The heydecks blog.
Field notes on building decks with AI: pitch and board decks, one-pagers, the deck tools compared, and how agents build on-brand slides over an API or MCP. Written first-hand by the team building heydecks.
Pitch & Fundraising
7 postsRaise the round and tell the story straight.
The Uber pitch deck, broken down slide by slide
The original 2008 Uber pitch deck, all 25 UberCab slides: the $4.2B market, the scenarios, what it raised in 2009 and 2010, and what to steal for your deck.
The Airbnb pitch deck, annotated slide by slide
The Airbnb pitch deck that helped raise a $600K seed from Sequoia in 2009: every slide, the real numbers on each, what worked, and what to steal for yours.
How to make a pitch deck, step by step
How to make a pitch deck in six steps: write the story, pick the slide order, write each slide, design it on brand, cut it down, and send it the right way.
How to build a TAM SAM SOM slide investors believe
How to build a TAM SAM SOM slide: what each number means, bottom-up vs top-down math, a worked example, the real Airbnb slide, and mistakes investors catch.
Where to get a pitch deck template, and which one to use
Free pitch deck templates for Google Slides, PowerPoint, and Canva, the Sequoia and YC outlines, the 12-slide order to follow, and a live template to open.
What is a pitch deck, and what goes in one
What is a pitch deck? The plain meaning, the 11 slides investors expect, what each must prove, how many slides to use, and the mistakes that end the read.
11 pitch deck examples that raised money, and what to steal from each
Real pitch deck examples from Airbnb, Uber, LinkedIn, Buffer, Coinbase and more, with verified raise amounts, the slide to steal, and sample decks by stage.
Business Decks & Documents
8 postsThe decks and one-pagers work runs on.
Free one-pager templates: 9 layouts and where to download them
Free one-pager templates for sales, startups, and business: 9 block-by-block layouts you can copy, plus the best free downloads in Word, Google Docs, and PDF.
How to write an executive summary, step by step
How to write an executive summary: what it is, what goes into one, six steps, a worked before-and-after example, length and format rules, and common mistakes.
One-pager ideas: 24 ways to put a single page to work
24 one-pager ideas for sales, fundraising, internal teams, marketing, and personal use, plus layout and format ideas and live examples you can click through.
One-pager design: how to make one page read in seconds
One-pager design principles that work on a single page: hierarchy, grid, whitespace, type, color, and big numbers, plus four layouts with live examples.
Executive summary examples for sales, board, investor, and report decks
Six filled-in executive summary examples for a sales proposal, board update, investor pitch, report, QBR, and business plan, with notes on why each one works.
How to make a one-pager from a Canva template
Find a free Canva one-pager template, fill it in five steps, and export it to PDF or PowerPoint. Plus when Canva fits and when an agent is faster.
What is a QBR? A practical guide to the quarterly business review
QBR means quarterly business review. Get the definition, a 60-minute agenda, the deck slide by slide, metrics by team, a prep checklist, and a live template.
One-pager examples for sales, startups, projects, and yourself
10 filled-in one-pager examples with the actual copy: sales, company, product, investor, project, career, and about yourself, plus 30 more types to copy.
Presentation Craft
2 postsStructure, design, and delivery that lands.
Slide design ideas: 25 layouts, and when to use each
25 slide design ideas grouped by job (openers, big numbers, charts, timelines, closers) plus a chart-picking table and live example decks to page through.
Presentation design: what makes a deck look professional
Presentation design rules that make a deck look professional: hierarchy, grid, whitespace, the best fonts and sizes for slides, color, and charts.
AI Tools & Comparisons
3 postsHow the AI deck tools really compare.
The best AI for PowerPoint: add-ins, generators, and free options
The best AI for PowerPoint in 2026: Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Gamma, Plus AI and 7 more, compared on price, add-in vs web app, and editable .pptx.
Gamma to PowerPoint: exporting a deck you can still edit
Does Gamma export to PowerPoint? Yes. How to download a Gamma deck as .pptx, what stays editable, how to drop the watermark, and when to use another tool.
The best Gamma alternatives, grouped by what you need instead
The best Gamma alternatives in 2026: Beautiful.ai, Pitch, Canva, Plus AI, Copilot, Claude and more, compared on price, PowerPoint export, and who they suit.
Agent-Native & Developer
6 postsBuild decks from code, agents, and MCP.
Markdown to PowerPoint: six ways, and which ones stay editable
Convert markdown to PowerPoint with Pandoc, Marp, Slidev, python-pptx, Claude, or an API. Which give editable slides, which export images, with commands.
PowerPoint MCP servers compared: open source, live-app, and hosted
Seven PowerPoint MCP servers compared: python-pptx servers, live PowerPoint control, and hosted deck APIs. Stars, upkeep, setup, and which to pick in 2026.
What is MCP? A builder's guide to the Model Context Protocol
What is MCP? The Model Context Protocol is an open standard that connects AI agents to tools and data. How it works and what the 2026 spec changed, with code.
How to connect MCP servers to Claude, with a deck tool as the example
Claude MCP setup for 2026: add a remote MCP server in claude.ai, Claude Desktop, and Claude Code, check that it works, and build a real deck with it.
The best MCP servers for getting real work done in 2026
The best MCP servers in 2026: GitHub, Playwright, Context7, Supabase, Sentry, and more, with who maintains each, remote URLs, and how many to connect at once.
Can Claude make a PowerPoint? Yes, five ways, compared
Can Claude make a PowerPoint? Yes: Claude Slides, .pptx file creation in chat, the PowerPoint add-in, Claude Code, or MCP. Plans, limits, and setup for each.