pitch unfairly

Cheat Codes · Proposals and business cases

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.

Template: Business case

  • $75.6M of debt
  • 1 dinner deal
  • $10M bank
Play the 2026 deck Read the real story Steal the structure
1790 Business case

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

Alexander Hamilton's business case, slide by slide

Every slide opens the live deck right where it is.

  1. Alexander Hamilton deck, slide 1: Pay the debt. Buy the trust. 01Pay the debt. Buy the trust.
  2. Alexander Hamilton deck, slide 2: Our IOUs are not worth a Continental. 02Our IOUs are not worth a Continental.
  3. Alexander Hamilton deck, slide 3: Credit is reputation. Keep the promise, money gets cheap. 03Credit is reputation. Keep the promise, money gets cheap.
  4. Alexander Hamilton deck, slide 4: Four moves, one balance sheet. 04Four moves, one balance sheet.
  5. Alexander Hamilton deck, slide 5: Thirteen state debts. One federal number. 05Thirteen state debts. One federal number.
  6. Alexander Hamilton deck, slide 6: Bought at 15 cents, paid at par. Madison was furious. 06Bought at 15 cents, paid at par. Madison was furious.
  7. Alexander Hamilton deck, slide 7: Virginia had objections. We had answers. 07Virginia had objections. We had answers.
  8. Alexander Hamilton deck, slide 8: Assumption lost 31 to 29. So we booked a dinner. 08Assumption lost 31 to 29. So we booked a dinner.
  9. Alexander Hamilton deck, slide 9: $10 million of stock. Sold out in an hour. 09$10 million of stock. Sold out in an hour.
  10. Alexander Hamilton deck, slide 10: The new federal bonds went from 70 to par in nine months. 10The new federal bonds went from 70 to par in nine months.
  11. Alexander Hamilton deck, slide 11: A founder, a president, and two bankers who had done it before. 11A founder, a president, and two bankers who had done it before.
  12. Alexander Hamilton deck, slide 12: Assume it, fund it, bank it. Never miss a payment. 12Assume it, fund it, bank it. Never miss a payment.

Then · 1790

How it really went

Read the real storyWikipedia, First Report on the Public Credit
  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

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

Build your business case like Alexander Hamilton did.

  1. 01 Cover The whole plan in four words: pay the debt, buy the trust.
  2. 02 Problem One artifact that shows the pain: a $100 certificate that sold for $10.
  3. 03 Insight The idea that makes the plan obvious, drawn as a loop.
  4. 04 The plan Four moves, each with a date, one in focus.
  5. 05 The numbers Let the audience build the total themselves.
  6. 06 Hardest objection Model the critic’s case honestly, then show the vote.
  7. 07 Objections, answered Name who objects and answer in one line each.
  8. 08 The deal Show what you trade away to get what you need.
  9. 09 The engine How the bank makes the plan self-reinforcing.
  10. 10 Traction One number with its time frame; the rest in a quiet row.
  11. 11 Team Who executes, plus the skeptics you brought along.
  12. 12 The ask The vote you need, said once, loud.

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