The Difference Between a Business Plan and a Pitch Deck

 

Whether you are a business professional, a startup founder, or an ambitious serial entrepreneur, you must have wondered: What is the difference between a Business Plan and a Pitch Deck? Which of these documents fits your needs the best? Are business plans outdated? Do you need both?

When you are busy building and growing your company, you do not have all the time in the world to experiment and try out all the options. You want what is best for your business.

Here is the difference between a business plan and a pitch deck.

Business Plan

A business plan is a vital document for any business. It is recommended since owning a business has become a thing. Forever, right?

So, what is a business plan? It is a document that contains all information about your company. It states your plans, as a business owner, for the future. It includes your company description, products, and services description, market analysis, Financial Projection, etc.

This is a 3- to 5-year forecast, that declares where your company will be and how it will get there. A business plan also describes your personnel, and what they will bring to the table.

A business plan is made for potential buyers to put their minds at ease when deciding whether or not to fund or purchase your company.

Main characteristics of a business plan:

- Created for investors and potential buyers

- Text-based

- Between 20 and 100 pages

- Fully researched document

Pitch Deck

We can all agree that in a world of business, everything is too busy and too fast. Capital investors do not have the time to read through every application and thousands of pages. It is almost impossible to read the whole business plan for every applicant. This is where a pitch deck comes in hand.

A Pitch Deck is a brief slide-style presentation of your business. This is a 10 to 20 slides presentation that includes:

- Your company description

- Employee description and their role

- Company advantages

- Company’s solution to a potential problem

- Product and Service description

- Market research

- Competition

- Business model description

- Funding requirements

- Financial overview

As you can see, a pitch deck is a shorter and more visually oriented document than a business plan. But do not be fooled, for a successful pitch deck, you need to do proper research and analysis. The aim of this document is to spark investors' initial interest in buying or funding your business. A perfect pitch deck is clear, concise, and engaging.

Main characteristics of a pitch deck:

- Created for investors and potential buyers

- Visually based

- Between 10 and 20 slides

- Fully researched presentation

Today, you may or may not need both of these documents. It depends on your goals. If you ask me, I would have both. After all, a pitch deck is like a younger, cooler, shorter sibling of a business plan. When having an established and well-researched Business Plan, you can easily summarize it into a presentation. With the help of a skilled designer, of course.

Whatever you decide to do, Joorney is here for you. Our business experts and experienced graphic designers can compose impeccable business plans and pitch decks. Feel free to contact us for more information.