This week, I met an early-stage entrepreneur. We discussed his fundraising strategy and pitch deck. He began by telling me about his background. As I listened, I could tell he’s bright and has a deep understanding of the problem he’s looking to solve and the market—but that wasn’t being conveyed in his deck.

His pitch deck jumped straight to the problem slide.

During our conversation, he established credibility before telling me about the problem. His work experience and a failed start-up gave me a glimpse of his drive and intelligence. He then told me how he discovered this problem and described all his research around it. At that point, I was hooked and engaged in his pitch.

His deck didn’t establish credibility and didn’t have a humanizing aspect (except a team slide at the end). So, the pitch didn’t resonate with me and likely wouldn’t with anyone else.

Early-stage entrepreneurs are selling themselves and their vision. Their decks should reflect this. It’s easier for someone to engage with a pitch when they sense that the person who created the pitch is worth listening to.

Think of an early-stage pitch as a conversation on paper. When you meet someone for the first time, you don’t jump straight to what you want from them. You introduce yourself and give some background info so they can get comfortable with you and become receptive to what you’re about to ask or tell them. The beginning of an early-stage pitch deck should resemble the beginning of an introductory conversation—it should establish credibility to help the reader be receptive to your pitch.