Startup founders who successfully raised from giants like Tencent and Alibaba give 7 tips for the perfect pitch deck

Investors are keeping their hands in their pockets as the COVID-19 pandemic causes economic turmoil around the world. In March, almost a third of investors pulled out of UK seed-funding deals over fears of an oncoming recession. Business Insider asked up-and-coming founders – backed by the likes of Tencent and Alibaba – how anyone hoping to raise a venture capital round can help score investments with the perfect pitch deck. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As the economic slowdown brought about by COVID-19 forces investors to tighten the purse strings, it's never been more important for founders to get their pitches just right. 

In March, almost one-third of investors pulled out of UK seed funding deals amid fears that the pandemic was about to trigger a global recession. 

SeedLegals, a London firm that specializes in legal advice for smaller startups, told Business Insider the number of venture capitalists participating in early-stage funding rounds for startups dropped by 28% in March.

Those who do find themselves successfully pitching to investors currently have to do so over Zoom rather than in person, making a strong pitch deck an even more crucial accompaniment.

We asked Anthony Rose, SeedLegals cofounder and CEO, for his expert advice on putting together the perfect pitch deck. 

Fellow founders Albert Liu, CEO of Alibaba-backed facial recognition firm Kneron, and James Dean, CEO of Tencent-backed AI firm Sensat, chipped in with some words of wisdom too. 

Read their words of wisdom below: 

Original author: Martin Coulter