Video · ~15 min

How to Pitch to Investors

Michael Seibel · Y Combinator Free Beginner

When an investor doubts the team, the fastest fix is often not arguing about the team, it is showing progress that makes the doubt look silly. Seibel is blunt about which proof points actually move a seed investor: what you have done since you started, how fast, and why that is impressive. It reframes the meeting from "convince me you are the right people" to "look at what these people already pulled off".

• Traction is simply everything you have done since starting and why it is impressive: growth rate, users, revenue, signed pilots, stated plainly.
• The more you talk, the more room to say something that loses the room, so lead with the specific progress and stop.
• Team slides work when they are concrete (full-time, technical split, prior wins), not adjectives about how great you are.