Every week, venture investors see hundreds of beautifully designed slide decks that promise to change the world. Yet fewer than 3% of those pitches receive funding—a hit rate lower than getting into Harvard University. Part of this low success rate is by design—venture investors are inherently picky, by and large looking only for “home runs” that promise extremely lavish returns. But it’s also true that founders don’t have a rigorous approach to pitching—relying instead on anecdotal lessons of previously successful pitches, advice from mentors, and other unscientific sources of advice.
