The Financial Slide of Your Pitch Deck
VCs know your 5-year projections are wrong. Here is what they are actually looking for.
· 1 min read
You put a slide up showing $100M in revenue by Year 5. The VC rolls their eyes. They know it's a guess. But they study the slide intensely. Why?
Logic Check
They are testing your assumptions. "You say you'll have $10M revenue with only 2 sales people? That math doesn't work." They want to see that you understand the drivers of your business (leads, conversion rate, ACV).
The J-Curve
They want to see the "hockey stick," but it must be grounded in reality. The early years should show heavy investment (losses), followed by efficient scaling. If you show profitability in Month 2, you aren't thinking big enough for venture capital.
Your financial model doesn't need to be accurate (it won't be), but it needs to be credible.