What are SPACs?
A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is a company created solely to merge or acquire another business and take it public — essentially a faster alternative to an initial public offering. Also known as a “blank check company”, a SPAC is a shell corporation listed on a stock exchange with the purpose of acquiring a private company, thus making it public.
SPACs were created by David Nussbaum in 1993, but gained recent popularity after Chamath Palihapitiya espoused the concept as an “IPO. 2.0” on CNBC, podcasts, and social media. The trend took Wall Street by fire between 2020 to 2021, during which time several unicorn startups across industries went public via SPAC mergers.
Below are a few examples of pitch decks from successful SPAC mergers:
What are examples of successful SPAC pitch decks?
9+ pitch decks that helped close billions in SPAC deals:
Below are the share prices as of the time of this writing (September 2022) vs. the price when the SPAC deal was initially closed and started trading on public markets:
1) Hims & Hers (NYSE:HIMS) — $10 (Jan ’21) → $5.98
2) Playstudios (NASDAQ:MYPS) — $10 (Jun ’21) → $3.39
3) Nextdoor (NASDAQ:MYPS) — $13 (Nov ’21) → $2.89
4) Circle Internet
5) Bird (NYSE:BIRD) — $8.40 (Nov ’21) → $0.45
6) Matterport (NASDAQ:MTTR) — $14.42 (Jul ’21) → $4.24
7) Vintage Wine Estates (NASDAQ:VWE) — $10 (Jun ’21) → $5.60
8) 23andMe (NASDAQ:ME) — $13.32 (Jun ’21) → $3.22
9) Sonder SPAC (NASDAQ:SOND) — $8.95 (Jan ’22) → $1.95
As you can see above, many SPAC merger companies have taken a beating in the stock market since going public — partly due to the economic downturn in early 2022. The list below has 9+ pitch decks from leading SPAC mergers like Bird, Nextdoor and Sonder, or you can see them all here. These decks are perfect for learning more about what makes an effective pitch deck and how to create your own. When pitching your company to investors, your deck plays a vital role in your success. Use these winning pitch deck examples as inspiration when crafting your investor materials.
1. Hims & Hers Pitch Deck
Year: 2021 • Valuation: $272M • Stage: SPAC
Hims & Hers is a multi-specialty telehealth platform building a virtual front door to the healthcare system.
Hims was incubated at San Francisco-based venture-builder, Atomic by founder & CEO Andrew Dudum, along with Jack Abraham in 2017. They started hims & hers to eliminate stigmas around health and wellness issues and break down barriers for people when it comes to obtaining quality healthcare.
The consumer telehealth and wellness brand’s annual revenue jumped 83% year-over-year to $272 million in 2021. Hims & Hers went public on the NYSE in January 2021 via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Oaktree Acquisition Corp. The deal, valued at $1.6B, brought the consumer telehealth and wellness company approximately $280 million in proceeds.
About Hims & Hers
- Industry: Healthcare
- Product Type: E-commerce
- Business Model: B2C
About the Hims & Hers Deck
- Funding Year: 2021
- Funding Type: SPAC
- Funding Raised: $272M
2. Playstudios Pitch Deck
Year: 2021 • Valuation: $1.1B • Stage: SPAC
PLAYSTUDIOS is the developer and operator of award-winning free-to-play casual games for mobile and social platforms. They create play-to-earn mobile games such as myVegas Slots and myVegas Blackjack, with a loyalty program called playAwards where players can redeem points for rewards such as MGM accommodations and amenities.
PlayStudios offers players the chance to earn rewards from 95 partners and 290 entertainment, retail, travel, leisure, and gaming brands. The community has purchased over 11 million rewards worth $500,000 with playAwards loyalty points.
Acies, a blank-check firm started by former MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren, and Playstudios agreed to a merger in February 2021, listing on the Nasdaq under the ticker “MYPS.” The transaction valued the mobile games developer at $1.1 billion. Here is the investor presentation behind the PLAYSTUDIOS and Acies Acquisition Corp. merger.
About Playstudios
- Industry: Gaming
- Product Type: App
- Business Model: B2C
About the Playstudios Deck
- Funding Year: 2021
- Funding Type: SPAC
- Funding Raised: $1.1B
3. Nextdoor Pitch Deck
Year: 2021 • Valuation: $4.3B • Stage: SPAC
Nextdoor is a hyperlocal social networking app that connects neighborhoods. Today, neighbors around the world turn to Nextdoor daily to share trusted information, help, and connections with those nearby.
The San Francisco-based company was founded in 2010 by social media veterans Sarah Leary, Nirav Tolia, Prakash Janakiraman & David Wiesen, and funded by Benchmark Capital and Shasta Ventures. By 2020, the company saw $123.3 million in revenue, a 49% increase from the year prior.
Nextdoor went public in November 2021 through a merger with a Khosla Ventures-backed SPAC in a deal that reportedly values the company at $4.3 billion.
About Nextdoor
- Industry: Real Estate
- Product Type: App
- Business Model: B2C
About the Nextdoor Deck
- Funding Year: 2021
- Funding Type: SPAC
- Funding Raised: $4.3B
4. Circle Internet Pitch Deck
Year: 2021 • Valuation: $9B • Stage: SPAC
Circle is a crypto payment company that provides the infrastructure that enables businesses of all sizes to leverage the power of digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce, and financial applications.
The peer-to-peer payments technology startup was founded by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville in October 2013, and is best known for being the issuer of the USDC stablecoin ($55 billion in circulation August 2022).
USDC is the heart of Circle’s ecosystem is a stable coin launched in 2018 by Circle and Coinbase (COIN).
The cryptocurrency operator went public via a SPAC merger deal valued at $9 billion with Concord Acquisition Corp (CND.N), a blank-check firm backed by former Barclays boss Bob Diamond. The Boston-based company terminated an earlier merger agreement with Concord, which had valued Circle at $4.5 billion.
About Circle Internet
- Industry: Cryptocurrency
- Product Type: Other
- Business Model: B2B
About the Circle Internet Deck
- Funding Year: 2021
- Funding Type: SPAC
- Funding Raised: $9B
5. Bird Pitch Deck
Year: 2021 • Valuation: $2.3B • Stage: SPAC
Bird is a micromobility company that has distributed electric scooters designed for short-term rental to over 400 cities. Their vehicle sharing platform aims to provides affordable transportation solutions to communities across the world.
The company was founded by former Uber (and Lyft) executive Travis VanderZanden in September 2017. The Santa Monica company raised over $800M in total funding by the time it went public in May 2021 by merging with special purpose acquisition company Switchback II at an implied valuation of $2.3 billion.
Bird said it was able to raise $160M in private investment in public equity (PIPE), by institutional investor Fidelity and others, plus an additional $40M asset financing from Apollo Investment and MidCap Financial.
About Bird
- Industry: Ride Sharing
- Product Type: App
- Business Model: B2C
About the Bird Deck
- Funding Year: 2021
- Funding Type: SPAC
- Funding Raised: $2.3B
6. Matterport Pitch Deck
Year: 2021 • Valuation: $2.9B • Stage: SPAC
Matterport heralds itself as “”the standard for 3D space capture””. Their web-based platform transforms real-life spaces into immersive digital twin models: Matterport empowers people to capture and connect rooms to create truly interactive 3D models of spaces.
Matterport will started trading on Nasdaq in June 2021 under the symbol “MTTR” after it completed its merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Gores Holdings VI (Nasdaq: GHVI) at a $2.9B valuation.
The Sunnyvale, California-based company secured approximately $605 million in total cash as a result of the SPAC ($310 milion from Gores Holdings VI and $295 million in proceeds from a funding round led by institutional investors, including Tiger Global, Fidelity, Senator Investment Group, Dragoneer Investment Group, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Lux Capital, Miller Value Partners, Darlington Partners and Untitled Investments).
About Matterport
- Industry: Software
- Product Type: SaaS
- Business Model: B2B
About the Matterport Deck
- Funding Year: 2021
- Funding Type: SPAC
- Funding Raised: $2.9B
7. Vintage Wine Estates Pitch Deck
Year: 2021 • Valuation: $690M • Stage: SPAC
Vintage Wine Estates (VWE) is a wine company owned by a group of vintner families with deep roots in the wine business.
Vintage Wine Estates built a portfolio of over 50 wine and spirits brands such as Viansa Sonoma and Napa Valley’s Girard from the California Wine County and the Pacific Northwest to grow into one of the largest U.S. wine producers. VWE’s portfolio spans wines of all kinds—luxury wines, award-winning wines, everyday wines, inspired classic wines and inventive new vintages.
VWE inked an agreement with a special-purpose acquisition company to become publicly trade witg n London-based Bespoke Capital Acquisition Corp. and the Santa Rosa-based porfolio that includes brands is valued at $690 million plus $50 million in future potential consideration.
About Vintage Wine Estates
- Industry: Food
- Product Type: Other
- Business Model: B2C
About the Vintage Wine Estates Deck
- Funding Year: 2021
- Funding Type: SPAC
- Funding Raised: $690M
8. 23andMe Pitch Deck
Year: 2021 • Valuation: $3.5B • Stage: SPAC
23andMe is one of the most well-known consumer genetic DNA testing companies focusing on health and ancestry DNA testing.
Founded in 2006 by Anne Wojcicki, along with Linda Avey and Paul Cusenza, the mission of the company is to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome.
Wojcicki built the world’s biggest genetic research database, and booked an estimated $475 million in annual sales, by selling 10 million consumers 23andMe genetic test kits. 23andMe earns most of its revenue by selling at-home DNA testing kits and selling consumer genetic databases to various healthcare organizations.
The at-home genetic testing kit company went public in Jun 2021, through a merger with a Richard Branson SPAC, VG Acquisition Corp., in a deal that raised near-$600 million and valued 23andMe at $3.5 billion.
About 23andMe
- Industry: Healthcare
- Product Type: Other
- Business Model: B2C
About the 23andMe Deck
- Funding Year: 2021
- Funding Type: SPAC
- Funding Raised: $3.5B
9. Sonder SPAC Pitch Deck
Year: 2022 • Valuation: $1.9B • Stage: SPAC
Sonder manages short-term rentals, such as apartment hotels, with over 6,300 units in over 35 cities in 10 countries.
The next-gen hospitality brand went public in January 2022 via special acquisition (SPAC) merger with Gores Metropoulos II, trading on Nasdaq under the ticker SOND.
In the process, Sonder raised approximately $310 million in PIPE (private investment in public equity) capital from leading investors, including affiliates of Gores Metropoulos II, Fidelity Management & Research, BlackRock, Atreides Management,, and Senator Investment Group.
Following the closure of the SPAC, Sonder drew upon $165 million in a principal amount of Delayed Draw Notes to fund operations and support new and existing growth initiatives, with up to $450 million in cash in the trust account of Gores Metropoulus II.
As of October, Sonder was valued at $1.93B, which was downgraded from the initial $2.2 billion expected valuation.
About Sonder SPAC
- Industry: Hospitality
- Product Type: Marketplace
- Business Model: C2C
About the Sonder SPAC Deck
- Funding Year: 2022
- Funding Type: SPAC
- Funding Raised: $1.9B
How-to create your own M&A / IPO pitch deck:
Are you interested in learning how to write and design a winning pitch deck to take your startup public or get acquired? If you’re building a mature startup seeking acquisition, IPO or late-stage financing, you may be interested in our popular M&A Pitch Deck template. If not, you’ll probably at least want to read through our free guide: check out our article on how-to create a winning pitch deck here. →