Pitch deck
Use a deck when
You need a short path through the business: problem, product, traction, ask. Fine for a first meeting. Useless if the traction slide cannot be tied to a report you would send a board.
Pitch Deck vs Memo
Pitch deck vs memo: slides for the meeting, a memo for the file
Reviewed August 21, 2026 by Robb
A deck is a meeting tool. A memo is a document someone can forward without you in the room. Operators over-design the slides and under-write the facts. We care that both versions tell the same story as the ledger. If they do not, diligence will pick a side — and it will not be the pretty one.
Memo
Use a memo when
A partner has to brief the rest of the firm, or the round is far enough that written numbers will be compared to the data room. Longer. Duller. Harder to hide a hole in.
Same facts, two formats
Revenue, burn, runway, and the cap table should not change because the font did. We keep a source sheet and let the deck and the memo draw from it. Two source-of-truths is how you get two stories in one process.
A memo does not replace a close
Writing well is not the same as books that close. If you cannot produce the backup, do not put the claim in either document. Strip the slide before you invent the footnote.
What we actually prepare
CFO For Rent does not design pitch theater. We make the finance system boring enough that the deck, the memo, and the data room agree. That is the work that survives a partner meeting.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need both?
A deck for the room, a short memo or appendix when someone has to forward the round. Both should cite the same numbers.
How long should the deck be?
Short enough to talk through. Length is not the failure. A traction claim you cannot back is.
Who should write the numbers section?
Whoever owns the close. If marketing wrote ARR and finance disagrees, fix it before it leaves the building.