Pitch Deck Creator
AI-powered 12-slide VC pitch deck generator built on Y Combinator and Sequoia Capital frameworks — from company brief to investor-ready presentation in minutes.
Overview
The Pitch Deck Creator guides you through a 4-step wizard to produce a fully structured 12-slide investor pitch deck. You describe your company, customize each slide, let the AI generate polished content, then preview and export to My Presentations. The AI uses an internal Generator-Critic pipeline — it drafts content, self-audits for clarity and persuasive impact, then outputs only the refined version.
AI Generator-Critic
A two-phase AI pipeline: first drafts content using VC frameworks, then silently self-audits for logical flow, market realism, and persuasive impact before outputting the final version.
Fixed 12-Slide Structure
The VC-standard 12-slide framework used by Y Combinator, Sequoia Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz. Every slide has a defined purpose — no blank canvas, no guesswork about what to include.
Per-Slide Customization
Each slide has editable headline, talking points, and visual suggestion fields. Generate all 12 slides at once or regenerate individual slides until the content matches your voice.
Full Presentation Preview
Preview the complete deck as a rendered presentation before exporting. Navigate slide-by-slide or use keyboard arrows. Click any slide to jump directly to it.
Auto-Save & Multi-Deck
Decks auto-save 1.5 seconds after any edit. Open multiple saved decks and switch between them using the deck browser. Each deck is stored separately with its own metadata.
Export to My Presentations
Save the completed deck to My Presentations for sharing, further editing, or PDF export. The deck appears alongside presentations created in the Presentation Wizard.
Quick Start
- Switch to Strategy & Fundraising mode and click Pitch Deck Creator in the sidebar.
- On Step 1 — Company Brief, fill in your company name and the core problem you solve. These two fields are required before you can proceed.
- Fill in the remaining optional fields: industry, solution overview, target audience, current traction, and funding goal. The more context you provide, the more accurate and tailored the AI content will be.
- Choose a language (English or Turkish) for the generated content.
- Click Next → to advance to Step 2.
- On Step 2 — Slide Outline, review the 12 slide cards. Each shows the slide topic with its icon. Optionally add a headline and talking points to any slide before generating — the AI will incorporate your inputs as direction.
- Click Next → to reach Step 3.
- On Step 3 — Generate, click Generate All Slides to run the AI across all 12 slides at once. Alternatively regenerate individual slides using the refresh button on each slide card.
- Review the generated content. Edit any slide's headline, talking points, or visual suggestion directly in the text areas.
- Click Next → to reach Step 4.
- On Step 4 — Preview & Export, click Preview Deck to open the full-screen presentation viewer.
- Click Save to My Presentations to export the deck to your presentation library.
The Four Wizard Steps
Step 1 — Company Brief
The foundation of every AI generation. All 12 slides are written using the context you provide here. Take time to write precise, specific answers — vague inputs produce generic outputs.
| Field | Required | Tips for best results |
|---|---|---|
| Company Name | Yes | Full legal name or brand name. Appears on the Title Slide and throughout. |
| Core Problem | Yes | Describe the problem in 1–2 sentences from the customer's perspective, not the technology perspective. "Logistics managers lose 4 hours per day reconciling paper manifests" beats "inefficient logistics workflows". |
| Industry / Sector | No | Helps the AI use industry-relevant terminology and market sizing data. E.g. "B2B SaaS / Supply Chain", "Fintech / SME Lending", "HealthTech / Remote Patient Monitoring". |
| Solution Overview | No | One paragraph. Explain the "what" and the key differentiator. Avoid describing features — describe the outcome the customer experiences. |
| Target Audience | No | Be specific: "Series B SaaS CFOs at companies with $5M–$50M ARR" outperforms "B2B companies". Specificity produces a sharper market slide. |
| Current Traction | No | Key metrics: MRR, ARR, paying customers, growth rate, pilot agreements, letters of intent, awards. Numbers are more persuasive than adjectives. |
| Funding Goal | No | Amount and use-of-funds summary. "Raising $3M Seed to hire 5 engineers and reach $1M ARR" gives the AI enough context to write a strong "The Ask" slide. |
| Language | No | English (default) or Turkish. All 12 slides will be generated in the selected language. The deck can be regenerated in a different language by switching and clicking Generate All again. |
Load from Financial Model
Instead of typing Current Traction and Funding Goal by hand, click Load from Financial Model at the top of Step 1 and pick a saved model from the Financial Projection Modeler. TotalApp fills Current Traction with a computed summary (Year 1 revenue, gross margin, break-even timing, LTV:CAC ratio) and Funding Goal with a computed ask based on the model's cash runway. This is a one-time snapshot — reload it if you update the underlying model afterward.
Step 2 — Slide Outline
Review and optionally pre-fill any slide before AI generation. Each slide card shows its number, topic, icon, and three editable fields:
- Headline — The main statement for this slide (e.g. "We are the only solution that…"). If you fill this in, the AI will build the content around your headline rather than inventing one.
- Talking Points — Bullet notes you want included. The AI will incorporate and expand on these.
- Visual Suggestion — A hint for the designer about what to show (chart, diagram, photo, etc.).
You can leave all fields blank and let the AI fill everything, or provide as much direction as you like. At least one slide must have a non-empty headline to advance past Step 2.
Step 3 — Generate Content
This is where the AI writes your deck. Two generation modes are available:
| Action | When to use |
|---|---|
| Generate All Slides | First pass. Sends all 12 slides to the AI in a single structured request. The model produces all slides in one JSON response, ensuring internal narrative consistency across the deck. |
| Regenerate (per slide) | The refresh icon on each individual slide card. Re-runs generation for that one slide only, using the current company brief and any manual edits you have made to other slides as additional context. |
Tip — Iterating on a Specific Slide
If a slide's content is good but one section is off, edit the Talking Points field directly and click the slide's regenerate button. The AI will rewrite that slide using your updated talking points as direction while keeping the rest of the deck unchanged.
Generation Can Be Cancelled
If you click Generate All Slides and want to stop early, click the Cancel button that appears during generation. Slides already generated will be preserved; incomplete slides will remain as they were before generation started.
Step 4 — Preview & Export
The final step provides two actions:
- Preview Deck — Opens the full presentation modal. Navigate with the arrow buttons or keyboard arrows. Each slide shows its generated content rendered as a presentation slide. Click the × to close the preview and return to editing.
- Save to My Presentations — Converts the deck into a My Presentations entry and saves it to your account. A success confirmation shows the saved title. The presentation then appears in My Presentations under Strategy & Fundraising mode.
You can also use the Export / Import buttons in the top-right toolbar to export the deck as a JSON file (for backup or sharing with a colleague) or import a previously exported deck.
The 12-Slide VC Framework
The deck follows the standard framework recommended by Y Combinator, Sequoia Capital, and a16z. The slide order is fixed — VCs expect to see information in this sequence.
Why This Slide Order?
The order mirrors investor decision psychology. Slides 1–4 establish the problem and why it matters now. Slides 5–8 prove the market opportunity and business viability. Slides 9–11 de-risk the investment by showing competitive clarity and team capability. Slide 12 closes with a specific, credible ask. Deviating from this order reduces comprehension — investors have seen hundreds of decks in this sequence and pattern-match against it.
Managing Multiple Decks
The Pitch Deck Creator supports multiple saved decks — useful for different fundraising stages (Seed vs. Series A), different investor audiences, or different products.
Creating a New Deck
Click the + New Deck button in the toolbar. This clears the current editor and starts a fresh 12-slide skeleton. Any unsaved changes to the current deck are auto-saved before the new deck is created.
Opening a Saved Deck
Click the deck name in the toolbar (or the folder icon) to open the deck browser panel. It lists all your saved decks in reverse-chronological order. Click any deck to load it into the editor.
Deleting a Deck
Open the deck browser and click the trash icon next to the deck you want to remove. An inline confirmation appears. Confirm to permanently delete the deck. If you delete the currently active deck, the editor switches to a new blank deck automatically.
Auto-Save
The editor debounces saves: 1.5 seconds after your last keystroke, the current deck state is written to the server. You never need to manually click "Save" during editing. The deck is identified by an auto-generated ID — the deck is created on the server the first time you edit any field.
Tip — Duplicate a Deck via Export / Import
There is no explicit "Duplicate" button. To create a copy: (1) Load the deck you want to copy. (2) Click the Export button (download icon) in the toolbar to download the deck as a JSON file. (3) Click + New Deck. (4) Click the Import button and upload the JSON file. The new deck is a separate copy that can be edited independently.
AI Engine & Writer Engine Setting
The Pitch Deck Creator uses the same AI backend as all other writer tools in TotalApp. The engine is controlled by Settings → Doc View → Writer Engine.
| Engine | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| API (default) | Calls the Anthropic Claude API using your ANTHROPIC_API_KEY. Produces the highest-quality, most coherent output across all 12 slides. |
Production use, investor presentations |
| Local CLI | Uses the Claude CLI installed locally via claude --print. Requires Claude to be installed and authenticated. No API key needed if your subscription covers CLI usage. |
Offline use, cost-conscious generation |
| Local LLM | Uses BERT for intent classification only. Text generation is not supported and will produce an error if attempted. | Not applicable for deck generation |
Local LLM Cannot Generate Slides
If your Writer Engine is set to Local LLM, clicking "Generate All Slides" or any per-slide regenerate button will return an error. Switch to API or Local CLI before generating content.
Data Storage
Pitch decks are stored server-side in your tenant's data store under the pitch-decks.json file via the /api/data/pitch-decks endpoint. Each deck is scoped to your userId — only your decks appear in your deck browser, even within a shared workspace.
When you save to My Presentations, a second copy is written to the /api/data/my-presentations store as a MyPresentation record. The two copies are independent — editing the pitch deck after export does not update the My Presentations copy.
Export / Import for Backup
Use the Export button in the toolbar to download a JSON backup of any deck. The exported file contains the full PitchDeck object including all slide content, company brief fields, and metadata. Import the same file on any TotalApp account to restore the deck. This is the recommended method for sharing a deck with a co-founder or investor relations team member who has their own TotalApp account.
App Mode & Navigation
Pitch Deck Creator lives in the Strategy & Fundraising mode. To access it:
- Use the mode switcher in the top bar to select Strategy
- Click Pitch Deck Creator in the sidebar
- Navigate from My Workspace → the Pitch Deck Creator tile (if visible in your workspace layout)
The back arrow in the header navigates you back to the Strategy & Fundraising hub (My Workspace).
AI Assistant
A dedicated AI Assistant panel is available on every step of the Pitch Deck Creator. Click the AI Assistant tab anchored to the right edge of the screen to open it. The assistant has full context on your company brief and current slide content, and can critique narrative flow, point out weak or unclear headlines, anticipate tough investor questions, and benchmark your deck against YC/Sequoia/a16z best practices.
Example Prompts
- "Critique the overall narrative flow of this pitch deck."
- "Which slides have weak or unclear headlines?"
- "What tough questions will investors ask about this deck?"
- "How does this compare to YC/Sequoia best practices?"
Saving a Response as a Report
After the assistant replies, a Save as Report button appears at the bottom of the panel. Click it to save the response instantly to My Reports — no dialog or title entry required. The title is generated automatically from your prompt and the current month.
More Context Means Better Feedback
The assistant reads whatever slide content currently exists in the editor. Fill in headlines and talking points for at least a few slides before asking for narrative critique — an empty deck gives the assistant nothing to evaluate.