pitch unfairly

Arcade · Stage and screen

Alexander Hamilton, 1790. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

A broke country, one dinner, and a credit score. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

  • $75.6M of debt
  • 1 dinner deal
  • $10M bank
Play the 2026 deck Steal the structure
1790 National bank pitch

Alexander Hamilton

A broke country, one dinner, and a credit score.

Legend
Original craft
Unfair

The story→12 slides

It's a live deck. Press start, then scroll or use the arrow keys, or play it full screen.

Play the 2026 deck

Then · 1790

How it really went

  1. Jan 1790: the First Report on the Public Credit, about 40,000 words
  2. The debt: $54M federal, about $25M more owed by the states
  3. The plan: assume the state debts and fund everything at par
  4. Feb 1790: Madison moves to pay original holders; it fails 36 to 13
  5. Apr 1790: the House votes assumption down, 31 to 29
  6. June 1790: dinner at Jefferson’s, assumption traded for a Potomac capital
  7. July to Aug 1790: Residence Act, then the Funding Act
  8. Dec 1790: the Report on a National Bank
  9. Feb 1791: Washington signs the bank charter, $10M for 20 years
  10. July 1791: bank shares sell out in an hour; the new bonds reach par

Original: Wikipedia, First Report on the Public Credit

Now · 2026 · 12 slides

What we changed

  • Thirteen debts roll into oneA live dashboard rolls every state’s debt into one federal number. Click Massachusetts out and watch the total drop.
  • The speculator math, on a sliderDrag what a veteran sold his $1,000 certificate for, then flip between Hamilton’s plan and Madison’s. 6.7x is why Madison was furious.
  • The dinner deal plays outTwo chits cross Jefferson’s table: the capital on the Potomac one way, votes for assumption the other, and a gold seal lands on it.
  • 40,000 words, twelve slidesA Treasury report the length of a novella becomes a Series A(ssumption) deck with traction, a team, and reluctant board observers.

Steal the structure

Pitch your company like Alexander Hamilton did.

  1. 01CoverThe whole plan in four words: pay the debt, buy the trust.
  2. 02ProblemOne artifact that shows the pain: a $100 certificate that sold for $10.
  3. 03InsightThe idea that makes the plan obvious, drawn as a loop.
  4. 04The planFour moves, each with a date, one in focus.
  5. 05The numbersLet the audience build the total themselves.
  6. 06Hardest objectionModel the critic’s case honestly, then show the vote.
  7. 07Objections, answeredName who objects and answer in one line each.
  8. 08The dealShow what you trade away to get what you need.
  9. 09The engineHow the bank makes the plan self-reinforcing.
  10. 10TractionOne number with its time frame; the rest in a quiet row.
  11. 11TeamWho executes, plus the skeptics you brought along.
  12. 12The askThe vote you need, said once, loud.

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