Pitch deck vs. business plan

Before we start the big pitch deck vs. business plan comparison, we need to understand the basic information.

What is a pitch deck?

A pitch deck is a number of slides which summarizes your company. A pitch deck is not something you present, but rather something you send to potential clients or investors. Because of this, you should make sure that the pitch deck includes all the information required, since you can’t add information during a presentation.

 

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a detailed description of your company. It explains what your company does, how things are going and what your future plans are. A business plan can be as long as anywhere between 10 and 100 pages.

A business plan usually has two functions:

  1. You send it to investors, to give them information about your company
  2. You can use it later as a reference guide for yourself, to see if you’re still on track

 

So now you know a little bit about the differences between a pitch deck and a business plan. Does this mean you should only create one of them?

No. For your company you should always have both of them. I’ll explain why.

 

Why should you create a pitch deck and a business plan?

It’s not always pitch deck vs. business plan. In fact, you should create them both.

Since a pitch deck and a business plan have a very different set up, you should also treat them differently. A pitch deck is used when a potential investor, partner, or client wants to know the basic information about your company. Since it takes a long time to read a business plan, this one is usually sent over only when an investor is seriously contemplating investing in your company.

Because of this a pitch deck is usually the way to go. The ratio ‘sending a pitch deck’ vs. ‘sending a business plan’ will probably be around 10:1. As a rule of thumb, you only should send a business plan when somebody explicitly asks for it.

 

What is the difference between a pitch deck and a business plan?

Pitch Deck Business plan
Length 10-20 slides 10-100 pages
Design Try to minimize the text and use a good amount of visuals. To create your pitch deck you can use PowerPoint, Prezi or Keynote. Describe the details of your company as good as possible. A business plan is usually created in Word.
Timing You send over a pitch deck when you want to have a meeting with an investor, partner of client. You send over a business plan when an investor considers an investment, or when somebody explicitly asks for it.

When do you send a pitch deck or a business plan?

Pitch deck: As descried, a pitch deck can be sent early in the process. This can be done through cold ‘acquisition’, but preferably from an introduction via a mutual connection.

business plan: As described, a business plan doesn’t get sent too often. You need to have a business plan for yourself as a reference guide, but also for cases when an investor asks for it.

What is more important: a pitch deck or a business plan?

Since you’ll be sending a pitch deck way more often than a business plan, you might say that a pitch deck is more important. However, a pitch deck is usually created after creating your business plan. The business plan is the foundation for your pitch deck, and therefore is equally important.

We can help you with your pitch deck

If you don’t have experience with creating a pitch deck it can be a tough ride to create one. You want it to have a slick design, but even more important, it should communicate the right things. We can help you with this. Drop your information at https://pitchskills.com/pitch-deck/ and we’ll create one for you!