Edtech pitch deck
Edtech investors were burned when growth bought with heavy marketing did not turn into lasting businesses. Today they ask three questions early: who pays, does the learning work, and do learners come back next term?
The numbers
Edtech funding in India fell by about 61% between the first and second quarters of 2022, according to Inc42 data[1]. The companies that kept raising could show these numbers.
The number of people paying today, and who actually pays: the learner, a parent, a school or an employer. Each payer has a different budget, sales cycle and reason to renew.
On the slide: paid learners by month, split by payer. If schools or employers pay, show the number of contracts as well.
What share of learners finish, and what changed for them: a score, a skill they can show, a job. Hours watched is not an outcome.
On the slide: the outcome measure you use, with a before and after and how it was measured.
How many learners pay again for the next level, term or year. This is the edtech version of retention and the strongest sign of value.
On the slide: by cohort and term. Show the month where most drop off and what you are doing about it.
What you spend on marketing and counselling to win a paid learner, against the margin they bring. Sales-heavy models in edtech have been expensive.
On the slide: by channel, with counselling or tele-sales cost included. Leaving it out is the most common edtech red flag.
The same fictional company over six terms. Moving towards colleges that pay for whole batches cut the cost to acquire each learner.
Online and offline
Many Indian edtech companies now run online courses, offline centres or both. The economics are very different, and investors will ask which one you are building.
Online costs little per extra learner once content exists, but completion and renewal are harder and marketing can be expensive.
Offline or hybrid centres earn more per learner and often keep them longer, but need rent, teachers and time before each centre breaks even. Even large players report offline losses while centres mature: PhysicsWallah reported an EBITDA loss margin of 22% on its offline business in one 2026 quarter, improving from 26% a year before[2].
On your slide, show revenue per learner, margin and payback for each format you run, and how long a new centre or course takes to break even.
In the meeting
Slide by slide
The order follows the structure most investors expect, from Sequoia's original business plan outline[3] to Y Combinator's seed deck advice[4]. The notes are what changes for edtech.
Red flags
Investors give a deck a few minutes. DocSend found average review time fell to under three minutes in 2022[5]. These are the slides that use those minutes badly.
Astitva writes your investor story free from a short brief, in this order, then designs each slide in your own brand for 5 credits. A 12-slide deck is 60 credits.
No card needed. Packs from ₹299 or $3, no subscription.
Twelve slides in investor order with paid learners, who pays, completion and outcome data, renewal by cohort, cost to acquire a learner including counselling, and economics by format if you run online and offline.
Paid learners, completion rate, learning outcomes, renewal or next-course rate, cost to acquire a learner and payback, and revenue and margin per learner by format.
Yes, but investors are stricter than before 2022. Companies with clear outcomes, renewals and efficient acquisition, often through schools, colleges or employers, still raise.
Yes. Astitva writes the investor story free from a short brief and designs each slide in your brand for 5 credits. New accounts get 50 free credits.
Next: how to brand an edtech startup · all pitch deck guides
Figures from these sources were current when this guide was written. Rules and benchmarks change, so check the latest version before you rely on one.