NOQX is a Stockholm-based startup with a mission to help companies improve their goal setting, collaboration mechanisms, and experiences. We just raised a pre-seed round of $200,000 to help achieve that goal and, in turn, help companies with between 50 and 500 employees. The company has been around for not that long. The team behind NOQX founded the company in 2023 after becoming frustrated with the lack of effective goal management tools for businesses.
NOQX's motto is “clarity of purpose” and we work on the important functions of any business, and indeed the pitch deck. So I was intrigued by how well NOQX communicated this.
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This deck slide
NOQX's deck has 18 slides, none of which have edits, but the company has omitted slides from its competitors. 18 slides should cover everything (most startups are fine with his 16), but there are some omissions that leave it incomplete.
Cover Slide Problem Slide 1 Problem Slide 2 Problem Slide 3 Solution Slide 1 Solution Slide 2 Solution Slide 3 Onboarding (“How It Works” Slide) Landscape Slide This Makes Us Unique Slide Load Map Slide Traction Slide Launch Price Target Customer Why Now? Slide Team Slide Closing Slide
“Almost there but not quite”
Over the past 90-odd installments of this Pitch Deck Deconstruction series, I've generally stuck to the “three things that are good” and “three things that could be improved” format. I tried really hard to do the same thing with NOQX, but eventually gave up.
I really liked the bold design of NOQX's deck, but actually reviewing this deck was a very frustrating experience. Other than the significant omission of the “Request and Use of Funds” slide (which is not uncommon to be wrong, but should at least be included!), I felt that almost all the slides in the deck were pretty good. But I stumbled on not including it. Overlooking important elements or important details. This deck is so vague in nature that the founders don't seem to have a firm grasp on why they're doing what they're doing.
No need for 3 problem slides
[Slides 2, 3, 4] There are a lot of problematic slides. Image credit: NOQX
I was surprised to see that NOQX published slides for three different questions. It's almost defensive, as if the company is desperately trying to convince investors that yes! i promise! There’s a real problem here worth solving!”
Investors are astute. It is much more effective for him to streamline this into one punchy slide. This approach saves everyone from repetitive boredom, provides clarity of focus, and ensures that the core issues shine through without unnecessary fluff.
The slide in question should shock investors with a more convincing punch. A headline that says, “70% of companies fail to meet their goals'' immediately sets the stage and indicates that the problem is significant and widespread. Under this heading, NOQX could have added 3-5 bullet points. Each bullet point is a small revelation as to why this huge failure rate is important. These bullets need to be powerful, highlighting the dire consequences for businesses and the economy, and the impending disaster if left unchecked. The aim is to make investors realize that they can't afford to ignore this.
These bullet points do more than just state the obvious. They need to directly align with what keeps investors up at night: opportunity and scalability. Each point should scream potential and benefit, and make a persuasive case for why NOQX holds the golden ticket to the lucrative problem at hand. By narrowing the issue down to one impactful slide, NOQX would have cut through the noise, grabbed attention, and made his case with a clarity that required a checkbook, not just a nod.
No need for 3 solution slides
You saw this coming, right?
[Slides 5, 6, 7] If there are too many solutions, no solution will be found. Image credit: NOQX
From a storytelling perspective, it's often worth separating “solution” and “product” slides. In this set of slides, slide 5 almost acts as a solution slide, slide 6 as a value proposition slide, and slide 7 as a product slide, but none of the slides are very convincing.
Properly identifying your slides makes it very easy to know what to include.
In your solution slide, it's important to clearly explain how your product or service solves the problem you've identified. This slide briefly explains why your solution is better than existing alternatives. It's worth keeping this part strategic and at a high level. We're about to get to the nitty-gritty of product slides.
In the value proposition part of the story, founders need to clearly define the unique benefits their product or service provides and why it stands out in the market. This slide should concisely communicate what your startup's services are valuable to potential customers and what sets them apart from your competitors. You should highlight the clear benefits it offers, such as cost efficiency, superior technology, enhanced functionality, and a better user experience. In this case, the backing of NOQX's value is a bit mundane. It looks OK on the surface, but it doesn't differentiate itself enough to stand out from its competitors.
Product slides detail the actual features that help customers derive value from your product and solve their problems. The phrase “our amazing platform” doesn't really say anything, other than the fact that it's a bit tiresome. Any startup in the world could say “our great platform” but that would mean wasting slide real estate. What's so great about it? Why should investors care? How is it different?
What is this slide trying to convey?
[Slide 8] Timeline to chaos. Image credit: NOQX
I love a good timeline slide that shows what a company is trying to accomplish. In fact, this slide doesn't make it clear who you're talking to. Perhaps this slide would work in a sales deck where the founder is trying to explain its value to the customer, but for an investor deck, this seems a little redundant.
Overall, this slide falls between “How it works” and “Value proposition.” Neither is doing a good job and doesn't meet the overall criteria of what should be included in a pitch deck. So, does this help with fundraising? My gut feeling is no.
this is not traction
[Slide 12] Traction is a thing of the past. Image credit: NOQX
I love how colorful and visually appealing this slide is. But it's not a traction slide.
If you don't have revenue yet, your traction slide should explain what you've done to reduce your company's risk. Not only does this slide fail to do that, but it also advances to December 2024. By definition, your traction is just your past: the achievements and milestones you've achieved so far. Ideally, it is presented as a chart or graph that shows growth is solid and accelerating. This doesn't seem to have any traction in business. It makes sense; it's a young company. But don't try to fool investors. They will see through this, so speak up.
But all is not lost. This slide is like a “Use of Funds” slide that shows what the company plans to do in the near future. That helps, but you have to have a plan to reach those milestones and clear time goals for what you need to do to get there. “Smart Investors” and “Reproducible Sales Processes” are important steps in the process, but they are obvious. Investors want to know what you are going to do to get them and the sales process.
Indeed, why now?
[Slide 16] Why, oh why? Image credit: NOQX
Let's focus on “why now?” The slides will help create her FOMO and sense of urgency. You can't do that with this slide. This is a great start, but don't get me wrong. But a savvy investor would know all this. It doesn't add anything to the conversation. I would have liked to see some insight or thought leadership here. Why did the organizational structure change? What impact will the evolution of meetings have? What impact will changes in leadership styles have? What do “flow” goal-setting and rhythms mean in this context?
I feel like I'm missing something important here. Perhaps this slide only works if there is narration, but the pitch deck needs to stand on its own two feet, as the saying goes. That means you may need multiple pitch decks. One for narration and one for pre-send.
Tell us why you're awesome!
Team slides are extremely important and do a lot of the heavy lifting in early pitches. Let's take a look at this:
[Slide 17] It's a solid team, but I'd like more background. Image credit: NOQX
This slide can have too much or too little. The slides have a lot of very small text, which I don't like. It's pretty conversational so it works, but I think it falls short in this case.
“I have 10 years of experience in fast-growing B2B-SaaS companies.” Yes, but which ones and why is that relevant? The rest of the statement is a lot of words, but as an investor , it doesn't help to see if the CEO is the best person to build this company. Then I need to go to LinkedIn, but there's no link, so I have to start Googling, which is frustrating. This could be much easier and better.
CTO careers are equally frustrating. Klarna's senior developer is impressive, but it's not clear whether his experience is directly related to or overlaps with the mission, vision, and products his NOQX pursues. The rest of the biography doesn't say much. Sure, you're a visionary leader who strives to break new ground and deliver great experiences, but the same goes for every startup CTO ever. specifically. Explain why you're a gold-plated unicorn among so many unfair advantages and piles of talent that it makes me believe you'd be crazy not to put money into this startup.
Finally, if the head of UX is a co-founder, you should discuss whether it makes sense. If not, what is she doing with your team's slides? As an early stage investor, I invest in founding teams and their ability to build strong teams. You don't need to know the team very well yet.
Why is it so vague?
[Slide 13] This could have been copied from a business textbook. This is not a good thing because all the details are missing. Image credit: NOQX
All in all, the whole pitch deck seems very vague and unspecific, which makes me (and investors) suspicious. Is it vague by chance? If so, can this startup explain what it's doing as it grows and evolves? Worse, the founders aren't a good fit for the industry they're trying to enter. Did you make it intentionally vague because you know that?
For example, take this go-to-market slide. This isn't even a brainstorm. It merely provides an overview of the general sales process. Cold calling and email marketing: Yes. But where do you find your customers? What is top-of-funnel? What are your conversion rates?
Investors need to understand who you are, what you do, why you do it, and how you think about the market to build (potentially) multi-billion dollar companies in this space. I would like to know if it is. They want to know who your customers are, what their existing options are, and how you're different. They want to know how you find and contact customers. They also want to know how much you expect to pay to acquire a customer, how long you expect them to stay, and what their value is.
None of that is clearly present in this deck. So if I were to go into a meeting with this startup, I'd be asking a lot of really tough questions, like:
Why are you guys the best people in the world to start this company? What is your moat/how can you defend this? Who are your customers and how? What is the competitive landscape like? And how is your company different? What is your business model? How do you attract, convert, and retain customers? Is it?
Overall, this deck looks very good, but lacks substance. Hopefully the company can figure it out before its next round of funding. Otherwise, you might be in for a really nasty surprise.
full pitch deck
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