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Highlight passive voice in pitch materials
Paste your pitch, update or website copy. Get every passive sentence flagged with an active rewrite that says who did what.
River's Passive Voice Highlighter finds weak passive constructions in your startup materials that undermine confidence. You paste your pitch deck, investor update, or any content, and the AI highlights every passive voice instance, explains why it weakens your message, suggests active alternatives, and shows before/after examples. Whether you're finalizing a pitch deck, writing updates, or editing website copy, eliminating passive voice makes your communication more direct, confident, and compelling.
Unlike generic grammar checkers, we focus specifically on startup contexts where passive voice particularly hurts. The AI identifies passive constructions that make you sound uncertain ('it was decided' vs 'we decided'), removes agency and ownership ('mistakes were made' vs 'we made mistakes'), hides responsibility ('the product is being built' vs 'we're building the product'), and maintains the direct, confident tone investors and customers expect from founders. You get specific highlights showing exactly where your writing loses power.
This tool is perfect for founders finalizing pitch decks, anyone writing investor communications, technical founders who naturally write passively, or teams editing website copy and marketing materials. If you write 'the solution was created' instead of 'we created the solution,' this tool helps. Use it before sending any high-stakes communication to investors, customers, or press where weak language costs you credibility.
Why Passive Voice Weakens Startup Pitches
Active voice shows confidence and ownership. Founders who write actively say 'we built,' 'we closed,' 'we grew.' Passive voice hides the actor: 'it was built,' 'deals were closed,' 'growth was achieved.' This makes you sound uncertain or distanced from your accomplishments. Investors invest in confident founders who own their successes. Active voice projects ownership and confidence. Passive voice projects uncertainty and distance. In pitch decks, investor updates, and customer materials, active voice wins.
Passive voice is particularly damaging in key situations. Never use passive when describing traction ('revenue was grown' vs 'we grew revenue'), achievements ('the product was launched' vs 'we launched the product'), or future plans ('the market will be disrupted' vs 'we'll disrupt the market'). Passive voice can be acceptable in rare cases (describing industry trends, acknowledging problems you didn't cause). But most startup communication should be in the active voice. Own your story. Write actively.
How It Works
Paste your text
Add the deck text, update or page you want checked, or attach the file.
River marks each one
Every passive sentence gets a comment with an active version that names who acted.
Review the summary
See how many passive sentences there are and which ones are fine to keep.
Rewrite in chat
Ask River to apply the active versions in a clean copy below your original.
What You Get
- Every passive voice instance highlighted in your document
- Explanation why each weakens your message
- Active voice alternatives suggested
- Before/after examples showing the improvement
- Count of total passive constructions to track progress
Common questions
Is passive voice always bad or are there times it's okay?
Passive is fine in rare specific cases. Acceptable: describing industry trends ('the market is being transformed by AI'), acknowledging problems you didn't cause ('customers are frustrated by existing solutions'), or when the actor is truly unknown/irrelevant. Unacceptable: describing YOUR actions, achievements, or plans. Never write 'our product was launched' or 'revenue was grown.' Always write 'we launched our product' or 'we grew revenue.' In startup communications, active voice should be the default. You're telling your story. Own it actively.
Why does passive voice sound worse in pitch decks specifically?
Pitch decks require confidence and conviction. Passive voice sounds uncertain. 'The problem was identified' sounds weak. 'We identified the problem' sounds strong. Passive removes the actor (you), making it unclear who did what. Investors invest in founders who confidently own their achievements. Passive voice makes you sound like an observer, not the builder. In conversations, emails, or documentation, passive might slide by. In pitch decks where every word matters and confidence is critical, passive voice kills credibility.
What's the fastest way to check if I'm using passive voice?
Look for 'was/were/is/are/been' + past participle (verb ending in -ed, -en, -t). Examples: 'was built' (passive), 'were closed' (passive), 'is being developed' (passive). Ask: can I add 'by zombies' after the verb and it makes sense? 'The product was built [by zombies]' = passive. 'We built the product [by zombies]' = doesn't work = active. Or: does the sentence hide who did the action? That's passive. If you can clearly see who's acting, it's probably active.
Should I fix ALL passive voice or just the worst instances?
Fix all instances in pitch decks and high-stakes materials. Every passive construction weakens your message. In longer documents (data room materials, detailed reports), fix most of them. Occasional passive is acceptable in those contexts. But in pitch decks, investor updates and website hero copy, remove nearly all of it. You're not writing that much text. Make every sentence powerful. Zero passive voice should be the standard for pitch materials.
Can passive voice make me sound more professional or formal?
No, it makes you sound uncertain. Some founders think passive sounds more 'business professional.' Wrong. Confident business writing is active. Compare: Passive: 'It has been determined that growth is being achieved.' Active: 'We're growing fast.' Which sounds like a confident founder? Passive sounds like corporate committee-speak. Active sounds like an owner. Investors want founders, not corporate drones. Write like an owner. Own your achievements. Use active voice everywhere.
Highlight passive voice in pitch materials
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