An LP told me last month he almost passed on a sponsor because the deck "looked too AI."
I think that instinct is exactly backwards.
A sponsor who uses AI well is not cutting corners. They are telling you something about how they spend their hours.
1. Time is the scarcest resource in this business, not polish.
Every hour a sponsor is not manually formatting a deck is an hour they spent underwriting one more deal, running one more sensitivity, or picking up the phone with a broker. I would rather a sponsor spend Sunday night finding yield than kerning a title slide.
2. Leverage is the whole point of a platform.
A two person shop that uses AI well can out-underwrite a twenty person shop that doesn't. That is not a shortcut. That is exactly the kind of resourcefulness you should want behind your capital. It is also why we can run leaner and pass lower fees on to our investors.
3. The deck was never the diligence.
If the only thing standing between you and a bad deal is whether the font looked "handmade," you were never doing diligence in the first place. Check the numbers. Check the track record. Check how much of the sponsor's own money is in it.
Judge the underwriting, not the software.
Would you rather your sponsor spend their time on the deck, or the deal?
Thank you to Katie Fifer and Recalc Academy who first got our team up and running with decks in Claude Design! If you don't know where to start on AI, contact the Recalc team.
Judge the Underwriting, Not the Software
