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Seize a cup of espresso and strap in, as a result of this pitch deck teardown is fairly completely different from a lot of the ones I’ve finished so far.
Why? Let me rely the methods. (OK, high quality, there are solely two methods.) However let’s take a better look:
1. This can be a blockchain pitch. The pitch deck is for Simba Chain, a blockchain firm that raised $25 million in a Collection A. It’s hella courageous of them to submit their deck for a teardown. For those who follow me on Twitter, you’ve most likely observed that of each three or 4 tweets, one has me making enjoyable of blockchain tech.
It isn’t that I hate the folks who construct blockchains, however within the decade or in order that I’ve been following the trade, I’ve come throughout solely a tiny handful of corporations that make sense to me (Arkive is one, and I did a teardown of its deck, too). More often than not, I conclude that it’s a crying disgrace that individuals this gifted are throwing away their time and expertise constructing one thing on this house.
I do know these are harsh phrases, and I hasten so as to add that that’s my private opinion, not that of TechCrunch general. (Apart from, you wouldn’t need me writing about this when now we have an unbelievable crypto/blockchain/web3 workforce protecting it.) I did wish to point out it, as a result of as a lot as I’ll attempt to be impartial, my disdain for blockchain tech will virtually actually present via on this teardown.
2. TechCrunch didn’t cowl the spherical! I do know, I do know, that’s just about one of many guidelines right here for the pitch deck teardowns. Having stated that, The Wall Street Journal covered the round, as did CoinDesk.
The workforce slide exhibits that the CEO has been concerned in 380 startups and 17 exits. You’d higher consider I’m paying consideration.
Suffice it to say that I’m stretching my information to the max right here, however I invite you to contemplate two issues:
So right here’s an invite: Let’s see this as an journey we are able to go on collectively, and if in case you have suggestions, ideas or feedback, be at liberty to put in writing them on a chunk of paper and set it on fi … I imply, be at liberty to make enjoyable of me on Twitter. I promise to be open-minded.
With all of that out of the best way, let’s study some stuff collectively!
We’re searching for extra distinctive pitch decks to tear down, so if you wish to submit your personal, here’s how you can do that.
Table of Contents
Simba Chain’s slide deck is extremely spectacular and covers a number of floor. It consists of 19 slides, a few of which sneak up on you with a shock, and others that may depart you scratching your head.
There are two methods to become profitable in a gold rush: One is to dig out an enormous honking nugget of heavy, yellow steel; the opposite is to provide the miners with picks, shovels and TNT.
I really like how express Simba Chain makes that it’s doing the latter — and never only for anybody, both. The corporate has been working with an unbelievable listing of consumers, together with ones (such because the U.S. Navy) which might be notoriously laborious to land contracts with. Within the pitch and storytelling, Simba Chain leans on its clients’ pedigree to make its story come to life.
[Slide 7] I really like the readability of imaginative and prescient right here. Picture Credit: Simba Chain
A variety of corporations discover it surprisingly laborious to determine their raison d’etre. While you’re an early-stage startup operating a blue-ocean strategy, a thousand alternatives come your approach at each flip. Chopping via the noise with a transparent, strategic imaginative and prescient, adopted by implementable ways and repeatable operations, is the best way to construct a fast-growing, profitable firm.
This imaginative and prescient slide has an abundance of readability: “‘Picks and shovels’ of the blockchain rush” is ChefsKiss.gif, and “What Stripe is to funds, Simba shall be to blockchain” nails it down tougher. I want that this was the second slide as a result of it provides even a sequence skeptic like myself a cause to nod my head and mutter, “I see what you probably did there,” beneath my breath.
There’s a few head-scratchers right here, so I’ll shortly identify them: I do not know what traction or buyers are doing on a imaginative and prescient slide — it dilutes the message and muddles the story. If the final two bullets on this slide have been moved elsewhere, this could be an ideal setting-the-tone slide for this pitch.
As it’s, it’s merely terribly good, so we’ll let the founders off the hook right here.
[Slide 10] First impression: Goodness, that’s a number of white guys. Second impression: Goodness, that’s a hell of a workforce. Picture Credit: Simba Chain
In a world the place range issues, this slide earned an eye-roll from me. However then I began studying the descriptions.
I’ve by no means seen something like, “Bryan has been concerned in 380 startups and 17 exits” on a slide deck earlier than. It looks as if he was pulled in as part of the Series A after serving as the corporate’s board chairman since its late-2019 seed spherical. A declare like “380 startups and 17 exits” may have any investor looking up Ritchie’s LinkedIn page.
There appears to be a little bit of a disconnect there, and I believe the founding workforce had an attention-grabbing time in due diligence. Nonetheless, the corporate efficiently raised the cash, so that they handed due diligence, and if the corporate can again up the declare, it speaks to a number of expertise for positive.
The remainder of the workforce is stacked with veterans, too. The CTO had been in IT academia for a decade earlier than co-founding the corporate, and the COO spent 25 years at Microsoft before joining Simba Chain (though it seems he’s lately moved on to Google).
The co-founder and ex-CEO, Joel Neidig, has an impressive resume as well, though “addressed the president’s financial council on blockchain” is considerably fuzzy — I don’t know what meaning. In any case, it seems he left Simbla Chain in July, together with COO Joe Matz.
This slide is fairly wild. I haven’t spoken to the corporate, as I’m making an attempt to do these pitch deck teardowns as prima facie as I can, however there appears to be extra to the story than you’d suppose at first look.
If I’d come throughout this deck when the corporate was elevating its spherical again in 2021, I’d have stated, “There’s a number of veteran expertise right here.” Taking a look at it with the good thing about August 2022 eyes, although, the image is attention-grabbing: The CEO wasn’t there when the fundraising occurred (he was promoted from board chair to CEO as a part of this spherical), and two of the remaining seven people on the deck have moved on.
My learn is that the corporate introduced in veteran management, which prompted a shake-up. That’s not a foul factor — corporations increasing quickly usually outgrow their founding workforce and early staff — however it will actually make me conduct deeper due diligence than common to ensure there isn’t a cultural downside right here.
In any case, the corporate at present lists 91 staff on LinkedIn, so it seems prefer it has been on a hell of a trajectory since its early days.
[Slide 14] Examine verify verify verify verify this out. Picture Credit: Simba Chain
Blockchains and web3 are quickly evolving areas, each by way of market acceptance and expertise. It helps that Simba Chain was originally spun out of a DARPA contract and has a gathered credibility from being related to established, well-respected tutorial organizations. This implies it has a head begin on making itself palatable for governments and enterprise clients alike.
In fact, the corporate wasn’t going so as to add something to its personal competitors slide that doesn’t present it popping out on high. Even so, it is a somewhat spectacular approach to begin a dialog. Observe-up conversations could be round why these factors are so essential to authorities clients and the way that interprets to general aggressive benefits.
In fact, buyers will wish to verify whether or not Simba actually is approach forward of everybody else and that there’s actually no competitors for no-code choices. That stated, this slide does one thing notably elegant — by mapping out the aggressive panorama on this approach, you’ll be able to information the primary move of the competitors dialog in your path. Very intelligent and undoubtedly elegant.
In the remainder of this teardown, we’ll check out three issues Simba Chain might have improved or finished in a different way, together with its full pitch deck!