Great Startup Pitch Deck Presentations in Keynote

To help you win over potential investors, we’ve created six practical steps on how to make a great presentation in Keynote.

Follow along to learn how to make a great presentation in Keynote for your startup pitch deck.

This post is part of a series called How to Make Great Pitch Decks (Startup Presentation Guide).

Apple’s founder, Steve Jobs, made some of the most famous Keynote presentations of all time. Compelling narratives and striking visuals made his Apple Keynote presentations memorable. Learn how to make a great Apple pitch deck in this article.

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Why You Need a Standout Pitch Deck Design

Want to launch, scale, and expand your business? You must have interested investors lined up to support your financial needs. Getting investors to support your project isn’t easy, especially if your funding goals are substantial.

That’s why a startup pitch deck is crucial to persuade investors. When you present your business idea, you need a visual guide. This helps your audience easily grasp and understand your ideas.

A great pitch deck Keynote presentation will help you create a gripping narrative. Hook your potential investors and keep them focused along the way. It will also convey your thoughts and message more effectively. But how exactly do you create a pitch deck that stands out using Apple Keynote?

How to Make the Best Keynote Presentation

There are many ways to create a great presentation in Keynote. You could build your Keynote presentation from scratch or customize an amazing template. Check out our step-by-step guide below.

To get you started, we’ll use this high-quality pitch deck template: Manola Pitch Deck Keynote Presentation. We’ll make a few tweaks along the way to customize your startup pitch deck for your brand.

Here are six steps to follow:

1. Hook Your Audience From the Start

The first two slides of your Apple Keynote presentation are crucial for creating a memorable first impression. This is your opportunity to establish rapport. Early on, hook your potential investors. Use a compelling introduction to spark their interest and then proceed with your presentation.

How do you grab your audience’s full attention? Stir their interest by showing how your startup can benefit them. Answer this key question for your investors: what’s in it for me? This part can also define the problem you aim to solve with your business venture.

For example, Airbnb’s startup pitch deck began with a simple cover slide featuring their logo and tagline followed by three short sentences analyzing gaps in the hospitality industry.

A clear problem statement immediately captivates your audience. What problem are you addressing? What are the current market pain points?

Incorporate this approach into your Keynote presentation using the Manola Pitch Deck template. List your problem statements and use icons beside each to enhance visual appeal.

2. Build a Cohesive Visual Story and Structure

A great Keynote presentation tells a story that your audience can easily follow. This story should be paired with a visual journey.

Usually, you can use a progressive plot that includes a setting, conflict, rising action, climax, denouement, and an end. This structure begins with the setting and conflict, followed by rising action to a climax and concluding with a resolution.

Here’s how you can apply this principle in your startup pitch deck:

• Setting = Cover Slide: Introduce your company with your logo, tagline, and relevant details.
• Conflict = Problem Statement: Explain the market gap(s) your business intends to address.
• Rising Action = Solution: Detail how your business solves these problems.

When Uber was seeking investors, they created a pitch deck following this storyline. Their “UberCab Concept” slide summarized how their idea would solve transportation issues.

• Climax = Benefits & Competitive Advantage: Highlight your unique qualities compared to competitors.
• Denouement = Forecasts: Present potential ROI and the company’s future outlook.
• End = Call to Action: Outline what you want your audience to do after the presentation.

You can assign different slide layouts for each part, differentiating ideas with varied positioning of logos, text, and images.

3. Simplify Text With Typography and Iconography

Your content is essential for your startup Keynote pitch deck. However, avoid cluttering slides with excessive text. Use phrases instead of long sentences to simplify your message, elaborating on points during your presentation.

Utilize typography to make text visually appealing. Typography is the art of arranging text to ensure legibility and interest.

Check out this guide on how to effectively reduce text overload using typography and iconography.

Replacing text with icons is also beneficial, making your presentation easier on the eyes.

4. Use a Consistent Color Palette

Don’t shy away from using colors in your Keynote business presentation. Colors influence perceptions and emotions, significantly impacting decision-making. They provide life and personality to your pitch deck.

Select a color palette that aligns with your branding to avoid confusion with competitors. You want to stand out while ensuring brand recall.

Consider factors like your key demographic, audience gender and age, and your industry when picking color schemes. Base your decisions on data rather than intuition.

Colors can also help categorize different sections of your Keynote presentation, adding variety and preventing boredom. The Manola Pitch Deck template allows you to easily modify colors on each slide.

5. Visualize Your Data

Data is a key component of your startup Keynote presentation. Instead of merely listing numbers, visualize your data using charts and graphs. This approach helps your audience explore insights from different perspectives, identify patterns, and quickly grasp large amounts of information.

For more on visualizing your data, check out this tutorial on customizing charts, maps, and other data.

6. Close With an Actionable Ending

Conclude your Apple Keynote presentation with a clear and compelling call to action (CTA). You want your potential investors to respond positively.

This is your last chance to seal the deal, so make it count. Create a memorable CTA that encourages further engagement, such as directing them to your website or prompting them to sign up for your newsletter.

Foursquare ended its startup pitch deck with an engaging trivia that made their exit memorable, encouraging the audience to sign up via their website.