Reinventing Presentations: HaikuDeck.com
Ugh! I’ve been invited to speak at an upcoming event and the organizer insists I have a Powerpoint presentation. I never use Powerpoint because I think it’s boring — plus, I’m not the most skilled at creating presentations.
That’s exactly how Adam Tratt and Kevin Leneway felt when they needed to easily create a killer pitch deck to grab the attention of potential investors.
“The best part of being an entrepreneur is pitching and getting people excited abouot your idea,” explained Tratt. “We asked ourselves why is it so difficult to create an awesome presentation.”
That question sparked the creativity of the two entrepreneurs and they went to work. “We’ve all been using pretty much the same tools, in the same way, for years–using lame templates, fiddling with the space between our bullets, and wrestling with bulky file attachments–despite the fact that we hate doing those things and we’re spending an increasing amount of time on connected, mobile devices,” said Tratt.
The result of their collaboration: Haikudeck.com. A presentation software that the founders say is 10 times easier and 10 times better than any existing platform.
“We read up on presentation skills and we found certain things were needed. Focus on one idea at a time. Use powerful images and a consistent format. If you use a chart make it simple,” Tratt noted.
Haikudeck.com was originally introduced as a iPad app in August, 2012. It was clear from the beginning that they had hit a nerve. Users have grown from zero to 33 million and the platform is now available on the web too.
Tratt told me that at Haikudeck they believe it’s important to be able to tell your story in a compelling and creative way. The company philosophy: Keep in simply; make it beautiful; and make it fun.
So I decided to give it a try myself. You can judge for yourself, but I don’t think it looks like a typical, boring presentation.
THE Small Business Expert – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires
Have your tried Haikudeck.com? Best practices you can share?
