Sutro’s Seed Round Deck that Raised $2.2M
Sutro's 12-page deck that raised $2.2M
Background
- Company: Sutro, founded in 2021, is a software development platform that combines generative AI to help non-technical founders built applications.
- Problem: Building a software product in 2023 is difficult, slow, and expensive.
- Solution: Sutro enables entrepreneurs to focus on product ideas by combining the best of low-code, AI-generated code, and custom code.
- Most Recent Funding: $2.2M seed round on March 23, 2023
- Total Funding: $2.2M
- Notable Investors: Eniac Ventures
Bottom Line
- While not all investors have the same level of sophistication, the build up to Sutro’s solution and communication of the value proposition is a little slow. It works, but the same value could be communicated much quicker and grab investor’s attention much faster.
- Sutro’s go-to-market strategy is really solid. This isn’t something you normally see in a seed round company. Sutro has a clear path to solve a real problem for non-technical founders and inch their way up market into medium and large companies.
The Deck
Cover Slide
Problem
If I'm an investor, this slide doesn't provide much information, especially if it's coming to me cold. This information could easily be condensed into the next slide.
Status Quo
Sutro shines in this slide. The emerging prevalence of low-code as the will continue to be a growing problem and the team even manages to answer the question of "why now" in this slide.
Value Proposition
Solution Sketch
It works, but wouldn’t it just be easier to say on the next slide that Sutro combines the best of AI-generated code, low-code, and custom code?
Solution
The solution slide blends both the intellectual property aspect investors want while giving them an understanding of how users can easily build and ship applications.
Product Demo
Love having a demo in a pitch deck. It’s a great way to cement the product in an investor’s mind.
Solution (Again?)
Look, this slide isn’t bad and some investors aren’t as sophisticated as others, but the “[insert popular tool/company] but for [problem you are solving]” gets old quick. Especially when every startup is building the “ChatGPT but for [insert hot market].”
Team
Roadmap
One of the things missing early on in the deck is Sutro’s mission and vision. Not the “we’re going to save the world” type bullshit, but what is the company’s grand plan. The roadmap slide gives a some insight, but it would be great to have a clear mission and vision early in the deck.
Market
Go-To-Market Strategy
The distribution channels here are amazing — especially give initial markets Sutro is going after. The real star here is the statement of Sutro’s unfair advantage. It’s a great way to wrap up the deck and show how building an app with Sutro can scale from solo-entrepreneurs all the way up to medium and large companies.
