Article · ~15 min read

How to Pitch Your Company

Kevin Hale, Y Combinator · Y Combinator Startup Library Free Beginner

Kevin Hale distills a pitch into seven questions investors need answered, and 'why this team' is one of them. Use it to place your 'why you' story inside a clear, concise pitch instead of leaving it to chance. It shows how founders often bury their strongest personal signal.

  • A strong pitch answers seven specific questions, including why your team.
  • Clarity and brevity beat polish in a first conversation.
  • Your founder story is a pitch asset, not a footnote.

The question it answers

  1. I keep hearing 'why you' matters to investors. What are they actually looking for when they ask it?

Read with it

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  2. A modern, tactical fundraising and pitch playbook aggregating advice from top operators and investors. Strong on how to build... Lenny's Newsletter Article · 25 min read A Playbook for Fundraising (and building your pitch) Lenny Rachitsky
  3. First Round Review turns storytelling from a buzzword into concrete pitch structure, drawing on a former Pixar CTO's approach.... First Round Review Article · 20 min read Take Your Fundraising Pitch from Mediocre to Memorable with Storytelling First Round Review
  4. A YC partner who has read thousands of applications tells you plainly what separates the founders who get in from the ones who... YC Startup Library Essay · Long-form essay / talk How to Apply and Succeed at Y Combinator Dalton Caldwell
  5. Video · ~35 min How to Pitch Your Startup Kevin Hale
  6. This piece takes the exact stance the question is testing: fit is earned, not handed to you on day one. Its line, you earn fit... StartUp to Scale Up Article Founder-Market Fit: What It Is and How to Prove You Have It James Sinclair
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