Founders, Fund Managers,
and Anyone Who's Ever Pitched:
Investors hate your deck.
You hate your deck.
And...
It's not your fault!
Here's what nobody tells you:
Investors don't fund decks. They fund stories they can't stop thinking about.
Your deck is failing because you're answering questions nobody asked, in a language nobody speaks, about a vision nobody can see.
You're stuck in deck feedback purgatory. One advisor says make it shorter. Another says add more proof. Your designer wants more white space. Your co-founder wants more metrics. And you're rebuilding the same deck for the 47th time.
Meanwhile, the founder with half your traction and twice your typos just closed their round.
Want to know why?
They told a story that made saying "No" feel stupid.
That's it. That's the whole game.
And if you've been sweating your deck for months - rewriting, redesigning, "incorporating feedback" - you already know you can't think your way out of this.
You need someone to extract the story that's been stuck in your head and turn it into a narrative so sharp that investors lean forward instead of checking their phone.
Introducing:
The Narrative Workshop
Two days. Your story. Finally on paper.
This isn't a deck design workshop.
This isn't a pitch event. This is the no-bullshit, behind-closed-doors methodology Hate Your Deck has used to help real clients raise real money - taught live, applied immediately, so you can walk out with your high ROI narrative and the best understanding of what makes your company unique.
Day 1
Revelation
What to Expect:
Figuring out the right story by exploring three key aspects:
Part Strategy, Part Therapy
- Understanding the pushback from investors
- Finding your category of one.
- Why you?
Part Theory,
Part Creative Writing
- How do brains read stories?
- Tapping into your natural storyteller
- Writing your story
Day 2
Co-Creation
What to Expect:
Crafting your story by learning what a story is and practicing.
Investment:
$2,500 per Founder
What People Say
(After they close their round)
Scott
CEO
sxRNA
Participating in the Hate Your Deck workshop with Mike Lightman was a total pivot point for me. It wasn’t just about fixing slides, it fundamentally changed the trajectory of how I talk about myself and my company. Mike has a way of cutting through the noise to find the narrative that actually matters. It was fun, informative and helped me find the clarity needed to talk about my work with real confidence. If you have a chance to take a Hate Your Deck workshop with Mike Lightman, take it.
Colin
Co-Founder
Haply Robotics
Michael was awesome. He helped expose specific areas where our deck could be improved and provided very direct, useful feedback. After writing decks for years, we immediately applied several of the concepts he introduced. I think Michael’s background in writing children’s stories has helped him immensely in communicating ideas simply, clearly, and visually.
Vicky
CEO
Adkretive
It’s not enough to be an expert or have insights but fail to articulate them well. Mike’s workshop changed that for me and directly is responsible for new direction and level of success that is already starting for my new company by helping me be succinct and crisp in my narrative, strategy, and impact.
Need more proof?
Who is
Mike Lightman?
Mike is the Hidden Secret Weapon of VCs.
He's built startup programs on 6 continents. Launched a $50M venture fund. Taught 1,000+ founders and 300+ fund managers how to tell stories that move money.
He's seen every version of "we need to fix the deck." And he's built a system that works whether you're pre-seed or Series B, whether you're raising from angels or institutions, whether your product is sexy or boring as hell.
His superpower? Diagnosing what your pitch actually needs in about 10 minutes, then helping you build it in about 2 days.
Ready to stop hating your Deck?
