Pitch and fundraising deck design
Overslide designs pitch and fundraising decks for funded startups at any stage, from seed to Series A, Series B and later rounds. Deck, from $5,000, rebuilds one deck of around 25 slides around the narrative and brand the founder already has, from one week. Story, from $10,000, builds the narrative or the visual direction first, from two weeks. Max Marele designs every deck himself, under NDA, in the tool the team already uses.
Deck or Story
Deck: the story works, the slides don’t
Your narrative is right. Your slides just aren’t pulling their weight. I rebuild them around what you already have (hierarchy, layout, charts, type) and the argument stays yours.
Story: something has to be built first
The narrative isn’t there yet, or the look isn’t. Sometimes both. We figure it out together, then I design the whole thing end to end.
Quick test: can you walk someone through the raise in the order the slides go, in a brand you’re happy with? That’s a Deck. If not, it’s a Story. (Not sure you need a designer at all? Read this first, or start from the free template.)
What changes
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?
Teaser, full deck, demo day
Teaser and full deck
Some raises need two decks: a short one that gets you the meeting, and the full one for when you’re in it. That’s a bigger project, so it gets scoped as one.
Demo day
Demo day decks get presented, not read. Fewer words on the slide, more of them coming out of your mouth, and one number per slide that people still remember at the drinks after.
Seed, Series A, Series B
At seed you’re selling the team, the insight and a bit of early signal. By Series A you’re selling evidence: metrics, cohorts, go-to-market. By Series B it’s growth that repeats and pays for itself: retention, unit economics, a forecast tied to its assumptions. The design job changes with it, from making it clear to making a wall of data readable.
Charts, traction and financials
Who designs the data slides
Overslide designs the charts, traction slides, financial slides and market-sizing slides in a pitch deck, from the numbers the company already has. For the investor, each number becomes a chart they can read in seconds, under a headline that says what it shows. Charts and diagrams are part of every tier (see pricing), so if your story works and only the data slides don’t, that’s a Deck.
What I do with the numbers
- Traction. One chart that shows the growth, with a headline that states the takeaway. The metric and its definition are yours; I make the shape of the growth obvious.
- Financials. Past results and the forecast look different, the assumptions sit on the slide, and units and periods are labelled. The detail goes to the appendix.
- Market sizing. One number with its reasoning and a source, instead of a stack of concentric circles.
- The story. An investor should follow the argument at reading speed: the claim, the proof, the ask. One number per slide that people still remember.
Who owns what
You own the numbers and what they mean, with your finance lead or advisor. I make them readable, and I don’t change them. If the argument around the numbers still has to be built, that’s a Story. Which charts fit seed, Series A and Series B, and how to lay out the financials, 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.
Price and timing
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.
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.
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.
Working together
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.
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.
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.
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.
Results
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.
Every project starts with a call