How to Share a Pitch Deck With Investors
Finishing a pitch deck is only part of the fundraising process. Eventually, the presentation has to reach the investors you want to evaluate your company.
That may sound simple, but the way you share a pitch deck can affect how easy it is for an investor to access, review, revisit, and discuss the presentation.
There is no single sharing method that is right for every situation. Email attachments remain common, while hosted presentations, online links, virtual meetings, and other methods can also be useful. The best approach depends on your audience, the circumstances, and how much control and visibility you want after the deck has been shared.
1. Make Sure the Pitch Deck Is Ready Before You Send It
Before sharing anything with investors, review the deck carefully. Check for spelling errors, outdated numbers, inconsistent formatting, missing slides, broken charts, and information that is difficult to understand without additional explanation.
It is also worth reviewing the presentation from the perspective of someone who has never heard of the company before. Can that person understand what the business does, what problem it solves, who the customers are, and why the opportunity may be interesting?
A polished sharing method cannot compensate for a pitch deck that is confusing or incomplete.
2. Decide Whether You Are Sharing the Deck Before or After a Conversation
A pitch deck may be shared in different stages of an investor relationship.
In some cases, the deck is sent before any meeting so the investor can decide whether to have a conversation. In other cases, the deck is presented during a meeting and then shared afterward for reference.
The context matters because a deck reviewed independently may need to explain more than a deck that accompanies a live presentation where you can answer questions in real time.
3. Sharing a Pitch Deck as an Email Attachment
One of the most familiar methods is to attach the pitch deck directly to an email as a PDF or PowerPoint file.
This approach is simple and requires little explanation. The investor receives the file and can save it, forward it, print it, or review it whenever convenient.
However, sending the original file also means that once the attachment leaves your inbox, you generally have less control over where that copy goes. You may also have little or no information about whether the presentation was actually opened or reviewed.
For some companies, that tradeoff is perfectly acceptable. For others, it may be useful to consider a hosted presentation instead.
4. Sharing a Hosted Pitch Deck
Another option is to upload the presentation to an online platform and provide the investor with a link or access method.
This allows the presentation to remain hosted online rather than requiring you to repeatedly send copies of the original file.
Depending on the service being used, a hosted presentation may also make it easier to control access or gather information about viewer activity.
This can be especially useful when you are sharing the same deck with multiple investors or prospects over time.
5. Keep the Investor's Experience Simple
Whatever method you choose, avoid making the investor work harder than necessary to see the presentation.
If the investor has to install unusual software, create an unnecessary account, request multiple permissions, or navigate a complicated process just to see the deck, that friction can become a distraction.
The goal is to make the presentation easy to access while still using whatever level of control is appropriate for your situation.
6. Include a Short, Clear Message
The message accompanying the pitch deck matters too.
Investors usually do not need a long essay before they can look at the presentation. A concise message can explain who you are, what the company does, why you are contacting that investor, and what you are asking for.
If the pitch deck is available through a link or access code, make the instructions obvious so the investor knows exactly how to open it.
7. Avoid Sending an Unnecessarily Large File
Pitch decks containing large images, video, or other media can become substantial files.
Large attachments can create practical problems with email limits, downloading, mobile access, storage, and forwarding.
If the deck is unusually large, consider reducing unnecessary file size or using an online presentation method rather than relying entirely on an attachment.
8. Think About Mobile Viewing
An investor may first open your presentation on a phone or tablet rather than a desktop computer.
Small type, crowded charts, wide tables, and complex diagrams can become difficult to read on a smaller screen.
Test the presentation on multiple screen sizes before distributing it. Even if you expect most serious review to happen on a computer, the investor's first impression may happen on a mobile device.
9. Consider What Happens if the Deck Is Forwarded
Investors often discuss opportunities with partners, colleagues, advisors, or other members of their organization.
That may be exactly what you want, but it is still useful to think about how your presentation could circulate after you share it.
Avoid putting information into a broadly distributed pitch deck that you would be uncomfortable having seen by additional people. More sensitive information can often be reserved for later stages of investor discussions or due diligence.
10. Decide Whether You Need Viewer Information
When you email an ordinary file attachment, you may know that the email was sent, but that does not necessarily tell you much about what happened afterward.
Depending on the presentation platform, hosting a deck online can provide additional information about viewing activity.
That information can help provide context when deciding whether and when to follow up, although viewer activity should not automatically be treated as proof of investor interest.
11. Make Sure the Version You Share Is Current
Pitch decks change. Revenue numbers are updated, new customers are added, products evolve, financing needs change, and team information may become outdated.
Before sending a deck to a new investor, verify that you are distributing the current version rather than an older file that happens to be sitting on your computer.
Consistent file naming and version control can help prevent outdated presentations from being sent accidentally.
12. Follow Up Without Becoming a Nuisance
Sharing the pitch deck does not always produce an immediate response. Investors are often reviewing many opportunities and managing other responsibilities at the same time.
If there is no response, a polite follow-up after an appropriate period may be reasonable. Keep the message concise and make it easy for the investor to revisit the deck.
Repeated messages in a short period are unlikely to improve the quality of the interaction. Persistence can be useful, but so can respecting the investor's time.
Email Attachment or Hosted Pitch Deck?
Neither method is automatically right or wrong.
An email attachment is familiar, portable, and simple. A hosted pitch deck can reduce the need to repeatedly distribute the original file and may offer additional control or information about how the presentation is viewed.
The best choice depends on what matters most in a particular situation: convenience, portability, access control, viewer information, or some combination of those factors.
Sharing a Pitch Deck With PitchDeckHost.com
PitchDeckHost.com provides an alternative to repeatedly sending the original presentation file as an email attachment.
You can upload a supported PDF, PowerPoint, or other supported presentation file and make the pitch deck available online for investors, prospects, clients, and other viewers.
PitchDeckHost.com can also provide information about how a hosted presentation is viewed, giving you more context than simply knowing that an attachment was sent.
Learn About Pitch Deck Hosting
Related Pitch Deck Resources
You may also find these PitchDeckHost.com resources useful:
How to Design a Pitch Deck for Investors
What Should Be Included in a Pitch Deck?
Visit the complete Pitch Deck Resources section for additional articles about creating, designing, presenting, sharing, and tracking pitch decks and business presentations.