When a company pitches investors for funding, a category design approach makes the story and pitch deck more powerful. 

The smartest investors first want to see a new category and believe in its potential to become huge. Their next decision is to try to pick which company will win that category, because the category winner will walk away with the majority of the category’s economics. (An investor’s nightmare is to pick the right category and wrong company, and watch some other investors get rich on the category.) 

So with that in mind, your pitch deck should reflect a category-led strategy. Tee up the problem to be solved, the new category of product that will solve it, and then why your company is best positioned to win the category. 

Here’s a guide to crafting a category-led investor pitch deck. 

PART ONE: CATEGORY STRATEGY

1. TITLE

 

• Why: Establish who you are.
• Content: Include your company name, logo and possibly a tagline. A tagline should offer a glimpse of your idea in a few catchy words. One of our clients, Prescryptive, which is using technology to change the way prescription drugs are bought by consumers, used the tagline, “Rewriting the script.” If you don’t have a good tagline, then just leave it off the deck. No tagline is better than a bad one.

2. PROBLEM

 

• Why: Category design positions the problem as a “villain” that your company is defeating in a novel way. This stirs urgency and shows your deep understanding of the market.
• Content: Define the problem that your target market faces. Frame it as a villain and even name it (outdated process, inefficiency gap, a blind spot, etc.). Use data and narratives to show why this problem is unacceptable and can no longer be tolerated. Use language from your category point of view (POV) to help the investor clearly see the category.

3. CATEGORY FORMULA

 

• Why: VCs invest in market categories, and category designers invest in creating and developing them. The category formula is a simple way to break down why the category should exist.
  f (Category) = Context + Missing + Innovation.
• Content: Show fulfillment of the formula. The context is how the world has changed for your target customers (thus creating a new problem) and/or how technology is changing (opening up a new way to solve a problem). The missing is the lack of a solution for an important problem. Now add the innovation that will solve the missing. 

4. RULES

 

• Why: It’s not enough to just solve the problem; your solution needs to create a new standard in the industry – set the rules and expectations for the category.
• Content: As simply and clearly as possible, show how your product or service will work – not just the technology, but more importantly how people will use it. Go back to the problem you defined and show how your features defeat that problem. Your goal is to make investors think your way is the right way to attack this category.

5. VISION

 

• Why: Investors like to be part of a company that doesn’t just build for today, but has a vision for what it can become in the years ahead.
• Content: Show how you can build on success. If you get traction with your first product, how can you expand the category and take customers to a better future? This isn’t about incremental features to add – it needs to be a broad vision. Show it from the customers’ perspective – how it will change their lives for the better.

6. THE CATEGORY POINT OF VIEW (POV)

 

• Why: A strong and simple story pulls the pieces together and gives investors a fresh way to see the world. 
• Content: Briefly revisit the story in one narrative arc: the problem that exists and needs to be solved in a new way; the ramifications of not solving the problem; what the solution looks like (the category); how that will improve people’s lives or work; why your team are the ones who can do this. 

PART TWO: DETAILS AND TACTICS 

7. THE TEAM

 

• Why: Category-defining companies need extraordinary teams to execute big visions. Investors want to bet on the team that can win the category.
• Content: Position your team as uniquely qualified to build and win the new category you’re creating. Passion is important, so highlight why this mission is important to the people on your team. If appropriate, include advisors, other investors, board members, or future team members who are also dedicated to your mission.

8. BUSINESS MODEL

 

• Why: Investors want to know how you’ll make money and get to profitability. 
• Content: Explain how your business model capitalizes on the growth of the category. Show key revenue drivers, unit economics, and scalability. Investors should see how your category dominance translates into financial success.

9. GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY

 

• Why: When creating a category, you’re creating something new that the market might  not yet understand. Investors will want to know how you’ll educate the market and drive adoption.
• Content: Outline how you plan to establish your category in potential customers’ minds. Highlight partnerships, customer acquisition channels, community-building initiatives, and how you’ll evangelize your category POV. The strategy should emphasize speed to market leadership.

10. TRACTION & MILESTONES

 

• Why: VCs respond more enthusiastically when they see evidence that the category is catching on, even with a small base, and getting market validation.
• Content: Provide current metrics, key achievements, and traction details. Include revenue, user growth, customer testimonials, media coverage, and partnerships – anything that will help show a positive direction. Show how these milestones reflect your movement toward category leadership. 

11. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

 

• Why: If you have protectable IP, you stand a better chance of beating competitors to category dominance.
• Content: Describe IP protection or other innovations that will be hard to replicate. Demonstrate how there is a moat around your company that will be difficult, if not impossible, to breach.

12. THE ECOSYSTEM

 

• Why: Building a category usually takes more than a product – it needs an ecosystem around it. 
• Content: Map out strategic partners, complementary solutions, and key stakeholders in the broader industry. Highlight any strategic relationships that position your company as the leader of the ecosystem.

13. FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS

 

• Why: Investors want to know your financial roadmap, especially in the context of category design where future potential is key.
• Content: Show conservative and ambitious projections based on category growth. Include revenue forecasts, gross margin, LTV/CAC and other key financial indicators. 

PART THREE: WRAP UP

14. THE ASK

 

• Why: You’ve framed the opportunity, now show how the investment will help solidify your category position.
• Content: Detail how much funding you’re raising and what it will be used for (e.g., go-to-market activities, product development, category education). Show how this investment accelerates your path to category dominance. Don’t mention valuation, wait till you have a viable lead investor, then negotiate it. Aim higher than you think.

15. CALL TO ACTION

 

• Why: Reinforce the excitement and urgency to join you in creating this new category.
• Content: Summarize your category-defining mission in a sentence. Include contact details and a clear call to action for investors (e.g., “Join us in shaping the future of [category name]”).

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

• Fewer simple slides are vastly better than more and jam-packed slides.
• Use simple, clear visuals that help tell your story. You don’t want your audience to be reading lots of words on a slide while you’re talking – you want them listening to you.
• Tie every slide to your category strategy, making sure it all syncs with your central narrative.
• Keep the tone confident but grounded in data and market realities.

This deck isn’t just about selling your company – it’s about selling the future of your category.

– –

Want CDA to review your pitch deck and give you some feedback? Book an office hours slot with us now.