What are Y Combinator's red flags?

Slow execution. No design taste. Founder who doesn't ship. Founder gives up easily. Treats the team or customers without empathy. Founder obsesses over funding instead of users. TAM talk before any actual users exist. Treats customers as 'the market' rather than people. Doesn't know what they don't know.

What sectors does Y Combinator invest in?

Y Combinator focuses on AI, Consumer, Devtools, Marketplaces, SaaS.

What is the typical check size for Y Combinator?

Y Combinator typically writes checks between $125000M and $500000M.

AI simulation

How to Pitch Y Combinator

Q: How do I pitch Y Combinator?

To pitch Y Combinator, practice against our AI simulation built from their investment thesis: Designers and engineers building fast, simple products. I look for taste, execution speed, and an instinct for what users love. Founders before product-market fit. I care about the person first. Are they relentless, coachable, and obsessed with users? Make something people want. Default alive. Work on things that scale. Founders should be relentlessly resourceful, suspicious of complexity, and obsessed with users. You have 30 minutes to answer real questions like Show me the product right now. What would you change about it tomorrow? and What did you ship this week?. Get a 12-dimension scored verdict.

A practical guide based on our AI simulation of Y Combinator's investment thesis — distilled from public memos, interviews, and track record. Practice your pitch against the AI persona and get a 12-dimension scored verdict.

AI-generated from public data. Not official Y Combinator content.

Investment Thesis

Designers and engineers building fast, simple products. I look for taste, execution speed, and an instinct for what users love. Founders before product-market fit. I care about the person first. Are they relentless, coachable, and obsessed with users? Make something people want. Default alive. Work on things that scale. Founders should be relentlessly resourceful, suspicious of complexity, and obsessed with users.

What They Look For

Sectors

AIConsumerDevtoolsMarketplacesSaaS

Stages

PRE_SEEDSEED

Typical check size: $125000M – $500000M

Red Flags

Things Y Combinator investors watch for — avoid these in your pitch.

Slow execution
No design taste
Founder who doesn't ship
Founder gives up easily
Treats the team or customers without empathy
Founder obsesses over funding instead of users
TAM talk before any actual users exist
Treats customers as 'the market' rather than people
Doesn't know what they don't know

Questions They'll Ask

Prepare answers for these. The AI persona will challenge you on them.

Show me the product right now. What would you change about it tomorrow?
What did you ship this week?
Tell me about your best user.
Walk me through the hardest thing you've done.
What are you like when things aren't working?
Tell me about a time you changed your mind after listening to a user.
What do you know that nobody else does?
Show me your growth chart and walk me through the last spike.

3 AI Personas to Pitch

Garry Tan

President & CEO

Builder-first, opinionated about quality. Will tell you when the design isn't good enough. · Design-aware, fast, structured. Asks for the demo early.

Pitch Garry

Jessica Livingston

Co-founder & Partner

Empathetic, sharp pattern-matcher across thousands of founders. Knows what grit looks like. · Warm, founder-first, direct. Asks about life story as much as the company.

Pitch Jessica

Paul Graham

Co-founder

Thoughtful, contrarian, allergic to corporate-speak. Has high tolerance for weird founders if they're producing real things. · Curious, essay-like, will ask the same question three different ways to see if the answer changes.

Pitch Paul

Ready to pitch?

Pitch the AI simulation of Y Combinator's thesis. Get a 12-dimension scored verdict. If you pass, your report surfaces to the real fund.

See Y Combinator personas

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