Once investors understand the problem you are solving and why your solution matters, their next questions are straightforward: How big can this business become? How will it make money? And why will you win? That is what your Market, Business Model, and Competition slides need to answer.

A strong pitch deck does not simply present a huge market number or list your competitors. It shows investors that there is a meaningful opportunity, a viable way to capture value, and a clear reason your company can win. Sequoia’s pitch framework similarly emphasizes market potential, competition, and business model as core parts of the investment story.

#1. Start With the Market Opportunity

Investors need to understand the size of the opportunity you are pursuing. But saying “The global market is worth $100 billion” is not enough. A more convincing market slide explains:

• Who is your customer?
• What market are you entering?
• How large is that market?
• How quickly is it growing?
• What makes the opportunity attractive now?

This is where TAM, SAM, and SOM can be useful:

• TAM (Total Addressable Market): The total potential market.
• SAM (Serviceable Available Market): The portion your business can realistically serve.
• SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market): The portion you can reasonably capture in the near term.

The goal is not to make the biggest number possible. It is to demonstrate that your market is large enough to support the scale you are targeting.

Avoid the “$100 Billion Market” Trap

A common mistake is presenting an enormous market without explaining how your company will participate in it. For example:

“The global fitness industry is worth $100 billion.”

That sounds impressive, but it tells investors very little. A stronger argument would explain:

“We are targeting independent fitness studios in Southeast Asia, where operators still rely heavily on manual scheduling and payment processes. Our initial market represents approximately X customers with an estimated annual software spend of Y.”

Now the market is connected to an actual customer and business opportunity. Market size becomes meaningful when investors can see the path from the market to your revenue.

#2. Define Your Customer

Your market slide should not begin with a number. It should begin with a customer. Be specific about who is most likely to buy your product.

Instead of:

“Our target market is small businesses.”

Try:

“Our initial customers are Indonesian F&B businesses with 2–10 outlets that need centralized inventory and sales management.”

The second statement immediately tells investors who you are building for and gives them a clearer picture of your market entry strategy. Your initial customer segment does not need to represent your entire future market. In fact, a focused entry point can make your strategy more credible.

#3. Explain Why the Market Is Attractive Now

Market size alone does not create an investment opportunity. Investors also want to understand why this opportunity exists now. Perhaps:

• customer behavior has changed
• new technology has become affordable
• regulation has created a new opportunity
• an industry is moving online
• an existing solution has become outdated
• infrastructure has improved
• a new generation of customers has different expectations

This is your Why Now? A strong market slide connects three things: Large Opportunity + Market Timing + Clear Customer Need. That combination is much more powerful than a large market statistic by itself.

#4. Show How the Business Makes Money

Once investors understand the opportunity, explain how you capture value from it. Your business model should be simple enough to understand in a few seconds. For example:

• SaaS subscription
• transaction fee
• marketplace commission
• licensing
• advertising
• usage-based pricing
• hardware + software
• subscription + services

You do not need to present every possible future revenue stream. If your primary business model is a monthly SaaS subscription, lead with that. Additional revenue opportunities can be mentioned later. The objective is to answer one basic question: “If customers love this product, how does that turn into a large business?”

#5. Connect Revenue to Business Economics

A business model becomes more convincing when you show the economics behind it. Depending on your stage, relevant metrics may include:

• CAC: Customer Acquisition Cost
• ARPU: Average Revenue Per User
• Gross Margin
• LTV: Customer Lifetime Value
• Average Order Value
• Recurring Revenue
• Payback Period

You do not need to show every metric. Choose the ones that best explain how your business scales.

For example:

Acquire a customer for $50 → generate $20/month → retain the customer for 24 months.

That tells a much stronger story than simply saying:

“Our subscription is $20/month.”

The numbers should help investors understand the relationship between customer acquisition, revenue, retention, and profitability.

#6. Scalability Matters

Investors are not only asking whether your business can make money. They are asking whether it can become much bigger without costs increasing at the same rate. A software product, for example, may be able to serve thousands of additional customers without requiring thousands of additional employees. A consulting business may generate strong revenue but require more people as it grows. Neither model is automatically good or bad. The important question is whether your operating model supports the scale you are proposing.

Your pitch should therefore make the growth engine visible: Customer Acquisition → Customers → Revenue → Retention → Expansion. Show investors how one part of the business drives the next.

#7. Know Your Competition

Every attractive market has alternatives. And your competitors are not limited to companies offering exactly the same product. We recommends considering both direct and indirect competitors and showing how you plan to win. Your competitive landscape may include:

• Direct competitors
• Indirect competitors
• Internal solutions
• Manual processes
• Spreadsheets
• Legacy software
• Doing nothing

For example, if you are building an inventory management platform, your real competition may not just be another SaaS company. It could be:

Excel + WhatsApp + manual bookkeeping.

That alternative may be surprisingly difficult to replace.

#8. Don't Just List Competitors — Explain Why You Win

A competitor matrix is useful, but only if it communicates something meaningful. Avoid slides that simply show:

If everyone has checkmarks, investors learn very little. Instead, identify the specific advantage that gives your company a reason to win. That advantage could come from:

• Proprietary technology
• Unique data
• Distribution
• Network effects
• Partnerships
• Lower operating costs
• Brand
• Industry expertise
• A unique customer experience
• A difficult-to-replicate product

The important question is not: “Are we better?”. It is: “Why is our advantage meaningful, and why will it be difficult to copy?”. This product-market-fit framework similarly emphasizes differentiation rather than simply being faster or cheaper.

#9. Don't Claim “Better, Faster, Cheaper” Without Proof

“Better, faster, and cheaper” is one of the most common claims in pitch decks. It is also one of the least convincing unless supported by evidence.

Instead of:

“Our platform is faster than competitors.”

Show:

“Customers complete the same workflow in 3 minutes instead of 12.”

Instead of:

“We are cheaper.”

Show:

“Our average customer saves 35% compared with the current solution.”

Specific evidence turns positioning into an investment argument.

#10. Make the Three Slides Work Together

Your Market, Business Model, and Competition slides should not feel like three unrelated pieces of information. They should tell one continuous story:

Together, they answer the three questions investors are likely to have:

• Is the opportunity big enough?
• Can this company make meaningful money from it?
• Can this company actually win?

What to Put on Your Slides

For most pitch decks, these sections can be surprisingly simple.

You do not need to explain everything. The presentation should create enough clarity for investors to understand the opportunity and enough curiosity to ask the next question.

The Real Goal: Make Growth Believable

Your pitch deck does not need to prove that your company will definitely become a billion-dollar business. It needs to make the path to significant growth believable. That means avoiding inflated market numbers, complicated revenue models, and generic competitive claims.

Instead, show a clear chain: Big Opportunity → Clear Business Model → Real Competitive Advantage → Scalable Growth. When those four elements reinforce each other, investors can begin to see not just what your company does today, but what it could become.

Final Takeaway

• A great market slide shows where the opportunity is.
• A great business model slide shows how you make money from it.
• A great competition slide shows why you can win.

Put them together, and your pitch moves beyond “This is a good idea” to a much stronger investment story:

“This could become a big business — and here is why we believe we can build it.”

Next in the series:
Traction: The Data That Makes Investors Believe — how to turn revenue, customers, growth, retention, and other meaningful metrics into evidence that your business is gaining momentum. →