Carta Pitch Deck (2013)

The cover slide is minimal and branded: the eShares logo plus the line 'Series A Investor Deck.' The design choice sets an understated, professional tone that signals this is an investor-focused document rather than a marketing brochure. That restraint keeps attention on the narrative that follows and establishes trust before any numbers are shown.
The single-page simplicity also demonstrates discipline — the company is communicating confidence that the product and business case will carry the discussion. For founders, this reinforces the benefit of a strong, uncluttered opener that states who you are and what the deck is (fundraise stage), so investors immediately understand context.

Slide 3 presents a competitive matrix that maps transfer agents, brokerages, and exchanges across public vs private company services. This visual quickly communicates where eShares sits (private-company, bottom-left) and the white space they intend to own. The chart includes incumbent logos (Computershare, Broadridge) to make the size and conservatism of the incumbents obvious while highlighting the opportunity to capture the 'next generation of IPOs'.
Using logos and a simple quadrant helps investors see both the incumbent landscape and the strategic path forward: take the private company segment and move up-market toward IPO services. Founders should emulate this: show where you play, why incumbents are weak in that space, and the natural path to adjacent, higher-value services.

Slide 4 highlights that eShares is an SEC-registered transfer agent, with an image of the registration form stamped 'Approved.' This is a powerful element: for a company operating in the securities infrastructure, regulatory approval is not just a box to check — it's a moat. By leading with the registration, eShares removes a major investor concern about legality and operational risk.
Beyond signaling legitimacy, this slide functions strategically: it differentiates the company from many startups that promise to handle securities but lack the formal permissions. Founders in regulated industries should mirror this approach — surface certifications and approvals early to convert skepticism into confidence and to show you’ve cleared institutional hurdles.

Slide 6 demonstrates the core product: issuing electronic shares and visually tracking certificates. The large screenshot of a certificate and the explanatory headline make the core proposition tangible — eShares isn't an abstract ledger, it replaces paper certificates and automates ownership tracking. The visual UI cues and real-looking certificate increase credibility and make it easy for a non-technical investor to understand the product's value.
The deck continues to show flows (issuance, approvals, cap table, portfolios) in adjacent slides, which helps tie the UI to workflows (compliance, transfers, holdings). Founders should remember: real screenshots of the product in context (not mockups of isolated screens) help investors imagine adoption across customer workflows and reduce the perceived implementation risk.

Slide 9 lays out the transaction pricing: $20 per transaction, plus a few premium services. The slide explains the rationale — transaction volume will grow (e.g., option exercises), companies prefer paying per transaction over subscription, and the model stays consistent post-IPO. That clarity is important: the team is explicit about unit economics and why this model scales with activity rather than headcount.
The slide mixes quantitative pricing with qualitative reasoning, which is effective for investors who want to see both the numbers and the logic. For founders, the lesson is to pick a simple primary monetization method and justify it with customer behavior and scaling logic — complexity can be added later as add-ons once the core model proves out.

Slide 13 presents concrete traction: a chart showing revenue growth month-to-month with $71K in August and annotations for new companies and paying customers. The visual mix of stacked bars and a line for paying companies communicates both top-line revenue growth and the expanding customer base. Showing month-over-month metrics at an early stage is persuasive because it demonstrates momentum and operational execution.
Importantly, the deck pairs growth numbers with other supporting slides showing cohorts and customer references, which together build the narrative that growth is real, repeatable, and driven by product-market fit. Founders should present clean, honest growth metrics and pair them with qualitative evidence (testimonials, logos, cohort charts) to make traction tangible and defensible.

Slide 22 summarizes execution in one concise slide: what was built in one year with $1.2M, revenue run rate, paying customers, portfolio counts, and the lack of a formal sales team. This is an effective combination — it shows capital efficiency, product-led growth, and room to scale with sales resources. For investors, the slide answers the key question: can this team do more with more capital?
The candid presentation of resources used and results achieved signals credibility and allows investors to model the impact of additional funding. Founders should emulate this transparency: highlight capital efficiency, early unit economics, and a realistic plan for how new funding will accelerate outcomes.