pitch-deck

What this skill does

# Pitch Deck Generator

## Overview

Generate professional PowerPoint pitch decks following industry best practices. This skill creates structured presentations for fundraising, sales, and business development using a proven 10-slide format.

## When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when users request:
- Investor pitch decks for fundraising
- Sales or business development presentations
- Product launch presentations
- Startup pitch competition decks
- Any structured business presentation following standard pitch deck format

## Workflow

### Step 1: Gather Information

Collect necessary information from the user to populate the pitch deck. Use a conversational approach to gather details across the following categories:

**Required information:**
1. **Company basics**: Company name, tagline (one-liner describing what you do)
2. **Problem**: What problem are you solving? Include data or statistics if available
3. **Solution**: How does your product/service solve the problem? Key features and benefits
4. **Business model**: How do you make money? Pricing, revenue streams

**Recommended information** (include if available):
5. **Market opportunity**: Market size (TAM/SAM/SOM), growth rate, market trends
6. **Product details**: Product features, screenshots, technology highlights
7. **Traction**: Key metrics, revenue, users, growth rate, milestones, customer testimonials
8. **Competition**: Competitors, competitive advantages, differentiation
9. **Team**: Founders and key team members with relevant background
10. **Financials & Ask**: Funding amount, use of funds, financial projections, milestones

**Approach:**
- Ask open-ended questions to understand the business
- Probe for specific metrics and data points when possible
- For missing information, offer to create placeholder slides that can be updated later
- Adapt the standard 10-slide structure based on available information

### Step 2: Structure the Content

Organize the gathered information into the standard pitch deck structure:

1. **Title Slide**: Company name + tagline
2. **Problem**: Pain point being addressed
3. **Solution**: Product/service overview
4. **Market Opportunity**: Market size and growth
5. **Product**: Features and capabilities
6. **Traction**: Metrics and achievements
7. **Business Model**: Revenue and pricing
8. **Competition**: Competitive landscape
9. **Team**: Key people
10. **Financials & Ask**: Funding request and projections

**Reference best practices:** For detailed guidance on each slide's content and structure, consult `references/pitch_deck_best_practices.md`. Search for specific sections using grep:

```bash
grep -A 10 "### [Slide Number]. [Slide Name]" references/pitch_deck_best_practices.md
```

### Step 3: Create the JSON Data File

Format the collected information as a JSON file that will be consumed by the pitch deck generation script. Create a file called `pitch_data.json` with the following structure:

```json
{
  "company_name": "Company Name",
  "tagline": "One-line description of what you do",
  "problem": [
    "Problem statement 1 with data/statistics",
    "Problem statement 2 showing impact",
    "Problem statement 3 demonstrating urgency"
  ],
  "solution": [
    "How your product solves the problem",
    "Key feature 1 and its benefit",
    "Key feature 2 and its benefit",
    "Unique value proposition"
  ],
  "market": [
    "TAM: Total addressable market with $ figure",
    "SAM: Serviceable available market",
    "SOM: Serviceable obtainable market",
    "Market growth rate and trends"
  ],
  "product": [
    "Product feature 1",
    "Product feature 2",
    "Technology highlights",
    "User experience benefits"
  ],
  "traction": [
    "Revenue: $X (YY% growth)",
    "Users: X,XXX active users",
    "Key milestone 1",
    "Customer testimonial or social proof"
  ],
  "business_model": [
    "Revenue model (e.g., SaaS subscription)",
    "Pricing: $XX/month per user",
    "Unit economics: CAC, LTV, margins",
    "Sales channels"
  ],
  "competition": {
    "our_advantages": [
      "Advantage 1",
      "Advantage 2",
      "Unfair advantage/defensibility"
    ],
    "competitors": [
      "Competitor 1",
      "Competitor 2",
      "Alternative solutions"
    ]
  },
  "team": [
    "Founder 1: Name - Background and relevant experience",
    "Founder 2: Name - Background and relevant experience",
    "Key hire: Name - Background and why they matter",
    "Notable advisors"
  ],
  "financials": [
    "Raising: $X seed/Series A round",
    "Use of funds: XX% engineering, XX% sales, XX% ops",
    "Milestones with this funding",
    "Runway: X-X months to next milestone"
  ]
}
```

**Notes:**
- All fields are optional except `company_name`
- Use arrays for bullet points (will be rendered as bullet lists)
- Competition can be either an object with `our_advantages` and `competitors` keys (for two-column layout) or a simple array
- Keep bullet points concise (1-2 lines each)
- Include specific numbers and metrics where possible

### Step 4: Generate the PowerPoint

Execute the Python script to create the PowerPoint presentation:

```bash
python3 scripts/create_pitch_deck.py pitch_data.json output_filename.pptx
```

The script will:
- Generate a professional PowerPoint file with proper formatting
- Apply consistent color scheme and typography
- Create slides based on available data (skipping sections if data not provided)
- Output a `.pptx` file ready for presentation or further customization

### Step 5: Review and Iterate

Present the generated pitch deck location to the user and offer to:
- Add missing sections if information becomes available
- Refine bullet points for clarity and impact
- Adjust structure based on specific audience (investor vs. sales pitch)
- Provide guidance on presenting the deck

**Iteration approach:**
- User can update the JSON file with new information
- Re-run the script to regenerate the updated presentation
- For design customizations beyond the script's capabilities, advise manual editing in PowerPoint

## Design Guidelines

The generated pitch deck follows these design principles:

**Color Scheme:**
- Primary: Blue (#2962FF) for titles and emphasis
- Secondary: Gray (#646464) for body text
- Clean white background for readability

**Typography:**
- Title slides: 54pt bold
- Section titles: 40pt bold
- Body text: 18-20pt with appropriate line spacing

**Layout:**
- Consistent margins and spacing
- One key message per slide
- Bullet points limited to 3-5 items per slide
- Two-column layouts for comparison slides

**Visual Hierarchy:**
- Clear title at top of each slide
- Content organized with proper spacing
- Emphasis on readability and professional appearance

## Best Practices Reference

For detailed guidance on pitch deck content, structure, and presentation tips, reference:
- `references/pitch_deck_best_practices.md` - Comprehensive guide covering:
  - Standard 10-slide structure with examples
  - Content guidelines for each slide type
  - Design best practices
  - Common mistakes to avoid
  - Tailoring for different audiences (investor, sales, product launch)
  - Pre-pitch checklist

Load this reference when providing detailed advice on pitch content or structure.

## Example Usage Scenarios

**Scenario 1: Early-stage startup seeking seed funding**
- Focus on problem, solution, market opportunity, and team
- Emphasize founder expertise and early traction
- Include clear funding ask and use of funds

**Scenario 2: Growth-stage company creating sales deck**
- Emphasize product features and customer ROI
- Include customer testimonials and case studies
- De-emphasize fundraising, focus on value proposition

**Scenario 3: Product launch presentation**
- Focus on product features and market need
- Include demo or product screenshots
- Emphasize innovation and competitive positioning

## Customization and Extensions

After generating the base deck:
- Users can manually add images, charts, and custom graphics in Powe