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[Slide 2] Setting up a bold vision for the future.Image Credits:Aether Bio
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[Slide 7] If true, I wouldn’t want to be Aether’s competitors.Image Credits:Aether Bio
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[Slide 13] “Yeah, we know this is hard, but here’s how we are mitigating the issues.”Image Credits:Aether Bio
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[Slide 18] This slide (and the three that follow it) are pretty deep tech, and hard to understand and get excited about.Image Credits: Aether
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[Slide 22] Give us money and I guess I’ll do some stuff.Image Credits: Aether
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Aether ’s pitch pack of cards is a real head - scratcher . The companysaysthat it raised almost $ 50 million to “ extract atomic number 3 from previously inaccessible reserves . ” That makes sense : Lithium is a valuable , hard - to - get resource that is being used by the bucketload in assault and battery and other electronics . But the pitch deck of cards bar this manipulation case ( which is the smallest opportunity in the deck of cards ) almost to annotate status .
It gain for some really interesting reading and storytelling , so let ’s plunge in and see if we can spot what happened and how .
We ’re looking for more unequaled auction pitch decks to buck down , so if you require to submit your own , here ’s how you’re able to do that .
Slides in this deck
Three things to love
I ’ll be honest here : I do n’t really sympathize what the company does . Perhaps I ’m just not deep tech enough to fully take account how biotech work . On the other hired man , I ’m securely of the opinion that if you ca n’t explain your business to a five - class - onetime , there ’s something wrong with your storytelling .
Still , Aether did get a few thing right .
A bold setup
Straight out of the logic gate on swoop 2 , the troupe plant the seed for a huge vision :
If there ’s anything you could put on a slide to catch my attention , this would be jolly high on the list . Yes , I do need to imagine that future . There ’s a endangerment here , of course : Is the company going to be able to fulfill the promise it makes ?
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Hella competitive advantages
I caveat this by say that I do n’t really do it what the exist technologies are , and if I were looking at this deal more closely , I ’d have to talk to a bunch of industry expert to see how these types of datasets are presently generated . On face note value , however , this swoop is impressive :
Any company that can genuinely show it is 20x faster and 1/10th of the damage per sample , and 1/50th of the initial investment of be technology is wink a huge , Ne “ disrupting the manufacture ” sign of the zodiac alongside its sales pitch . Again , I ’d require to verify the claim , but this will absolutely capture my attention .
Addressing the challenges head-on
The little I do sleep with about companies in this space is that there are tremendous challenges need with play synthetical bioproducts to market . It ’s refreshing to see Aether address some of those challenges head - on .
From this slide , you may memorise how to tackle some of the ground VCs may have been burn in the yesteryear in this space , and explicate how you are different .
This is like to how company building in the medtech microfluidics outer space put “ Here is how we are dissimilar from Theranos ” in an appendix slide . It ’s knife - in - nerve , but youknowthe enquiry is function to come up , so you may as well be prepare for it . Elegantly done !
In the balance of this teardown , we ’ll appear at three things Aether could have improved or done otherwise , along with its full pitch shot deck of cards !
Three things that could be improved
The biggest betterment , I think , could be done on the storytelling front .
Explain it like I’m 5
There ’s an full subreddit dedicated to excuse complex topics as if the person asking the question were a 5 - year - sure-enough , and I think this deck could benefit from acquire a similar approach . I do n’t intend you have to speak down to your investors , but you also do n’t have to technobabble your way through your pitch .
This pitching deck of cards is exceedingly vague and I intend it could have been brought to living with example . A good fabric for that would be “ Unlike [ current solution ] , which [ problem with current resolution ] , we do [ answer ] so that [ target customer ] can [ evaluate proposal ] . ”
Such an overture forces you to think about the whole problem space in a way that is understandable to investors .
Aether could have reword this whole argument thus : “ Toxic water is more and more a problem because polyfluoroalkyl substances ( PFAS ) can not economically be filter out of our drinking water using live mean . So , we have developed a protein that can get free of the PFAS in water at 1,000th of the cost . We suspect this method acting will become mandatory in all crapulence supplies within the next 10 years , representing a $ 45 billion opportunity . ”
Remember that you ’re not just trying to win over the investor in the meeting . Your investors also have to get the repose of the partnership on board with the investiture at hand . It ’s just a good thought to givethemthe creature to show their friends , co - investors and the rest of the partnership exactly why they are so excited about your company .
That’s the worst “use of funds” I’ve seen in years
We ’re fit to build out a production line , prototype our technical school and hire more executive director . Really ? You could imitate and paste those three “ use of funds ” statements intoany one of the previous 70 Pitch Deck Teardownsand get off scot - free . That ’s some next - level vagueness .
Aether raised almost $ 50 million , so they distinctly got by with this slide . But as a startup , you may do better . import out what milepost you ’re project to hit , where and how you are planning to enthrone the capital , and what the company will look like in 18 months . An operating programme would n’t have been amiss .
Some images and illustrations, maybe?
The deck is extremely vague in a lot of slipway that sets off alarm bells .
The cover slide has the only photo in the full deck . And when I went to see if the squad slide had any pictures , I realized there was no team slide , so forgive me — screw the exemplification , I notice a far more serious error :
Where’s your team?!
If you ’re blend in to build a society that is doing something right at the bleeding edge of technology , you ’re going to need an sinful team . You need strong leadership ( to set the direction ) , estimable science folk ( to separate the leading if this is even possible ) , fantabulous salespeople ( to sell the brand - new thing ) and proficient and operations teams ( to make thing solve in the first place , and then to make it work at scale ) .
The overall serpent - fulsome vagueness , combined with the lack of a team chute position off some pretty gamey - colored flags for me . For a rich technical school caller to mold , you need a hell of a squad . A lot of the conversation will be around how you ’ve got the unspoilt team to execute against the mission , and what your pipeline is for employ the best of the good die onward .
This deck excuse none of those things , which likely means one of three things :
Team slides . They are mandatory . No discussion .
The full pitch deck
If you want your own pitch deck of cards teardown featured on TC+,here ’s more information . Also , see to it outall our Pitch Deck Teardowns and other pitch advice , all compile in one ready to hand place for you !
