Gixo Lumen · deck structure
Business Plan Presentation
A business plan presentation is not the written plan with slides around it. It carries the argument — this model works, here is the evidence, here is what we need — and leaves the detail in the document behind it.
Last reviewed: August 2026
The slide sequence
Each step names the Lumen slide layout to use, so you can build this deck by adding layouts to a blank deck in order. Manual building is free and unlimited, and it does not consume the AI meter.
Business plan presentation example
A structure is easier to copy filled in. Below is the same fourteen-step sequence written for a fictional company — Northgate Fabrication, a twelve-person sheet-metal shop asking a bank for £250,000 to buy a second press. Each line is the slide title as it would actually appear: a statement, not a label.
The point of it is the specificity rather than the numbers. Every line below could be checked by the reader, and a lender will try — that is what separates a business plan presentation from a description of a business.
- The business in one sentence. 'Northgate cuts and folds sheet metal for shopfitters within a day's drive of Leeds.'
- The opportunity. 'Two regional fabricators closed in 2025; their work is now being quoted from 90 miles away.'
- Who the customer is. 'Shopfitters on four to twelve week refits who lose money when one part is late.'
- What we sell and how it is priced. 'Priced per part, with a same-week surcharge. Average order £3,400.'
- How the money works. 'Each order earns £3,400 and costs £2,100 to deliver.'
- Market size, bottom up. '61 shopfitters within 90 miles, nine orders a year, £3,400 an order: £1.9m.'
- Competition and alternatives. 'Two rivals, both quoting three-week lead times. The real alternative is waiting.'
- How we reach customers. 'Named-account calling by the owner. £180 to win an account that then reorders yearly.'
- Operations. 'The second press adds 40 hours of capacity a week and one operator on days.'
- The team. 'Owner, 22 years in fabrication. Foreman who ran the closed competitor's shop floor.'
- Financial forecast. 'Revenue £820k to £1.24m over three years. Cash never below £46k.'
- Assumptions this rests on. 'We win 30% of the closed fabricators' work, steel holds within 8%, the press is installed by March.'
- Risks and mitigations. 'Steel price, and one customer at 22% of revenue — each with a stated response.'
- What we are asking for. '£250,000 over five years, secured on the press, repaid from the capacity it creates.'
What makes this deck fail
- Reading the written plan aloud. The deck carries the argument; the document carries the detail.
- Top-down market sizing. A percentage of a huge number persuades nobody who lends or invests for a living.
- Hockey-stick forecasts with no stated assumptions. The assumptions slide is what makes the forecast credible.
- No unit economics. If you cannot show what one customer earns and costs, the plan is a hope.
- A vague ask. 'Investment to grow' forces the reader to invent a number, and they will invent a small one.
Adapting the length
| You have | Keep | Cut |
|---|---|---|
| 10 minutes | Business, economics, market, ask | Operations, detailed forecast |
| 30 minutes | The full sequence as listed | Nothing |
| Lender version | Everything, plus security and repayment | Nothing |
Frequently asked questions
What should a business plan presentation include?
The business in one sentence, the customer, pricing, unit economics, bottom-up market size, competition, the route to market, the team, a three-line forecast, stated assumptions, risks and a specific ask.
How is a business plan deck different from a pitch deck?
A pitch deck targets equity investors and leans on growth and market size. A business plan deck often targets lenders or internal approvers, and leans harder on unit economics, operations and repayment or payback.
How long should a business plan presentation be?
Fourteen to eighteen slides, presented in 20 to 30 minutes, with the written plan available as the supporting document rather than being read from.
Should I include financial projections?
Yes, but three lines over three years, with the assumptions they rest on stated explicitly. A detailed model belongs in the appendix or a spreadsheet.
What does a bank want from a business plan presentation?
Unit economics, a bottom-up market number, three years of revenue, costs and cash, the assumptions those rest on, and a repayment story tied to what the money buys. Growth language does far less work with a lender than with an equity investor, because a lender is underwriting the downside — the risk slide and the cash line get read first.
Can I build a business plan deck for free?
Yes. Building manually from a blank deck in Gixo Lumen is free and unlimited on every plan, with no export paywall.
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