My Five-Slide Analyst Briefing Deck (Yes, It's Possible)
Attempting to articulate your entire company story and strategy in 5 slides is a powerful exercise
I was recently in a LinkedIn thread with other AR folks debating whether it's possible to do an analyst briefing in just five slides.
My answer? Absolutely.
In fact, I love this exercise—because if you can't explain who you are, what you sell, and why you matter in five slides, it's usually a sign that your story isn't as crisp as it needs to be.
So here's my five-slide dream deck for analyst briefings.
Slide 1: Vision
The first slide is all about vision. For me, vision needs to answer two questions clearly:
What is your unique point of view on the market?
Why does that point of view have the potential to move the market?
This might be a founding story, but it doesn't have to be. What matters is that the analyst walks away understanding what you believe that others don't, and why you think that belief gives you an edge.
This is not a generic "our space is important" slide. It's your thesis—what makes you different, and why you think that difference will win.
Slide 2: What You Actually Sell
The second slide grounds that vision in reality. This is where you show the analyst what you actually bring to market.
That might be:
A simple Marchitecture diagram showing how your product fits into an ecosystem
A product overview that clarifies what buyers can purchase
A visual that shows how your solution sits alongside other tools buyers might already be considering
The goal here is clarity. The analyst needs to understand what companies can buy from you and how it fits alongside other things they might already own. If they can’t quickly understand what you sell — and how it fits into everything else — it’s going to be hard for them to place you correctly in their mental model of the market.
Slide 3: Who Buys You—and Why
Slide three is about the buyer. Specifically: who inside an organization actually buys this, and why do they choose you?
Here our goal is to make differentiation come to life. I like to use this slide to show:
The competitive set of ways a company might solve the problem you address
What consistently pushes buyers toward you instead of alternatives
You’re not trying to name every competitor. You’re trying to show how buyers think — and why your approach resonates with them.
Slide 4: Example Customers
Next, I want to make things concrete using real customer stories. This slide might include three customer logos with a short narrative for each one.
For each customer, I’d briefly cover:
What problem they were trying to solve
How they implemented the product
What kind of value or wins they saw as a result
This is the slide analysts come back to later when they’re trying to remember who you’re actually a fit for. Real examples make your story stick.
Slide 5: Where You're Going Next
The final slide looks forward. This is not a full roadmap—you don't have time for that. Instead, focus on your next 12–18 months and what you're investing in right now.
That might include:
Product priorities
Go-to-market changes
New capabilities or markets you're leaning into
The analyst should walk away understanding not just who you are today, but where you're placing your bets next, grounded in the vision you kicked off with. This last slide brings the briefing full circle and shows you’re a company that is not just articulating a vision but systematically executing against it.
Why This is a Powerful Exercise
I love the five-slide constraint because it forces discipline. If you can't tell your story in five slides, it usually means one of three things:
Your vision isn't clear
Your differentiation isn't sharp
You're trying to say too much instead of what actually matters
Five slides doesn't mean shallow. It means focused. And in an analyst briefing—where attention is limited and context matters—focus is everything.
I hope this exercise helps clarify yours.
Upward (and to the right!)
-Elena
