Mural Pitch Deck (2020)

The cover (slide 1) is visually striking and tightly aligned with the product: a large MURAL mark and the tagline "Collaborate Visually from Anywhere." This immediately communicates both what the product does and who it’s for — teams that need visual collaboration across distance. Using a background photo of sticky notes on a whiteboard supports the mental model of translating a physical workshop into a digital space.

The strength here is focus. The slide doesn’t try to pitch features or metrics; it sets tone and positions the company in a single, memorable sentence. Founders can learn the power of a concise value proposition on the first slide: establish identity, promise, and the sensory feeling of the product (visual, tactile) before diving into data.

Slide 2 demonstrates recurring revenue growth with a simple bar chart and a bold ARR callout ($1.6M ARR, 95% y/y growth). The page balances a visual trendline on the left with a large, easy-to-read headline metric on the right — this is very effective for investor audiences who often scan for traction signals. The chart's green bars and minimal axis clutter focus attention on the steady increase and the big jump in the latest quarter.

This slide teaches founders to lead with one compelling metric (ARR and growth) and to back it up with an easy-to-digest visual that shows trend momentum. Avoid burying important numbers in dense tables; instead use a single slide to make both quantitative and visual impact.

Slide 3 is a logos-and-testimonial layout: reputable brands (Disney, PayPal, Autodesk, IBM/Stanford/IDEO) are shown alongside a quote from a credible internal champion (Phil Gilbert, Head of IBM Design). This approach builds trust quickly — large enterprise logos imply product maturity and purchase viability, while the testimonial explains the usage pattern (deploying IBM Design Thinking across the company) which signals product-market fit in enterprise design workflows.

The lesson is strategic use of social proof: pair recognizable logos with a short, specific testimonial from a respected customer rather than generic praise. That combination conveys both breadth (many clients) and depth (enterprise adoption and daily usage). Founders should secure one or two high-authority quotes and feature them with logos to maximize perceived credibility.

Slide 5 (the global map) frames the core problem: teams are distributed globally. The map with clustered user pins and the banner text "What if your reality is that your team is... ALL OVER THE WORLD?" makes the market context visceral. Rather than stating statistics, the slide visually dramatizes the distributed-team problem that MURAL solves — it creates an emotional 'aha' that justifies the product category.

This slide demonstrates how to use a single, well-composed visual to create empathy for the problem. Founders should think beyond bullet points: show the world through a user's lens and let the visual argue for the product's necessity. If you can make the problem feel immediate, the product solution that follows becomes obvious.

Slide 6 (three-column layout: travel a lot / send pictures / hack productivity tools) succinctly enumerates the current coping strategies teams use and why they’re insufficient. The images paired with short headlines communicate the friction: costly travel, low-fidelity photo solutions, and ill-fitting structured software. This framing leads naturally into the product as the superior alternative.

The two-paragraph structure — problem, then why existing solutions fail — is compact and persuasive. Founders should emulate this: present common workarounds and explain why they break down, creating a clear gap in the market your product fills. Keep copy tight and reinforce each bullet with an evocative image.

Slide 7 uses photography of real people interacting with touchscreens and two succinct labels: "Flexible Structure Digital Whiteboards" and "Continuous Collaboration." The visual approach shows the product in context rather than enumerating features; it demonstrates how the product behaves in a real meeting or workshop. The 'cool tech' banner adds personality and positions the product as modern and tactile.

This is an effective lesson: when your product's primary value is an experience (interaction, collaboration), show people using it. Feature-driven lists are less persuasive in such cases. Founders should aim to convey the emotional and practical benefits of the experience with photos or short animated demos instead of long technical descriptions.

Slide 9 (Summary) consolidates the fundraising and market thesis: seed funded with $2M from notable investors, plus three crisp bullets about trends (visual collaboration, remote work, large touchscreens). Logos of investors (Intel Capital, IDEO, 500) signal credibility and validation. The slide functions as a quick refresh before the ask and shows alignment between product, market, and investor backing.

The practical takeaway is to close the investor narrative by restating funding, macro tailwinds, and why now is the moment for the company. The combination of investor logos and concise trend bullets improves credibility and helps investors quickly recall the deck's high-level arguments.