Log inStart free

Pitch deck template for Indian startups

Copy the outline below, one slide at a time.
Deck template files are in the ShunyaSe library.

Get the deck templates

Starter shows a free set. Pro and Max show them all.

The outline, slide by slide

One heading per slide, in the order our review expects. Answer each prompt with your own facts.

  1. 1. Title

    Pre-seed: required. Seed: required.

    • What you do, for whom, in one plain line.
    • Founder name, email and website. (from pre-seed)
    • The month and year of this deck. (from seed)

  2. 2. Problem

    Pre-seed: required. Seed: required.

    • Who has this problem, named exactly.
    • What it costs them, as a number.
    • How they cope with it today.

  3. 3. Why Now

    Pre-seed: expected. Seed: required.

    • The outside change that makes this possible now.
    • The year that change happened. (from seed)
    • Why the window will not stay open. (from seed)

  4. 4. Solution

    Pre-seed: required. Seed: required.

    • How it answers each point of the problem.
    • How it works, step by step.
    • The customer's before and after.

  5. 5. Product

    Pre-seed: expected. Seed: required.

    • One real screenshot, large enough to read.
    • Two callouts on the part that matters. (from seed)

  6. 6. Market size

    Pre-seed: required. Seed: required.

    • Customers you can reach, times what each pays.
    • TAM, SAM and SOM, each with a source and year. (from pre-seed)
    • The first segment you will win.

  7. 7. Business model

    Pre-seed: required. Seed: required.

    • Your price, and how often a customer pays.
    • Who pays, and the unit you sell.
    • Your gross margin, as a percentage. (from seed)

  8. 8. Traction

    Pre-seed: expected. Seed: required.

    • Your main metric by month, as a chart. (from pre-seed)
    • The real number behind every percentage.
    • A retention or repeat purchase number. (from seed)

  9. 9. Go to market

    Pre-seed: expected. Seed: expected.

    • The one channel that brings customers.
    • What a customer costs through it. (from seed)
    • How many customers it has brought so far. (from seed)

  10. 10. Competition

    Pre-seed: expected. Seed: required.

    • The real competitors an investor will name.
    • What customers use today instead of you.
    • One thing a competitor does better.

  11. 11. Moat

    Pre-seed: expected. Seed: expected.

    • What gets harder to copy as you grow.
    • Why it gets stronger with scale. (from seed)
    • A number that shows it working. (from Series A)

  12. 12. Team

    Pre-seed: required. Seed: required.

    • Why your history fits this problem.
    • What each founder did, with a number.
    • Who is full-time, and your first hire. (from pre-seed)

  13. 13. Financials

    Pre-seed: leave out. Seed: expected.

    • The three drivers behind your numbers.
    • Monthly burn and months of runway.
    • A horizon that suits your stage.

  14. 14. The ask

    Pre-seed: required. Seed: required.

    • How much you are raising.
    • The instrument, such as equity or a SAFE. (from seed)
    • Use of funds, and the milestone it reaches.

  15. 15. Vision

    Pre-seed: optional. Seed: optional.

    • What this becomes if it works, in one sentence.
    • How today's product leads there. (from seed)

  16. 16. Appendix

    Pre-seed: optional. Seed: optional.

    • Detail a reader may ask for later.
    • Anything you cut from the main slides.

How to use it

  1. Open a blank deck in your slide tool.
  2. Make one slide for each heading, in this order.
  3. Answer each prompt with your own facts.
  4. Skip a slide only where your stage allows it.
  5. Keep each slide to 60 words or fewer.
  6. Move extra detail into an appendix.
  7. Then score your deck free in ShunyaSe.
Score my deck free

What your stage can leave out

A missing optional slide costs nothing in our review.

  • At idea stage, leave out Financials. Product, Traction, Go to market, Moat, The ask and Appendix are optional.
  • At pre-seed, leave out Financials. Vision and Appendix are optional.
  • At seed, Vision and Appendix are optional. The rest are required or expected.

Check it before you send

Our review checks the whole deck for these.

  • Bring the main deck to 12 to 16 slides
  • Cut every slide to 60 words or fewer
  • Add more concrete figures
  • Turn your numbers into charts
  • Make the body text large enough to read
  • Put the slides in the order readers expect

Questions founders ask

Is this pitch deck template free?

Yes. The outline on this page is free to copy. The deck template files need a free account.

Do I need all 16 slides?

No. Title, Problem, Solution, Market size and Team are needed at every stage. The rest depend on your stage. Leave Financials out at idea stage and pre-seed.

What goes on the title slide?

What you do, for whom, in one plain line. From pre-seed, add your name, email and website. From seed, add the month and year.

What goes in the appendix?

Detail a reader may ask for later. It keeps the main deck short. Our review treats it as optional at every stage.

How is the outline different from the template files?

The outline says what each slide must say. The template files give you the design. Use both together.