pitch unfairly

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Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1482. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

Nine war machines. Also, painting. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

Template: Capabilities deck

  • 10 numbered points
  • 70 tons of bronze
  • Painting: last line
Play the 2026 deck See the original c. 1482 deck Steal the structure
c. 1482 Capabilities deck

Leonardo da Vinci

Nine war machines. Also, painting.

Legend
Original craft
Unfair

1 slides→8

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

Play the 2026 deck

Leonardo da Vinci's capabilities deck, slide by slide

Every slide opens the live deck right where it is.

  1. Leonardo da Vinci deck, slide 1: Instruments of war, out of the common type. 01Instruments of war, out of the common type.
  2. Leonardo da Vinci deck, slide 2: You have seen every war engineer in Italy. Same machine. 02You have seen every war engineer in Italy. Same machine.
  3. Leonardo da Vinci deck, slide 3: Ten capabilities. Nine of them win wars. 03Ten capabilities. Nine of them win wars.
  4. Leonardo da Vinci deck, slide 4: Battle record: pending. Portfolio: paintings. 04Battle record: pending. Portfolio: paintings.
  5. Leonardo da Vinci deck, slide 5: Every machine is drawn before it is built. 05Every machine is drawn before it is built.
  6. Leonardo da Vinci deck, slide 6: Painting was the last line. History reranked it. 06Painting was the last line. History reranked it.
  7. Leonardo da Vinci deck, slide 7: The largest bronze horse in the world. 07The largest bronze horse in the world.
  8. Leonardo da Vinci deck, slide 8: Doubt any of it? Test it in your park. 08Doubt any of it? Test it in your park.

Then · c. 1482 · 1 slides

The original

See the original c. 1482 deckthe Biblioteca Ambrosiana, "Leonardo's Cover Letter" (Codex Atlanticus f. 1082r)
  1. Leonardo, about 30, leaves Florence for Milan in 1482, sent by Lorenzo de' Medici
  2. He drafts a letter to Ludovico Sforza offering his services in ten numbered points
  3. Points one to nine are war machines: bridges, mines, mortars, covered chariots, cannon, catapults, ships
  4. Point ten, for peacetime: architecture, water, sculpture in marble, bronze and clay, and, last of all, painting
  5. He offers to make the great bronze horse for the Sforza monument
  6. And to demonstrate anything in the Duke's park
  7. The surviving draft, in the Codex Atlanticus, is in a copyist's hand
  8. He gets the job: by 1493 the horse stands full size in clay
  9. In 1494 the 70 tons of bronze go to cannon
  10. He paints The Last Supper in Milan, c. 1495 to 1498

Now · 2026 · 8 slides

What we changed

  • The capabilities are an engineering sheetClick any of the ten items and its mechanism draws itself in sepia ink and red chalk. Item ten is an easel.
  • History reranks the servicesFlip from the 1482 order to 2026 fame and watch painting climb from the last line of the letter to the top.
  • The flagship has a project trackerDrag from the offer to the clay model, the bronze going to cannon, French archers, and the horse finally cast in 1999.
  • The ask is a demo slipPick the item you want proved and the request fills in: your park, or wherever your Excellency pleases.

Steal the structure

Build your capabilities deck like Leonardo da Vinci did.

  1. 01 Who we are Name the studio and its promise in one line, with one signature piece of work.
  2. 02 The client's need Show that every rival offers the same thing, in the client's own terms.
  3. 03 What we can do Numbered capabilities the client can browse, each with a concrete example.
  4. 04 Proof Credentials, real past work, and one reference, set as a list the client can check.
  5. 05 How we work Four steps from brief to delivery, ending in something the client sees.
  6. 06 Adjacent services What else you do, and how it ranks, so the client can buy more later.
  7. 07 The flagship offer The one signature project, with its milestones laid out as a plan.
  8. 08 The ask A demonstration on the client's terms: what, where, and when they choose.

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