Pitch Deck Financials: What Numbers to Include

Your financial slides can make or break your pitch. Here's exactly what to show and how to present it.

The Essential Financial Slides

1. Traction Slide

What to show: Your growth story in one chart.

Best metrics by stage:

| Stage | Primary Metric | Secondary | |-------|---------------|-----------| | Pre-revenue | Users, waitlist, LOIs | Engagement | | Early revenue | MRR growth | Customer count | | Growth stage | ARR + growth rate | Unit economics |

Format tips:

• One primary chart (revenue or users over time)
• Show month-over-month, not cumulative
• Include growth rate percentage
• Start from a meaningful baseline

2. Unit Economics Slide

What to show: Proof that your business model works.

Key metrics:

| Metric | What It Shows | Good Benchmark | |--------|---------------|----------------| | LTV | Customer lifetime value | 3x+ CAC | | CAC | Cost to acquire customer | Recoverable in 12-18 mo | | Gross Margin | Revenue minus COGS | 60%+ for SaaS | | Payback Period | Months to recover CAC | Under 18 months |

How to present:

LTV: $5,000 (36 mo × $150 ARPU × 93% retention)
CAC: $1,200 (blended across channels)
LTV:CAC: 4.2x
Payback: 8 months

3. Financial Projections Slide

What to show: Where you're headed (3-year projection).

Include:

• Revenue projection
• Key expense categories
• Path to profitability (or next milestone)
• Key assumptions listed

Don't include:

• Monthly detail (keep it annual)
• 50 line items (keep it high-level)
• Hockey stick without explanation

4. Use of Funds Slide

What to show: How you'll deploy the capital.

Format:

| Category | Allocation | What It Funds | |----------|------------|---------------| | Product/Engineering | 45% | 5 engineers, infrastructure | | Sales/Marketing | 35% | 3 sales reps, demand gen | | G&A | 20% | Ops, finance, legal |

Tie to milestones:

• "18 months runway to reach $3M ARR"
• "Hire team to support 10x user growth"

Metrics by Stage

Pre-Seed Deck

Focus on potential, not performance:

• Market size (TAM/SAM/SOM)
• Early signals (waitlist, LOIs, pilots)
• Founder-market fit
• Initial unit economics assumptions

Seed Deck

Show early traction:

• MRR and growth rate
• Customer count and logos
• Engagement metrics
• Early unit economics (even if estimated)

Series A Deck

Prove the model works:

• ARR and YoY growth
• Cohort retention
• Proven unit economics
• Clear path to scale

How to Present Growth

Good: Compound Growth Chart

Show monthly revenue with growth rate:

Month 1: $10K
Month 6: $45K (35% MoM average)
Month 12: $150K

Bad: Cumulative Chart

Cumulative charts always go up and hide slowdowns.

Good: Cohort Analysis

Show retention by monthly cohort:

| Cohort | M1 | M3 | M6 | M12 | |--------|----|----|----|----| | Jan | 100% | 85% | 75% | 65% | | Apr | 100% | 88% | 78% | - | | Jul | 100% | 90% | - | - |

Shows improvement over time.

Bad: Single Retention Number

"We have 90% retention" - but for what time period? Which cohorts?

The Projections Slide

What VCs Actually Care About

1. Are assumptions reasonable?
2. Does founder understand drivers?
3. Is there a path to venture-scale?

Building Credible Projections

Bottom-up approach:

Customers: 100 → 300 → 800
ARPU: $200 → $250 → $300
Revenue: $240K → $900K → $2.9M

Not top-down:

"The market is $10B, we'll capture 1%..." (No one believes this)

Key Assumptions to Show

• Customer acquisition rate
• ARPU expansion
• Churn rate
• Sales efficiency

Common Mistakes

1. Too Much Detail

Wrong: 50-line P&L projection Right: 5-7 key metrics that tell the story

2. Unrealistic Growth

Wrong: 10x growth every year for 5 years Right: Growth that matches your go-to-market

3. Ignoring Competition

Wrong: Projections assuming no competitive response Right: Assumptions about market share capture

4. No Path to Profitability

Wrong: Losses forever with no explanation Right: "Break-even at $X ARR" or "Profitable unit economics, scaling investment"

5. Metrics Without Context

Wrong: "$500K ARR" Right: "$500K ARR, 3x YoY, 90% gross margin"

Slide Design Tips

Keep It Simple

• One main point per slide
• Large, readable numbers
• Minimal text (speak to it)

Use Visual Hierarchy

• Primary metric: Large and prominent
• Supporting metrics: Smaller, underneath
• Context: Smallest, for reference

Color Code Consistently

• Green: Good metrics, growth
• Primary brand: Key numbers
• Gray: Context and supporting data

The Ask Slide

What to Include

Raising: $X million
Use of funds: [categories]
Milestones: [what you'll achieve]
Current investors: [if notable]

What to Skip

• Exact valuation (negotiate later)
• Detailed term preferences
• Too many milestones

Financial Appendix

Keep Ready But Don't Present

• Detailed monthly projections
• Sensitivity analysis
• Full cap table
• Detailed cohort data

Send these in follow-up or data room.

Quick Checklist

Before Your Pitch

• [ ] Traction slide tells a clear growth story
• [ ] Unit economics are calculated correctly
• [ ] Projections have defensible assumptions
• [ ] Use of funds ties to milestones
• [ ] All numbers are current (within 30 days)
• [ ] You can explain every number

Red Flags to Avoid

• [ ] Numbers don't match across slides
• [ ] Can't explain how you calculated metrics
• [ ] Projections are pure fantasy
• [ ] No path to the ask amount
• [ ] Metrics are cherry-picked

Tools to Prepare

• Unit Economics Calculator - Calculate LTV:CAC correctly
• Runway Calculator - Model your burn and runway
• Dilution Simulator - Understand round impact

Key Takeaways

1. Less is more - Focus on 5-7 key metrics
2. Tell a story - Numbers should flow logically
3. Be defensible - Know the assumptions behind every number
4. Match the stage - Show appropriate metrics for where you are
5. Be current - Stale numbers kill credibility

Related Reading:

• Startup Metrics Guide
• Series A Readiness
• Financial Model Guide