Idea # 6: Transform Your Pitch Deck From Good to Great

Your pitch deck isn't just a presentation - it's often your first and only chance to capture an investor's attention. Most managers think their deck is "good enough," but in 2025's competitive environment, "good enough" isn't good enough anymore.

Having reviewed thousands of decks, I've seen brilliant managers lose opportunities simply because their materials didn't do justice to their expertise. If ANYTHING is off or falls short of best-in-class standards, you face an uphill battle. Your track record might be stellar, your strategy unique, but if these strengths aren't showcased effectively, they might as well not exist.

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• Include specific, data-driven proof points rather than general claims
• Know your strong points and communicate those accordingly
• Design a deck in a consistent and professional way that will put the investor in a receptive, ideally a “flow-like” mood
• Anticipate and address investor concerns before they arise
• Avoid by all means amateurish decks. Have your deck professionally reviewed against current best practices.
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Two Deck Design Failures

I’ll give you two examples – a short one and a longer one – where the managers thought they’d done everything right with their decks, but I can assure you, there’s always a key point that goes wrong.

In the first case, the  fund manager was already established, with a 3.5-year track record and a three-digit million AUM.

At Opalesque, we have a library of over 5,000 decks and tear sheets. Additionally, we leverage a proprietary AI-powered platform that analyzes pitch decks across 40+ critical topics, offering targeted recommendations based on industry best practices and benchmarks.

But in this case, I didn't even need the AI to spot a major issue. One glaring omission immediately caught my eye: a top credential of this manager was missing from their tear sheet-right where it should have been. The manager operates in a very specific niche, and omitting the impressive academic credentials of the two founders, like the number of citations in research journals, was a huge blunder.

The designer of the second deck I want to mention thought, of course, that the fund deck looked great. The investment manager was happy that it was now "finally finished" and "in great shape".

Except that it wasn't. When I did a Deck Review, I saw them heading straight for a cliff - and I'm glad I could pull them back from the edge.

What happened? When my eyes landed on the deck, they almost fell off.

Sure, each slide on its own was well done.

Except that each slide had a different background photo and color.

And so the deck violated a key principle: When Pitching or Presenting, never ever confuse the subconscious mind.

Sure, each photo corresponded in some way to the slide's theme, and the colors were tasteful - blues, grays, and whites that individually looked professional. But switching background colors from slide to slide creates a subtle yet significant cognitive load for your audience.

Here's why this matters: When institutional investors review your deck, their brains will process both your content AND your design. Each time the background color changes, their subconscious mind has to adjust and recalibrate - even if they're not consciously aware of it. This creates micro-distractions that pull attention away from your message. Worst case, the investor may start feeling an undefined unrest which could even turn into reduced receptivity and aversion to your message, because of this unexpected and unusual subtle overload.

Think of it like trying to read a book where each page has a different tint and font. Even if each page looks fine on its own, the constant shifting makes it harder for your brain to focus on the content. The same principle applies to your pitch deck.

Remember: Institutional investors review countless decks per week, and one of their main filters will be looking for reasons to say "no." And so, any element that makes your deck harder to process - even subconsciously - works against you. Therefore, consistency in design isn't just about aesthetics; it's about making your message as effortless to absorb as possible.

Users of the Fundmanager.tools Pitch & Close Bootcamp know all about how to do this, having access to our Guerrilla Tactic # 39 of the course: 'How and why to create a "flow experience" in your slide deck'. That's what you want.

And that's also why the world's top investment firms maintain rigid consistency in their presentations. They understand that design stability creates mental clarity, allowing investors to focus entirely on what matters: your strategy, performance, and value proposition.

Grab Your Bonus #6 Here:

Want to know if your deck passes the subconscious test?

Click here https://www.fundmanager.tools/pitchdeckreview and explore our two options how you can book your Pitch Deck Review.

A Pitch Deck Review is now included in all packages of the Opalesque Digital Master Class: Asset Raising, see your options here so that together we can identify quick wins and set a strong foundation for long-term success.

Matthias Knab
Fundmanager.Tools Founder
CEO, Opalesque
 

P.S. Don't miss out on this opportunity – act now, and start seeing real changes in your results by next quarter. That’s my promise and commitment to you.

P.P.S. Missed it? Here are our previously published Ideas to Transform Your Asset Raising in 2025