How to Get Useful Pitch Deck Feedback
Get pitch deck feedback from people who resemble your investors, ask specific questions rather than "what do you think?", and test whether readers can repeat your story after a quick look. Collect feedback before you contact investors, because you rarely get a second first impression.
By Javier Alonso, Founder & CEO. Updated .
Step by step
Do a five-minute test
Give someone the deck for five minutes, take it away and ask them to explain what you do, for whom, and why it will work. Gaps in their answer are gaps in your deck.
Ask the right people
Founders who raised recently at your stage, angels and mentors who invest, and people from your target customer segment, who can check the problem slide. Friends who are not investors mostly give encouragement.
Ask specific questions
"Which slide would make you stop reading?", "What is the first question you would ask me?", "Do you believe the market size?" and "Is the ask clear?" get far more useful answers than "any thoughts?".
Look for patterns
One person's opinion is a data point. When three reviewers stumble on the same slide, fix it.
Revise, then test again
Change the deck and repeat the five-minute test with someone new.
What reviewers look for
- Problem and customer: is the pain real and is the customer specific?
- Solution and wedge: is it clear what you built and why it wins first?
- Market and timing: is the opportunity large and is there a reason it is happening now?
- Traction or validation: is the evidence easy to read and does it show change over time?
- Business model: is it clear how you make money?
- Competition: are the real alternatives named, honestly?
- Team: why are these founders the right ones?
- Ask: is the amount tied to milestones?
The pitch deck outline covers each slide in more detail.
Make traction easy to read
Reviewers most often struggle with traction slides. Show one clear chart over time, label the metric precisely ("weekly active clinics", not "users") and add one sentence on why it matters for the next milestone.
Feedback from investors who pass
When investors decline, ask politely for the main reason. Many will give a short answer. Patterns across several "no"s are the most valuable feedback you can get, because they come from the people you need to convince.
For your role
- Mentors
- Specific feedback on one or two slides is more useful than general reactions to the whole deck.
- Investors
- A one-line reason when you pass helps founders improve, and it is remembered.
- Accelerators & incubators
- Structured deck reviews with a shared checklist, before demo day, raise the quality across a cohort.
Primary sources
- Pitching Your Early-Stage Startup — Stripe Atlas
- Writing a Business Plan — Sequoia Capital
Common questions
- Where can I get feedback on my pitch deck?
- From founders who recently raised at your stage, angels, mentors who invest, accelerator programs and structured tools that score decks against a checklist.
- What do investors look for first in a pitch deck?
- A clear problem and customer, evidence of traction, a credible team and a sensible ask. Many decide within minutes whether to keep reading.
- Should I get pitch deck feedback before fundraising?
- Yes. Fixing an unclear story or weak evidence before outreach avoids wasting first impressions with investors.
Put it into practice
Upload your deck to get a score and feedback on narrative, clarity, traction, business model and readiness.