The rule, part by part
10 slides
Kawasaki's point is that people can't take in more than about 10 ideas in one meeting. His list covers the problem, the solution, the business model, the technology, marketing and sales, competition, the team, projections, status and timeline, and a summary with a call to action.
20 minutes
Plan to finish in 20 minutes even if you have an hour. The rest of the slot goes to questions, which is where the real conversation happens.
30 point type
No text smaller than 30 points forces you to cut down to the points that matter. If the type won't fit, the slide is trying to say too much.
Where I bend it
The rule was written for decks you present in the room. A deck you send ahead has to stand on its own, so it can carry a few more slides and slightly smaller type, as long as each slide still makes one point.
For a pre-seed company, 10 slides is usually plenty. For later rounds with real numbers, an appendix holds the detail without breaking the main story.
The rule on a real deck
The Earworm investor deck follows the spirit of the rule, with one investment story, bold type and focused layouts on the moments that carry the pitch.
For the full slide order, read what goes in a pre-seed pitch deck, or see how I work on pitch deck design.
