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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.

AudienceLenders, partners, internal approvers
Typical length14–18 slides
Runs for20–30 minutes

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.

  1. The business in one sentence

    What you sell, to whom, and why they buy. No category jargon.

    Title
  2. The opportunity

    The situation that makes this viable now rather than three years ago.

    TitleContent
  3. Who the customer is

    Named segment with the buying trigger, not a demographic sketch.

    ThreeColumn
  4. What we sell and how it is priced

    Offer and price points. Vagueness here reads as not having decided.

    Table
  5. How the money works

    Unit economics: revenue per customer, cost to serve, contribution.

    Stats
  6. Market size, bottom up

    Customers × price. Analyst totals are treated as decoration.

    Chart
  7. Competition and alternatives

    Named rivals plus doing nothing, on an honest axis.

    Comparison
  8. How we reach customers

    Channels with cost per acquisition where you have it.

    Process
  9. Operations

    What has to exist to deliver — people, suppliers, systems.

    IconGrid
  10. The team

    Who is doing this and why they can.

    Team
  11. Financial forecast

    Three years, three lines. Revenue, costs, cash.

    Chart
  12. Assumptions this rests on

    The three that would break the model if wrong.

    BulletList
  13. Risks and mitigations

    Named, owned, with a response.

    Table
  14. What we are asking for

    Amount, use of funds, and the milestone it buys.

    ThankYou
Read the titles alone before you present. Written as statements rather than labels, the titles of this deck should tell the whole story on their own. If they read as a table of contents, the sequence is fine but the writing is not.

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 haveKeepCut
10 minutesBusiness, economics, market, askOperations, detailed forecast
30 minutesThe full sequence as listedNothing
Lender versionEverything, plus security and repaymentNothing

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.

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.

Related deck structures

Build this deck without paying for it

Start from a blank deck, add these layouts, and export a real PPTX — manual decks are free and unlimited on every plan, with no export paywall. Use the AI path when you would rather hand over source material and edit the result.