When Kinnect launched a new app about preserving epic family stories and awkward holiday moments for generations to come, I knew I had to take a closer look at Kinnect's Angel Deck.
This app is clever and can be thought of as a digital family scrapbook on steroids. This app isn't just for storing photos. It also features video and audio recording capabilities and a cool timeline feature that lets you organize your memories like a pro. Kinnect's big plan is to make sure the grandchildren hear straight from the source at family gatherings when Uncle Bob gets stuck in a tree.
In a world where our heritage can be lost in the chaos of everyday life, Kinnect is here to remind us that family stories are worth preserving. Of course, that’s what storytelling is about. How well has your company told its story in the form of an angel pitch deck? Let's take a look.
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Slides from this resource
- cover slide
- Team (Founder) Slide
- vision slide
- problem slide
- product slide
- Business Model and Market Size Slide
- Issue Impact Slide
- Market Potential Slide
- solution slide
- Why Now / Personal Story Slide
- tow slide
- “Why should I win?” slip.
- Featured Slide 1
- Featured Slide 2
Three Benefits of Kinnect Presentation Decks
The Kinnect promotional material is very provocative, which is a great approach to storytelling when talking about a startup that offers a human touch.
Powerful Problem Slides
The problem slides in the Kinnect presentation deck were compelling and well-executed. The team clearly articulated a critical problem that resonated deeply and resonated immediately. The statistics cited are particularly influential. Approximately 44 million American adults experience severe loneliness, and approximately 30% of older adults feel isolated. This alone clearly shows that social isolation is spreading.
Even more powerful is the fact that more than half of Americans feel that people around them are often misunderstood or don't know them. The use of emotional and powerful language effectively highlights the urgency and scale of the problem, making it clear that this is a widespread and urgent problem.
But while the problems identified are undeniably serious, they also feel somewhat ambiguous. It's difficult to imagine a single product that can solve all of the diverse and deep-rooted problems of loneliness and disconnection. Strengthening the focus of your problem statement can help you present a more cohesive and actionable solution. A slightly narrower, more focused problem can make your pitch stronger and more believable.
Describe the impact of the problem.
The “Insights” slide in the Kinnect presentation deck is a great example of powerful storytelling. By combining the problem with its impact, the team effectively highlighted how big and important this problem really is.
Kinnect paints a vivid picture of the impact of the problem, helping investors understand the depth of the problem and dream big about Kinnect's potential markets. This makes the problem feel more real and sets the stage for a solution, showing that there is a real and urgent need for the product they are building.
But I should also add that I am not. love This slide. Much of this may seem controversial. against Apps: For example, not knowing about existing solutions means there may not be a real market for them. And the difference between family and chosen family is a strange thing to highlight as an advantage. If distinguishing between the two is important to people, competition can easily solve this problem, so it's not as much of a competitive advantage as you might think.
Being more focused and clear can help strengthen your argument.
personal touch
“Why me?” Tangible information is typically included in founder or team slides, but here we recommend using it as a storytelling point. Including the personal drive behind a venture can be incredibly powerful because it explains why the founder will never give up on solving this problem.
Omar's personal experiences, losing his grandfather to Alzheimer's a few years ago and a friend to leukemia a month ago, are heartbreaking and vividly illustrate his motivation. This shows him that this is not just a business endeavor. It is a very personal mission.
Founders, let’s look at the reality. Every slide in the deck should say “Invest in me!” If not, it's dead weight. Sure, personal stories are heartwarming, but that's not what investors are here to do. They want to know why your sob story can make them money. What is the “Why Omar Does This” slide? Sweet but vague. If there is no clear connection to why the company is going to take it down. It's just fluff. Remember, if investors can't open their wallets, it's not in your deck.
Three things Kinnec could have done better
There is too much information missing from the deck. It's missing important details like go-to-market strategy, user acquisition plan, specific team member credentials, and specific milestones. Filling these gaps is essential to delivering a comprehensive and compelling presentation. Use the checklist to make sure you include everything!
questionable team
The “Founder” slides need some polishing to really shine. Omar's 10+ years of experience marketing performance brands and products is impressive on the surface, but it's important to tie that specific experience directly to Kinnect. Highlighting past roles or projects, especially those related to the company's mission, will greatly strengthen this slide. Investors want to know how his background directly contributes to Kinnect's success.
Omar doesn't mention his last name anywhere in the deck, which raises a red flag. Investors should be able to quickly look up and verify the founder's background. Including his name and a link to his LinkedIn profile will increase his credibility and transparency. Speaking of LinkedIn, I'm a little concerned that Omar's profile doesn't reflect the 10 years of experience mentioned here. It's important to make sure his LinkedIn is up to date and matches the information in your pitch deck. Investors will be checking, and any inconsistencies can erode trust. Without a title and a vague idea of how the founder's past experience connects to the current venture, everything is a bit vague.
There also seems to be a lack of clear founder/market fit. The slide mentions a passion for storytelling, human connections and mental health, but it's not immediately clear how this translates into strategic advantage for Kinnect. That said, I too have a passion for storytelling, human relationships, and mental health, but I'm probably not a great founder for this particular startup. Be specific and connect the dots.
Drawing a direct line between Omar's experience and the company's goals would make this slide much more compelling. Adding more specific, verifiable information and being consistent across all platforms will greatly improve the founder/market fit portion of your story.
Pie-in-the-sky business model
The “Subscription Model” slide sets out an ambitious target of $204.8 million in potential annual subscription revenue. It's definitely venture scale, so kudos to it for aiming high. However, there are some aspects that require further explanation and support.
My immediate reaction was that it would be difficult to find customers. I'd like to see a predicate or comparable example. Since this doesn't feel like an urgent need, showing other types of products or services the family would be willing to pay $80 per year for would strengthen the argument. It's important to establish that there is a precedent for this kind of spending, and I can't think of any immediately.
In this context, the term “family” needs further definition. What are we celebrating and how does it resonate with potential users? It's also unclear what Kinnect offers that can't be achieved with existing free services like Facebook. Basically, the material doesn't explain why families would pay for Kinnect when they can use a free alternative.
There are no plans to go to market anywhere on deck. That said, I'm more concerned about how the founders plan to convince customers to pay $80 per year. Without a clear strategy, it's difficult to figure out how to reach and convert your target customers. Providing a detailed plan for acquiring and retaining customers will make this piece overall much more persuasive and make this slide more believable.
Wait a minute, this isn't traction.
The “Traction” slide was supposed to show Kinnect's progress, but it didn't look right. Here's why:
It may sound impressive to say that Kinnect is backed by TechStars through the Rising Stars Fund, but TechStars isn't exactly in a golden age right now. Moreover, raising money in an accelerator is not a slam dunk for the traction it is building. Investors want to see real evidence that people are interested in the product being built, not just praising the accelerator.
The slide claims the team is working 100% on Kinnect. What does that mean? Have the entrepreneurs quit their day jobs and are now just busy eating ramen? The bare minimum is for the founder to be fully committed. Your slides should explain what this commitment has accomplished.
They boast about recruiting a phenomenal founding team, but the team slide shows only one person, Omar. Where are the rest of the supposed dream team, and what makes them so amazing? Investors need a name, a role, and an impressive background.
There is then mention of being a member of Chicago's 1871 Innovation Hub. awesome. But what does that actually mean? Why do some of these hubs give Kinnect a competitive advantage? Without context it's just another buzzword.
None of these points really scream “traction.” Investors are looking for real, tangible progress, such as user growth, revenue, and partnerships, not just nonsense. Now it's time to dig deeper and show you the hard facts that prove Kinnect is on the path to success.
full pitch deck
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