It's a rare startup that thrives on its own , but that's exactly what Equals did after raising $16 million in Series A funding. Equals' mission is not to replace spreadsheets, but to ensure that spreadsheets can do everything their users ask them to do. As a regular spreadsheet user, I can understand this approach: I've built entire software solutions with very complex spreadsheets as the backend.
Additionally, as a land deck expert, I appreciate the sleek and bold design of the Equals deck.
I really like the division of the deck into two distinct sections that I rarely see in deck design: presentation and information. The last one, ARR, is a seven-slide breakdown of a company's financial reports that shows customer conversion rates, customer churn, and other numbers. This is a great idea: I often advise startups to tell a story in words and then tell the same story in numbers.
Let's see what else to like about this deck.
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Glide on this deck
The numbers on both traction slides have been changed and most of the (redacted) information is on separate data panels. There is also no data on market size or price of entry to the market, but we will get to that later.
Close slide
Opening speech
Shift mission
Problems slide
Solution/Mission Slide
Product("Same Answer")
Product demo slides
Product confirmation film
Traction slip
Slide traction 2
Product description slides
Product roadmap slide
Team changes
Request and use funds
Last slide
Three things to love
I've praised Equals for its design before, but this deck is so good that it's worth mentioning again: it's a beautiful deck. Some other things that caught my attention:
Make it a reality
For a while, it seemed like the easiest way to build a successful software startup was to figure out why people use Excel and then build a better, more targeted, easier-to-use tool. This has worked well for many companies, so just using Excel and replacing it with spreadsheets is a bold move. . . spreadsheet. Airtable has had some success in this area, so the first thing that comes to mind is whether there is room for another company in this space.
Equals provides a comprehensive and compelling case for a positive answer to this question, listing a number of software use cases:
[Slide 4] This is the problematic slide. . . Photo credit : Same
The problem seems quite real, but it seems to be mostly related to the origin of the data and the analysis/algorithms. Of course, Excel files can be complicated, but Excel itself has a relatively robust online solution (which is why "no Excel" seems a bit of a stretch). We also have Google Sheets, Airtable, and many other potential competitors in this space.
However, in the dry and boring world of spreadsheets, this is the most entertaining way to describe the problem you want to solve. I like this!
So it's Excel, but it's no longer online
[Slide 6] This is where the magic happens. Photo credit : Same
Founders, especially in tech, often face quite a challenge when trying to explain in simple terms what their startup does. I was impressed that the Equals team was able to turn the product into something so simple: a spreadsheet, but with database connectivity and collaboration. This very simple statement hides a lot of technical complexity and is sure to be an integration nightmare.
But hiding the complexity is a good idea: end users don't want to know why their tables aren't connected to Stripe data sources. You just need to work.
Quite elegant. In order.
This is how you pave the way for the future!
[Slide 12] This is a great way to plan your future. Photo credit: Same
Investors rarely care about such details in your product roadmap, but they do, you know ? This is a good overview of what you're interested in and doesn't detail the basics that the engineering team will build.
Although this plan was quite technical, I was impressed with the team's ability to resist the temptation to get too involved in the process. I don't know what they would associate with Command+K, but it doesn't matter: it's a high-level view that allows you to have room-level discussions about priorities for the next product. Year
I don't know what they associate with Command + K, but it doesn't matter.
Equals also does something clever with the previous slide: Slide 11 shows the features that have been created and then allows the story to flow smoothly on that slide (the existing features are now greyed out). This allows you to have a two-step conversation about the product: talk about everything you've built, then talk about everything you're going to build, and talk about how that will make the product more relevant to your audience. and perhaps expand your lead. also the user base.
This slide will teach you as a beginner that you should not spend too much time on your product. These two slides are great examples of how you can solve this problem elegantly.
In the rest of this presentation, we'll look at three things Equals could do better or differently, as well as the full version!
Three things that could be improved
The Equals deck isn't all rainbows and unicorns. . .
Pay attention to your audience
A fairly common problem with pitching is that it is sometimes difficult to determine whether the founders understand who they are pitching to. See this statement slide:
[Slide 8] Yes, but do investors care? Photo credit : Same
I believe this is a powerful slide to use in a company's sales efforts when communicating with new customers. However, I'm not sure how effective this investment offer is.
I see several problems here:
I don't know what logo this is. Yes, I recognize Notion, but I don't know what Levity is or what it does, and I don't recognize the V logo. That means two of the three logos on this slide don't help me invest. So why use it?
A collection of two quotes and one uncredited statement does not constitute a truly solid statement.
The phrase “I don't think this will lead to anything in the future” in the final assessment can easily be misunderstood. I assume this guy intended for his product to last a long time, but that's not 100% clear from his quote.
Quoting someone without naming them is bad manners. Who spoke these beautiful words? If you are the CTO of a company, you definitely need to highlight this. Think of it this way: If you praise “Apple employees” by saying “This is a really good product,” is that a good thing? It would be great if Tim Cook said that. According to him, there was a random sale at the Apple Store. . . You know where I'm going with this.
Overall, these changes appear neutral, at least in terms of attracting investors to invest. So it might be wise to ignore it completely.
SO . . . How big is this market?
I might hear nits here. Ask an investor, “If I could steal 30% of Excel's business, would the market be big enough?” and you'll probably get a resounding “yes.”
The fact is that this deck has no commercial outlets. This means Equals missed two opportunities to tell investors what they think about their market. Who are the customers? How many? What is meant by value proposition? How do you reach these customers? How to convince them to stay? You need to answer these employee questions to be successful in fundraising - and that's where this presentation falls short.
What's the goal?
[Slide 14] Of course, but it's very vague. Photo credit : Same
Investors are not looking for standard numbers or vague plans about how your startup will use the funds raised. A well-designed allocation slide provides more than just a list of expenses; create trust. By being open about your financial needs and how they align with your business goals, you show potential investors that you're not just a startup looking to throw some money. No, instead you are a serious entrepreneur with a growth plan and a clear vision for the future.
I know many founders who have experienced this critical setback. Exciting but unnecessary expenses, lots of vague “other” fees, and unclear descriptions of how the funds will be used are some common obstacles that can deter investors. Equality falls into this trap: none of the goals are specific enough. Slides should be as clear and detailed as possible, avoiding generalizations and focusing on specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) goals.
“Targeted Marketing” : Of course, but why?
“Success Scale” : Yes, but what is the goal? How do you know if you are successful?
Accelerate : Yes, yes, but if you write 10 new articles before fundraising and then submit 11 articles, you will achieve this goal.
Be specific. Use the “Use of Funds” slide to your advantage. Now is the time for courage that is bold, concrete and measurable, not abstraction. This slide lets you present your vision in dollars and cents. If you do it right, investors will start to align their future with yours.
Most importantly, a well-designed funds utilization slide helps paint a picture for your next funding cycle. Can you raise Series B if you achieve all goals? Big! Is your project leading you to success? Fantastic!
This slide is practically useless, which is a shame. Greater accuracy will make fundraising easier .
Complete presentation
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