Even big fish like Airbnb, LinkedIn, Tinder, and Xing started out very, very small. All of these companies have exciting pitch decks from their early days that anyone looking for capital should take a look at.
Founders presenting their startup need to be able to convey their idea effectively. Especially when it comes to raising money for their concept. A good pitch deck can be very helpful in this regard. These pitch decks are usually a very well-kept secret, because who wants to give other founders or even competitors a glimpse into their documents, which they use to woo investors—and reveal their entire strategy.
Good visual material for young founders
Years later, however, some pitch decks usually become public and can serve as good illustrative material.
Airbnb
The accommodation broker Airbnb, which found well-known imitators in Germany with 9flats and Wimdu, used this deck to pitch for attention and money. [Pitch Deck, Business Insider]
LinkedIn
LinkedIn's pitch deck dates back to 2004, practically the Stone Age of the Internet. LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman used it to pitch to Greylock Partners. [Pitch Deck, reidhoffman.org]
Tinder
The first pitch deck of the successful mobile dating app Tinder (then called Match Box) dates back to 2012. [Pitch Deck, Scribd]
Xing
To mark the company's tenth anniversary, Xing founder Lars Hinrichs published the presentation of the Xing roadshow from December 2006, shortly before the IPO. [Pitch Deck, Dropbox]
You can find even more interesting pitch decks at German startups.
