Raising Capital
Companies are required to pay back this type of financing.
What is debt?
This early competitive advantage often fails over time because it leads to unsustainable margins and a “race to the bottom” where competitors can always undercut you.
What is pricing?
This is what M&A stands for
Mergers & Acquisitions
The number of slides that should be in your pitch deck (can be a range)
What is no more than 15
(Will also accept ranges up to 15)
This revenue model offers a basic version of a product for free while charging users for premium features.
What is a freemium model?
This is the feedback many will receive when they raise too money too early
What is lack of product-market fit?
What is concern if this is a real business?
What is no metrics?
This type of advantage makes it harder for users to leave due to data, habits, or integrations.
This is when one company buys another, and it is the most common type of exit.
What is an acquisition?
When creating a pitch deck, you should rely on these rather than blocks of text to tell your story
What are visuals and/or charts
This financial concept looks at the revenue and costs associated with a single customer, product, or transaction—often used to evaluate business sustainability.
What is unit economics?
This type of financing gives investors ownership and decision making power but there are no guaranteed returns
This advantage becomes stronger over time as more users join and increase value for everyone
What is network effects?
This rare exit involves selling shares to the public market.
What is an IPO (initial public offering)
This part of a pitch explains how your company actually makes money, including pricing strategy and business model.
What is revenue logic (or revenue model)?
In this approach to budgeting, projections are based on operational realities, rather than industry data, making it more detailed and often more accurate.
What is bottoms up?
What are 3 common sources of capital (from whom)
What are angel investors, friends & family, individuals, institutions, banks/lenders? (any 3)
DAILY DOUBLE
This advantage allows a company to charge higher prices because customers perceive its product as unique or superior.
This type of buyer focuses on cash flow, efficiency, and predictability.
What is a financial buyer?
When identifying this part of your pitch, it must be specific and clearly defined. It cannot be "everyone"
What is your customer?
Strong budgets and projections are built on a clear set of these—about pricing, customer growth, churn, and more. They must be solid and defensible.
What are assumptions?
This is the implied company valuation if I purchase 20% of the company for $100,000.
What is $500,000
This concept explains why not all competitive advantages are durable—it distinguishes between “winning now” and “keeping winning.”
What is financial defensibility?
This exit strategy involves selling parts of the business rather than the entire company, often during shutdown.
What is an asset sale / liquidation?
In a pitch, this must connect directly to use of funds and show how the investment will increase the company’s value.
What is the ask?
DAILY DOUBLE
This market sizing metric represents the realistic revenue opportunity available to a company if it captured 100% of the market based on the specific business model that it is operating.