Remove that ‘exit strategy’ slide from your pitch deck – TechCrunch

Lots of pitch decks I overview have a slide that actually shouldn’t be there: the exit technique slide. Your slide deck ought to solely have an exit technique slide in case you’re operating a really late-stage firm that’s about to IPO, and even then, you in all probability wouldn’t have it as a slide on a funding deck however as a complete, separate IPO plan. As an early-stage startup, it’s downright nonsensical, and it shouldn’t be a part of your pitch deck in any respect.

To a number of founders, an exit — or a “liquidation occasion,” because the authorized buffs are inclined to confer with it — is the large pot of gold on the finish of a really lengthy and arduous journey. The identical goes for buyers; when there’s an acquisition or a public itemizing, that’s how everybody will get paid. Furthermore, among the outdated pitch deck templates which can be floating round on the web have an exit technique slide on them, so it is smart that individuals are nonetheless making this error.

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Two issues are true: One is that the very best firms are purchased, not bought. It’s unlikely that you realize upfront precisely who will probably be concerned with shopping for your organization. Second, your job as a founder is to construct the very best firm you presumably can.

Making choices early on to assist form the corporate into one thing somebody would possibly need to purchase merely doesn’t make sense; it makes you blind to among the different choices and alternatives that may current themselves.