MADD Capstone:

Pitch Deck 📣

why should others care?

Your Pitch Deck is a concise, visual narrative used to win support, but before you ask for help, your prospective patrons should understand what the project is, who it's for, why it matters now, what you've got planned and what you've accomplished so far (the proof it works). You'll have the opportunity to pitch your work a panel of MADD faculty week 9 of the Autumn quarter with the chance to be awared a micro-grant.

The list below is a suggested flow, not a requirement: reorder, combine, or adapt slides to fit your project, so long as you touch on each point. Keep slides visual, show don't just tell (text should be minimal). Put your name and contact info on every slide (a small footer works well), and end with a bold contact slide featuring a link/QR code to follow up info (a demo, press kit or even just an online version of these slides).

📔 Title: First slide should include the project's name, the team, and optionally any sort of one-liner/tagline (visuals help here as well)
📣 Elevator Pitch: 1–2 sentences on the experience, why it matters and why now. This doesn't have to be written on its own slide, but you should have it memorized and delivered early.
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Audience: Make sure you're clear on who it's for, where/how they'll encounter it, and why that context fits.
📍 Context && Experience: You might want to include some of the diagrams from your Design Doc and/or documentation from play tests to help make this concrete.
✨ Differentiating Characteristics: Identify a few signature features of the experience that help it to stand out: unique mechanics, identifiable aesthetics, unusual exhibition formats, etc.
🧪 Evidence: Proof that it'll work, share documentation of prototypes and test sessions, key findings/metrics and include any supportive quotes from your critiques/focus groups.
🗓️ Production Plan: Not your entire document, but a high level snapshot of your timeline, milestones and budget.
🌐 Distribution/Exhibition Plan: Set your sights beyond the MADD center: share target venues, platforms, release path, potential partners. Demonstrate this is more than just a class project.
🙏 Call to Action: Specific support your seeking, you shouldn't be dependent on the micro-grant, but should have a plan for how you'll put it to use.

FAQ

How do I turn it in?

Create a Google Slides presentation on Google Drive and share it with me (nbiz@uchicago.edu), then submit a link to the slides on canvas. Canvas will be used to mark the assignment as "complete" or "incomplete." To get a "complete" grade, in addition to submitting your slides on canvas, you need to present your deck to the faculty panel at your assigned session on week 9.

Can I make revisions?

It's generally a good idea to keep revising your pitch deck as you work on project and continue to seek support, whether that's funding or collaborators. However you'll only have one shot to present this to the faculty panel on week 9, so while I'll accept as many revisions as you have before that point, you will not be able to turn in any revisions after the panel.