Disclaimer: This article is based on Steve Jobs presentation of iPhone to the public, I would rather call this presentation as the iPhone Pitch Deck. Pitch Decks can also be used to create awareness, and build an enduring long-term business. Steve Jobs used this iPhone presentation, to cross the product's death chasm, little wonder 1000s stood for days outside Apple & AT&T stores to grab their iPhone.
Jobs's iconic Apple iPhone Deck or presentation was magical and a memorable event till date, it has all the elements of a great story (product). It's innovative designs methodology actually has great tips, which founders can use to create their own Pitch Deck. Surprisingly it's been over 13 years now, rarely has any of the founder adapted it.
That is till now, so here I present to you the iconic Apple iPhone Deck, never been segregated before, into 10 slides. And, brief description on each slide also covers tips for founders, to help them create their own customised and unique Investor Pitch Deck.
About Apple iPhone: Development of highly confidential "Project Purple", what was to become the iPhone began in 2004 and Jobs unveiled the Apple iPhone to the public on January 9, 2007, at the Macworld 2007 convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Here's link to full video.
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How can Apple iPhone Deck help you in fundraising?
In my view the 3 iconic slides of Apple iPhone Deck or presentation, undoubtedly were Competition, Product and it's Revolutionary Value Proposition i.e. Hardware and Software. Now, if the founders even excel in just these 3 slides, then it would substantially enhance their fundraising chances.
So, whether you're pitching to the Investors or to your B2B targeted clients, this iPhone Deck has all the tips and impressive story elements for you to use.
10 slides of Apple iPhone Pitch Deck
Let's dwell on some key elements of Steve Jobs iPhone Deck, please bear with the image quality of each slide, they've been extracted from the video.
Steve Jobs first re-emphasises Apple as a brand, being the flag bearer of product innovation and an technology company, which was altogether in different league amongst the various other established players in the market. Jobs first talks about how Macintosh (introduced in 1984) and Apple iPod (introduced in 2001) has changed the world.
Thereon, Jobs starts to introduce iPhone ...
Slide 1: Context
Introducing iPhone as the Revolutionary Mobile Phone.
Tip for the Founder: Use this slide to spell out your vision and/or mission in 1 powerful sentence. In case of AirBnB, it was "Book rooms with local, rather than hotels".
Slide 2: Problem or Gap in the Market
This was amongst Jobs first few slides, where Jobs compares, how the existing available smartphones weren't really smart in true sense.
Jobs then went to showcase the key problems with existing smartphones i.e. using keypads, scroll buttons and/or having stylus pens in these devices. Using all these were cumbersome and a pain, to say the least. Most users were frustrated with these, and wilfully agreed.
Tip for the Founder: The Problem should be positioned in graphically way, which the Investors have either experienced it or could easily relate to, essentially they truly understand the "pain-points" of the target audience. If the Investors don't really get this, your pitching almost ends abruptly, as they don't invest in things, they don't understand or they aren't the right target investors for you.
Slide 3: Solution or the New Way
Here, Jobs introduces the iPhone as an revolutionary "All-in-1 Device" i.e. combination of iPod, a Smartphone along with integrated Internet (browser, email, etc.) capabilities.
Tip for the Founder: This slide should be a clear concise summary about how your solution really addresses the problem or an unmet need. This isn't the slide to introduce your product/service as yet. Note that Jobs hasn't yet disclosed the iPhone, thereby keeping the interest intact.
Mistakes, most founders do: They fill up their Solution slides with screenshots of product or service's each feature, without explaining the key solution. The targeted investors must first understand, how are you solving the key problem?
Slide 4: Competition
Here, Jobs uses this chart to highlight the differentiated value proposition of iPhone i.e. a "real smartphone" with easy to use features. He goes on to explain, why the existing phones i.e. Moto Q, Blackberry, Palm Treo and Nokia E62 weren't really smart enough, and they were hard/cumbersome to use. Recall the problem statement above.
Tip for the Founder: This slide must clearly spell out how do you position yourself in the market vs. your existing competitors. You must highlight your value proposition, which should be unique and difficult for others (even new entrants) to replicate.
Read: AirBnb Pitch Deck continues to be the most referred deck till date, here's why?
There are uncanny similarities between the competitive positioning of iPhone and Airbnb's competition slide, which appeared 2 years later i.e. 2009. So, were the founders of Airbnb really influenced by iPhone's competitive positioning?
Slide 5: Product
In the next 2-3 slides, Jobs goes on to substantiate his claims i.e why he thinks that iPhone was truly an revolutionary mobile phone. Using the above slide, he showcases that iPhone was indeed much easier to use. You don't need a permanent keypad, scroll button or a stylus pen (mouse) anymore. Anyone can operate iPhone using their fingers as touch-based user interface, and the device had enabled a unique multi-touch feature.
Product - Hardware
Apple developed the iPhone's hardware and software in house. In terms of hardware, iPhone has fastest performance in its category, introducing 4GB and 8Gb models. Besides, the multi-touch enable hand-user interface, it was far more accurate and ignored the unintended features. Above all, Apple was granted 5 design patents for iPhone, which turned out to be it's Moat or unfair advantage over the competition.
Product: Software
On the Software side Apple introduced its own iPhone OS (originally known as iPhone OS X), which was able to run desktop class applications (browser, email, audio and video with iTunes syncing capabilities), along with multi tasking, and networking capabilities. All this while consuming low power (better battery life) and high security.
Slide 6: Product as would be seen.
Jobs finally showcases the iPhone describing its key design features i.e. something wonderful in hand, an actual 3.5" screen size, just 1-button i.e. home, only 11.6mm thick, along with proximity and ambient light sensors. Audience of course, clapped the most here!
Tip for the Founder: Use screenshots of your product or service, in action. Ideally, a 3-sec video drives amazing impact on the investors. Either case, use them to highlight your value proposition and key features/benefits, all the while founders giving detailed explanation of how the product or service works.
Slides, which were business related and thus remained hidden to public, are the below ones.
Sources: Wikipedia, Google.
Slide 7: Business Model
Not many knew that Apple had indeed collaborated with AT&T Mobility to develop the iPhone, at an estimated development cost of $150 Million over 30 months. However, the iPhone's business model was a brilliant. Purchase of iPhone necessitated a 2-year contract with AT&T, which went on to pay Apple a fraction of its monthly service revenue (until the iPhone 3G), in exchange for 4-years of exclusive US sales, until 2011.
Tip for the Founder: This slide must clearly spell out, how will you make money? Who pays you, and must cover your distribution channels, gross margins, and unit-price economics? Many entrepreneurs don't have a clue on how are they going to make money, which therefor makes it difficult for them to raise funding.
Slide 8: Traction
Apple had sold its 1 millionth iPhone after mere 5 days of opening it's stores. The passionate reaction to the launch of iPhone resulted in a section of media dubbing it the 'Jesus phone'.
Tip for the Founder: Showcase your key metrics i.e. number of customers, installations, etc. SaaS startups are also expected to include MRR, LTV and CAC, ARPU and Churn rates. You also need to support these metrics with real data. Please Google these terms, if you're unaware of them.
Slide 9: Go-To Market Strategy
iPhone launch was supported with blistering media ads i.e. print articles, Super Bowl, Oscars and even debuts in Academy Awards. Thereby giving a high impetus to it's growth.
Tip for the Founder: This slide should be used to showcase the investors, how you plan to reach the first 100 customers and then go on to access your target market. Winning the first 100 customers is critical to substantiate, why is this strategy working to expand your market share and rapidly grow your revenue streams.
Slide 10: Team
We all knew Apple was steered by Steve Jobs, what many didn't knew was that when Apple started to gather a team of 1000 employees to work on the development of iPhone. Apple was already a great company with enormous success to its introduction of Macintosh (1984) and iPod (2001).
Tip for the Founder: Team is definitely the most important slide, specially for early-stage startups. Highlight your team's complementary skills sets and why it has the passion and perseverance to build a long-term enduring business. Pre-seed or seed investors definitely look at Founder-Market fit. Does the team has right mix of domain expertise and experience needed to execute the strategy and win it BIG.
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