How to make the team slide in your pitch deck
Based on advice from Aaron Harris (Y Combinator), Geoff Ralston (Y Combinator) · Updated 2 October 2026
Short answer
Show what makes your founders particularly well suited to this problem. Y Combinator's seed template calls the team very important at seed and says the slide should be about founders, adding "Nobody cares about your advisors."
What YC asks for
- Why your team is particularly suited to this problem.
- The founders, not advisors or a long list of names.
- It matters a lot at seed, when there's little else to judge.
Why it matters
YC's seed fundraising guide says investors write checks when they're persuaded the founders can realize the vision. The team slide is where that case is made.
In your deck
Read each founder's line and ask: does it say why this person, for this problem? A job title alone doesn't.
Real examples
Dropbox (2007) · slide 13
Dropbox showed two founders, CEO and CTO, both from MIT, and a photo of them moving into their first office.
See the whole Dropbox deck
YouTube (2005) · slide 9
YouTube's founders were all early PayPal employees, and the slide says so.
See the whole YouTube deck
Airbnb (2008) · slide 11
Airbnb gave each founder one line on their background.
See the whole Airbnb deck
Read the originals
- How to build your seed round pitch deck · Aaron Harris (Y Combinator)
YC's seed deck template, with what goes on each slide.
- A guide to seed fundraising · Geoff Ralston (Y Combinator)
YC's guide to how much to raise, SAFEs, valuation and closing.
Questions founders ask
- What should a pitch deck team slide include?
- What makes your founders particularly suited to the problem. Y Combinator's seed template says it should be about the founders, not advisors.
- Should I put advisors on the team slide?
- YC's seed template is direct about it: nobody cares about your advisors. Focus on the founders.
- Where does the team slide go?
- Near the end, after the market and before the ask, in Y Combinator's seed template.
Get your deck reviewed the same way.
Comments on every slide, the words to change highlighted, and the 3 fixes that matter.
Keep reading
- How to make the ask slide in your pitch deck
YC's guidance for the ask: how much you're raising and what it gets you. Plus how much to raise and how much to give up, from YC's seed guide.
- How should cofounders split equity?
Carta's data on how cofounders really split equity: 41% of two-founder teams split equally, rising to 45.9% in 2024, and a lead founder usually gets more.
- 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?
Y Combinator's seed template points to 10 to 15 slides. What famous decks like Airbnb, Coinbase, Intercom and Uber actually used.