A $10M Series A round for a beverage company
A deck that secured $10M in funds for a healthy energy drink business.
The context
The client: A plant-based energy drink company aiming to secure initial funding to scale their business and expand their product range.
The challenge: The original investor deck failed to elicit any interest, lacking a cohesive narrative that resonated with VCs and private equity investors. It fell short of clearly presenting the investment opportunity and outlining the brand’s strategy, with investors questioning the founder’s understanding of the market and ability to execute.
Our impact: We built a well-organized, attractive investment narrative supported by compelling statistics and packed into a visually appealing deck that successfully attracted $10M in funding.
What we achieved
14 days
to revamp the deck
40+
investor meetings booked
with a new deck
$10M
raised
3 term sheets
secured
Our approach
Key problems identified in the initial deck
- The narrative was overly complex and hard to follow.
- The language used was too promotional and misleading for VCs and private equity investors.
- The deck lacked a compelling story and a smart execution strategy to prove execution capabilities.
- The design was cluttered and wordy, making key points difficult to digest.
Waveup’s approach
1. Build a structured, powerful investment narrative
We started by reconstructing the deck in full. Our core focus was understanding the key investment tenants and building an attractive narrative around them. Each slide was re-created to present one powerful message – with the story seamlessly flowing and engaging the reader.
2. Start with opportunity, not product
Rather than starting the presentation with 10 slides on the product, we built the story from the opportunity. It allowed us to engage investors early on with the size of the market and an attractive industry momentum.
3. Traction, traction, traction
One of the key tasks on our hands was building the right traction story. We had to demonstrate the brand’s ability to execute across the board – from delivering top-line growth to driving customer love and loyalty and all the way to diversified distribution capabilities.
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4. Streamline team credentials
We refined the team slide to communicate the team’s experience and achievements better. Instead of overloading it with academic credentials, we showcased the team’s relevant expertise and professional accomplishments, proving them to be seasoned founders with a strong vision.
Before
After
5. Sharpen presentation of the market and brand’s positioning
Instead of presenting a generic beverage industry TAM (a key mistake with the investor), we drilled deep into specific market subsegments, market sizes and growth trends. We also looked into consumer behaviour, key trends and tailwinds to paint a really persuasive picture of industry momentum.
6. Build a clear strategy out of scattered plans
Previously, the strategy was convoluted and scattered throughout the presentation, failing to captivate investors. Our revised version, with distribution, products, geography, partnerships, and key channels all in one section, ensured a smooth narration, proving the company’s readiness to scale and capitalize on market opportunities rapidly.
7. Leverage minimalistic design to enhance narrative
Instead of an overly flashy and cluttered presentation, we opted for a minimalistic design that effectively highlighted the unique brand’s product range. The updated deck’s look and feel justified the product’s value and strengthened the investment narrative.
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