3 fixes for Netflix’s “What to watch?” problem

Wasting time every night debating with yourself or your partner about what to watch on Netflix is a drag. It burns people’s time and good will, robs great creators of attention, and leaves Netflix vulnerable to competitors who can solve discovery. Netflix itself says the average user spends 18 minutes per day deciding.

To date, Netflix’s solution has been its state-of-the-art artificial intelligence that offers personalized recommendations. But that algorithm is ignorant of how we’re feeling in the moment, what we’ve already seen elsewhere, and if we’re factoring in what someone else with us wants to watch too.

Netflix is considering a Shuffle button. [Image Credit: AndroidPolice]

This week Netflix introduced one basic new approach to discovery: a shuffle button. Click on a show you like such as The Office, and it will queue up a random episode. But that only works if you already know what you want to watch, it’s not a movie, and it’s not a linear series you have to watch in order.

Here are three much more exciting, applicable, and lucrative ways for Netflix (or Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, or any of the major streaming services) to get us to stop browsing and start chilling:

Netflix Channels

For the history of broadcast television, people surfed their way to what to watch. They turned on the tube, flipped through a few favorite channels, and jumped in even if a show or movie had already started. They didn’t have to decide between infinite options, and they didn’t have to commit to starting from the beginning. We all have that guilty pleasure we’ll watch until the end whenever we stumble upon it.

Netflix could harness that laziness and repurpose the concept of channels so you could surf its on-demand catalog the same way. Imagine if Netflix created channels dedicated to cartoons, action, comedy, or history. It could curate non-stop streams of cherry-picked content, mixing classic episodes and films, new releases related to current events, thematically relevant seasonal video, and Netflix’s own Original titles it wants to promote.

For example, the comedy channel could run modern classic films like 40-Year Old Virgin and Van Wilder during the day, top episodes of Arrested Development and Parks And Recreation in the afternoon, a featured recent release film like The Lobster in primetime, and then off-kilter cult hits like Monty Python or its own show Big Mouth in the late night slots. Users who finish one video could get turned on to the next, and those who might not start a personal favorite film from the beginning might happily jump in at the climax.

Short-Film Bundles

There’s a rapidly expanding demographic of post-couple pre-children people desperately seeking after-work entertainment. They’re too old or settled to go out every night, but aren’t so busy with kids that they lack downtime.

But one big shortcoming of Netflix is that it can be tough to get a satisfying dose of entertainment in a limited amount of time before you have to go to bed. A 30-minute TV show is too short. A lot of TV nowadays is serialized so it’s incomprehensible or too cliffhanger-y to watch a single episode, but sometimes you can’t stay up to binge. And movies are too long so you end up exhausted if you manage to finish in one sitting.

Netflix could fill this gap by bundling three or so short films together into thematic collections that are approximately 45 minutes to an hour in total.

Netflix could commission Originals and mix them with the plethora of untapped existing shorts that have never had a mainstream distribution channel. They’re often too long or prestigious to live on the web, but too short for TV, and it’s annoying to have to go hunting for a new one every 15 minutes. The whole point here is to reduce browsing. Netflix could create collections related to different seasons, holidays, or world news moments, and rebundle the separate shorts on the fly to fit viewership trends or try different curational angles.

Often artful and conclusive, they’d provide a sense of culture and closure that a TV episode doesn’t. If you get sleepy you could save the last short, and there’s a feeling of low commitment since you could skip any short that doesn’t grab you.

The Nightly Water Cooler Pick

One thing we’ve lost with the rise of on-demand video are some of those zeitgeist moments where everyone watches the same thing the same night and can then talk about it together the next day. We still get that with live sports, the occasional tent pole premier like Game Of Thrones, or when a series drops for binge-watching like Stranger Things. But Netflix has the ubiquity to manufacture those moments that stimulate conversation and a sense of unity.

Netflix could choose one piece of programming per night per region, perhaps a movie, short arc of TV episodes, or one of the short film bundles I suggested above and stick it prominently on the home page. This Netflix Zeitgeist choice would help override people’s picky preferences that get them stuck browsing by applying peer pressure like, “well, this is what everyone else will be watching.”

Netflix’s curators could pick content matched with an upcoming holiday like a Passover TV episode, show a film that’s reboot is about to debut like Dune or Clueless, pick a classic from an actor that’s just passed away like Luke Perry in the original Buffy movie, or show something tied to a big event like Netflix is currently doing with Beyonce’s Coachella concert film. Netflix could even let brands and or content studios pay to have their content promoted in the Zeitgeist slot.

As streaming service competition heats up and all the apps battle for the best back catalog, it’s not just exclusives but curation and discovery that will set them apart. These ideas could make Netflix the streaming app where you can just turn it on to find something great, be exposed to gorgeous shorts you’d have never known about, or get to participate in a shared societal experience. Entertainment shouldn’t have to be a chore.

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5 Sites and Apps to Find Movies & TV Shows to Watch on Netflix

The question most of us have in our free time isn’t whether or not to stream something, it’s, “What should I watch on Netflix?” Here are a few quick ways to get an answer.

Netflix is constantly tweaking its interface to tell you to watch certain shows and movies, but sometimes, it seems like Netflix pushes its own productions too strongly while ignoring more worthy options. Third-party recommendation engines, like those in this list, can be better at finding something more suited to your palate.

1. What The Hell Should I Watch On Netflix (Web): One Pick At a Time

If you don’t want to spend time tweaking a bunch of filters to find exactly what you’d like, this is the simple option. What The Hell Should I Watch On Netflix (WTHSIWON) focuses on speed and simplicity, giving you one pick at a time.

First, choose whether you want movies, TV shows, or anything at random. In the second step, choose the genre. You’ll immediately get a recommendation, complete with a trailer and a recommendation.

If it’s not what you’re looking for, WTHSIWON offers a few other options at the end of the recommendation, each with an alternative to something you might have found off-putting about the main choice.

WTHSIWON is quick and clutter free. The curated lists of movies are generally rated well on movie databases.

2. FlixWatch (Web): “Best of Netflix” Lists, By Region

Maybe you don’t want one recommendation but prefer to go through a list of them and choose your favorite? FlixWatch has those readymade lists for different categories, all sorted by the country you’re in.

Each country’s sub-section has lists for the 50 best movies or TV shows across genres like crime, action, comedy, family, drama, documentaries, and so on. The list has the movie’s or show’s title, a brief description, and the cast and crew details.

You can click “More Info” to find out things like the IMDb and Metacritic rankings, but I think it’s better to skip directly to the “Watch On Netflix” link which has better details, including trailers.

3. Compare Movies (Web): Compare Movies and TV Shows

Your friends have recommended a few things. You need to decide what to watch next. Put them all in Compare Movies to see their major details next to each other, to make it easier to choose.

Whether it’s a movie or a TV show, Compare Movies helps in figuring out the next thing to stream. Each movie or show appears as a long vertical column, and you can add as many other columns next to it as you like. The entire comparison can be shared as a link with anyone.

Details include things like what awards the movie has won, how many seasons a show has, the major cast and crew, and its IMDb and TMDb ratings. Quick links for videos and images will take you to YouTube playlists of trailers or best moments.

4. Shufflix (Web): Random Episodes of Favorite TV Shows

In the pre-streaming days, there was a certain charm to switching on your TV to find a rerun of an episode from one of your favorite TV shows. You weren’t picking what to watch, it was random; but you knew it was enjoyable. Shufflix adds that serendipity to Netflix.

The website first asks you to choose the country you watch Netflix in, and then shows a catalog of the many TV series available in your region. It’s a mix of different genres, and all are generally popular shows.

Pick one, and Shufflix chooses a random episode from it, along with the basic information of what happens in that episode. You can choose to watch the episode, or ask Shufflix to recommend another.

Shufflix works on both computers and mobile browsers. Tap the “watch now” button on mobile and it’ll directly open the episode in your Netflix app.

5. Netflix-Codes (Web): Easily Browse Secret Netflix Categories

Netflix’s worst-kept secret is that it has a large number of hidden categories to classify and tag movies and shows, which are never shown to the user. These secret codes help find new content, but it has always been a pain to input and browse them. Until Netflix Codes came along.

This site is the most eye-pleasing and organized way to check all the secret categories in Netflix. You get larger categories (for example: action and adventure, thriller, documentaries, comedies, etc.) as well as sub-categories in each (for example: martial arts movies, LGBT dramas, deep sea horror movies, military documentaries, etc.). The link is available right next to it, which you can click and browse in Netflix.

You’ll be surprised by just how many classifications Netflix has, which is unavailable for a regular user to browse through the app or web interface. Netflix Codes is a game-changer to find things you’ll like.

Recalibrate Your Netflix Recommendations

All of these alternatives wouldn’t be needed if Netflix’s recommendations worked well. Nonetheless, Netflix has a strong algorithm that figures out your tastes in movies and TV shows, based on what you watch and your ratings. But over time, this can go out of whack.

When you have some free time, it would be worth your while to recalibrate your Netflix recommendations, so that they are more helpful. Till you find that time, you can stick to the above apps and sites to quickly find something worth watching.

Read the full article: 5 Sites and Apps to Find Movies & TV Shows to Watch on Netflix

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Notes from the Samsung Galaxy Fold: day four

Apologies for skipping day three. This kept me extremely busy yesterday. Though the Galaxy Fold remained a constant companion.

Before you ask (or after you ask on Twitter without having read beyond the headline), no it’s hasn’t broken yet. It’s actually been fairly robust, all things considered. But here’s the official line from Samsung on that,

A limited number of early Galaxy Fold samples were provided to media for review. We have received a few reports regarding the main display on the samples provided. We will thoroughly inspect these units in person to determine the cause of the matter.

Separately, a few reviewers reported having removed the top layer of the display causing damage to the screen. The main display on the Galaxy Fold features a top protective layer, which is part of the display structure designed to protect the screen from unintended scratches. Removing the protective layer or adding adhesives to the main display may cause damage. We will ensure this information is clearly delivered to our customers.

I’ll repeat what I said the other day: breakages and lemons have been known to happen with preproduction units. I’ve had it happen with device in a number of occasions in my many years of doing this. That said, between the amount of time it took Samsung to let us reviewers actually engage with the device and the percentage of problems we’ve seen from the limited sample size, the results so far are a bit of a cause for a concern.

The issue with the second bit  is that protective layer looks A LOT like the temporary covers the company’s phones ship with, which is an issue. I get why some folks attempted to peel it off. That’s a problem.

At this point into my life with the phone, I’m still impressed by the feat of engineering went into this technology, but in a lot of ways, it does still feel like a very first generation product. It’s big, it’s expensive and software needs tweaks to create a seamless (so to speak) experience between screens.

That said, there’s enough legacy good stuff that Samsung has built into the phone to make it otherwise a solid experience. If you do end up biting the bullet and buying a Fold, you’ve find many aspects of it to be a solid workhorse and good device, in spite of some of the idiosyncrasies here (assuming, you know, the screen works fine).

It’s a very interesting and very impressive device, and it does feel like a sign post of the future. But it’s also a sometimes awkward reminder that we’re not quite living in the future just yet.

Day One

Day Two

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Arduino Programming for Beginners: Traffic Light Controller Project Tutorial

The Arduino traffic light is a fun little project that you can build in under an hour. Here’s how to build your own using an Arduino, and how to change the circuit for an advanced variation.

What You Need to Build a Traffic Light Controller

Apart from the basic Arduino, you’ll need:

• 1 x 10k-ohm resistor
• 1 x pushbutton switch
• 6 x 220-ohm resistors
• A breadboard
• Connecting wires
• Red, yellow and green LEDs

Almost any Arduino will work for this project, providing it has enough pins. Make sure you read our Arduino buying guide if you are not sure what model you need. You may already have these parts in your Arduino starter kit.

Arduino Traffic Light: The Basics

Let’s start small. A basic, single traffic light is a good place to start. Here’s the circuit:

Connect the anode (long leg) of each LED to digital pins eight, nine, and ten (via a 220-ohm resistor). Connect the cathodes (short leg) to the Arduino’s ground.

Code for the Arduino Traffic Light

Start by defining variables so that you can address the lights by name rather than a number. Start a new Arduino project, and begin with these lines:

int red = 10;
int yellow = 9;
int green = 8;

Next, let’s add the setup function, where you’ll configure the red, yellow and green LEDs to be outputs. Since you have created variables to represent the pin numbers, you can now refer to the pins by name instead:

void setup(){
    pinMode(red, OUTPUT);
    pinMode(yellow, OUTPUT);
    pinMode(green, OUTPUT);
}

The pinMode function configures the Arduino to use a given pin as an output. You have to do this for your LEDs to work at all. Now for the actual logic of the traffic light. Here’s the code you need. Add this below your variable definitions and setup function:

void loop(){
    changeLights();
    delay(15000);
}

void changeLights(){
    // green off, yellow on for 3 seconds
    digitalWrite(green, LOW);
    digitalWrite(yellow, HIGH);
    delay(3000);

    // turn off yellow, then turn red on for 5 seconds
    digitalWrite(yellow, LOW);
    digitalWrite(red, HIGH);
    delay(5000);

    // red and yellow on for 2 seconds (red is already on though)
    digitalWrite(yellow, HIGH);
    delay(2000);

    // turn off red and yellow, then turn on green
    digitalWrite(yellow, LOW);
    digitalWrite(red, LOW);
    digitalWrite(green, HIGH);
    delay(3000);
}

Upload this code to your Arduino, and run (make sure to select the correct board and port from the Tools > Board and Tools > Port menus). You should have a working traffic light that changes every 15 seconds, like this (sped up):

Let’s break down this code. The changeLights function performs all the hard work. This rotates the traffic light through yellow and red, then back to green. As this gets called inside the loop function, the Arduino will run this code forever, with a 15-second pause every time.

The changeLights function consists of four distinct steps:

• Green on, yellow off
• Yellow off, red on
• Yellow on, red on
• Green on, red off, yellow off

These four steps replicate the process used in real traffic lights. For each step, the code is very similar. The appropriate LED gets turned on or off using digitalWrite. This is an Arduino function used to set output pins to HIGH (for on), or LOW (for off).

After enabling or disabling the required LEDs, the delay makes the Arduino wait for a given amount of time. Three seconds in this case.

Going Deeper: Arduino Pedestrian Crossing

Now that you know the basics, let’s improve it. Add in a pushbutton for pedestrians to change the light whenever they like:

Notice how the traffic light is exactly the same as the previous example. Connect the button to digital pin 12. You’ll notice that the switch has a high-impedance 10k-ohm resistor attached to it, and you may be wondering why. This is a pull-down resistor.

A switch either lets the current flow or doesn’t. This seems simple enough, but in a logic circuit, the current should be always flowing in either a high or low state (remember, 1 or 0, HIGH or LOW). You might assume that a pushbutton switch that isn’t actually pressed would be in a LOW state, but in fact, it’s said to be ‘floating’, because no current gets drawn at all.

In this floating state, it’s possible that a false reading will occur as it fluctuates with electrical interference. In other words, a floating switch is giving neither a reliable HIGH nor LOW reading. A pull-down resistor keeps a small amount of current flowing when the switch gets closed, thereby ensuring an accurate low state reading.

In other logic circuits, you may find a pull-up resistor instead, and this works on the same principle, but in reverse, making sure that particular logic gate defaults to high.

Now, in the loop part of the code, instead of changing the lights every 15 seconds, you’re going to read the state of the pushbutton switch instead, and only change the lights when it’s activated.

Code for the Arduino Pedestrian Crossing

Start by adding a new variable to store your button pin:

int button = 12; // switch is on pin 12

Now, in the setup function, add a new line to declare the switch as an input. Add a line to set the traffic lights to the green stage. Without this initial setting, they would off until the first time changeLights runs.

pinMode(button, INPUT);
digitalWrite(green, HIGH);

Change the entire loop function to the following instead:

void loop() {
    if (digitalRead(button) == HIGH){
        delay(15); // software debounce
        if (digitalRead(button) == HIGH) {
            // if the switch is HIGH, ie. pushed down - change the lights!
            changeLights();
            delay(15000); // wait for 15 seconds
        }
    }
}

That should do it. You may be wondering why the button checking happens twice (digitalRead(button)), separated by a small delay. This is debouncing. Much like the pull-down resistor for the button, this simple check stops the code detecting minor interference as a button press.

By waiting inside the if statement for 15 seconds, the traffic lights can’t change for at least that duration. Once 15 seconds is over the loop restarts. Each restart of the loop, it reads the state of the button again, but if it isn’t pressed, the if statement never activates, the lights never change, and the program restarts again.

Here’s how this looks (sped up):

Arduino Traffic Light with Junction

Let’s try a more advanced model. Instead of a pedestrian crossing, change your circuit to have two traffic lights:

Connect the second traffic light to digital pins 11, 12, and 13.

Code for the Arduino Traffic Light with Junction

First, assign your new traffic light pins to variables, and configure them as outputs, like in the first example:

// light one
int red1 = 10;
int yellow1 = 9;
int green1 = 8;

// light two
int red2 = 13;
int yellow2 = 12;
int green2 = 11;

void setup(){
    // light one
    pinMode(red1, OUTPUT);
    pinMode(yellow1, OUTPUT);
    pinMode(green1, OUTPUT);

    // light two
    pinMode(red2, OUTPUT);
    pinMode(yellow2, OUTPUT);
    pinMode(green2, OUTPUT);
}

Now, update your loop to use the code from the first example (instead of the pedestrian crossing):

void loop(){
    changeLights();
    delay(15000);
}

Once again, all the work is carried out in the changeLights function. Rather than going red > red & yellow > green, this code will alternate the traffic lights. When one is on green, the other is on red. Here’s the code:

void changeLights(){
    // turn both yellows on
    digitalWrite(green1, LOW);
    digitalWrite(yellow1, HIGH);
    digitalWrite(yellow2, HIGH);
    delay(5000);

    // turn both yellows off, and opposite green and red
    digitalWrite(yellow1, LOW);
    digitalWrite(red1, HIGH);
    digitalWrite(yellow2, LOW);
    digitalWrite(red2, LOW);
    digitalWrite(green2, HIGH);
    delay(5000);

    // both yellows on again
    digitalWrite(yellow1, HIGH);
    digitalWrite(yellow2, HIGH);
    digitalWrite(green2, LOW);
    delay(3000);

    // turn both yellows off, and opposite green and red
    digitalWrite(green1, HIGH);
    digitalWrite(yellow1, LOW);
    digitalWrite(red1, LOW);
    digitalWrite(yellow2, LOW);
    digitalWrite(red2, HIGH);
    delay(5000);
}

Here’s what that looks like (sped up):

Arduino Traffic Light Next Steps

That’s all for today. Your new understanding of Arduino LEDs and buttons applies to all kinds of different projects. If you want to expand these traffic lights, why not build a four-way (or more) junction, complete with many pedestrian crossings, and pedestrian traffic lights?

Or why not expand your new skills with a bigger project such as this DIY MIDI controller?

Image Credit: androsvector/Shutterstock

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The 8 Best Free Font Websites for Free Fonts Online

When starting a new creative project, the first thing you probably search for are the fonts. Now, not everyone can afford the license for a popular paid font. If you’re looking for a font to use in a new branding project, a poster, or even for a new blog, you might be on the lookout for a font that you can use commercially, and preferably for free.

Thankfully, the internet is filled with such free font websites. Check out the following websites that will help you find the perfect free font for your next project.

1. Google Fonts

Google Fonts has one of the largest collections of web-ready fonts. It offers more than 900 different font families. Since its redesign, the Google Fonts website has become much more intuitive to use.

From the right-hand side of the website, you can narrow down your searches by category, language, popularity, and even attributes like thickness or width. Click on the font preview to change the preview text (you can apply it to all fonts on the page as well).

The best thing about Google Fonts is its versatile font preview tool. From the website’s home page, you can choose to preview a paragraph or a sentence with any given font. You can increase the font size or switch to a different version of the font as well.

After opening a font page, you get even more options. You’ll be able to view all versions of the font together and even see how a font pairs with 5 other different fonts (this is a very useful tool if you’re looking for new free fonts for a blog or a website).

When you like a font, just click on the download button. It will be instantly downloaded to your computer (if you’re on the Mac, you can then use Font Book to manage your font collection).

2. Fonts.com + SkyFonts

Fonts.com sells a huge variety of fonts. But what you should know about this site is its integration with Google Fonts and SkyFonts. SkyFonts is a desktop application for downloading and managing fonts. If you want a one-click option for downloading and installing Google Fonts, this is the app you should be using.

Open Font.com’s Google Fonts page and click on the Install SkyFonts button.

Once the app is installed, come back to the page and click on Browse Google Fonts and search for a Google font. Once you’ve selected a font family or multiple font families, click on the SkyFonts drop-down and check the Add Entire Family option. Then click on Add. The SkyFonts app on your computer will spring into action, downloading and installing the entire font family.

3. FontBundles Free Fonts Collection

FontBundles helps designers save a couple of bucks by curating font bundles. The website also features a Free Fonts section which lists hundreds of free fonts that you can download and use for free once you sign up for an account.

Unlike some of the other websites on this list, the collection on FontBundles keeps changing dynamically. Fonts from the library are featured exclusively in the free download for a week section. If you’re a budding typographer, you should bookmark this page and keep coming back to it every week.

As FontBundles is giving you a premium font for free, they come with a Premium Font License which allows you to use them commercially for free.

4. Behance

Behance is the place where some of the world’s best designers showcase their creative work. Some designers even use it as a portfolio website while others use it to display and share their work, be it design assets or fonts.

If you like to experiment with fonts, just search for “free fonts” on Behance. You won’t find a complete font set with nine different versions. But you’ll definitely find something that will pique your interest.

Behance is a good place to explore if you’re looking for fonts to use in a graphic design project. Anything to do with logos, social media banners, and posters will get you good results. But if you’re looking for a new typeface for a branding project, something that will be displayed on a website or a blog, this is probably not the right place.

5. Dribbble

Dribbble is a similar platform to Behance, though not as popular. Dribbble is popular among UI Designers, however, so you’ll find a sizable selection of fonts on the website. Just search for “free fonts” to get started. Although the collection is not as sizable as Behance, you’ll find plenty of modern, script and serif fonts here.

6. Dafont

Dafont is one of the oldest and the best sources for downloading fonts. Dafont features more than 40,000 fonts on its website. In comparison, Google Fonts features less than a thousand.

Filtering through such a huge collection can be challenging. Therefore, Dafont has a category system right at the top. This is the best place to start. Explore a sub-category like Cartoon, or Handwritten. You can also sort through the list using themes like Halloween, Rustic, Horror and so on.

Click on the Recently Added Fonts or the Top Fonts button to see the preview tool. Type what you want in the preview box and it will show up in the results below. Use the advanced search tool to narrow down your results further. If you know what you’re looking for, jump to the Search bar at the top of the page.

When you like a font, just click on the Download button to save it offline (there’s no need to create an account).

7. Urbanfonts

Think of Urbanfonts as the modern, polished version of Dafont. The website is easier to use and more pleasing to the eye. But the fundamental structure is the same. You’ll find a list of fonts that you can sort through based on a category, recently uploaded, or by popularity.

Urbanfont’s preview feature is also better. You can preview fonts using custom text on a black background. When you hover over the preview you’ll see the entire alphabet in the preview box.

8. Fontspace

Fontspace is a font directory with more than 45,000 fonts listed. It takes a visual approach to display fonts. Along with the usual editable font preview, you’ll also find an image from the designer that showcases the font. If you’re looking for fonts for a graphic design project, seeing it used in an image is certainly helpful.

By default, Fontspace shows all fonts. If you want to only see fonts which are available for free commercial use, you’ll have to click the Gear icon and select the “Only show commercial-use fonts” option.

Typography 101

The free font websites above make it easy to pick an aesthetically pleasing font using the preview feature. Even if you don’t know the technical terminologies, you can still eye-ball it and find a good font.

But using a font to the best effect is a different question altogether. This is where knowledge of typography comes in handy. Once you know things like kerning, or the difference between types of fonts, and how to pair fonts, you’ll be on your way to being a better designer.

Read our guide on typography terms to understand how to use fonts to your benefit.

Read the full article: The 8 Best Free Font Websites for Free Fonts Online

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10 Awesome Business Pitch Deck Templates to Wow Your Audience

Pitch decks have been used to launch many of the most successful companies of the 21st century.

At its core, a pitch deck is about asking others to come along on your company’s journey. That might include asking for investment or for potential employees to join the company and contribute to its success.

Let’s learn more about the key principles in business plan pitch decks, and how you can build your own in less time than ever before thanks to templates.

What Is a Pitch Deck?

One of the key differentiators of the pitch deck format is that it makes an “ask” of the audience. If you’re giving a pitch, the goal is certainly to persuade the audience to join in on your business’s mission.

In reality, a pitch deck is basically a business plan PowerPoint presentation. The term “pitch deck” is most commonly applied to startups that are looking for funding. The idea is that your pitch deck will lead to action from the audience.

A pitch ultimately persuades the audience in a certain direction.

The Top 10 PowerPoint Pitch Deck Templates

When you’re preparing to share your new startup with an audience, it helps to build a PowerPoint pitch deck. And if you’re busy working to launch your company and build out its features, it’s unlikely that you’ll have time to build a startup pitch deck from scratch.

That’s why pre-built pitch deck templates are so useful. Using a PowerPoint template gives you all the design elements that you’ll need to design a pitch deck in less time than ever.

Best of all, using a startup pitch deck template can give you the ideas you need to launch your company. If you don’t know what to include in your pitch, using a template that already has all the key slide concepts built out, is a huge help. You’ll only have to fill in the placeholders with your company specifics to prepare for a pitch to investors.

Here are 10 of our favorite startup pitch deck presentation templates that you can use to springboard your company into growth mode.

1. Pitch Werk: Elegant PowerPoint Pitch Template Deck

Pitch Werk is one of the most complete pitch deck templates that you’ll find for launching your idea. Showcasing growth in your presentation is key, and Pitch Werk has you covered on just that, thanks to slick charts and graphs you can use to show progression in user growth and participation.

2. Pitch Deck: Business Plan PowerPoint Template

Every new business plan should have a PowerPoint presentation that accompanies it, and this pitch deck template fits the bill perfectly. With more than 100 unique slide designs, there’s no limit to the number of business plans that you can create thanks to this slick presentation template.

3. Fintech: Startup Pitch Deck Template PPT Presentation

Fintech is short for financial technology, and it’s one of the fastest-growing categories of startups. If your new company falls into this field, this pitch deck template might just be the perfect presentation option for you. Not only is it clean and slick, but it also features the data visualizations you need to show your new business concept to prudent investors.

4. Startup Pitch Deck PowerPoint PPT Template

If your startup seeks to solve a unique challenge, it might be difficult for a potential investor to understand exactly what it is that you do. That’s why it’s so helpful to use an infographic that explains your process and purpose.

This startup pitch deck has you covered for your business presentation thanks to the beautiful and easy-to-customize business plan infographics.

5. Pitch Deck PowerPoint Investor Presentation Template

The best PowerPoint pitch deck templates are easily reused for pitches to multiple investors and audiences. One major reason to choose this pitch deck PowerPoint template over the others is because it includes 13 color schemes and 800 slide designs that you can use over and over.

That creates an endless sense of variety in your presentation while showcasing your business plans in a way that you can use with multiple investor audiences easily.

6. Nia Pitch Deck

There are many options for creating a pitch deck template, but Nia is one of the most stylish ones. If your startup is visually focused (like fashion, furniture, or social companies) then a deck like Nia can really set your new concept apart from the crowd thanks to the beautiful slide designs.

Imagery takes center stage in Nia with simple business information complementing the image placeholders.

7. Manola Pitch Deck Powerpoint Presentation

Manola is clean and simple and would feel right at home in any corporate environment. A pitch deck should serve to put the idea front and center, and Manola does a great job thanks to its simplicity.

With charts, infographics, and product imagery, it has all of the key essentials you’ve come to expect for your business in a solid PowerPoint pitch deck.

8. Latitud Business Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template

Latitud’s minimalist style is the key to showing off your fresh startup concept. Again, it’s all about using content and visuals that get out of the way and let your idea shine. You don’t want an audience to be distracted with overly complex slide designs, so use a minimalist pitch deck like Latitud to ensure your audience focuses on the key factors in your new business plan.

9. Union: Pitch Deck Powerpoint Template

Union is a pitch deck presentation that isn’t afraid of being bold. As you check out the example slides, notice that less is truly more when showcasing a startup idea. You’ll see the presentation slides that are crucial to telling the story of your startup like a timeline, pricing tables, portfolio imagery, and more.

All these are the vital elements that every investor will want to see as they weigh coming along for your growth journey.

10. Pitch Deck Powerpoint Presentation

Rounding out our selections, the aptly named Pitch Deck template is a great choice for your next startup pitch deck. This presentation really shines for its inclusion of a variety of “team slides,” which can help you showcase the key members behind your big idea.

That personal touch can help investors feel a sense of confidence in the key faces that drive your business.

Four Key Principles of the Best Startup Pitch Decks

No matter which PowerPoint pitch deck template you use to show off your new startup, there are a few key principles that every pitch deck sticks to. Keep these in mind while you’re building a business plan PowerPoint presentation:

• They show your mission, and how you’re different: Nearly every company’s purpose is about solving a challenge in a market. Show you seek to solve that challenge, and how your approach differs from others who are out to solve the same challenge.
• They create a fear of missing out: Above all, pursuing investments in your startup is about creating FOMO, or fear of missing out. You want the investors to be unable to imagine walking away from your idea.
• They make a “big ask:” You aren’t just showing off your startup for the sake of awareness. The key idea behind a pitch deck is that you’re asking for something at the end of your pitch.
• They show growth metrics: Part of positioning your startup as a success story is showing the growth trajectory that your company is on.

All-You-Can-Download Pitch Deck Templates

If you checked out all the pitch deck templates in this roundup, you may have noticed that they have a common source. It’s an all-you-can-download service for creatives called Envato Elements. A subscription to Elements unlocks all the pitch deck templates featured in this tutorial, plus so much more. This includes graphics, stock photos, and icons you can use in your presentation.

The advantage of using a service like Elements is that it gives you the freedom to experiment in your designs. Because each additional template won’t cost you more, you have plenty of opportunities to try new ideas and concepts for your pitch.

A successful pitch deck can be the difference between being funded and being forgotten. When you use a successful PowerPoint pitch deck template from Envato Elements, you increase the chances that you gain that key investor or team member you need to propel your business to success.

Image Credit: nd3000/Depositphotos

Read the full article: 10 Awesome Business Pitch Deck Templates to Wow Your Audience

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A Guide to History Hit TV: The Netflix for History Buffs

Netflix offers a solid selection of historical documentaries and dramas. However, if you’re a history buff looking for a larger selection of shows, you should check out History Hit TV.

History Hit TV is a streaming service that’s packed full of historical documentaries and dramas. They cover an impressive number of time periods, cultures, and locations.

This article offers an introduction to History Hit TV, which we’re calling “the Netflix for history buffs.”

What Is History Hit TV?

History Hit TV is a video streaming service that focuses on history shows and series. The service went live in 2018 following a successful crowdfunding appeal on Indiegogo.

It is the brainchild of the British historian, Dan Snow, and his team. History fanatics will probably recognize Snow’s name—he’s responsible for the excellent History Hit podcast and has fronted history shows on the BBC, PBS, National Geographic, and the History Network. He also does live shows on tour.

Importantly, History Hit TV invests 10 percent of its profits back into various history education projects around the world.

Who Can Watch History Hit TV?

Anyone can sign up for and watch History Hit TV. There are no regional restrictions or country restrictions regarding availability.

How Much Does History Hit TV Cost?

History Hit TV offers two subscription packages—monthly and annual. History Hit TV costs $4.99/month or $49.99/year.

Paying annually effectively provides you with two free months per year, but there are no refunds if you want to cancel midway through the billing period.

There is no restriction on the number of videos you can watch on either of the two plans and both plans offer a 30-day free trial when you sign up as a new user.

Where Can You Watch History Hit TV?

It is in development now. @HistoryHit is working on it asap. Defo before the summer…. Thanks so much for the support.

— Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) January 22, 2018

Unsurprisingly, there are lots of ways to watch History Hit TV. Apps are available on Android, iOS, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire. There’s also a full-featured web app. A Roku app is currently under development.

What Content Is Available on History Hit TV?

This is the million-dollar question. Which videos are on the service for you to watch? After all, if the content isn’t up to standard, the eye-catching premise of the app is worthless.

Thankfully, the scope of content is excellent. You’ll find TV series, documentaries, short films, full-length films, live shows, and even coverage of history festivals. There’s also some audio-only content.

Most of the TV shows and documentaries are fronted by well-known TV historians such as Neil Oliver, Jason Kingsley, Bettany Hughes, Andrew White, and Dan Snow himself.

The developers have designed the app to make it easy to find new videos to watch. There are three broad categories under which the content is available: Timeline, Collections, and Series.

Within the Timeline section, you can choose from Ancient and Classical, Middle Ages, Early Modern, Age of Revolution, Victorian, Twentieth Century, and Information Age.

The service splits Collections across categories such as Military History, Historical Drama, and Social and Cultural.

As the name suggests, Series shows specific series in alphabetical order.

Parents will also love the app due to its extensive list of educational videos. The content is subdivided into Key Stage Three, Key Stage Four, and Key Stage Five for straightforward navigation.

Original Content

History Hit TV offers a surprisingly large amount of original content—there are at least 100 shows available. You can find them in the History Hit Originals collection.

Like all of the video content on History Hit TV, the subject matter of the Originals is diverse. Example show titles include “A Nation in Shock: The Assassination of JFK,” “Saving Timbuktu’s Manuscripts,” and “The Silk Roads: Changing Perspectives”.

Some of the original content are just one-off episodes, while others are mini-series. You can even find short, sub-five-minute videos in the History Hit series. They are perfect for playing if you don’t want to get too involved with a long and complex series.

Are There Any Downsides to History Hit TV?

History Hit TV is undoubtedly a welcome addition to the media streaming landscape. However, while it will serve history buffs well, it isn’t perfect.

Most notably, non-original content is only available on the service for a short amount of time. Sure, it’s a similar approach to that taken by apps like Netflix, but because the library of content on History Hit TV is significantly smaller than on the likes of Netflix, it’s more noticeable.

The upshot of the high rate of turnover is that if you see something you’d like to watch, don’t put off watching it for too long, as it might disappear again quickly.

Presumably, due to the costs of licensing content, you’re also not going to find much content from networks like BBC and the History Channel. That’s not necessarily a bad thing—History Hit TV shines a light on shows you might otherwise have missed—but it’s definitely something that you need to be aware of.

Note: Check out some of the best BBC documentaries on Netflix if you still can’t find something to watch.

Do You Need Another Streaming Service?

Look, we get it, people are starting to suffer from streaming service fatigue.

The fragmentation of Netflix’s once industry-leading catalog into multiple different services such as Disney+ is making cord-cutting much less attractive.

But History Hit TV is different. Much like Primephonic (a music streaming service that offers classical music), it’s a niche product that appeals to a narrower spectrum of history enthusiasts.

History Hit’s CEO Tom Clifford accepted this in a statement when History Hit TV launched:

“Our fans are hungry for unrivaled access to history content anytime, anywhere and on a number of devices.”

And remember, because you are not necessarily stuck in a contract, you can dip in and out as you please, subscribing for a month of access at a time.

Other Ways to Get Your History Fix

To summarize, History Hit TV is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn about the past. But it is not the only way for history-fanatics to get a regular dose of new content.

If you’re interested in bygone times, make sure you also check out the best history apps to make learning fun and the best sites to learn about art history.

Read the full article: A Guide to History Hit TV: The Netflix for History Buffs

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