Pitch deck design for non-designers: What to do when you have no budget yet

Let’s be honest about something. Most business heads designing their first pitch deck are not designers. They are founders, entrepreneurs, and they are stretched thin, wearing multiple hats and trying to turn their big idea into a funded business. Hiring a professional presentation designer is on the list, just not on the top of it yet. 

That is completely understandable. It, however, does not mean your pitch deck has to look like it was thrown together the night before a meeting. 

Having worked with many early-stage businesses, I have seen DIY pitch decks that genuinely impressed me and ones that, despite a strong business idea behind them, undermined the founder’s credibility before they had said a word. The difference usually comes down to a handful of decisions. Not design talent, but design thinking. 

This guide will walk you through what matters when you are building your own pitch deck, what to avoid, and when it is time to stop DIYing and bring in a professional. 

 

First, understand what you are up against 

In an ideal world, we would want investors to be sitting down with a cup of tea and an open afternoon to review your pitch deck. Unfortunately, that’s not usually how it goes. Research shows that investors spend an average of just 2 minutes and 14 seconds on a first review. That is not a lot of time to make an impression. 

On average, 137,000 new startups are launched every day. The people you are pitching to have seen a lot of decks. A generic, cluttered, or hard-to-follow presentation is not just forgettable; it can actively work against you. 

The good news is you do not need to be a designer to avoid the most common mistakes. You just need to know what they are. 

 

The most common pitch deck mistakes non-designers make 

 

Too much content, not enough clarity 

This is the first thing I notice when a client brings me a DIY deck. They have tried to include everything — every feature, every data point, every piece of context — because it all feels important. And it is, to them, but not all of it belongs in a pitch deck. 

Investors can have thousands of decks coming through their inboxes. Being faced with an essay at first glance can immediately work against you. 

There is also a structural problem that many founders do not realise they are making. That is trying to make one deck do two jobs. They want it to work as a presentation deck during the meeting and as a leave-behind document afterwards. This almost always results in slides that are too text-heavy to present well and not detailed enough to stand alone. 

The Fix

You should keep your presentation deck lean. One key point per slide so your audience is listening to you rather than trying to read ahead. If you need a leave-behind, save your slides as a PDF with speaker notes included. That way, the detail lives in the notes, not the slide itself. 

 

Inconsistent alignment 

Inconsistent alignment within a slide and from one slide to the next makes a deck feel unpolished and rushed, even if the content is strong. 

The Fix

To fix this is not complicated. Simply use grids and guides in whatever tool you are working in. Most platforms have these built in. Turn them on and use them consistently. Use Master Slides for recurring elements like logos, page numbers, and titles, so they sit in the same position on every slide without you having to manually adjust each one. 

While you’re at it: do not feel you have to fill every inch of the slide. White space is not empty space. It is breathing room, and it makes everything else on the slide easier to read and more visually confident. 

 

Too many slides 

Decks longer than 15 slides see roughly 40% lower engagement. So, around 15 slides is a good target. If you are going much beyond that, ask yourself honestly whether everything in the deck really needs to be in the main pitch, or whether some of it belongs in a follow-up document or the appendix. 

The Fix

Decks with 11 to 20 slides have a 43% more chance of securing funds, so staying in that range is worth being deliberate about. 

 

3 things to focus on if you have no budget yet 

 

1. One point per slide

This may be one of the most impactful structural decisions you can make. Every slide should answer one question or make one point. If you find yourself trying to squeeze two ideas on a slide, that is a sign one of them needs its own slide (or it does not belong in the deck at all)

Put the supporting detail in the notes section, as discussed earlier. 

Your audience should be focused on you during the presentation, not trying to decipher a slide packed with bullet points. 

 

2. Consistency 

A deck that looks inconsistent (different fonts on different slides, colors that do not quite match, layouts that change randomly) signals a lack of attention to detail. That is not the impression you want to make when you are asking somebody to trust you with their money. 

If you do not have a defined brand identity yet, use a template with a coherent color palette and typography system and stick to it. There are good free options in Canva, Google Slides, and PowerPoint. You can also use AI tools to help you build a consistent visual system if you are starting from scratch. The key is to pick one and not deviate from it. 

 

3. Conciseness 

A big part of good design comes down to restraint. Knowing what to leave out, and what to keep. 

Ensure that you are covering the essentials: problem, solution, market size, traction, team, and your ask. If a slide does not serve one of those areas directly, question whether it needs to be there. 

 

When to stop DIYing your Pitch Decks 

There is a right time to invest in a professional presentation designer, and it is not necessarily right now if your content is still evolving. 

My advice: get your content sorted first. If possible, work with a content writer or strategist to really hone in on the information and get the messaging order right. Then bring in a designer once the key content is in place. 

The reason this matters is practical. A 15 slide deck can take up to 2 days to design. If your content is still changing significantly during the design process, you end up adding to your bill through unnecessary rounds of revisions. A designer works most efficiently when the story is already clear, and the structure is already solid. 

The signs that it is time to bring in a professional: 

• You are pitching to investors or clients where the outcome has real financial consequences 
• Your content is finalised, and you need it to look its best 
• You have tried to refine the deck yourself, and it still does not feel right 
• Your brand identity needs to come through clearly and consistently 
• The DIY process is costing you more time than it is saving you money

As I always tell my clients: a well-crafted investor pitch deck is not just a design exercise. It is a strategic communication tool. There is a point where having a professional shape that communication is not a nice-to-have; it is a competitive advantage. 

 

A quick checklist before you send your pitch deck to an investor

• One key point per slide 
• Speaker notes used for supporting detail 
• Consistent fonts, colors, and layout throughout 
• Alignment guides switched on and used 
• White space – slides are not overcrowded
• Slide count is around 15. 
• All core sections covered: problem, solution, market, traction, team, ask 
• Leave-behind saved as a PDF with notes 

The mistakes that sink most DIY decks are not only about design talent. They are about discipline: cutting content down, staying consistent, and keeping the investor’s experience front of mind. 

When you are ready to take it to the next level, get in touch. We can work together to determine exactly what is needed.