How To Perfectly Pitch Your Seed Stage Startup With Y Combinator's Michael Seibel

Discover the best ways for a seed-stage startup to pitch to investors and successfully fundraise from Y Combinator’s Michael Seibel.
Any founder you talk to likely remembers every investor who said no to them.
Those founders hold a special kind of “not hatred,” says Michael Seibel, Managing Director and Group Partner at Y Combinator, but a special kind of something for those investors and a desire to prove them wrong.
If you’re a seed-stage startup, Michael shares the best ways for you to present your company to startup investors.
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[@muhammadufarouk]

Progress is progress, regardless if it is slow or consistent. Either ways one still goes up, credits to Lunvo

[@Danikaash]

Lunvo has quite been very helpful in the system. I recommend him anyday

[@BunnyJackson-d3p]

Lunvo has quite been very helpful in the system. I recommend him anyday

[@SandraBrokman]

There is no need to rush life, in the end what will be will be. Just be hardworking, steadfast and always seek for guidance

[@EmmanuelGusto]

How can I communicate with him for advice

[@muhammadufarouk]

Search his full name

[@keithrandrade]

Been in SaaS sales for reputable pre and post IPO companies and can attest, this is spot on.

[@Play-Date-Care]

Watching this right before I'm about to "design" my pitch deck, lol, saved me lots of time and avoided lots of unnecessary work

[@Tothefutureand]

Yea it is called google magic recommender system algorithm.

[@anthonyerdenetuguldur5609]

You are lucky, I wish I had this video two years ago. No wonder my first startup seed raise failed. I am going to use the lessons learned here and the advices I got in the past to perfect my pitch for my next startup.

[@moh-jx4ls]

tell me more about ur start up@@anthonyerdenetuguldur5609

[@ankurkumarsrivastava6958]

I am also watching this before creating my pitch deck.

[@J35Y1]

​@anthonyerdenetuguldur5609 what start up did you try to pitch? also to YC or another VC?

[@wb00]

This video came right after a fund asked me to submit a pitch for funding my company. The time couldn't be any more perfect. Thank you.

[@ogopogoman4682]

So. How's it going now?

[@wb00]

@@ogopogoman4682 went through the initial evening and final pitch will be next month. But we’ve decided to bootstrap for now as as we can get a lot more money for a lot less equity just by having a few customers. We’re also considering acquiring another startup with a few customers but less scalable product in the same niche.

[@RoZaxTheGreat]

update?

[@wb00]

@@RoZaxTheGreat we have a meeting tomorrow. Wish me luck!

[@ogopogoman4682]

@@wb00 best of luck. Rooting for you.

[@owenmcallister6948]

Thank you Michael - I just won the London Business School Booster Pitch Nights and your advice was instrumental.

[@happymanali]

Congratulations! 🎉

[@akashmatania]

Can i get your linkedin pls?

[@amberpalmer3708]

Congrats 🎉

[@Leoninhk]

you can tell when advise is from someone who's been there, and this is it. great stuff

[@rugbyf0rlife]

I just wrote a "life story" as part of my pitch deck, figured it seemed a bit long, then found this video. Deleting it now and starting again!

[@Tothefutureand]

22:52 when you see pick of interest in part of your pitch go with it,stick to it and get them talking. Most important part of your this video.

[@moltenangel]

'Pique' of interest.

[@Dt-qv1wb]

Working on my own invention for the first time. Resources and help and finding people to help with the right path is tough. Your precise communication and very descriptive situations will help me and my company greatly. Just doing the pitch deck portion currently. Appreciate your video.

[@okikiayoalogba406]

"80% accurate, 100% clear"

[@Regina.Clarke]

That part!

[@3266711732665514]

i.e. 80 accurate, 100 clear

[@Wizdomlife]

again and again what you say on these videos of YC proves to be insightful and present simple truths - you guys are awesome for anyone who wishes to start a company (if a start-up in the wide sense of a "start-up" for people who make companies with high growth potential and required speed of execution to make sure the company gets anywhere. wish I could apply and participate in YC but as a single father I can't afford to leave my kids for 3 months. hopefully the future will bring more of the online batches as they happened during Covid, so that founders who are restricted from a 3 month away program such as myself would be able to participate from a distance.

[@dkia]

Michael you're such a G! Love watching you speak

[@lewissheridan]

This is literally gold. Thank you

[@rafaelvesga860]

Timestamp Topic Description 00:00:03 Introduction - Why pitching is important but painful for founders 00:01:22 Key Principle: Standing out through conciseness and clarity 00:02:39 Common elements of a pitch (overview) 00:03:08 What Do You Do - How to explain your company in two sentences 00:04:36 Using specific examples (Airbnb case study) 00:05:05 Common mistakes in explaining what you do 00:07:55 Team slide - Purpose and key components 00:08:43 Common team slide mistakes 00:10:07 Traction - How to present accomplishments 00:11:15 Mistakes in presenting traction 00:12:31 Unique Insights - Sharing non-obvious learnings 00:13:13 Example of unique insights (Airbnb case study) 00:14:45 Common mistakes in presenting unique insights 00:15:01 Market Size - Focus on calculation method 00:16:42 The Ask - How to properly ask for investment 00:17:19 Three investor mindsets during pitches 00:19:57 Common errors in the ask section 00:20:10 Overall presentation strategy 00:21:31 Making your pitch conversational 00:23:56 Importance of reading investor reactions 00:24:44 Why to avoid distracting slide designs 00:25:56 Live example: YC pitch demonstration

[@Forextradercoach]

The best way to get great returns is by learning the secrets strategies behind the foreign and Stock exchange markets.

[@Forextradercoach]

+$260k just now. God bless Elvin Greg

[@Thebillionkident]

How possible is it man? I'm from the United States. Please how can I reach your coach and learn the secrets from your coach ?

[@Forextradercoach]

His name is Elvin Greg

[@Forextradercoach]

Newbies, Wire (Messenger) only.

[@Thebillionkident]

Thank God he is active 24-7 on the wire app.

[@eliporter3980]

I'm planning on developing an AI app and this is helpful. I'm working on building an MVP now and I'm planning on attending a pitch even in the next few weeks.

[@rachitsharma666]

can you share tell more about it?

[@radical187]

Awesome presentation! Pure gold starting at 7:09 - that's so true!

[@milenatos]

I would always have a huge respect for everyone that said no. Who I will never forget are the investors that have left my very short and polite inquiry as "seen". What are we on, Tinder? Do I get it, wow you're so important and busy to not have the time to press one button and send an automatically generated answer? That's so rude!

[@TheConversation220]

“After I know what you do, put your best stuff right after it”

[@iamfavoured9142]

This is absolutely GOLD !

[@organizer14]

Great points, thanks for valuable coaching!

[@DrringHealth]

Thank you, this is pure gold!

[@Saastr]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@rembautimes8808]

Great talk and insights. KISS principles reinforced.

[@saissevictor]

we are talking pure gold here

[@onaopemipodara1634]

Fantastic. I could relate to a lot of this as a venture builder.

[@lihonghicken]

Can you do a video on those speedy 5-10 mins pitches on stage!!

[@slidenavigatorllc1451]

You can search for demo day pitches and it should pull up videos about that.

[@CarletonTorpin]

I copy-pasted the transcript from this video into a Poe Ai chat and used it as the basis to make my new company's pitch deck.

[@JosephCraciun]

love the amount of fbombs incorporated

[@stevenfoster9402]

Gold. This is gold.

[@lihonghicken]

Yeah. I rewatch this every time I need to rework the pitch

[@slidenavigatorllc1451]

Sometimes we need to watch things over and over in order for it to get ingrained into our minds.

[@eleken.agency]

Haha, the 'just ask' part is hilarious and so true! It's wild how something as simple as asking can open so many doors, not just in pitching but in life in general. Reminds me of that story about Steve Jobs when he was 12 - cold calling Bill Hewlett after finding his number in a phonebook, asking for spare parts for a project. And it worked, of course! Now, do I have the guts to do something similar? Of course not 😅

[@shanonagar7002]

Very insightful !! Thank you! 🙏

[@IvanHaiduk]

Thank you Michael for value!

[@jonassteinberg3779]

It's crazy how basically everything he says is just practical advice one learns from being a fairly senior engineer or engineering leader or manager of some type. I'm shocked at how down-to-earth all of the advice is. Basically Michael seems to say that the key to getting funding is just being very clear what problem is being solved and how the product solves it and what the problem intensity level is.

[@zzzacupuncture3546]

Thanks lot for real Experience share. Real start up need working on.

[@NjofieWilson]

Insightful and very helpful.

[@Saastr]

Glad you think so!

[@sashalevochkin]

Extremaly helpful. Even though I dont get why quoting reports is bad for market size explanation:)

[@lisaannlamarkuson2571]

using this and exactly this for my new company

[@TheAIEpiphany]

thanks Michael!

[@guiller2371]

To get things done quickly; you need money or a crew to help you. What really blows things up; is your ability to hire and train the right people. Otherwise; you are stock with yourself.

[@ObakpoloFahit]

Yes, great advice❤❤❤

[@daveb4446]

Great advice

[@PIPOBrands]

This is really awesome

[@_cocoalabs]

This was fantastic

[@ethiopiabim]

thank you very much

[@MrSarathcool]

Very helpful 🔥

[@dehindea]

Thank you for this

[@esheodincanal]

pure gold!

[@ralphmaxi2463]

Really interesting stuffs

[@Friday4]

Found some free gold here

[@adriandemir7699]

You are right man

[@alvaromd3203]

Truly great.

[@alexanderbSpeaker]

Dont know who is enjoying listening to him...

[@adenowotimilehin2332]

Splendid!

[@Aryan_Divyanshu_000]

Insightful

[@davidsalas-gx9eh]

Amazing

[@carlomoretti.x]

AMAZING

[@marvinalcantara5268]

I wish I have company

[@ÕçhèàķàGDSamuel]

Great

[@WannaBTechie]

Great presentation - dropping the fbomb all the time cause your listener to focus on 'the wrong thing' - you should drop that

[@RyanLordOfficial]

🔥🔥🔥

[@streetfashiontv9149]

Good talk

[@saidubundu6392]

i just lluv the way he keeps saying f**k you lol

[@theusu7178]

My issue with The team is I’m the only person on it 😂

[@animewakana]

bro same here😂

[@Classkit_tech]

😂+

[@tejumadeadebari1523]

If you have advisers and a tech builder , add them to the team slides

[@craftyfingas5338]

You can always add people you want to hire and what they'd do. Just a suggestion

[@muhammadsaad3793]

WOW!

[@VivienEneFoundation-km3yv]

Freaking Gold

[@46TheKurde]

It s like listening to Morpheus

[@johnheaney3349]

Is it normal to drop so many f-bombs during a pitch?

[@DuBoisEdmund-r1t]

Davis Ruth Hernandez Joseph White Brenda

[@therealjayz8036]

Reposting old videos ?

[@Saastr]

no but we edit and update the live streams from Annual

[@agulannajosemaria4490]

You're not alone@row_timi

[@Saastr]

@row_timinot posted but we did stream it along with another video and they are together on Live tab. we then edit the top ones and put them out. but yeah not different, just edited from Live

[@henrygagejr.-founderbuildg9199]

If cursing was < 2%, I could share this with my students. Instead I will recreate a youth friendly version.

[@nroger01]

Agreed. I had to think twice about sharing with team

[@thepeterpot]

Agreed!

[@SM-cf3tt]

Really wasn’t that big of a deal people cuss in business

[@xindranil]

Well youth cuss way more than you'll consider 'friendly' , focusing on the >90% knowledge that is valuable would be a better thing to do for your students. You don't throw away gold bars that have specs of dust

[@TommyFink-y6c]

Gonzalez Donald Robinson Scott Robinson Timothy

[@HooverZenobia-c1n]

Koss Fields

[@iamiqbal]

Good insights but i am surprised on the use of F so many times. That’s strictly NO

[@Mutiny960]

And THAT is why you will fail at doing a startup. This isn't a pitch where your language has to be monitored. This is insight from a Billionaire startup founder who makes other people into billionaires. You are soooo concerned about his 'naughty language' that you can't even take the knowledge away. You can't do that with angry customers. You have to see what they are really saying and LEARN from the experience. Happy FAILING to you 😁.

[@MoorishZissou]

Grow up

[@RichardGonzalez-v6y]

Thompson Karen Brown Karen Smith Deborah

[@axtrion888]

Ha Ha! 😂

[@not_serious_bro]

why don’t i like his vibe no idea 🤷‍♂️

[@scooperleash_usa]

If investors are not good listeners, that's not my fault

[@mohitsingha1809]

Good presentation will save people time on their pitch, only thing is the presenter has used the f word too many times, maybe he needs to learn more English!

[@nickfleming3719]

This sounds like a massive distraction. I'm not in the business of selling shares to investors, I'm in the business of serving my customers.

[@StrandedKnight84]

Raising capital is a huge distraction, but sometimes a necessary one.

[@dukensonguerrier5369]

This is where delegation becomes useful. Progress can't stop because capital is being raised. Furthermore, your startup isn't just YOU. While you're raising capital your co-founders should be doing whatever is necessary to gain more users/solve users problems.

[@89sublimepoet]

Let me tell you one thing: don’t let vc’s intimidate you with the stuff they put out. Build your product, test it in the market, and heck, if it has a demand, you might not even need vcs.

[@melvinbradberry8729]

07420 Sedrick Lane

[@BartholomewSusie]

97133 Gottlieb Mill