How to share a pitch deck with investors

Investors read hundreds of decks. The ones that get a second look are the ones that were easy to open, easy to skim on a phone, and easy to forward to a partner. Here is how to send yours so that none of the friction is on your side.

Format: send a PDF, not a PowerPoint

Always export to PDF. A .pptx or Keynote file opens differently on every machine, substitutes fonts, and looks like a working file rather than a finished one. A PDF looks the same everywhere and is what most investors ask for.

• Use 16:9. It fills a laptop screen and reads well on a phone held sideways.
• Keep it under 15 MB. Compress images before exporting. Big decks stall on mobile.
• Delete hidden slides and speaker notes before you export.
• Name the file properly: Acme-Seed-Deck-Sep-2026.pdf, not deck_final_v7.pdf.

Link or attachment?

Honest answer: it depends on the investor, and you should make both easy.

A link lets you see when the deck was opened, fix a slide after you've sent it, and keep the file out of forwarded email chains. It also opens instantly on a phone.

An attachment is what some investors explicitly prefer, because it's in their inbox forever and doesn't need a click-through. A few have publicly said they ignore links from tools that demand an email address before showing the deck.

So: share a link that opens with no email gate, and if an investor asks for the file, send the PDF the same day. Don't make anyone fill in a form to read your deck.

Sharing the deck as a link

1. Upload the PDF to PDF Deck.
2. Switch the display to presentation mode so the deck is shown one slide at a time, or leave it as scrolling pages. You can change this later without changing the link.
3. Copy the link. On a paid plan, put it on your own domain (deck.acme.com) so it reads as yours.
4. Leave the password off for the main deck. Save passwords for a data appendix or financial model.

When you update the deck, replace the file from the dashboard. Every investor who already has the link sees the new version. You never have to send "updated deck attached".

Tracking, and what to do with it

View tracking tells you that the deck was opened, on what device, and roughly where. Use it lightly:

• Opened the same day: good sign. Wait a couple of days for a reply before following up.
• Not opened after a week: your email was buried. A short, polite nudge with the link again is fine.
• Opened several times from different places: it's probably being discussed. Don't mention that you know.

Never write "I saw you opened my deck". Investors know the tools exist. Saying it out loud is still a bad look.

The email

Short. Three or four sentences, the link, and a specific ask. A structure that works:

1. One line on who you are and who introduced you, if anyone did.
2. One line on what the company does and the one number that matters (revenue, growth, users, whatever is strongest).
3. One line on what you're raising and when you're closing.
4. The link, and the ask: "Would you have 20 minutes next week?"

Put the link on its own line so it's easy to tap. Don't paste the deck into the body of the email as images.

After the first meeting: the data room question

At seed, most investors will ask for a handful of extra documents (financial model, cap table, key contracts) rather than a full data room. Share each as its own password-protected link and send the password separately. You don't need a data room until a lead investor asks for one, and by then you'll know exactly what to put in it.

Checklist

• PDF, 16:9, under 15 MB, hidden slides removed.
• Link opens with no email gate and no sign-in.
• Tested on a phone.
• Attachment ready to send if asked.
• Email under 100 words, with one clear ask.