Deck vs Video for Raising: The Founder’s Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right First Impression

‍If you’re racing to close a pre-seed or seed round, a sharp pitch deck is still the fastest way to get a “yes” from most VCs. Videos, however, are exploding in popularity for warm intros and cold outreach because they compress your story to 90 seconds of founder charisma. The smartest founders today use both: a deck to share data, a video to spark emotion, and a single link that houses both. Below you’ll learn exactly when to lead with a deck, when to lead with a video, and how to combine them without looking like you’re trying too hard.

Snapshot – Deck vs Video for Raising Capital

Deck (PDF / 10–15 slides)
✅ Universally accepted by investors
✅ Great for deep dives on TAM, GTM, financials
❌ Easy to skim too fast or forward without context

Video (60–180 seconds)
✅ Humanizes the founder instantly
✅ Stops the scroll on Twitter, LinkedIn, and cold email
❌ Requires audio on, may be skipped in quiet offices

Bottom line: Send the deck when diligence starts, attach the video when you’re still chasing the first meeting.

What Is a Pitch Deck, Really?

A pitch deck is a 10- to 15-slide PDF (or Figma link) that walks an investor through your startup in a logical narrative arc. Think of it as your company’s movie trailer—except the plot points are:

Problem

Solution (your product)

Market size (TAM/SAM/SOM)

Traction (ARR, logos, engagement)

Business model

Go-to-market (GTM)

Team

Financials / ask

According to Y Combinator’s own guide, investors spend an average of 3 minutes and 44 seconds on a deck before deciding whether to take a call. That’s less than the time it takes to reheat last night’s pizza.

Pro tip: Export as PDF and name the file Company-Name-Round-Size-Year.pdf so it’s instantly searchable in a VC’s Dropbox.

What Is a Video Pitch?

A video pitch is a short, founder-led recording—usually 60–180 seconds—where you speak directly to camera (or over a Loom screen-share) and hit the same beats as a deck, but in living color.

Popular formats:

Talking-head selfie – filmed on an iPhone, minimal editing

Loom walkthrough – slides + webcam bubble in the corner

Studio quality – 4K, motion graphics, upbeat music (think Flowjam’s launch videos: flowjam.com)

The key difference: a video prioritizes emotion over data. You can’t cram a full financial model into 90 seconds, but you can prove you’re the obsessed founder who will run through walls to win.

Pros & Cons — Deck vs Video for Raising Capital

Deck Advantages
✅ Familiar format – every VC has a mental template
✅ Deep data – charts, cohorts, cap table, unit economics
✅ Forwardable – associates can share with partners in two clicks

Deck Disadvantages
❌ Flat storytelling – no tone of voice or facial expressions
❌ Skim risk – investors jump to the traction slide and bail
❌ Design barrier – bad fonts = instant credibility hit

Video Advantages
✅ Founder charisma – smiles, pauses, and conviction sell
✅ Thumb-stopper – auto-plays in LinkedIn DMs and cold emails
✅ Differentiator – 90 % of decks look the same; 90 % of founders don’t send videos

Video Disadvantages
❌ Tech friction – audio off, slow wifi, or corporate firewalls
❌ No skimming – viewers must watch linearly to get the ask
❌ Production anxiety – lighting, script, “I hate my voice”

What YC, Sequoia, and LinkedIn Gurus Actually Say

Gustaf Alströmer (Y Combinator Partner):“Send a short Loom with the deck attached. If I watch 30 seconds and like you, I’ll open the deck. If I open the deck first and it’s ugly, I’ll never watch the Loom.”

Elizabeth Yin (Hustle Fund GP):“Cold emails with a 60-second video get 3× the response rate of text-only.”

Rodrigo Sepúlveda Schulz (ex-VC, LinkedIn Top Voice):“A great deck is table stakes. A great video is unfair advantage.”

Takeaway: the bar isn’t deck OR video; it’s deck and video, sequenced correctly.

When to Use a Deck, When to Use a Video, When to Use Both

Cold outbound to associate Lead With: 60-sec Loom + deck link Follow Up With: —Reason: Humanizes founder, lowers friction

Warm intro to partner Lead With: Deck (PDF)Follow Up With: Loom if asked Reason: Respect their time, show you’re “normal”

Demo Day presentation Lead With: Video (live or recorded)Follow Up With: Deck in follow-up email Reason: Emotion on stage, data in inbox

Post-term-sheet diligence Lead With: Deck + data room Follow Up With: Optional 2-min product demo video Reason: Investors want the numbers

Pre-seed with no traction Lead With: Video Follow Up With: One-pager Reason: Prove hustle when metrics are thin

Real-World Examples That Closed Millions

Loom (Series A)Joe Thomas recorded a 90-second selfie video walking through the product and attached the deck. The video landed in Sequoia’s inbox and led to a $11 M round.

Flowjam client: FinTech startup “Bounce” Bounce swapped a 14-slide deck for a 75-second animated explainer for their pre-seed raise. Response rate jumped from 8 % to 34 %, and they closed $1.3 M in 6 weeks. (See the exact style at flowjam.com.)

Open Phone (YC W18)Used a traditional deck for partner meetings, but embedded a 45-second product GIF inside slide 3. Best of both worlds.

The 2025 Founder’s Checklist — Deck vs Video for Raising

✅ Export deck as PDF, < 3 MB, readable on mobile
✅ Compress video to < 15 MB for email, or host unlisted on Vimeo
✅ Add captions to video (85 % of social video is watched muted)
✅ Name files Company-Round-2025.pdf and Company-Pitch-2025.mp4
‍✅ Place both links behind a single short URL (Bitly or Doc send)
✅ A/B test subject lines: “60-second intro + deck” vs “Deck attached”
✅ Track opens/clicks; follow up within 24 hours if no view

Common Mistakes Founders Make (So You Don’t Have To)

Mistake 1: 5-minute video monologue Fix: Cut ruthlessly to 90 seconds. If you can’t, your story isn’t tight.

Mistake 2: 30-slide deck that’s basically a business plan Fix: Use YC’s 10-slide template. Investors want the trailer, not the movie.

Mistake 3: Sending video only on YouTube with ads Fix: Host on Vimeo or Loom; set privacy to “anyone with link.”

Mistake 4: Using a Canva template that 1,000 other startups used Fix: Hire a designer for one day or use Flowjam.com for a custom motion opener.

FAQ — Deck vs Video for Raising

Do VCs ever watch videos on mute? Yes—always burn in captions. Services like Kapwing or Descript do it in minutes.

How long should my video pitch be? Aim for 60–90 seconds for cold outreach, up to 3 minutes for warm intros.

Can I just embed the video inside the deck? You can, but file size balloons and some mail filters strip embedded media. Safer to link.

What if I’m camera-shy? Use Loom screen-share with a small webcam bubble; you’ll be 2 cm tall—much less scary.

Is a studio-produced video worth the cost at pre-seed?Only if your brand is design-heavy (e.g., consumer app). Otherwise, iPhone + ring light is fine.

TL;DR — The Action Plan

Build a tight 10-slide deck following YC’s outline.

Record a 60–90 second selfie video summarizing the big idea and traction.

Cold email: link to video + deck.

Warm intro: attach deck, mention “happy to send a quick video.”

Track engagement with Doc send or HubSpot.

Iterate weekly until round is closed.

Remember: investors back lines, not dots. Whether you draw that line with Keynote or Final Cut, the goal is the same—make them believe you’re the one who turns caffeine into compound interest.

Now stop agonizing over deck vs video for raising and start shipping both. Your term sheet is waiting.

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