The world is full of businesses that try to help streamline the process of setting up a company. The team at Doola has a unique approach to this challenge, and has managed to secure $12 million in funding since their start back in 2020. Recently, they received $1 million in a “strategic investment round” from HubSpot Ventures, following $8 million raised in a Series A just last year. Today, we have the opportunity to take a closer look at the pitch deck that helped them secure this latest round of funding.
It’s not uncommon for startups to receive smaller amounts of funding after a larger round, indicating that something may have gone awry. However, in Doola’s case, the involvement of HubSpot makes perfect sense. The marketing software giant has a large customer base, making Doola’s tools a potential fit for HubSpot’s business model.
If you have a unique pitch deck of your own, we would love to see it! You can submit your deck here to be considered for our article series, “Pitch Deck Tear-Downs!”
Slides in this deck
Based on my AI deck-review tool, Doola’s deck seems to have only a 15% chance of successfully securing funding on its own.
Doola has graciously shared their 14-slide deck with us, with no redactions.
- Cover slide
- Funding timeline slide
- Problem slide
- Solution slide
- Product slide
- Strategy slide
- Product portfolio slide
- Market size slide
- How it works slide
- U.S. market opportunity slide
- Global market opportunity slide
- Vision slide
- Team slide (?)
- Contact slide
Three things to love
To be honest, just looking at this list reveals that there is a lot of information missing from Doola’s deck. In fact, as mentioned earlier, based on my AI tool, their chances of securing funding with this deck alone are only 15%. We’ll dive into those missing pieces later, but for now let’s focus on what Doola did right, because they did some things incredibly well:
1. Great use of a combination slide
I personally love using two slides that work together to tell a compelling story. Doola does this expertly with slides 6 and 7:
A subtle and elegant problem statement
This approach is very effective in indirectly explaining their business model, while also setting the stage for their monetization plans.
This is a perfect example of a company that knows its audience. The slide presents a number of problems, but Doola understands that they are speaking to investors, so they don’t feel compelled to explain each one. Investors are well aware of these issues and how they can impact startups in this space.
2. Interesting bottom-up approach to sizing the market
Simplifying complex information is always a risk, but in this case, it seems that Doola made the right move. Yes, these are difficult issues to tackle, but they are also very costly – making them well worth finding a solution for!
Most startups use the “top-down” approach to estimate their market size (using the TAM/SAM/SOM model). However, Doola takes a different approach by using a “bottom-up” approach to estimate the potential market size of $4.5 billion annually. As previously discussed, top founders often have to use a bottom-up approach when the market is not yet defined, which may be the case for Doola.
I’m not entirely certain if this is the right approach in this case, as there are a few competitors in this space. However, I appreciate the clarity of this slide and the unique perspective it offers.
What could improve
As previously mentioned, there is an incredible amount of information missing from Doola’s pitch deck. In fact, it is essentially useless as a traditional pitch deck. I suspect that Doola was already in talks with HubSpot Ventures prior to this round and that something convinced them to write a check regardless – perhaps they had already made up their minds about investing before seeing this deck.
The following are three areas where Doola could have improved or done things differently:
1. Provide more information about the product
Doola’s deck offers very little insight into their product or how it works. Investors want to see the nitty-gritty details that set a company apart from its competitors and generate interest. Without this information, it is difficult for Doola to stand out and make a compelling case for why they are the best choice for investors.
2. Give more context around the market opportunity
Based on my analysis, it seems that Doola may have oversimplified the complexities of the market opportunity. Investors are looking for a thorough understanding of the market – the competition, the existing solutions, and the current challenges faced by companies in this space. By providing more context, Doola could further validate their product and prove their potential for success.
3. Include more about the team
The pitch deck only briefly mentions the Doola team, and that information is on a slide/question mark. Investors need to know more about the team behind a company – their experience, expertise, and vision. This information can greatly influence the decision to invest in a startup, and without it, Doola could be hindering their chances of securing funding.
Below is Doola’s full pitch deck and some additional thoughts on improving it:
Note: These are only suggestions and assumptions, and may not reflect the actual process that took place. I have no affiliation with Doola or HubSpot Ventures.
Doola Pitch Deck:
1. Name:
Doola
2. Date:
2020-present
3. Investors:
HubSpot Ventures
4. Rounds:
Series A – $8 Million
Strategic Investment Round – $1 Million
Slides:
- Topic slide – “Doola: Streamlining the Process of Setting up a Company”
- Funding timeline slide
- Problem slide
- Solution slide
- Product slide
- Product demo/How it works slide
- Competitor analysis slide
- Market size slide
- TAM/SAM/SOM slide
- Top-down approach slide
- Bottom-up approach slide
- Team slide
- Advisors slide
- Vision slide
- Contact slide
Review and Suggestions for Improvement
Cover slide:
The main purpose of this slide is to grab investors’ attention, and in that regard, Doola has succeeded. The simple but impactful design effectively conveys the company’s name and what they do.
Funding timeline slide:
This slide is simple and informative, but could benefit from additional context about the investors and how their investment has helped Doola grow.
Problem slide:
This slide does a great job of introducing the audience to the problems faced by companies when setting up a business. However, it would be even more effective to provide specific examples or statistics to illustrate these problems.
Solution slide:
While the slide’s layout is straightforward and visually appealing, it is lacking in specific details about how Doola’s product solves the problems described in the previous slide. Adding examples or a brief product demonstration would make this slide more impactful and informative.
Product slide:
This slide could benefit from a clearer visual representation of the product and its features. By showcasing the product in action, Doola could better convey its value and unique offerings.
