Transform your business narrative into compelling investor presentations using proven methodologies from Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and successful platform companies.

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An AI-powered pitch deck framework that transforms your business narrative into professional investor presentations using battle-tested methodologies from Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and successful platform companies.

The key to success: High-quality business context in the startup-context/ folder. The AI can only be as good as the information you provide about your business.

• Cursor Editor with Claude Sonnet for optimal AI assistance
• Node.js (v18 or higher recommended)
• GitHub account (for deployment)

Fork and clone this repository:

# Fork this repository on GitHub, then clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/YOUR-REPO-NAME.git
cd YOUR-REPO-NAME
npm install
npm run dev

Your development server will start at http://localhost:5173 - keep this running to see changes in real-time.

This is the most critical step that determines the quality of your AI-generated presentation. The startup-context/ folder structure is already created with templates - customize them with your business information.

Essential files to create (see Startup Context Setup for templates):

• startup-context/narrative.md - Your core business story (MUST HAVE)
• startup-context/supporting-docs/market-research.md - Market data and customer research
• startup-context/supporting-docs/competitive-analysis.md - Competitor intelligence
• startup-context/supporting-docs/financial-projections.md - Revenue model and forecasts

Replace example assets:

• src/assets/ - Add your logos, team photos, and company images

Pro Tip: Beyond the templates, add any internal business documents to dramatically improve AI output quality - PRDs, business plans, marketing materials, customer feedback, financial models, etc.

Open Cursor Agent (Ctrl/Cmd + L) and use this comprehensive prompt to generate your entire pitch deck:

Based on @startup-context/narrative.md and @startup-context/supporting-docs/, create a complete 15-slide investor pitch deck following this structure:

1. **Title Slide** - Company name, tagline, and presenter info
2. **Problem** - Specific pain points with emotional impact (5-second rule)
3. **Solution** - Your unique approach and key benefits
4. **Market Opportunity** - TAM/SAM/SOM with bottom-up sizing
5. **Product Demo** - Core functionality and user experience
6. **Traction** - Growth metrics, customer validation, key wins
7. **Business Model** - Revenue streams, pricing, unit economics
8. **Competition** - Competitive landscape and differentiation
9. **Go-to-Market** - Customer acquisition strategy and channels
10. **Team** - Founder backgrounds and key hires
11. **Financials** - 3-year projections and key assumptions
12. **Funding Ask** - Amount, use of funds, milestones
13. **Vision** - Long-term impact and market position
14. **Appendix** - Supporting data, detailed metrics, backup slides
15. **Thank You** - Contact information and next steps

For each slide:
- Follow Khosla's emotional storytelling principles
- Use Sequoia's systematic structure for comprehensive coverage
- Maintain consistent design system from existing slides
- Include specific data from my context files, not generic placeholders
- Create compelling narratives that build toward the funding ask

Start with slides 1-5, then I'll review before continuing with the rest.

For Investor Sharing (Recommended): Export as PDF for DocSend

npm run generate-pdf     # Creates professional PDF with clickable links

Then upload the generated PDF to DocSend, Notion, or send directly to investors.

For Interactive Presentations: Deploy to GitHub Pages

Set up GitHub Pages (one-time):

• Go to your repository settings: https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/YOUR-REPO-NAME/settings/pages
• Source: GitHub Actions (not "Deploy from a branch")
• Save

Deploy when ready:

# Make sure all changes are committed and pushed
git add .
git commit -m "Update slides"
git push origin master

# Deploy to GitHub Pages (triggers GitHub Actions)
npm run deploy

Your site will be live at: https://YOUR-USERNAME.github.io/YOUR-REPO-NAME/

The key to success is context-driven prompting. The AI needs to understand your business deeply to create compelling slides.

Initial Context Setting:

I'm building a pitch deck for [COMPANY NAME], a [BRIEF DESCRIPTION]. 

Our business model is [BUSINESS MODEL]. Our target market is [TARGET MARKET].

Please analyze the existing slides and help me improve the narrative flow and design consistency. I want to follow Khosla's emotional storytelling principles and Sequoia's systematic structure.

Content Creation:

Based on @startup-context/narrative.md, create a compelling problem slide that:
- Follows the 5-second rule (immediate emotional impact)
- Uses specific, relatable examples
- Sets up the urgency for our solution
- Maintains the existing design system from @src/slides/Slide01.tsx

Design Consistency:

Look at @src/slides/Slide05.tsx and create a similar slide for our market sizing data. 

Keep the same:
- Color scheme and typography
- Layout patterns and spacing
- Visual hierarchy and component structure

But update the content to show [SPECIFIC MARKET DATA].

Iterative Refinement:

I've created the first draft of my traction slide. Please:
1. Analyze it against Khosla's principles for emotional impact
2. Suggest improvements for visual hierarchy
3. Ensure the metrics tell a compelling growth story
4. Maintain consistency with the design system from other slides

Content Extraction:

From @startup-context/supporting-docs/[DOCUMENT], extract the key points for a competitive analysis slide. 

Structure it as:
- Clear differentiation points
- Visual comparison table
- Compelling narrative about our unique advantages
- Professional design matching @src/slides/Slide10.tsx

Narrative Flow:

Review slides 8-12 and ensure they flow logically:
- Problem → Solution → Market → Traction → Business Model

Suggest reordering or content changes to improve the story arc. Each slide should build anticipation for the next.

• Use @ references: @startup-context/narrative.md for context, @src/slides/Slide05.tsx for design patterns
• Be specific: Instead of "make it better," specify what you want improved
• Reference methodologies: Mention Khosla, Sequoia, or specific principles
• Iterate in cycles: Build → analyze → improve → expand
• Keep context: Reference previous slides for consistency

The quality of your pitch deck depends entirely on the business context you provide to the AI. Here's what makes great context:

Purpose: Single source of truth for your business story
AI Impact: Referenced in every slide creation

Must Include:

• Specific problem with quantified pain points
• Your unique solution and competitive advantages
• Target market with real size data (not "billions of people")
• Business model with actual pricing
• Traction with real numbers and customer names
• Team background and why you'll win
• Funding ask and specific use of funds

Quality Test: Can someone understand your business and why it matters quickly?

• TAM/SAM/SOM with sources and calculation methods
• Customer interviews and pain point validation
• Industry statistics with credible sources
• Pricing sensitivity and willingness to pay data

• Direct competitors with honest strengths/weaknesses
• Indirect competitors and status quo alternatives
• Your unfair advantages and defensible moats
• Win/loss analysis from real sales situations

• Unit economics (CAC, LTV, payback period)
• Historical financials if available
• 3-year projections with key assumptions
• Scenario analysis (base, upside, downside)

Good Context Examples:

• "1.24M small businesses face succession crisis annually, with 70% shutting down vs. selling" (specific, sourced)
• "Our enterprise customers pay $50K annually vs. $200K for traditional solutions" (quantified value prop)
• "Interviewed 47 potential customers, 89% said they'd pay $500/month for this solution" (validated demand)

Poor Context Examples:

• "Millions of businesses have this problem" (vague, unsourced)
• "We're 10x better than competitors" (unsubstantiated claim)
• "Huge market opportunity" (generic, no specifics)

# Development
npm run dev              # Start development server (http://localhost:5173)
npm run build            # Build project for production
npm run lint             # Check code quality

# Export Options
npm run generate-pdf     # Generate PDF with clickable links
npm run capture-slides   # Export individual slide images

# Deployment  
npm run deploy           # Deploy to GitHub Pages (triggers GitHub Actions workflow)
npm run deploy-local     # Local deployment using legacy gh-pages branch method

# Utilities
npm run reorder-slides   # Reorder presentation with automatic backups

your-repo-name/
├── src/
│   ├── slides/              # Your slides (Slide01.tsx, Slide02.tsx...)
│   ├── components/          # Reusable UI components  
│   └── assets/             # Images, logos, team photos
├── startup-context/         # Your business narrative and docs
├── scripts/                # Build and deployment utilities
├── .cursor/rules/          # AI guidelines (auto-included in Cursor)
└── dist/                   # Built files (auto-generated, not in git)

Key Folders:

• src/slides/ - Edit these files to build your presentation
• src/assets/ - Replace logos and team photos with your own
• startup-context/ - Your business narrative and supporting documents
• .cursor/rules/ - AI methodologies and design guidelines (auto-included)

• Scripts Overview - All available commands and utilities
• Startup Context Setup - How to organize your business content

These guidelines are automatically referenced by Cursor Editor when you use AI assistance:

• Rules Hierarchy - How all guidelines work together
• Slide Design System - Visual guidelines
• Content Patterns - Writing and narrative templates

• Khosla Principles - Primary storytelling approach
• Sequoia Structure - Systematic coverage framework
• Memo-Style Approach - For complex platform businesses

# Install GitHub CLI if needed:
brew install gh         # macOS
# or download from: https://github.com/cli/cli

# Authenticate GitHub CLI:
gh auth login           # Follow authentication prompts

# If deploy fails, ensure working directory is clean:
git status              # Check current status
git add .               # Stage all changes  
git commit -m "message" # Commit changes
git push origin master  # Push to remote
npm run deploy          # Then deploy

# If npm run dev fails:
npm install             # Reinstall dependencies
npm run dev -- --port 3000  # Try different port

Changes not reflecting: Hard refresh (Ctrl+F5 / Cmd+Shift+R) or clear browser cache

Problem: Some slides have redacted content (background and text same color) from the example presentation.
Solution: Use this AI prompt to restore normal content:

I notice this slide has redacted content where the background and text colors are the same, making text invisible. Please:

1. Remove all redacted styling (background colors matching text colors)
2. Replace the Lorem ipsum placeholder text with proper content based on @startup-context/narrative.md
3. Ensure all text is clearly visible with proper contrast
4. Maintain the slide's visual design and layout structure
5. Follow Khosla's principles for clear, compelling messaging

Make the slide professional and readable while keeping the existing design system.

Created by: Ashish Agrawal, Founder of Zolidar
Framework Origin: Originally developed for Zolidar's employee ownership platform pitch deck

Special thanks to our investors and advisors who provided invaluable feedback and resource recommendations:

• Chris Kolenaty - For sharing Vinod Khosla's presentation and pitch deck methodology
• Rocky Garff - For pitch deck feedback and strategic guidance
• Payton Dobbs - For pitch deck feedback and refinement suggestions

Source Materials:

• Vinod Khosla: Nail Your Raise - Luring VCs - Slide deck
• Vinod Khosla Video Presentation - Video walkthrough on emotional storytelling and investor psychology
• Sequoia Capital Pitch Deck Template - Systematic structure framework
• Rippling's 2024 Investor Memo - Memo-style fundraising approach
• Rippling Fundraising Deep Dive - Platform business strategy
• Rippling Scaling Insights - Growth and operational excellence

Documentation Note: This documentation was largely created by AI without close scrutiny or proofreading. Use as a starting framework and adapt to your specific needs.