YC Demo Day Presentation Format: The 15-Slide Script That Wins Checks (Even If Your Mom Still Doesn’t Understand What You Do)

If you’re reading this with Demo Day T-minus 72 hours and a coffee tremor, breathe.You’re about to see the same battle-tested YC Demo Day presentation format that helped Flowjam clients like Opus, Pylon and Hearth close >$30 M in seed money—often before the after-party pizza arrived.

Yes, that’s right: the slides aren’t as magical as Twitter makes them seem. But the order is sacred. Miss it and you’ll watch investors physically put their phones away—forever.

Let’s fix that.

What Exactly Is the YC Demo Day Presentation Format?

YC Demo Day presentation format = the 2-minute, 15-second, 15-slide narrative arc Y Combinator coaches every batch to follow.It’s not a suggestion; it’s the internal rubric partners use when they whisper “fund” or “pass” in real time.Stick to the format and investors can map your story onto the mental template they already have. Stray from it and they spend the next 120 seconds trying to figure out where you fit instead of writing a check.

Why the Format Matters More Than Your Product (For 120 Seconds)

Demo Day is speed dating with cap tables.The median investor decides before slide 7 whether you’re a “yes, email me” or a polite head-nod emoji.Following the canonical YC Demo Day presentation format buys you two priceless things:

Cognitive fluency—your story feels inevitable.

Time—you don’t waste 20 seconds explaining why slide 3 comes before slide 4.

In other words, the format is the hook.

The 15-Slide YC Demo Day Presentation Format Cheat-Sheet

Copy this into a blank Google Slides doc right now. Don’t overthink fonts; YC projects on a 1999-era Epson—if it’s legible in 60 pt, you’re golden.

✅ Title – Company name + one-line punchline (5 sec)
✅ Problem – Who hurts & how much (10 sec)
✅ Customer Quote – Real pain in their words (5 sec)
✅ Solution – 1-sentence product promise (10 sec)
✅ Demo – 3-step screen recording, no voice-over (15 sec)
✅ Market Size – TAM >1Bwithsource(10sec)
✅∗∗Competition∗∗–2−axisquadrant,youtop−right(5sec)
✅∗∗WhyNow∗∗–Techorregtail−wind(5sec)
✅∗∗Traction∗∗–Revenue,users,MoMgrowth(10sec)
✅∗∗BusinessModel∗∗–Whopays,howmuch,grossmargin(5sec)
✅∗∗Go−to−Market∗∗–Loopthatcompounds(5sec)
✅∗∗Team∗∗–1photo,1pastwineach(5sec)
✅∗∗Ask∗∗–RaisingX for Y milestones (5 sec)
✅ Vision – 10-word world domination line (5 sec)
✅ Thank-you – QR code to calendar link (5 sec)

Total: 15 slides, 120 seconds, 1 breathless investor.

Slide-by-Slide Breakdown (With Real Examples)

Below we’ll open the hood on each slide: what investors secretly want, the exact text template, and the most common face-plant we see reviewing 200+ rehearsals a year at Flowjam.

Slide 1 – Title & One-Liner

Goal: Investors should be able to tweet your company before you reach the mic.

Template:“We’re [Name]. We turn [old way] into [new way] for [customer].”

Good:“Pylon. We turn customer support tickets into revenue for SaaS companies.”

Bad:“Next-generation AI-enabled synergistic platform.” (Translation: we have no clue.)

Pro tip: Front-load the keyword. Saying “YC Demo Day presentation format” out loud in the first 5 seconds feels weird, but writing “Demo Day presentation format for YC startups” in your subtitle is natural and SEO gold.

Slide 2 – Problem

Goal: Make the pain visceral, not abstract.

Template:“[Customer] wastes [$X] or [Y hours] doing [painful task].”

Data link: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows support agents burn 1.2 hours per ticket—source.

Slide 3 – Customer Quote

Screenshot a real Intercom message or Slack DM.
Blur the name if NDAs exist, but keep the typos—typos are receipts.

Slide 4 – Solution

One sentence. Not two. Not a bulleted list.If you need commas, you still don’t know what you do.

Slide 5 – Demo

Record a 15-second Loom.No cursor gymnastics; three clicks max.Export as GIF so it autoplays.Investors should feel the “aha” without audio.

Slide 6 – Market Size

Use the classic TAM-SAM-SOM stack but only show TAM on the slide.If TAM < $1 B, pick a different vertical or prepare for “niche” tweets.

Slide 7 – Competition

2-axis graph only.Axis labels must be metrics customers actually care about (price, speed, accuracy).Your logo top-right, everyone else bottom-left.No 3D chess pieces, please.

Slide 8 – Why Now

Reference a secular tail-wind: AI cost drop 10× since 2020, Stripe released new API, Biden signed IRA, etc.Cite a third-party report—McKinsey or Gartner works.

Slide 9 – Traction

Show a chart that goes up and to the right.Revenue > everything else. If pre-revenue, show wait-list growth or LOIs.Label axes; otherwise investors assume it’s your heartbeat.

Slide 10 – Business Model

State ACV, gross margin, and payback period.If you’re pre-revenue, show comparable company unit economics.

Slide 11 – Go-to-Market

Draw a flywheel, not a funnel.YC partners hate funnels; flywheels compound.Example: “Land → Expand → Customer becomes affiliate → Loop.”

Slide 12 – Team

One photo, no suits.Under each face: past exit or 10-year domain experience.If you’re 22 and dropouts, lead with “Built iPhone app with 2 M downloads at 18.” Energy > pedigree.

Slide 13 – Ask

“We’re raising a $1.5 M seed to hit $50 k MRR and 500 customers in 12 months.”Specific dollars, specific milestones.Never say “We’re open to discussion.” That’s a VC euphemism for “we have no plan.”

Slide 14 – Vision

Ten words max.“Every support ticket becomes a revenue event.”Boom. Retweetable.

Slide 15 – Thank-You QR Code

Use a free QR generator pointing to your Calendly.Investors scan while clapping—no typing, no friction.

Storytelling Tricks That Triple Recall

Open Loop: Start slide 2 with “In 2021 we almost shut down because…” Close it on slide 9.

Rule of Three: Group everything—problems, features, milestones—into threes. Brains love triplets.

Echo Words: Repeat your one-liner on slides 1, 9, and 14. Subconscious branding.

Data Visualization Rules (So Your Chart Doesn’t Suck)

One insight per chart.

No gridlines.

Use Datawrapper for YC-blue hex #0F9D58.

If slope < 30°, aggregate differently until it looks sexy—truthful but sexy.

Rehearsal Schedule: The 14-Day Countdown

T-14: Write script, lock slides.T-10: Record yourself, delete 30 % of words.T-7: Practice with Flowjam for launch-video-grade pacing (shameless plug, but hey, we’ve timed 1,200+ pitches).T-5: Run timed rehearsal in front of 3 founders who’ll roast you.T-3: Deliver to YC group partners, integrate feedback within 24 h.T-1: Do it shirtless in the mirror—if you can nail cadence naked, clothes are easy.T-0: Show up 30 min early, test clicker, pee twice.

7 Deadly Mistakes Founders Still Make Every Batch

Mistake 1 – 90-second origin storyNobody cares you coded on a beach in Thailand.

Mistake 2 – Apologizing for “rough” slidesYou just told investors you half-ass things.

Mistake 3 – Reading the slideIf your mouth and the slide match, one of them is redundant.

Mistake 4 – No askEnds with “Thank you” and no QR. Investors need permission.

Mistake 5 – Fake TAM bubbleSaying “global IT spend $3 T” is a meme.

Mistake 6 – Competitive slide as feature laundry listIf it has > 5 rows, you’ve already lost.

Mistake 7 – Running out the clockYC cuts your mic at 135 seconds—mid-sentence if needed.

Long-Tail Keywords You’ll Rank for If You Sprinkle Naturally

SaaS launch strategy for startups

Checklist to launch SaaS product

Best way to validate SaaS MVP

Pre-launch SaaS marketing tactics

YC Demo Day presentation template Google Slides

How to structure 2-minute investor pitch

Seed round fundraising script YC

Demo Day slide order example

Feel free to slide them into H2s or image alt text, but keep it human. Google’s NLP is smarter than most VCs.

External Resources We Cite (See, Google? We’re Good Citizens)

YC Library: How to Present Your Company

YC Library: How to Prepare for Demo Day

YC Library: How to Give a Great Demo Day Presentation

SEC on market sizing data

McKinsey AI cost decline report

FAQ: Schema Markup Ready

Can I go over 2 minutes if investors are loving it?

No. YC cuts your mic at 135 seconds. Rehearse to 120.

Do I need a product demo GIF if I’m pre-MVP?

Yes. Show a Figma click-through or waitlist workflow — anything visual.

How many bullets per slide?

Zero. Use one sentence or a chart.

TL;DR – The YC Demo Day Presentation Format in One Tweet

15 slides. 120 seconds. Problem → Solution → Traction → Ask. End with QR code. Rehearse until your dreams narrate themselves.

Ready to Rehearse? We’ll Time You

If you want a second set of eyes (and a stopwatch), Flowjam will splice your pitch into a 60-second launch video investors actually finish. We’ve helped 120+ YC founders tighten story arcs and ship deck trailers the same day.Book a 15-minute slot—yes, there’s a Calendly link, but we’ll spare you another QR code.

Now close this tab, open Google Slides, and start slide one.Demo Day waits for no one—except the founder who followed the format.

See you on the big screen.