Consumer brands · DTC brand deck
DTC brand pitch decks where the brand and the numbers share the page.
Direct-to-consumer investors have watched advertising costs rise. They want a brand customers return to and margins that survive paid acquisition.
Fixed prices. No calls: you brief us in writing and comment in writing.
Repeat
Half of orders come from returning customers
Illustration only. Any figures are invented for this sample slide.
Who reads it
Consumer brand investors.
Turnaround
5 business days for a design rebuild; 3 business days for an audit.
How it differs
How a DTC brand deck differs from a general pitch deck
A general startup deck sells a future product to a large market. A DTC brand deck sells a product people already buy, so investors skip the vision slides and go straight to the order: what it costs to make, ship and return, what it cost to win the buyer, and whether that buyer comes back. Photography still matters, because the brand is part of the value, but every image needs a number nearby. Channel risk also gets its own slide, which most startup decks never need.
Slide by slide
What goes in a DTC brand deck
- 01
Brand and customer
Who buys and why they choose you.
- 02
Product range
Hero products first.
- 03
Contribution margin
After product, shipping, returns and fees.
- 04
Acquisition cost
By channel.
- 05
Repeat purchase
Repeat rate and order frequency.
- 06
Lifetime value
By cohort, against acquisition cost.
- 07
Channel expansion
Retail and marketplaces, with their economics.
- 08
Plan
Inventory, marketing and hires.
The questions behind every slide
What readers of a DTC brand deck ask
Each answer names the slide or document where it belongs. If a question has no home in your deck, the reader will ask it in writing, or stop reading.
- 1
How long does it take to earn back what you spend to win a customer?
The acquisition slide should state payback in months beside the cost per customer, with the full cohort table in the metrics appendix.
- 2
Is your contribution margin measured on the first order or over the customer's life?
The margin slide should say which, and the appendix should show first-order and repeat-order margin separately.
- 3
What happens to growth if your main ad platform gets more expensive?
The acquisition slide should show spend and new customers by channel, including email, referral and other owned channels that cost little per order.
- 4
How much of your revenue depends on discounts?
The margin slide should state revenue after discounts and returns, with the discount history by month in the appendix.
- 5
Which first product brings customers back?
The repeat purchase slide should group customers by the product they bought first and show how many bought again.
- 6
How much cash is tied up in inventory, and when?
The use of funds slide should show when purchase orders are paid against when that stock sells, backed by the working capital line in your financial model.
- 7
Will retail or marketplace sales undercut your own site?
The channel slide should state your pricing policy across channels and any products kept for your own site.
- 8
Is revenue reported before or after returns?
Every revenue chart should carry a note stating it, and the metrics appendix should define each figure once.
Headline rewrites
Slide titles that say something.
A reader skims headlines first. A label tells them the topic; a sentence tells them the point. Bracketed figures are placeholders for your own numbers.
Before
Customer Acquisition
After
Each new customer costs $[X] and pays that back within [X] months
Before
Cohorts
After
Customers from each new monthly cohort reorder sooner than the cohort before
Before
Channels
After
Owned channels now bring in [X]% of new customers, so paid ads carry less of the load
What we fix
Faults we see in DTC brand deck drafts
Revenue growth with no margin shown.
Dependence on one ad channel unmentioned.
Repeat rate left out.
What you receive
Documents we produce
- Investor deck
- One-page summary
- Retail buyer version on request
Every file is delivered editable, in PowerPoint, Google Slides or Keynote, with a PDF for sending. A DTC brand deck rebuild starts at $3,500; the full Raise Set with one-pager and teaser is $10,000.
Format
Length, versions and appendix
- Length
- Commonly 12 to 18 main slides, with detailed metrics moved to an appendix.
- Send-ahead version
- A PDF with the metrics appendix attached, or the appendix shared after a first call if you prefer to hold it back.
- Presented version
- Open with the product and the customer in two slides, then move to margin and repeat purchase, keeping photography large and the numbers on the same pages.
What belongs in the appendix
- Monthly cohort table
- Spend and acquisition cost by channel
- Contribution margin build for one order
- Purchase order and inventory schedule
- Sales mix by product
- Returns and discount history
Before you send it
DTC brand deck checklist
- Contribution margin built line by line, with every cost named
- Blended and paid-only acquisition cost shown and labeled
- A cohort chart grouped by month of first order
- Revenue stated after returns and discounts
- Spend and new customers by channel for recent months
- Inventory purchases timed against the use of funds
- One pricing policy stated for every channel
- Every metric dated with the period it covers
Glossary
Terms used in a DTC brand deck
- Contribution margin
- What is left from an order after product cost, shipping, payment fees, returns and the marketing spent to win it.
- Payback period
- How many months of a customer's purchases it takes to recover what you spent to acquire them.
- Blended acquisition cost
- Total marketing spend divided by all new customers, including those who arrived without paid ads.
- Cohort
- A group of customers who placed their first order in the same period, tracked together over time.
- Marketing efficiency ratio
- Total revenue divided by total marketing spend, across every channel at once.
- Owned channels
- Ways you reach customers without paying per click, such as your email list, text messages and referrals.
Your written brief
What to send us for a DTC brand deck
No call needed. Send what you have; missing items are listed in our written reply, and nothing is invented to fill a gap.
- 01Monthly order export from your store platform
- 02Ad spend and new customers by channel, by month
- 03Repeat purchase or cohort data
- 04Unit cost sheet for each hero product, including freight, packaging and fulfillment
- 05Product and lifestyle photography with brand guidelines
- 06Current deck and financial model
- 07Supplier lead times and the inventory plan
- 08Round size and planned use of funds
Packages
Four packages, fixed prices.
Deck Audit
$1,500
3 business days
A written verdict on the deck you have, before you send it to anyone.
- Slide-by-slide notes inside your file
- The fixes that matter most, in order
- Story, numbers and design, each assessed
- The investor questions your deck leaves open
One deck, up to 20 slides. No redesign included.
Choose Deck AuditInvestor Finish
$3,500
5 business days
Your draft, rebuilt to investor standard. Design only.
- Up to 15 slides rebuilt
- Charts redrawn from your data
- Your brand applied throughout
- One written revision round
- Editable PowerPoint, Google Slides or Keynote
Design only: your wording and slide order stay as they are.
Choose Investor FinishFinish + Story
$6,500
8 business days
We restructure the argument, rewrite the headlines, then rebuild the deck.
- Up to 20 slides
- Narrative restructured from your draft and notes
- Headlines rewritten as full-sentence points
- Send-ahead PDF version
- Two written revision rounds
We work from your facts. No market research or financial modeling.
Choose Finish + StoryRaise Set
$10,000
12 business days
Everything a raise needs, in one matching set.
- Up to 30 slides plus appendix
- Investor one-pager
- Short teaser version for cold outreach
- Three written revision rounds
- All source files
No investor introductions, fundraising or legal advice.
Choose Raise SetNot included in any package: Calls or meetings · Market research · Financial modeling or valuation · Investor introductions · Fundraising, legal or securities advice. Extra slides and extra revision rounds are quoted in writing before we start them.
Questions, answered.
Should retail plans be in the deck?+
Yes, as a channel slide showing the economics of each channel.
How much does a pitch deck cost here?+
A written Deck Audit is $1,500. Investor Finish, a design rebuild of up to 15 slides, is $3,500. Finish + Story, with the argument restructured, is $6,500. Raise Set, up to 30 slides with a one-pager and teaser, is $10,000.
How long does it take?+
Three business days for an audit, five for Investor Finish, eight for Finish + Story and twelve for Raise Set, counted from payment and a complete brief.
Is there a call?+
No. No package includes a call or meeting. You brief us in writing and comment in writing.
What do I need to send?+
Your draft deck in any editable format, or notes if you chose a package with writing, plus a few lines on who will read it and what you are asking for.
How do I pay?+
By card, through a secure payment link we send once scope and delivery date are confirmed in writing.
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Pitch deck design for e-commerce and consumer brands: margins, repeat purchase and acquisition cost laid out for investors. Fixed packages from $3,500.
Further reading
Sources we read when writing this page. General information only; not legal, tax or investment advice.
Have a draft? Send it today.
Choose a package, link your deck and write a few lines about who it is for. You get scope, a delivery date and a payment link in writing.