When you see an investor and an entrepreneur shaking hands, signing deals, there is this thought that crosses every new founder’s mind— how do people secure funding?
From the outside it looks complex, knowing the right people, having the right background and displaying the perfect data, but it’s not all about that.
2026 can be your year as a founder to raise funds. With the conclusion of ‘Mother of all deals’, or the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Europe, opens the gates for more investment and business opportunities for the startups.
Therefore, it is important to understand how to raise startup funding. In this post, you’ll find practical tips to improve your pitch deck and startup pitch presentation to the investors.
How to Pitch a Startup to Investors in 2026?
21BY72 has been hosting pitching events for the past 4 years, and we observed what works and what doesn’t. These tips will help you create an effective pitch deck for investors that will help you secure the funding of your dreams.
1. Study Your Investor Thoroughly
The first step to creating a startup pitch deck is learning about your investor. This will give you clarity on two things that lay the basis of your pitch:
- Who are your ideal investors
- What do those investors look for in startups
There are hundreds of investors in the market. But not all of them can be ideal for your startup. Investors don’t just provide capital, but also assistance and mentorship.
Choose investors who are interested in your niche, have experience in your domain, and a good reputation in the market. Because a successful pitch depends on how well it aligns with the investor’s interest.
This narrows down your investor list, helping you create better pitches and improve your chances of securing startup funding.
List of factors investors consider when evaluating startup pitches:
- What opportunities does your startup idea have
- Scalability of your startup’s business model
- Competitive advantage in your niche
- Traction from the market and customers
- Financial and demand forecasts
- The skills of the founders and core team
2. Create A Pitch Deck For Investors
Now you know who your ideal investors are and what they look for, it’s time to create a startup pitch presentation.
Your pitch deck should not be more than 15 slides. Don’t dump all information in the slides; focus on what moves the needles for your startup and answers the common questions an investor asks.
The effective structure of pitch presentation includes:
- Title slide with company name, logo, and tagline
- Problem and pain points that you are targeting, including data and anecdotes
- The solution that your startup provides to resolve the pain points
- Market opportunities for growth and expansion
- Business model focused on operations, distribution, pricing, revenue, and more
- Traction supporting your startup growth
- Competitor analysis
- Information about your core team members and their strengths
- Financial reports and projections
- Funding ask
Having a master source deck for all the information about your business like market & competitive analysis, forecasts, transactions, and more, can help you create a customized pitch for the investors, increasing your chances of securing funding.
Focus on using authentic traction, revenue, and projections to attract investors.
But what if you are a pre-seed or early-stage startup? Worry not, there is a solution for you.
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For early-stage startups
Pre-seed or early-stage startups often only have ideas and research. Therefore, most investors will focus on your understanding of the problem and research.
When creating a pitch deck for investors, you should demonstrate your expertise in resolving the pain points. You should demonstrate a reliable execution plan to gain investors’ trust. You can also use prototypes and early feedback in your pitch.
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For growth stage startups
Growth stage startups must show strong metrics of their potential. Investors look for revenue, customer acquisition rate, market trends, and scalability to make their decision. Use real-world customer feedback, financial projects, and more to strengthen your pitch deck.
When presenting your pitch, you focus on building a narrative that highlights WHY YOUR STARTUP is the best. Use a story (real or fictional) to describe how your startup provides a practical solution and how the investors can also benefit from it.
3. Practice Your Pitch
Pitch isn’t perfected in a week; it needs time and practice.
When pitching business ideas to investors, fumbling with words and data isn’t an option. So, practice your pitch in front of your friends and team members or record yourself to identify any improvement areas. Focus on your use of pauses and filler words to reduce your pitch time and improve the delivery.
Research the common investor’s queries regarding startups and practice answering those questions precisely and confidently. Participate in local pitching competitions to practice your pitch and get improvement feedback.
4. Be Concise And Engaging When Presenting
While you might have 20 mins to present your pitch, investors’ attention span can vary significantly based on your presentation. Therefore, instead of using fi ller words and useless narrative, create a concise and engaging pitch. Get the investors hooked in the first 5 mins to keep them interested throughout the pitch.
If you feel confused, you can start by watching how other startups present their startup pitch decks. That’s where we can help you. Trailblazers Mine at Bharat’s Leading Startup Summit by 21BY72 provides startups the best stage for pitching business ideas to global investors and getting useful insights to grow their startups. You can also connect with mentors and fellow entrepreneurs who can help you improve your pitch deck for better impact and grow your network. Book your spot now!
5. Answer Investors Confidently
Practice and research make your pitch perfect. When you know your startup inside and out, you can confidently answer the investors.
For pre-seed and early-stage startups, this confidence can set you apart. Therefore, try to find the commonly asked investor questions and create precise answers. Focus on practical and data-backed answers instead of bluffing.
6. Focus On Follow-Up After Pitching
Your job doesn’t end after presenting the pitch. You need to send a follow-up email to the investors to show your gratitude for the pitching opportunity. This helps them remember you better.
If you don’t hear back from the investors, don’t be disheartened. Build a connection with the investor by sharing regular updates regarding your startup’s growth and other valuable information. This can help you land other pitching opportunities.
Conclusion
Every entrepreneur needs to raise funding. But most struggle with the ultimate question: How to pitch their startup to investors? We have listed a few steps to help founders create a pitch deck for investors and tips to improve the startup pitch presentation. Research related to your investors and their interest areas can help you prepare a better pitch and effective answers for investor queries.
Practicing your pitch is essential to identifying where you are lacking and creating an engaging narrative to keep the investors hooked. You can watch how startup pitching works at the Trailblazers Mine pitching competition in Bharat’s Leading Startup Summit. If you want to raise funds from global investors, book your pitching spot now!
FAQs
1. How To Raise Startup Funding In India?
You can raise startup funding in India through multiple channels, such as bootstrapping, angel investors, VC funding, crowdfunding, or connecting with incubators and accelerators. You need to defi ne your funding needs, decision-making control, and mentorship requirements before choosing one of these methods.
2. What Is Included In A Startup Pitch Presentation?
An impactful startup pitch should include:
- Problem and solution statement
- Market demand and growth opportunity
- Traction for your startup
- Competitive analysis
- Financial projections
- Core team member profiles
- Funding requirements
3. What Do Investors Look For In A Startup Pitch?
The most common evaluating factors that investors look for in a pitch are:
- Market size for growth
- Scalability of business model
- Founder capability
- Revenue potential
- Competitive advantage
- Financial projections
- Execution plan
- Strength of the core team
Use these points to create your pitch deck and answers for the most asked investor queries.
4. How To Find Investors For Pitching Business Ideas?
First, you should choose the investors who will be the best fi t for your startup’s stage. Angel investors are better for startups that are just starting out or are in the early stage. VC and corporate funding work better for startups that are already growing. Once your plan is set, you can fi nd investors through social media groups, angel networks, VC platforms, pitching competitions, and networking events.
