pitch unfairly

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Sequoia, 2008. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

The downturn deck every CEO saved. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

Template: Crisis board deck

  • 56 slides
  • Oct 2008
  • Portfolio CEOs
Play the 2026 deck See the original 2008 deck Steal the structure
2008 Crisis board deck

Sequoia

The downturn deck every CEO saved.

Legend
Original craft
Unfair

56 slides→11

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

Play the 2026 deck

Sequoia's crisis board deck, slide by slide

Every slide opens the live deck right where it is.

  1. Sequoia deck, slide 1: R.I.P. Good Times 01R.I.P. Good Times
  2. Sequoia deck, slide 2: Three streets, one verdict: this is not a normal downturn. 02Three streets, one verdict: this is not a normal downturn.
  3. Sequoia deck, slide 3: A century of flat home prices, then 8% a year. 03A century of flat home prices, then 8% a year.
  4. Sequoia deck, slide 4: The shopper became 73% of the economy, on credit. 04The shopper became 73% of the economy, on credit.
  5. Sequoia deck, slide 5: The engine of the boom now runs in reverse. 05The engine of the boom now runs in reverse.
  6. Sequoia deck, slide 6: 2001 was a stock crash. This one is credit. 062001 was a stock crash. This one is credit.
  7. Sequoia deck, slide 7: Easy money is gone. So is the old plan. 07Easy money is gone. So is the old plan.
  8. Sequoia deck, slide 8: Cut now, and make the cash last until you turn a profit. 08Cut now, and make the cash last until you turn a profit.
  9. Sequoia deck, slide 9: Slash expenses. Cut deep. 09Slash expenses. Cut deep.
  10. Sequoia deck, slide 10: Survival goes to the quickest. 10Survival goes to the quickest.
  11. Sequoia deck, slide 11: Get real or go home. 11Get real or go home.

Then · 2008 · 56 slides

The original

See the original 2008 deckSequoia Capital
  1. A tombstone: "R.I.P. Good Times"
  2. "Now what?"
  3. Wall Street: how did we get here? Cheap money, debt, a housing bubble
  4. Home prices: 8% a year from 1998, against under 1% for a century
  5. Main Street: consumers at 73% of GDP, savings gone
  6. From virtuous to vicious cycle
  7. Earnings rolling over, a V-shaped recovery unlikely
  8. Your Street: it is different this time, recovery will be long
  9. New realities: the $15M round at $100M post is gone
  10. Survival: cash is king, get to profitability
  11. Ops review, death spiral, survival of the quickest
  12. The solution, then "Get real or go home"

Now · 2026 · 11 slides

What we changed

  • The headstone is carved, not clip artIt rises out of the ground at dusk and the letters are cut in once. Grave, not goofy.
  • Runway you can cut your way out ofDrag cash, spend, and the cut. The months count live and the line either finds profit or a headstone.
  • Before and after cuts, line by lineEach function shrinks from its old budget to its new one, and $900K a month counts down to $675K.
  • Fifty-six slides became elevenTwenty macro charts collapse into two: home prices and the consumer. The vicious cycle plays as a loop.

Steal the structure

Build your crisis board deck like Sequoia did.

  1. 01 The title moment Name the new reality in three words people will repeat.
  2. 02 The agenda Three acts: how we got here, where we are, what you do now.
  3. 03 The cause One chart that shows what was unsustainable.
  4. 04 The exposure Show who is overextended and why demand will fall.
  5. 05 The mechanism Draw how the damage compounds, so nobody waits it out.
  6. 06 The comparison Say how this differs from the last downturn, and how long it lasts.
  7. 07 New realities Strike through every assumption the old plan rested on.
  8. 08 Runway Cash, burn, cuts, and the month you reach profit or run out.
  9. 09 The cuts Before and after, function by function, with the total.
  10. 10 Speed Show the cost of cutting late against cutting now.
  11. 11 The order One line to leave the room with.

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