Seed deck template 12 slides: 2026 outline
The seed deck template 12 slides version used by founders closing 2026 seed rounds, with the exact numbers, assets, and one-line hook each slide needs.
seed-deck-12-slide-outline.txt
Slide 1, Title
{{COMPANY_NAME}}
{{ONE_LINER}} (8 words or fewer, names the wedge)
{{FOUNDER_NAME}}, {{FOUNDER_EMAIL}}
Raising {{RAISE_AMOUNT}}
Slide 2, Problem
Verbatim customer quote: "{{CUSTOMER_QUOTE}}"
Cost of the problem today: {{PROBLEM_COST}}
Current workaround: {{STATUS_QUO_WORKAROUND}}
Slide 3, Solution
Product screenshot (real UI, not a mockup)
The verb you own: {{PRODUCT_VERB}}
Two-line demo description
Slide 4, Why now
Three dated external shifts (regulation, tech, behavior) with month and year
One chart showing the inflection point
Slide 5, Market
Bottom-up TAM: {{TAM_MATH}} (N customers x ACV)
SAM segment and named beachhead
Skip top-down Gartner charts, partners discount them to zero
Slide 6, Product
Two screenshots, one architecture diagram
Feature split: 5 shipped, 3 in testing, 2 on roadmap
Slide 7, Traction
Six-month chart of {{TRACTION_METRIC}}
Month-over-month growth rate
Five customer logos (B2B) or DAU/MAU ratio (consumer)
Slide 8, Business model
Three price points (or pricing page screenshot)
Gross margin percentage
CAC and LTV if you have 6+ months of data, otherwise skip both
Slide 9, Go-to-market
One named first channel: {{FIRST_CHANNEL}}
CAC target and payback period
Two sales-cycle anecdotes with days to close
Slide 10, Competition
2x2 matrix or feature table
Real differentiator: {{PRIMARY_DIFFERENTIATOR}} (not "better UX")
Slide 11, Team
Up to three founders
Prior result per founder: {{FOUNDER_CRED}} (revenue, exit, shipped product)
Why-us narrative in one sentence
Slide 12, Ask
Raise amount: {{RAISE_AMOUNT}}
Structure: {{ROUND_STRUCTURE}} (SAFE cap, priced round terms)
18-month milestones, top line: {{TOP_MILESTONE}}
Budget split (eng, sales, ops percentages)
One sentence on what the round unlocks
Variables · fill before sending
- COMPANY_NAMELegal or trading name as it appears in the data room
- ONE_LINER8 words or fewer, names the wedge and the customer
- FOUNDER_NAMEPrimary contact founder presenting the deck
- FOUNDER_EMAILReply-to address the partner will hit
- RAISE_AMOUNTe.g. $2.5M on a $12M post-money SAFE
- CUSTOMER_QUOTEOne verbatim sentence from a real design partner or customer call
- PROBLEM_COSTDollar, hour, or error-rate cost the problem imposes today
- STATUS_QUO_WORKAROUNDWhat customers do today to cope without your product
- PRODUCT_VERBOne verb your product owns, e.g. automates, predicts, reconciles
- TAM_MATHBottom-up: (number of target customers) x (annual contract value)
- TRACTION_METRICMRR, weekly active users, signed LOIs, or waitlist conversions
- FIRST_CHANNELOne named acquisition channel, not a list of four
- PRIMARY_DIFFERENTIATORThe concrete technical or distribution edge, not a design claim
- FOUNDER_CREDSpecific prior result: revenue owned, company exited, product shipped
- ROUND_STRUCTUREPost-money SAFE cap, priced round with valuation, or convertible terms
- TOP_MILESTONEThe one metric this round buys you, e.g. $1M ARR or 10 enterprise logos
How to use it
- Audit every slide against its required asset. If you cannot produce the screenshot, chart, or customer quote named in the outline, the slide is not ready. Do not ship the deck with placeholder text.
- Cut before you expand. Partners skim at 15 seconds per slide on the first pass. Any slide without a number, screenshot, logo, or chart is filler and should be cut before you add more.
- Skip top-down TAM. Replace "$42B per Gartner" with your bottom-up math. Partners in 2026 discount top-down TAM to zero and penalize decks that lean on it.
- Keep the ask slide specific. Vague asks like "we are raising around $2 to $3M" read as indecisive. Name the amount, the structure, and the one milestone the round buys.
- Stop at 12. If you need slide 13, you are moving content that belongs in the data-room appendix into the main narrative. Link to the appendix on the final slide instead.