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The Perfect Pitch Deck

The Pitch Deck Kono Used to Raise $100K

Updated: 
November 5, 2025
 | 
Pitch Decks

Description

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Description

CTA
Kono
Kono
Kono's AI scheduling assistant for professionals led to its acquisition by Dialpad.
Industry:
Productivity, AI, Machine Learning
Business Model:
SaaS, Subscription
Customer:
B2B
Round:
Seed
Amount Raised:
$100K
Investor:
Undisclosed
Year:
2014

Kono Pitch Deck Breakdown

Problem & Pain Points

Kono clearly identifies the core problem as the inefficiency of modern scheduling, a relatable pain point for busy professionals. They break it down into specific frustrations like coordinating across platforms and needing timely travel estimates, which makes the problem feel tangible. This approach immediately validates the need for a smarter solution in the eyes of an investor.

Our Tip: Frame the problem not just as a market gap, but as a tangible, recurring frustration for a specific user persona to build empathy and urgency.

Solution & Value Proposition

The deck presents Kono AI as a smart scheduler that learns user preferences, which directly addresses the previously stated pain points. They differentiate their value proposition by emphasizing advanced AI, contextual data integration, and a simple interface. This positions the product not just as another calendar app, but as an intelligent assistant.

Our Tip: Clearly connect each feature of your solution back to a specific problem you introduced, demonstrating a tight problem-solution fit.

Competition & Positioning

Kono avoids listing direct competitors and instead focuses on its unique positioning in the market. By highlighting its use of AI for a more efficient and user-friendly experience, it frames itself as a next-generation tool, implicitly making traditional schedulers seem outdated. This strategy works by defining the game on their own terms, centered on intelligence rather than features.

Our Tip: Position your company not by what competitors do, but by the unique value you provide that makes their approach obsolete.

Team & Advisors

The team slide is a major strength, showcasing a well-rounded founding team with critical expertise in business, technology, and innovation. Highlighting the CEO's experience at Daumkakao and the Chief Inventor's previous $30M+ exit to Intel provides powerful validation. This immediately builds investor confidence in the team's ability to execute.

Our Tip: Showcase your team's specific, relevant accomplishments and past successes to de-risk the investment and prove execution capability.


Lessons Learned from Kono Pitch Deck

Sell a Narrative, Not Just a Product

Kono’s deck succeeds because it tells a cohesive story, not just lists features. It frames a relatable problem, presents the AI solution as the hero, and uses the team's background as proof of capability. Structure your pitch as a compelling narrative to build investor conviction from start to finish.

Proactively De-Risk the Investment

Every slide in Kono's deck works to reduce perceived investor risk. The problem slide validates the market, the solution slide proves value, and the team slide confirms execution ability. For each of your slides, identify the core investor fear it addresses and frame your content to build confidence.

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