A technology pitch deck tells a short, evidence-backed story in about 10–12 slides: the problem, who experiences it and pays, why your technology solves it better, how you will reach customers and make money, and what the next funding round will prove. Deep-tech ventures, whose products depend on substantial scientific or engineering advances, also need an intellectual property position, a regulatory path and milestones that reduce technical uncertainty. Prepare for questions as carefully as you prepare the slides.
A 12-slide outline
Use this sequence as a working structure. Each slide should make a clear claim and show the evidence supporting it. Define specialized terms, label preliminary findings and distinguish measured results from forecasts.
| # | Slide | What it must answer | Deep-tech note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Title and one-line description | What do you make, and for whom? | Describe the application in plain language. |
| 2 | Problem | What costly problem needs solving? | Explain the current technical constraint. |
| 3 | Customer and evidence | What do interviews, pilots and letters of intent show? | Separate user interest from purchasing commitment. |
| 4 | Solution and product | What will customers actually use? | Distinguish the prototype from the intended product. |
| 5 | Technology and IP position | What is owned or licensed? What filings exist? | Address freedom to operate: potential infringement of others’ rights. |
| 6 | Why now | What makes adoption plausible now? | Identify relevant technical or purchasing changes. |
| 7 | Market | What do real customer counts and prices imply? | Start with an accessible application. |
| 8 | Business model and unit economics | Who pays, how, and with what per-unit revenue and costs? | Include production and support assumptions. |
| 9 | Go-to-market | How will customers discover, evaluate and buy? | Account for qualification and integration. |
| 10 | Competition and alternatives | Why choose this over alternatives, including “do nothing”? | Compare performance under relevant conditions. |
| 11 | Team and gaps | Who can execute, and what expertise is missing? | Distinguish advisors from planned hires. |
| 12 | Milestones, use of funds and the ask | What funding is sought, and what will it prove? | Include regulatory steps and non-dilutive funding, which does not exchange ownership. |
Connect the customer evidence slide to customer discovery, the process of testing business assumptions through conversations with potential customers and other stakeholders. Letters of intent express prospective interest; explain their conditions rather than treating them as completed sales.
What deep-tech investors look for
Intellectual property
Intellectual property, or IP, includes rights protecting inventions and other creations. State patent filing status accurately and distinguish company ownership from permission to use technology under a license. If licensed, summarize relevant terms, such as permitted applications, exclusivity, payments and development obligations.
Review licensing a university invention when preparing that explanation. A patent filing alone does not establish freedom to operate. Confirm patent statements with a registered patent practitioner and license terms with a qualified attorney.
Regulatory path
Identify which agency, if any, regulates the intended product and use. Describe expected evidence, testing and review steps generally, separating confirmed requirements from assumptions. Verify the applicable path and current requirements with the agency or official source.
Technical risk and milestones
Technical risk is uncertainty about whether the technology will perform as required. Show what has been demonstrated, under which conditions, and what remains unproven. Explain which milestone each portion of spending buys, its success criteria and the decision an unsuccessful result would trigger.
Capital plan
Explain how grants, customer revenue and equity—ownership sold to investors—could support successive milestones. The startup funding options guide helps compare these sources. Distinguish secured resources from applications and prospective investments; confirm financing terms and securities requirements with a qualified attorney.
Demo days and pitch competitions
University, regional and industry competitions can bring non-dilutive prize money, feedback and visibility. Evaluate the audience and preparation required against the work your company needs next. Be wary of events that charge founders to pitch investors.
Read confidentiality, recording and IP rules before entering. A public pitch can count as public disclosure for patent purposes; confirm what can be shared with a registered patent practitioner. Verify current event terms with the official organizer before submitting materials.
Preparing for Q&A
Build an appendix of backup slides covering experimental methods, customer evidence, financial assumptions, competition and unresolved risks. List the 20 hardest questions and practice direct answers. When evidence is missing, state the uncertainty and the test that would resolve it.
Kanze, Huang, Conley and Higgins (2018, Academy of Management Journal) analyzed investor questions at TechCrunch Disrupt New York City from 2010 to 2016. Investors tended to ask women prevention-focused questions about losses and men promotion-focused questions about gains; more prevention questions were associated with less funding. Answering prevention questions with promotion-focused answers was associated with more funding. The funding-gap evidence guide provides context; these associations do not guarantee an individual outcome.
The examples below are hypothetical and describe the shape of each answer rather than a script. Answer the underlying concern directly, then explain the growth opportunity the evidence supports. Reframing never means hiding risks or inventing customer commitments.
| Question type | Example question | Defensive answer | Growth-framed answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer retention | How will you avoid losing your lead customer? | Lists the support staff and satisfaction surveys that keep the customer happy. | Shows how the pilot site leads to more sites and a second product, then names the support plan that protects it. |
| Competition | How will you stop competitors taking your market? | Points to the patent filing as the main defense. | Explains how early customers and field data open related applications, with the patent filing as one layer of protection. |
| Technical risk | What happens if scale-up fails? | Promises more testing to reduce the risk. | Describes the staged scale-up plan, the sales each stage makes possible and what a failed stage would change in the design. |
Two versions of the deck
Prepare a send-ahead version that makes sense without narration and a presenting version with fewer words. Add a one-page summary for quick review. Keep customer counts, financial assumptions, milestones and the funding request consistent across all three.
Common mistakes
- Too much science and too little explanation of the customer’s problem.
- A top-down market slide that applies an arbitrary share to a broad industry total.
- No clear ask connecting requested funding to specific evidence.
- Hiding competitors, substitutes or the option to do nothing.
- Vague milestones without observable completion criteria.
- A team slide that omits expertise gaps and hiring priorities.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much technical detail belongs in a pitch deck?
Include enough to explain the advantage and assess the supporting evidence. Put detailed methods and supporting results in the appendix.
Can I pitch before I have a patent?
Get a registered patent practitioner’s assessment before disclosing invention details publicly. Prepare language that explains customer value while respecting that assessment.
What if my startup has no revenue?
Present the strongest evidence available, such as customer interviews or prototype evaluations. Explain what it establishes and what still needs testing.
Should I show risks to investors?
Describe material uncertainties and how you intend to investigate them. Distinguish evidence already collected from expectations that depend on future work.