Y Combinator and Paul Graham
The startup accelerator Paul Graham co-founded in 2005, and his essays.
Y Combinator wrote much of the standard playbook for raising a seed round: the SAFE, the seed deck template and a free library of advice. Paul Graham's essays are where a lot of it started. When sources disagree, the toolbox follows YC.
Read Y Combinator directlyIdeas
- What investors look for in founders
Sam Altman's list of what makes a great founder, from unstoppability and determination to speed and communication, and how to show it on your team slide.
- What is an unfair advantage? The five kinds investors look for
Kevin Hale's five unfair advantages from YC Startup School: founder, market, product, acquisition and monopoly. How to show yours in your pitch deck.
Guides built on their advice
- How much should you raise in a seed round?
Raise enough for 12 to 18 months, tie it to a plan, and aim to give up 10 to 20%, never more than 25%. Plus Carta's data on founder ownership.
- How to build a seed pitch deck: YC's template, slide by slide
Y Combinator's seed deck template explained slide by slide: title, problem, solution, traction, insight, business model, market, team and the ask.
- How many slides should a pitch deck have?
About 10 to 15 slides for a seed deck. What famous decks like Airbnb, Coinbase, Intercom and Uber actually used, and why shorter decks get read.
- How to make the title slide of your pitch deck
What goes on a pitch deck title slide: your name and one line on what you do, plus a quick test for any slide, with real examples.
- How to write the problem slide in your pitch deck
What goes on a pitch deck problem slide, the six signs of a problem worth funding, and how Airbnb and Uber framed theirs.
- How to write the solution slide in your pitch deck
What goes on a pitch deck solution slide: what you do, in as few words as possible, and the concrete benefits. With Airbnb, Dropbox and YouTube.
- How to make the traction slide in your pitch deck
What goes on a pitch deck traction slide, with real examples from YouTube, Coinbase, LinkedIn and Uber, and benchmarks for good retention.
- How to show your insight and competitive advantage in a pitch deck
How to show what makes you special and why this works, with Dropbox's why-now slide and Uber's and Airbnb's advantages.
- How to show your business model in a pitch deck
What goes on a pitch deck business model slide, and how Airbnb, Dropbox and LinkedIn showed how they'd make money.
- How to show market size in your pitch deck
What the market slide must prove, why TAM, SAM and SOM say little on their own, and Gurley on not capping your market at today's size.
- How to make the team slide in your pitch deck
What goes on a pitch deck team slide: why your founders suit this problem. With Dropbox, YouTube and Airbnb's team slides.
- How to make the ask slide in your pitch deck
What goes on the ask slide: how much you're raising and what it gets you. Plus how much to raise and how much of the company to give up.
- SAFE vs priced round: which should you use for a seed round?
SAFE vs priced round for your seed: why most seed rounds use SAFEs, what you negotiate, and why priced rounds cost more time and money.
Best resources
- How to build your seed round pitch deck · Aaron Harris (Y Combinator)
The seed deck template, slide by slide.
- A guide to seed fundraising · Geoff Ralston (Y Combinator)
How much to raise, SAFEs, valuation and closing.
- SAFE documents and user guide · Y Combinator
The standard SAFE most seed rounds use.
- High resolution fundraising · Paul Graham
Why SAFEs let you raise one investor at a time.
- Essays · Paul Graham
Where most early-stage advice comes from.
In the pitch deck library
- Y CombinatorY Combinator pitch deck2018 · Template
YC's own seed deck template.
- CoinbaseCoinbase pitch deck2012 · Seed · $600K
Brian Armstrong showed this deck at YC Demo Day in 2012.
- DropboxDropbox pitch deck2007 · Seed · $1.2M
Dropbox went through YC in 2007, the year of this deck.
Get your deck reviewed the same way.
Comments on every slide, the words to change highlighted, and the 3 fixes that matter.