pitch unfairly

Cheat Codes · Pitch decks

Christopher Columbus, 1492. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

Asia is just west. Probably. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

Template: Seed pitch deck

  • 3 ships
  • About 90 crew
  • 10% of the take
Play the 2026 deck Read the real story Steal the structure
1492 Seed pitch deck

Christopher Columbus

Asia is just west. Probably.

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

The Christopher Columbus pitch deck, slide by slide

Every slide opens the live deck right where it is.

  1. Christopher Columbus deck, slide 1: Reach the East by sailing west. 01Reach the East by sailing west.
  2. Christopher Columbus deck, slide 2: Every peppercorn pays three middlemen. 02Every peppercorn pays three middlemen.
  3. Christopher Columbus deck, slide 3: The world is round. Sail west to get east. 03The world is round. Sail west to get east.
  4. Christopher Columbus deck, slide 4: Granada fell in January. The Crown is free. 04Granada fell in January. The Crown is free.
  5. Christopher Columbus deck, slide 5: The market is the entire East. 05The market is the entire East.
  6. Christopher Columbus deck, slide 6: On our math, Japan is 2,400 miles west. 06On our math, Japan is 2,400 miles west.
  7. Christopher Columbus deck, slide 7: Eight years of pitching. Zero miles sailed. 07Eight years of pitching. Zero miles sailed.
  8. Christopher Columbus deck, slide 8: Two Pinzóns, a shipowner, and the Khan’s translator. 08Two Pinzóns, a shipowner, and the Khan’s translator.
  9. Christopher Columbus deck, slide 9: Portugal is going around Africa. We go straight there. 09Portugal is going around Africa. We go straight there.
  10. Christopher Columbus deck, slide 10: Seventy days from Palos to the Indies. 10Seventy days from Palos to the Indies.
  11. Christopher Columbus deck, slide 11: We've thought of everything. 11We've thought of everything.
  12. Christopher Columbus deck, slide 12: Three ships. A tenth of everything. 12Three ships. A tenth of everything.

Then · 1492

How it really went

Read the real storythe Capitulations of Santa Fe, via Wikipedia
  1. Around 1484: pitches John II of Portugal; his experts say the distance is far too short
  2. May 1486: first audience with Isabella; the Talavera commission takes years and says no
  3. 1488: tries Lisbon again, just as Dias sails home from the Cape
  4. His brother Bartholomew pitches Henry VII of England; no deal
  5. January 1492: Granada falls, a council rejects him again, he rides off toward France
  6. Santángel talks Isabella round; a royal guard catches him two leagues down the road
  7. 17 April 1492: the Capitulations of Santa Fe: Admiral, Viceroy, and a tenth of everything
  8. 3 August: three ships and about 90 men sail from Palos
  9. 12 October: land in the Bahamas. Not Japan. He insists otherwise for the rest of his life

Now · 2026 · 12 slides

What we changed

  • The math is a sliderDrag the Earth from Columbus's 75% to its real size and watch Japan slide off to 10,600 miles, uncovering a continent nobody budgeted for.
  • The roadmap sails itselfSeventy days, Palos to the Bahamas, drawn day by day with a counter and the real log: the second logbook, the birds, the near mutiny.
  • The cap table flipsWho pays (the Crown, a borrowed eighth, and a town paying off a fine) turns into who gets paid: 90% and 10%, tax free, forever.
  • A risk slide that misses oneEdge of the world, crew morale, Portugal, the committee: all handled. A continent in the way: not considered.

Steal the structure

Pitch your company like Christopher Columbus did.

  1. 01 One-line promise Say the whole plan in five words.
  2. 02 Problem Show the toll everyone already pays, stop by stop.
  3. 03 Solution One picture of the shortcut.
  4. 04 Why now The event that just freed the buyer's budget.
  5. 05 Market Size it with the best source in the room.
  6. 06 The math Put the key estimate on a slider and let them check it.
  7. 07 Traction Be honest about the number; sell the persistence.
  8. 08 Team One line each, and why this crew will sign on.
  9. 09 Competition A map of their long way round and your straight line.
  10. 10 Roadmap Dated milestones you can scrub through.
  11. 11 Risks Name every objection before the room does.
  12. 12 The ask Who pays, who gets paid, and the titles on the door.

Make yours in ChatGPT

Type your site. We'll write the prompt with Christopher Columbus's structure and your brand.

Back to the cheat codes