Hello and welcome! This fourth post will also be the first installment of a 10-part series on Practical Pitching — a guide to help first-time founders develop their pitch.

The big picture: Founders are experimenting with new ways to catch investors attention and articulate the value of their companies.

• Argyle, a financial services company, scrapped the idea of a traditional pitch deck after their seed round in favor of a investment memo hosted in Notion.
• Other founders have hosted their data rooms and appendix information for a round in Notion — giving investors granularity into the nuance and value of their company.
• It doesn’t seem like investors are pushing back: A living document allows investors to dive deeper into areas where they need and founders can provide real-time updates as the company progresses. A win for founders and investors.

It’s true: Investors are spending less time looking at each pitch deck, according to research from DocSend. And founders need to get more creative with their pitches.

• Remember: When pitching to their LPs, investors don’t use a pitch deck. They communicate value and provide analysis using an investment memo.

At the macro level: While we don’t think the pitch deck completely is dead, founders need to think about the ways they are pitching to investors.

• Try to develop a executive summary of your business. Notion is just a tool, but a great way to build an executive summary or investment memo.
• An executive summary can be presented as a two-page PowerPoint or a document. As with any pitch, focus on the team, the business, the product, the market, the customers, the revenue model, the competition, and the company's stage of development or traction.