Session Flow · 3-minute demo-day pitch to 30-minute investor meeting

Sequoia Pitch Outline

Sequoia Capital's widely used outline for a business plan and pitch deck. It asks founders to cover purpose, problem, solution, timing, market, competition, model, team, financials and vision, in that order, as a short and clear story.

When to use Sequoia Pitch Outline

Investor and startup pitches, internal innovation pitches and demo days.

How Sequoia Pitch Outline works

Use the phases as the running order of an investor pitch, internal venture pitch or demo day talk, giving Problem and Solution the most time. Add a Q&A block after Team & Vision.

Phases of Sequoia Pitch Outline

  1. Company Purpose: One clear sentence on what the company is for.
  2. Problem: The customer's pain, how it is handled today and where that falls short.
  3. Solution: The core insight and what makes the value proposition different.
  4. Why Now: What has changed that makes this possible or urgent today.
  5. Market & Competition: Who the customer is, how big the market is, the alternatives, and how you will win.
  6. Business Model & Financials: How the company makes money and the numbers that show it can work.
  7. Team & Vision: Who is building it, and what the company will have built in five years.

Key principles

  • State the purpose in one sentence
  • Lead with the customer's problem
  • Explain why now
  • Show a plan to win against alternatives
  • End on the team and the vision

Best for

  • Investor pitches
  • Internal venture pitches
  • Demo days
  • Pitch-coaching workshops

Considerations

  • Sequoia lists ten sections; this row groups market with competition, model with financials, and team with vision to fit seven phases
  • Built for startups; adapt the financials for internal or non-profit pitches
  • Short pitches cannot cover every section in depth

Attribution & sources

Developed by Sequoia Capital as its business-plan guidance for founders

Primary source

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