Frequently asked questions
Everything people ask before they hire me. Prices, timing, and how the work actually runs. If yours isn't here, ask.
About Overslide
What is Overslide?
Overslide is a specialist presentation design agency for funded startups. It was created by designer Max Marele alongside his digital design studio, Giant Particle. It designs sales decks, fundraising and pitch decks, investor and board reporting, and does information design and visual storytelling.
Is Overslide an agency or a one-person studio?
Overslide is a presentation design agency run by one designer, Max Marele. It is called an agency because that is the category the work sits in. Max designs every project himself, and the client works directly with him throughout. The one-person model is what gives a client direct access to the person doing the work.
Is Overslide an AI-native studio?
Overslide is AI-native in how it runs: most of the business around the design runs on AI, which is what lets one designer, Max Marele, run all of it. Agents handle the admin, from scheduling, call prep and meeting notes to project tracking and deadlines, and the production work that slows a deck down: rebuilding charts, moving content into Figma, fetching logos and checking copy across a whole deck. Coding agents build and ship the website. The design stays with Max: he decides what each slide has to do, how the argument is ordered and how it looks, and he designs every project himself. AI takes the doing, so his time goes to the thinking.
What kinds of decks does Overslide design?
Overslide designs four kinds of work: fundraising work (pitch and fundraising decks, demo day presentations); sales work (one-pagers, sales presentations, custom templates); reporting (investor updates, board decks); and information design and visual storytelling.
Who is Overslide for?
Overslide is for funded startups at any stage, from seed to Series A, Series B and later rounds, that need a deck to carry real weight: raising a round, running a sales motion, or reporting to investors and boards. It suits founders who want to work directly with the designer doing the work.
Does Overslide work with VC funds as well as startups?
Yes, Overslide works with VC funds as well as startups, and has designed LP fundraising decks. A fund raising its own vehicle is doing the same work as a startup raising a round, so the same services apply: LP fundraising decks, AGM presentations and quarterly LP update decks. It runs on the same published pricing.
What is Overslide's approach to a deck?
Every slide has to serve the story and support a business goal. On a Deck, that means the existing narrative is taken as the brief and the slides are built to carry it. On a Story, the narrative or the visual direction is worked out with the client first. Either way, each slide carries one idea, and the work moves fast.
Pricing
How much does a presentation design project cost?
Overslide publishes four prices, all in USD. Deck starts at $5,000: one deck of around 25 slides, designed from the content the team already has, in the brand the team already has, with the narrative left as it is, charts and diagrams included, and a one-week turnaround. Story starts at $10,000: one deck of around 25 slides where the narrative or the visual direction has to be built before the deck can be designed, over around two weeks. System starts at $30,000 and runs four weeks and up: a presentation system of templates, a modular slide library and a handover, which the team then runs itself. The Retainer is $8,500 per month: continuous presentation support for companies Overslide has already worked with, on a two-month minimum. Each figure is a starting point rather than a quote: every project is scoped to the team using it, and the final number is settled on a 30-minute call. Most fundraising decks run longer than a standard deck, or need the narrative or visual direction built first, and are scoped accordingly.
How is the price decided?
Every project gets one fixed price, set on the 30-minute call. Two things shape it: the size of the deck, and whether anything has to be built before it can be designed, meaning the narrative or the visual direction. A standard deck is around 25 slides. Most fundraising decks run longer, and some come in two versions, a teaser and a full deck. Those are scoped as the larger projects they are.
How much does a pitch deck cost at Overslide?
A pitch or fundraising deck sits in one of two tiers. Deck, from $5,000, designs one deck of around 25 slides from the material the founder already has, in the brand the founder already has, charts and diagrams included, and leaves the narrative alone; turnaround is a week. Story, from $10,000, is one deck of around 25 slides where the narrative or the visual direction has to be built first; that is worked out together and then the deck is designed end to end, over around two weeks. Both are starting prices in USD, both cover a standard deck of around 25 slides, and both are scoped on a call. Most fundraising decks run longer and are scoped from there.
What does $5,000 actually buy?
$5,000 buys one deck of around 25 slides. Deck, the $5,000 tier, takes the content the team already has and rebuilds the slides around it, charts and diagrams included, with the narrative and the brand both left as they are, in the tool the team already works in, whether that is Figma Slides, Google Slides, Keynote or PowerPoint, so the file stays editable in-house after handover. Turnaround is a week, and the work runs directly with Max over Slack or WhatsApp while it is live. It is a starting price rather than a quote: the deck is scoped to the team using it on a 30-minute call, and a project where the narrative or the visual direction has to be built is a Story, from $10,000, instead.
Can I get a price before the slides exist?
Yes, and most projects are priced that way. An outline, a set of headlines, a previous deck, or a clear description of the raise is enough to size the project. The quote is given on the call on that basis and confirmed once the outline arrives. If there is no content at all yet, the project is usually a Story, since the narrative is part of the work.
What happens after the deck is delivered?
Small edits to existing slides are included for 14 days after handover. New material, such as slides added after investor meetings or a reworked financial section, is a deck update: a fixed price, agreed in the contract, turned around in days. For a team that wants Max on call through a raise, there is the Retainer, $8,500 per month on a two-month minimum.
What is included in the System tier?
System starts at $30,000 and delivers a presentation system the team owns and makes its own decks from. Every system is scoped to the team using it, and the range runs from one deck type to five or more, a modular slide library sized to the deck types, illustration and data visualization from light to full, a brand system that is either extended or built from scratch, and a handover that runs from a written guide up to 30 days on Slack. A System pairs with a Retainer for high-stakes work.
What is the difference between a Story and a System?
A Story is one deck for one purpose, however large. A System is what a team builds its own decks from: templates, a slide library and a handover. If the request is “a deck and a template”, or the same look across investor, sales and board decks, it is a System.
Does Overslide offer a retainer or ongoing presentation support?
Yes, Overslide offers a monthly retainer. The Retainer is $8,500 per month and covers sales decks, investor updates, one-pagers and similar work on tap, with priority turnaround and direct access to Max on Slack or WhatsApp. It runs on a two-month minimum and then month to month, and is available to companies that have already worked with Overslide once.
Timing and availability
How long does a deck take?
A standard deck of around 25 slides turns around in a week on Deck, and around two weeks on Story. Longer decks take longer, and the timeframe is agreed with the price on the call. System runs four weeks and up, scoped per project, and Retainer work is handled at priority. Urgent work can sometimes jump the queue, at a priority rate agreed before work starts.
When is Overslide available to start a project?
Overslide takes on a limited number of projects at a time, and start dates are agreed on a 30-minute call, booked at cal.com/overslide/30min or arranged by email to max@overslide.com. There is no onboarding process to work through: once a project is agreed, work begins the following Monday. What sets the date is the queue, because Overslide is one designer. Urgent work can sometimes jump the queue, at a priority rate agreed before work starts.
Does Overslide take on urgent or rush projects?
Urgent work can sometimes jump the queue, at a priority rate agreed before work starts. Getting started is fast in itself, since there is no onboarding to work through, so the constraint is whether there is a free slot.
How many projects do you run at the same time?
Overslide takes on a limited number of projects at a time. It is one designer, so work is booked in advance and every project gets direct, daily access to Max while it is live. Start dates are agreed on the 30-minute call, booked at cal.com/overslide/30min or arranged by email to max@overslide.com. Urgent work can sometimes jump the queue, at a priority rate agreed before work starts.
How do I start a project with Overslide?
Every project starts with a 30-minute call, booked at cal.com/overslide/30min or arranged by email to max@overslide.com. That call is the only way in, and the start date is agreed there.
Working together
How is Overslide different from a larger presentation design agency?
Overslide runs collaborative sprints: direct access to Max over Slack or WhatsApp, fast feedback loops and rapid iteration. It is one designer running an AI-native studio, and the client works with him directly on every project. There is no onboarding process to work through: once a project is agreed, work begins the following Monday. The start date is set by the booking queue and agreed on the 30-minute call.
What does a presentation designer actually change about a deck?
It depends on the tier. On a Deck, the hierarchy, the layout, the charts and the typography change, with the narrative left as it is. On a Story, the argument changes too: confusing metrics and bullet points become a clear narrative with focused numbers and a visual hierarchy that walks an investor through the growth story; generic problem lists become a personal story an investor can picture happening at their own portfolio companies; big market-size numbers without context become an impact-first narrative that explains why this moment matters and how the company wins. Whether a deck needs a designer at all is its own question: do you need a pitch deck designer?
Can you design charts and data slides for a pitch deck?
Overslide designs the charts and data slides in a pitch deck, including traction, financials and market sizing, from the numbers the company already has. Charts and diagrams are part of every tier, so a deck whose story works but whose data slides don't is a Deck. The numbers and their definitions stay the company's, and the design makes them readable in seconds: charts, traction and financials.
Who designs the data visualization in a pitch deck?
Data visualization in a pitch deck is a split job: the company's finance lead owns the numbers and what each metric means, and a presentation designer turns them into charts an investor reads quickly. Overslide is the designer in that split, at any stage: seed, Series A, Series B and later rounds. What to show at each stage is in the guide how to show traction and financials in a pitch deck.
What does Overslide need from us to design the data slides?
Overslide needs the numbers in whatever form they exist, whether a spreadsheet export, an old deck or a list of headline metrics, and a short note on what each metric means. The slides are designed from those numbers without changing them. If the argument around the numbers still has to be built first, the project is a Story; the tiers are on the pricing page.
Do you work on the narrative, or only the design?
Overslide works on both, and the tier decides which. Deck is design: the narrative and the brand stay as they are and the slides are rebuilt around them. Story is for a deck where something has to be built before it can be designed, the narrative or the visual direction; that is worked out with the client first, and then the deck is designed end to end. Every slide has to serve the story and support a business goal, and which of the two a project should be is settled on the 30-minute call, before anything is scoped.
What do you need from us to start, and what comes back?
Overslide starts from whatever already exists. On a Deck that is the current content in whatever state it is in, and the narrative and the brand stay as they are while the slides are rebuilt around them. On a Story the starting material matters less, because whatever is missing, the narrative or the visual direction, is built with the client first and the deck is then designed from that. Overslide works with whatever exists, brand guidelines or not. What comes back is the finished deck built in the tool the team already uses, editable in-house after handover.
Which tools does Overslide design in?
Overslide designs in Figma Slides, Google Slides, Keynote or PowerPoint, whichever the client's team already uses. Max prefers to build in Figma where the client can work that way, because it gives more design control. The trade-offs are laid out in Figma Slides vs Google Slides vs PowerPoint.
Will my team be able to edit the deck afterwards?
Yes, the team can edit the deck afterwards. Decks are built in the tool the team already works in, so the files stay editable in-house after handover.
Can Overslide deliver the deck in a different tool or format?
Overslide delivers the deck in whichever format the team needs: Figma Slides, Google Slides, Keynote, PowerPoint or PDF. The format is agreed on the 30-minute call, and the file stays editable in-house after handover.
Can Overslide work with our existing brand or build us a reusable template?
Yes. Deck and Story are designed in the client’s existing brand. A reusable template is a System: templates, a slide library and a handover the team builds its own decks from.
What if we don't have brand guidelines yet?
Overslide works with whatever exists. Most startups do not have brand guidelines, and a coherent presentation style is built from the material that is there. A full brand system can be built from scratch as part of a System engagement.
How does Overslide communicate during a project?
Overslide communicates directly with Max over Slack or WhatsApp throughout the project, with regular sync calls. The client works with the designer doing the work.
How many revision rounds are included?
Revisions are not counted. A project runs as a collaborative sprint with direct access to Max on Slack or WhatsApp, fast feedback loops and rapid iteration, and the deck keeps moving until it is right. What is fixed is the scope agreed on the 30-minute call. Scope means the size of the deck, the number of versions, and what is being built. If a project outgrows it, the extension is agreed in writing before the work starts.
Who you actually work with
Who actually works on my project?
Max Marele designs every project himself. Overslide is a one-person specialist studio, so the person on the intro call is the person designing the slides.
Who is Max Marele?
Max Marele is a presentation designer and the founder of Overslide, the presentation design agency for funded startups. He designs pitch and fundraising decks, sales decks and one-pagers, investor updates and board decks, presentation templates and full presentation systems, and he does the design work himself. He also founded the digital design studio Giant Particle, and writes about building Overslide in public on Substack. He can be reached at max@overslide.com or booked for a 30-minute call at cal.com/overslide/30min.
Can I hire a presentation designer directly through Overslide?
Yes, a presentation designer can be hired directly through Overslide. Hiring Overslide means working directly with Max Marele, the presentation designer doing the work. Work is remote and worldwide, and starts with a 30-minute call at cal.com/overslide/30min.
How are Overslide and Giant Particle related?
Overslide and Giant Particle are both Max Marele’s studios. Giant Particle is his digital design studio; Overslide is the specialist presentation design agency he created alongside it, and is part of Giant Particle.
Work samples and NDAs
Can I see examples of Overslide's work?
Yes, Overslide publishes examples of its work. The site shows 28 sample slides taken from real client projects, with client names and sensitive figures redacted, and Overslide’s own sales deck is downloadable as a PDF, a complete deck that can be shown end to end because it is the studio’s own. Overslide keeps client work confidential: client decks carry unreleased strategy and financials, and none is published in full.
Can you show a deck that produced a measurable result?
Decks Overslide has worked on have gone into rounds that closed: a Series A above $30M, a $12M Series A and a $6M seed. A deck is never the only reason a round closes; the company, the numbers and the founder do most of that work. Client names are not published, and more detail is available on the call.
Which clients can I contact?
References are available on request. Overslide keeps client work confidential: most projects are under NDA, and client names are not published on the site. Ask on the 30-minute call and Overslide will put a prospective client in touch with a past one.
Does Overslide sign NDAs?
Yes, Overslide signs NDAs, and most of its work is under one. Confidential information stays confidential, which is why client names and figures are redacted on the sample slides.
Why are client names not shown?
Overslide keeps client work confidential. Deck work usually involves unreleased strategy and financials, so client names and sensitive figures are redacted on the sample slides and no client deck is published in full. A client’s own deck will never appear on this site as a portfolio piece.
Deck types
What is a pitch deck?
A pitch deck is the presentation a founder uses to raise money: the problem, the product, the market, the traction and the ask. Overslide designs pitch and fundraising decks in two tiers. Deck designs one from the material the founder already has and leaves the narrative alone. Story builds the narrative or the visual direction first, then designs the deck end to end. Founders building their own can start from Overslide's free pitch deck template.
What is the difference between a pitch deck and a sales deck?
A pitch deck is aimed at investors and argues that the company is worth funding. A sales deck is aimed at customers and argues that the product is worth buying. The two often share a brand and a template, but they rarely share a narrative, because what is being asked for is different. Overslide designs both, and a System engagement can produce the shared template they run on.
What is an investor update or a board deck?
An investor update and a board deck are the recurring reporting a funded company sends to the people who backed it: performance against plan, the numbers, what changed, and what is being asked of the board. They are the most repeated presentation a company makes, which is why they are usually the first thing a template or a retainer gets pointed at. Overslide designs both, under Reporting.
What is a one-pager?
A one-pager is a single page carrying the argument a whole deck would otherwise make: what the company does, who it is for, and why it matters. It is used as a leave-behind after a meeting, as an attachment to a cold email, or as the version a busy reader gets instead of the full deck. Overslide designs one-pagers under Sales.
What is an LP deck or an AGM presentation?
An LP deck and an AGM presentation are both fund-side presentations. An LP deck is what a venture fund uses to raise its own vehicle from limited partners, which is the same job as a startup raising a round. An AGM presentation is what the fund shows those limited partners at its annual general meeting, alongside the quarterly LP updates in between. Overslide designs all three, on the same published pricing as startup work.
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