals to a successful conclusion).

To show depth of experience, candidates should demonstrate a direct contribution to their clients’ success, preferably across diverse market situations, as private equity and venture capital can follow strong market cycles. For example, candidates may have been directly involved in securing investment as, or in support of, the founder of a fundraising company. Alternatively, they may have been the capital-allocation decision-maker on the VC side. A consultant with this firsthand experience can help you clinch the deal because they intimately understand the audience’s point of view.

When evaluating a candidate’s experience, there are no specific minimums around scale and depth to look for. However, the consultant should show a clear record of success.

Complementary Skills for Pitch Deck Consultants

A pitch deck must answer quantitative and qualitative questions about your company, including information that may appear contradictory. For example, you may have to convince a VC that you are ultra-focused in your initial market beachhead while pursuing a large-scale, long-term vision, or that your product is game-changing but with clear historical corollaries. This information must be conveyed coherently and in a quickly digestible manner. That’s why the best pitch deck consultants typically have diverse skills, including in the following areas:

Business strategy – The pitch deck must show investors that their capital will receive a stronger return from your company than from the competition. A consultant with expertise in business strategy can clearly articulate how your company will achieve this growth.

Market research – Details about your target group of customers, such as market size, growth rate, degree of fragmentation, and behavior, will help investors understand what company success looks like. A consultant with market research expertise can bring insights about market trends and competitive landscapes. They will know how to find relevant data points and highlight them, which is crucial for an informed and persuasive pitch deck.

Financial analysis – Your company’s stage and the type of funding pursued will determine the financial analysis your pitch deck requires. A consultant with this expertise can create accurate financial models and projections—a critical component in presenting viable, data-backed financial information to prospective investors. The consultant can also clearly explain this analysis to you so you can confidently discuss numbers with investors.

Data analysis and visualization – A pitch deck consultant should have significant experience with data visualization. The ability to translate patterns, trends, and outliers into a visual context can make for a compelling presentation.

Artificial intelligence – Generative AI can be a powerful tool for creating pitch decks. One such tool is Sendsteps.ai, which can help you produce pitch decks quickly and features audience engagement tools like live polling and interactive Q&A sessions. Beautiful.ai is another example of a tool that focuses on creating visually attractive presentations. Although not necessary, a working knowledge of AI applications is a nice-to-have skill.

How can you identify the ideal Pitch Deck Consultant for you?

To identify your ideal pitch deck consultant, you should know the type of funding round you’re pursuing, such as venture capital or private equity—something your business model and company stage will inform. For example, if you are an early-stage SaaS startup that hasn’t yet raised capital, you are probably undertaking a VC seed round.

Your company may be a candidate for several types of funding such as PE, VC, debt financing, or other specialized investor financing across a range of industries. If you’re still debating among these paths, you may wish to first speak with your board or advisors. Hiring a financial or fundraising consultant may also help you determine the right funding.

A pitch deck expert with experience in the type of funding you’re seeking can help you tailor your pitch to investors’ unique needs, including navigating idiosyncrasies you might not have anticipated. An early-stage VC deck will likely be viewed on a large screen at an accelerator demo day, or even on the smaller screen of a venture capitalist’s phone. Pitch decks must stand out in both situations—a nuance that a consultant with VC experience will know.

Appropriate pitch deck consultants will also have direct dealmaking experience with the type of funding you seek, either as an investor or an individual raising capital. While many professionals can create persuasive presentations to close financial or business deals, they may not have been directly involved in facilitating the final transaction.

As your pitch deck is your primary storytelling device, your ideal consultant must grasp your company’s story and vision for what this new funding round can achieve. They should also be willing to challenge your key assumptions and recognize potential weaknesses. Every high-potential venture comes with risks and challenges, which prospective investors will identify and query. A consultant’s frank discussion of these issues with you demonstrates a strong understanding of your company and a desire to see you succeed.

Given investor scrutiny and the high stakes of securing investment with favorable terms, it’s wise to hire a consultant with an extensive breadth and depth of relevant experience to lead your pitch deck efforts. A consultant with less experience may save you money, but they may lack the expertise to prepare a solid pitch deck that sets you up for success. If budget is a concern, more junior talent can assist in areas like market research and initial drafts of exhibits.

Finally, assess your own strengths and weaknesses in telling your company’s story, and seek an expert who can fill in the gaps. You may feel confident conveying the more concrete elements of the technology and financials, but require help defining softer features, such as the mission and value proposition. This self-assessment will help you identify the consultant who best complements your skill set.

How to Write a Pitch Deck Consultant Job Description for Your Project

Clearly articulating your needs improves the chances that suitable candidates will apply. Your job description must convey these specific details:

• Target area of investment (e.g., VC, PE, debt financing)
• Company history
• Industry/sector
• Business model
• Approximate timelines
• Goals
• Desired experience (in terms of years and fundraising type)

A clear job description will set clear expectations and help candidates self-select based on their experience.

Ideally, you should begin the hiring process before starting your fundraising efforts. It’s helpful, but not necessary, to prepare preliminary materials, such as your financial model, business plan, team bios, and market research, prior to hiring. Your work with the consultant will be exploratory at first, as you both decide what information may be required, such as further market research or financial forecasts. As the pitch deck is a collaborative exercise, it is wise to start the hiring process at least a month, but preferably two or three months, before you begin formal investor outreach.

What are the most important Pitch Deck Consultant interview questions?

Here are some essential questions to ask during the interview:

Tell me about times you’ve helped build pitch decks for companies seeking similar types of funding at similar stages to mine. What were the fundraising results, and what did you learn from those experiences?

This question gives you the chance to assess a candidate’s experience with analogous companies, which are not necessarily your direct peers, but are businesses pursuing similar funding rounds from the same types of investors. For instance, a consultant who has provided pitch deck services to other early-stage software-driven startups for their seed or Series A round could be a good candidate for your new algebra app, even if you’re their first edtech client.

Consider how well the candidate expresses these companies’ stories and evaluate their degree of involvement in the final results. You can also ask for success rates and pitch deck examples from the consultant’s previous work. To follow up, you can ask how their experience relates to your business model to ensure you are comfortable with the fit.

What key strengths and weaknesses do you see in our company’s trajectory and narrative?

This question highlights the consultant’s thinking process and initial assessment of your company’s situation. Assess their ability to state your company’s narrative and strengths succinctly and persuasively. Look for their willingness to note potential weaknesses, so you can work together to address them before presenting to investors. Do they bring new insights and ideas you hadn’t thought of? A consultant with a firm grasp of your company’s position can make for a strong candidate.

What do you see as our working dynamic throughout the process?

This question is important to understand the consultant’s working process and for your own planning. While the consultant should take ownership of key aspects of the pitch deck, this core fundraising document requires your direct participation.

Work styles will vary, but the consultant will most likely propose a cooperative and iterative approach in which you agree on what you will each focus on. (For example, you might assemble your team bios while the consultant conducts competitor research.) Set a cadence to regroup, review the work together, and agree on next steps.

Your individual preferences, the amount of information available, and the nature of the anticipated funding round will dictate the overall process. However, the pitch deck consultant will generally follow this workflow:

Step 1: Understand the company.

• Review materials that speak to the company’s value proposition, competitive advantages, and future plans. These might include the business plan, financial model, market research, competitive landscape, and team bios.

Step 2: Share feedback with you.

• Discuss what they view as critical elements of the fundraising narrative.
• Identify key weaknesses to address.
• Request further information that would be useful.

Step 3: Work with you to assign responsibilities.

• Determine what portion of the deck the consultant will draft.
• Decide what further information you will provide them (e.g., team bios, financial information).

Step 4: Reconvene and iterate until complete.

• Meet regularly to review, thus ensuring the deck is moving in the right direction.
• Budget permitting, conduct practice runs in which you present to the consultant acting as the investor. Feedback and questions from this exercise can optimize the finished pitch deck for success.

To what extent are you comfortable being involved in finalizing the design?

While many pitch deck experts are proficient with pitch deck software like PowerPoint, Keynote, and Canva, and can streamline elements of the text and images to give the final deck a polished appearance, great pitch deck consultants do not need professional design skills, as they focus on content. If design isn’t part of a candidate’s skill set, they should be willing to recommend hiring a pitch deck designer.

Hiring a presentation designer to create a professional pitch deck can be a wise investment if your budget allows and your pitch deck consultant isn’t a design expert.

Why do companies hire Pitch Deck Consultants?

Companies hire pitch deck consultants to help them tell their story and impress potential investors. The consultant essentially becomes a team member and works with you to create an engaging pitch deck that brings together all of your fundraising messaging in a way that distinguishes you from other companies seeking capital.

Investing in the right person will increase your odds of success in securing investment and put you in a strong negotiating position when you finalize the deal. Learning how to distill the many elements that make your company unique and how to position it for future success will also make you a stronger business leader.