I haven’t seen loads of agriculture tech startups submit their pitch decks for this collection, so I used to be delighted to get one from Phospholutions, which simply closed a $10 million spherical, bringing its whole funds raised to $32 million.

The staff initially stated they used the deck to boost a Collection B spherical, which confused me, however upon studying the press data extra fastidiously, it appears they made a mistake. I might often let individuals get away with this sort of stuff, however this deck is riddled with points that might have been averted by merely paying extra consideration to element.

We’re in search of extra distinctive pitch decks to tear down, so if you wish to submit your personal, right here’s how you are able to do that. 

Slides on this deck

Components of Phospholutions’ deck are fairly closely redacted, which makes it arduous to get the complete image, however there’s nonetheless a lot to get into.

1. Cowl slide
2. Drawback slide
3. Market context slide
4. Industrial alternative slide
5. Answer slide
6. Advantages slide
7. Product slide
8. Sustainability advantages slide
9. Competitors slide
10.   Worth proposition slide
11.   Aggressive value comparability slide
12.   Margins slide (redacted)
13.   Go-to-market slide
14.   Funding historical past slide
15.   Quick-term goals slide (redacted)
16.   5-year forecast (redacted)
17.   Collection B use of proceeds (redacted)
18.   Crew slide
19.   Present buyers slide
20.   Abstract slide
21.   Closing slide

Three issues to like

Phospholutions’ pitch deck is a fascinating showcase of innovation and strategic perception, embodying the essence of an efficient pitch. It’s a harmonious mix of compelling storytelling, clear worth propositions and persuasive knowledge factors that collectively create a compelling narrative.

To P or to not P

[Side 2] Readability proper out the gate. Picture Credit: Phospholutions

I like how the title will get proper to the center of issues. “International P Use is Inefficient & Unsustainable” is all we needed to say, actually.

Buyers who’re accustomed to ag tech most likely know this nicely — the market has a number of incumbents which have achieved nicely over time, and if Phospholutions has an modern tackle this downside, it’ll be an apparent funding to say sure to.

I just like the simplicity of the graphics. I like that the corporate hints on the impression of the issues (“reducing profitability for farmers” and “inefficient use degrades our waterways”) along with mentioning the issues themselves. All excellent storytelling factors.

The underside line, “Growers want extra dependable options . . .” suggests a solution-oriented method and communicates what must be achieved. Provided that it is a pitch deck, it’s apparent what’s about to occur subsequent.

There’s fairly a bit of information on this slide, however I like how every level leads logically to the subsequent, making a narrative circulation that helps lead the attention and prompts the reader to remain engaged. It’s additionally scannable, so you possibly can shortly take in the content material, too. Very intelligent.

A few small quibbles: I do know that P stands for phosphorus, however the author in me retains stumbling over abbreviations that aren’t defined. Additionally there’s no scarcity of room on this slide, so whereas after all GHG stands for greenhouse gases, you possibly can afford to spell it out. And “~1.7MT CO2 eq / MT P₂O₅” is loads of alphabet soup to throw on an early slide.

I’ll get off my soapbox now, however consideration to element issues!

Contextualizing the close to and medium time period

I hardly ever see startups do that, which is a disgrace, as a result of it helps construct narratives very nicely:

[Slide 3] “What occurs if we don’t handle this downside.” Picture Credit: Phospholutions

The market alternative slide continues the place the issue slide leaves off. Once more, there’s a lot of textual content right here, nevertheless it works. The details are made with graphics, and issues are additional damaged down and backed by claims with just a bit trace of disaster.

Segmenting the content material into the “As we speak,” “Quick Time period,” and “Lengthy Time period” buckets lets the reader perceive how the market dynamics will change over time. It’s good storytelling, nevertheless it additionally does one thing extra vital: It means that the founders have an eye fixed on the long run and are skating towards the place the puck goes slightly than the place it’s. Buyers prefer to see founders who’ve an eye fixed on the long run.

The opposite storytelling win right here is that whereas it’s not express on this slide, it units the stage for taking motion: Motion that Phospholutions is positioned to offer, after all.

Actual impression

The deck spends a bit an excessive amount of time on the product, for my part. However the flip aspect is that it will get loads of issues extraordinarily proper. This slide, particularly, does loads of the heavy lifting:

[Slide 7] Backed by knowledge. Yummy. Picture Credit: Phospholutions

Phospholutions’ RhizoSorb is dearer than the options and the deck addresses that in two methods: by displaying that the product is simpler, and due to this fact, it’s a must to use much less to get superior yields. The deck spends loads of time on this level. I’m assuming that’s the results of the staff getting loads of pushback on the pricing.

The factor I like about this set of slides, nonetheless, is that it actually goes deep into the confirmed efficacy. If an investor asks for extra data, there’s a lot of it.

In the remainder of this teardown, we’ll check out three issues Phospholutions may have improved or achieved in a different way, together with its full pitch deck!