How to hire a pitch deck designer: eight checks before you pay anyone

Designer, writer or modeler: name your deck's problem first

Three different jobs are sold under the name pitch deck designer. A designer makes the slides clear and consistent. A writer decides what each slide says, and in what order. A modeler builds the numbers the slides quote. Some people do two of the three. Not all of them say which.

Before you compare anyone, name your deck's problem in one sentence. If investors skim it and lose the thread, the words and the slide order need work. If the slides look rough but read well, it is design. If the numbers disagree with each other, or with your spreadsheet, it is the model, and no design will fix that.

Then ask each designer which of the three they will do on your deck, and get the answer in writing.

Check 1: one real deck shown with permission, and one labeled sample

A gallery of polished slides tells you someone can design. It does not tell you whose decks they were, whether the founders agreed to have them shown, or whether the companies are real.

Ask for two things: one real deck, shown with its founder's written permission and the date of that permission, and one sample, labeled as fictional on every slide. The real deck shows work done for a real founder. The sample shows how they handle a full set of numbers without exposing anyone's private data.

On my own work page, every entry is labeled. A real deck carries “Real work, shown with permission” and the date of the founder's yes. A fictional one carries “Sample work, fictional company” on every slide. Work I can't show carries “Real work, no slides shown”: that is one Fiverr project, from July 2026, a 15-slide branded deck and a 3-statement model for a US startup raising a seed round. Its review, rated 5.0, is public on Fiverr.

If a designer shows real-looking decks with no label and no permission line, ask about it before you send yours. Yours could be the next one in that gallery.

Check 2: how they handle your numbers

This is the check a portfolio can't show you, and the one an investor will run. A deck quotes numbers from a model: revenue, margin, burn, runway, headcount. When a designer retypes those numbers onto slides, or rounds them to look better, the deck and the model drift apart.

Ask: will you check every figure on a slide against my model, and tell me in writing when they disagree? Then ask what happens when they do. The right answer is a question back to you, not a quiet choice of the better-looking number.

If you want this check run on your current deck before you hire anyone, send me the deck. You get one written page back, and every point names the slide, the number and the fix.

Check 3: a fixed scope, in writing

A quote that says “pitch deck design” is not a scope. Before you pay, get a written list of what you will receive: the number of slides, which ones are written from scratch and which are restyled, the file formats, the delivery date, and what happens if your numbers change halfway.

The list protects both sides. Anything outside it, such as extra slides, a new revenue line or a new raise amount, should be quoted separately before work starts, not added to the bill afterwards.

For comparison, my deck package states its scope in one line on the pricing page: 12 to 15 slides in 6 days for $95, with 2 revision rounds. Bigger jobs get a written quote first. For the full list of files and checks a quote should name, see what a pitch deck service should hand you.

Check 4: revision rounds defined before you start

“Unlimited revisions” sounds generous, but it leaves a revision undefined, so changes arrive one at a time for weeks and each fix breaks something else.

Ask two questions. How many rounds are included? And what counts as one round? A clear answer looks like this: one round is one consolidated list of changes, sent in writing. You collect every comment from your co-founders and advisers, send them together, and get one updated deck back.

A single list also makes your team settle its disagreements before they reach the slides. My own rules are on the refunds and revisions page.

Check 5: editable files, and the font licenses inside them

A PDF is what investors read. The editable file is what you need for every number that changes after that. If the designer keeps it, every edit goes back through them.

Ask for the editable deck in the tool you will keep using: PowerPoint, Google Slides or Canva. Ask that it arrive with the PDF, and that you own both once the work is done.

Then ask about fonts and images. A deck built in a font you don't have falls back to a default font on your computer, and the layout breaks. Stock photos and some fonts carry their own licenses, so ask which ones are inside. My process page says it plainly: once the order is complete, the files are yours, and any stock images or fonts inside keep their own licenses.

Check 6: confidentiality, with a link you can revoke

Your deck holds your raise, your numbers and sometimes your customers' names. Before you send it, ask who will open it, where it will be stored, and when it will be deleted.

For a first look, send the same view-only link you send investors, from Google Drive, DocSend, Dropbox or Pitch, and revoke it once the work arrives. A designer who wants an editable copy before any work is agreed is asking for more than they need.

If you want an NDA, ask for one up front. This is the policy I follow, word for word:

Want an NDA first? Say so in your request and send yours. I sign it before you share the deck and return it within 2 business days (India time). If it asks for more than confidentiality, for example exclusivity or penalties, I'll say so before signing.

The rest, including storage, AI use and deletion, is on the security page.

Check 7: who does the work

The person who answers your first message is not always the person who builds your deck. In a studio, the work may pass to a designer you never meet. That can work well, but you should know whether the person who reads your numbers is the one who puts them on the slides.

Ask who will build the deck, who will check the numbers, and who will answer your questions. Ask about software too. Some designers use AI tools, which is fine if they say so and check what comes out.

My answer: I work alone, so the person who reads your deck is the one who builds it. I use Claude, with model training switched off, to help draft and double-check; I check every figure myself. If you are weighing a studio against one person, the guide to choosing an agency, a freelancer or a template compares the options.

Check 8: a small written test before a big order

The cheapest way to judge a designer is to see how they think before you buy the whole job. Ask for something small and in writing: a short read of your current deck, a rewrite of one slide, or the questions they would ask you.

A written test shows whether they read the numbers or only the layout, whether each point names a slide and a figure, and whether they will tell you something you don't want to hear.

Check yours: eight questions to send before you pay

1. Which of design, writing and numbers will you do on my deck?
2. Can I see one real deck shown with its founder's written permission, and one labeled sample?
3. Will you check every figure on a slide against my model, and flag each mismatch in writing?
4. What exactly will I receive: how many slides, in which formats, by what date?
5. How many revision rounds are included, and what counts as one?
6. Will I own the editable file, and which fonts and images inside carry their own licenses?
7. Who will open my deck, where will it be stored, and will you sign my NDA?
8. Who will do the work, and which tools will they use?

Send all eight in one message. How someone answers in writing is a fair preview of how the project will run.

What I don't do, and where to start

Limits are worth knowing before you pay. Here are mine. I don't invent traction, customers or market data: the facts and figures come from you. I don't introduce investors, coach pitches or build Series A decks. I don't audit your data, value your company, or give legal, tax, accounting or investment advice. And nobody honest can promise you a raise.

If your deck needs the design and the numbers to agree, see what I do as a pitch deck designer. If you are not sure yet, start smaller.