How to Effectively Share Your Church Story to Investors [Pitch Deck]

You spent $5000 and got nothing in return. 

You heard it somewhere —a coach, mentor, pier, start up bro— that you needed a pitch deck. You were told to hire a designer, run a high quality print of their developed deck, and distribute it to prospective investors. 

Fail. Whale. 

And it’s not even your fault. 

Pitch decks have been a thing for decades now, but how we think about them needs to significantly change. I’ve been developing decks for decades: from start-ups to church plants, investment decks for pharmaceuticals and medical device manufacturers, and even some dream decks for friends. 

Pitch decks aren’t bad, but the process is fundamentally broken. 

It’s time to fix it. 

Meet Brandon Penn

Brandon is a church planter starting a church in Fontana, Ca. It’s in LA and has a population of 220,000 people and less than twenty churches. The system is broken and what’s there just isn’t working. Brandon came to me and asked if I could help him design and develop their church plant’s deck. 

I told him no. 

Well, I told him no… but only no because we needed to go about this differently. The way we raised money ten years ago is not the same today, so our tactics need to change to meet our context. 

So I made him a deal. 

I would help him design and develop his deck, under one condition: we make it free for everyone. We would knock this out for him and his church, but then we would make the Keynote file, PDF, and article walkthrough available to everyone, for free. 

He agreed, and here we are. 

Three Pitch Decks Problems

Like I said, pitch decks aren’t bad; the process is just broken. What we want to do is think through a few aspects of the process so we can wrap our head around the problem and push forward.

Pitch Deck Design Problems

No matter how good a designer is, they’re not you. While there are some world-class designers I could recommend to you, most designers design for design, not conversion. When you are designing a deck for investors, your target market cares more about substance than flash. They want to know you have a successful track record with market opportunity, not that your deck looked better than the other guy. 

In addition to designer problems, you will most likely run into design problems. These two are not the same. Assume now that your designer is amazing, they can create a great initial pitch deck template (aka Slide Deck), and they truly understand you. Assume they get your story. But never assume they know how to lay it out properly for you, in alignment with your business plan. Again, they’re used to designing for design’s sake, not you. You need to design for conversions, and that’s a completely different ball game. 

Principles to remember when designing your deck: 

• Share your wins. Your last success will indicate future success.
• Less is more. Don’t say too much and narrow your focus on achieving your goals. 
• Design to multiple learning styles: i.e. visual, logical, kinesthetic.
• Everything has a next step. Every point has a natural onramp for potential investors.

Pitch Deck Development Problems

Now that you’ve designed your deck, how do you share your story? Inherently, this is the most difficult part of the equation. While we will get to a walk-through of an example shortly, I want to run down some development problems you may run into and what you can do to avoid letting them slow you down. 

“It looks good, but it doesn’t feel good.”

While a designer will bring the heat, they can never bring the feels without you. You must permeate every aspect of your deck. What is the problem you are addressing with your church plant and how are you uniquely prepared to meet this moment? This is the question you must answer on every page. It’s on you, and while it is certainly daunting, it is not impossible. 

Principles to remember when developing your deck: 

• Address problems head on. Name names and have a solution ready. 
• Be your own hero. People will be sold on you before they’re sold on your church. 
• Elevate your key team leaders. The people you have are the people you are targeting. 
• Don’t compromise. Your church is your baby. It’s unique and not cookie-cutter.
• Be specific and measurable. Know your business model and key metrics of success.
• Own it. This isn’t a church planting organization’s start-up; it’s your company vision. 
• Remember: You’re called to be faithful, not plant a church. 

Pitch Deck Distribution Problems

This is the one that kills me every time. You paid a designer, you spent weeks outlining your story, and now you need to pay to print… or do you? This is it; THIS is the thing that keeps me up at night. It honestly frustrates me to no end.

Can we talk about money for a moment? 

When you hire a good designer, you can expect to pay around $1000 for them to design your pitch deck. Assume you hire a designer who knows the investment space, who can interpret your story well, and who will lay it for conversion; expect to pay around $3000. But design costs aren’t the only thing we are talking about here. What about your time and energy? When you hire a designer, you are feeding them daily for weeks. This thing takes time. Because time is money, let’s just put an equal amount on it and price your time at the same rate as your designer’s between $1000 and $3000. So far, we are talking about a $2000 to $6000 hit to your church plant, most likely before you have investors (and before you even considered hiring a pitch deck writer). 

You’re six thousand into this thing, and now you need to print. Ugh. Seriously, who prints anything anymore? Someone somewhere told you that investors need this, so you have to do it, right? Not a chance. Investors don’t give a rip. They want to know you’ve been successful and will be successful now. If you can write your story and a plan on a napkin, transfer that to a single email, and break it down over the course of a fifteen page deck, then you’re solid. But if you’re sold on print, you’re dropping between $1000 - $2000 every run. Since your plan is a living document, you will need a few runs along the way. Now your total financial hit is coming in between $3000 and $8000, but likely more depending on market size and capital to be raised. Print is not dead, but it is not right for you. So what works? Well, here’s what we do every time for start-ups.

Principles we remember when distributing decks:

• Pitch Deck developed in Keynote or PowerPoint. Makes it simple for users to edit.
• PDF exports for potential investors. Easy to view online or send via email. 
• Tactical Cards for handouts. Glossy on top and matte on back, makes people want to turn it over. Slap an URL on there for downloads and brand it alongside your deck and you’re solid. It’s a cheap run and instantly effective. Plus, if people throw it in the garbage, you won’t be diving into the can to rescue that printed gold.

Ultimately, your distribution plan is 50% of your design plan. How you disseminate your story to potential users or investors will determine how you raise capital. If you can accomplish this part of the puzzle, your audience will see a clearer picture and you will have more money in your pocket for your plant. And if that doesn’t show investors how you are managing money, I don’t know what will. It’s a brave new world, and they’re already ahead of the game. They want to invest in you. They want to reach your addressable market. It’s your job to make it easy for them to do so. 

How to Create a Great Investor Pitch Deck for Startups Seeking Financing 

Like I said, pitch decks aren’t bad; the process is just broken. What we want to do is think differently about this, from the designer to the design, the process and financials, and how to make the most of your moment. So let’s bring Brandon back in, so we can walk through his deck, and you can see how it works for him, as well as a few presentation tips so you can walk away with valuable insight and actionable items.