Pitch Deck Vs Business Plan: Which One Do You Need?

A business plan and pitch deck are the two most important documents one needs while setting up a new startup.

However, both these documents hold a separate power, and using them judiciously in the right situation can get you excellent results.

So how do you know when to use what? Besides, how are these documents different?

We will learn all about it in this blog post called Pitch Deck vs Business Plan.

Gear up as we are about to dive in. But before that let’s just understand what a pitch deck and a business plan are.

Key Difference: pitch deck vs business plan

Let’s now understand the differences that make these two business planning documents different.

1. Purpose

A pitch deck helps introduce your business idea quickly and efficiently to your readers. It piques the readers' interests and persuades them to learn more about your business. Pitch decks are perfect when you want people(especially potential investors) to gather essential business details without boring them with in-depth detailing and documentation.

Business plans, on the other hand, are meant to offer an in-depth overview. It gives readers a roadmap explaining how you will structure, set up, and grow your business. Business plans prove the viability of your business idea and assist the readers in making informed decisions.

2. Audience

A pitch deck presentation is mainly designed for potential investors and venture capital firms to secure equity funding. However, that’s not it. Since the core purpose of the pitch deck is to familiarize the readers with your business concepts, anyone who wants to understand your business can be its audience.

Similarly, business plans are also intended for a vast audience. From traditional banks to angel investors, business partners, and internal teams— business plans cater to a large audience fulfilling different objectives.

3. Length and detailing

Pitch decks succinctly summarize your key business details in 10-15 slides. It focuses on covering high-value points of your business plan through highly engaging crisp content. That said, a slide deck focuses on brevity instead of in-depth detailing.

Business plans, however, can vary anywhere between 2-100 pages in length. Different types of business plans have different lengths depending on the objective, complexity, and level of detailing it demands.

For instance,

• Lean and startup business plan: 1-2 pages
• Growth business plan: 8-10 pages
• Traditional plan: 20-40+ pages

Traditionally business plans outline every aspect and nitty-gritty details of your business offering its micro analysis.

4. Content and structure

A compelling pitch deck is highly visual and includes minimum content. Instead of paragraphs, it uses crisp liners to convey highly valuable information.

While a pitch deck can be structured any way, here’s a format that will help you cover all the essential points engagingly.

• Title slide
• Problem
• Solution
• Market Opportunity
• Revenue model
• Traction
• Sales and Marketing Strategies
• Managerial team
• Financials
• Funding demand

Business plans, on the other hand, are heavy on textual content. It details each aspect of business opportunity, strategies, and finances offering a long-term overview of your business.

In terms of structure, most business plans follow this outline:

• Executive summary
• Business description
• Market and competitor’s analysis
• Products and services overview
• Marketing and sales strategies
• Operations plan
• Management team
• Financial plan
• Appendix

5. Customization

Pitch decks are highly customizable. Depending on the audience, it’s easy to modify the context and details important for that particular reader.

Business plans are also customizable. However, it’s difficult to change your traditional plans for different audiences. It encapsulates all the details offering a micro perspective of an entire business.

That’s it. You now understand the core differences that differentiate business plans from pitch decks. However, let’s now understand the practical use cases of these business planning documents.

Pitch deck or business plan — when will you need them?

Both, pitch decks and business plans are extremely useful business planning documents. These documents can help you secure funding, engage the stakeholders, and effectively communicate your goals to the internal team.

However, do you need both of these documents always?

For instance,

• While approaching the investor, do you need a pitch deck or a business plan?
• What do you use when you want to guide an internal team?
• Will the pitch deck get you a co-founder?

Well, let’s get our answers.

That pretty much explains how you can shuffle between a pitch deck and a business plan in different business situations.

Which is more important—pitch deck or a business plan

Do you need both a business plan and a pitch deck?

Yes, you do.

It’s often argued that pitch decks are more important or useful than a business plan. Well, it’s only a partial truth.

A pitch deck has a higher chance of being read till the end. A well-crafted deck can help you secure conversations and further meetings with the investors. And in most cases also an initial funding.

However, there is no base for a pitch deck to exist without a detailed business plan. You see pitch decks are nothing but a concise visual representation of your business plan.

When you write a business plan, you go through an immersive process that helps you think about the micro nuances of your business in detail. This understanding will prepare you for a pitch that will eventually land you funding.

Remember, a pitch deck can simply get you a meeting with an investor. However, you will need a business plan to win their confidence and prove your preparedness for this business.

That said, a business plan and a pitch deck are equally important for any business.

Create your business plan and pitch deck with AI

Now that you are ready to create your business plan and a pitch deck, let’s leverage AI to develop these documents.

Generative AI tools like Chat GPT, Jasper, Dalle E.2, and many others can help you write content, create images, and develop presentations for your business documents.

However, instead of using those tools, we recommend using dedicated business planning tools with AI functionalities. Such tools offer end-to-end AI assistance in creating compelling pitch decks and business plans for a small subscription fee.

Want to experiment a bit before committing to any paid resources?

Test Bizplanr AI business plan generator for free and get a unique business plan for your business crafted from scratch.