How to Build an Investor Pitch Deck [FREE Y Combinator Template Included]

Stop paying consultants $5,000 to design your pitch deck.

Stop trying to be “creative” with your slides.

And stop guessing what investors want to see.

→ Download Y Combinator’s Seed Deck Template

→ See doola’s Y Combinator Funding Template

Y Combinator has a standard, proven pitch deck template, the exact format they recommend for seed-stage startups. It’s boring, it’s simple, and it works.

I’m Arjun Mahadevan, CEO and founder of doola.com, a Y Combinator-backed startup that’s raised over $13 million. Today, I’m walking you through how to build a pitch deck that actually gets funded, using the same framework that helped us raise our first million.

Why Most Pitch Decks Fail

Before we dive in, let’s talk about why most founders waste weeks on decks that never close a round.

The problem isn’t your idea. It’s not your team. It’s that you’re approaching your pitch deck like a design project instead of a sales document.

Investors see hundreds of decks every month. They don’t want artistic slides or clever animations. They want clarity, traction, and proof that you can execute.

That’s exactly what the YC pitch deck template delivers.

The 10-Slide YC Pitch Deck Framework

Let’s build your deck, slide by slide.

Slide 1: The Title Slide

The Rule: Keep it incredibly simple. Your logo and a one-line description.

Example: At doola, we use: “Business-in-a-Box for Global Founders.”

Your Action: Write your company name and a 3-5 word tagline that explains what you do. Don’t overthink this. If someone can’t understand what you do in five seconds, simplify it.

Slide 2: The Problem

The Insight: Investors fund pain, not possibilities. Be specific about the problem you’re solving.

The Mistake: Vague statements like “Starting a business is hard” don’t cut it.

Example: “International founders lose weeks and thousands of dollars trying to set up a US entity. The process is broken, offline, and requires a fax machine.”

Your Action: Write down the specific pain point your customer feels right now. Use real language they would use, not industry jargon.

Slide 3: The Solution

The Insight: What did you build to eliminate that pain?

Example: “We built a platform that programmatically forms LLCs, obtains EINs, and opens bank accounts. The user clicks a button; we handle the paperwork.”

Your Action: Describe your product in one sentence. No buzzwords like “revolutionary AI-powered platform.” Just explain what it does.

Slide 4: Traction (The Most Important Slide)

The Insight: This is where you win or lose the meeting. Evidence beats promises every single time.

The Mistake: Saying “We plan to launch next quarter…”

Example: “Launched 2 weeks ago. $5k GMV. 10 paid customers. Growing 20% week-over-week.”

Your Action: Put your best number in huge font. If you don’t have revenue yet, use waitlist signups, letters of intent, or user engagement metrics. But you need real numbers.

Slide 5: Traction Part 2 (The Impact Slide)

The Question: What impact are you having? Show additional metrics or customer validation.

Example: Include a customer testimonial that demonstrates your value proposition. One powerful quote from a real user can be worth more than a dozen vanity metrics.

Your Action: Display your key metrics or showcase a customer quote that proves people actually want what you’re building.

Slide 6: The Secret Sauce (Your Competitive Advantage)

The Question: What makes you different? How does this actually work?

Example: At doola, we explain our AI Co-Founder Flywheel and why competitors can’t easily replicate our approach.

Your Action: Identify what’s unique about your solution. This could be proprietary technology, a unique business model, or a structural advantage in how you deliver value.

Slide 7: Business Model

The Rule: How do you make money? Keep it straightforward.

Example: “We charge $297/month subscription or $2,997/year.”

Your Action: Show unit economics. Price multiplied by volume. Investors want to see a clear path from customers to revenue.

Before You Continue: Are You Ready to Receive Investment?

Here’s something most founders miss: You can have the perfect pitch deck, but if you haven’t set up your business structure correctly, investors won’t write the check.

US investors won’t wire $1 million into your personal checking account. Before any serious investor looks at your financials, they ask one question: “Do you have a US company?”

If you haven’t incorporated yet, this is the step you need to take before sending your deck to anyone. You need a C-Corp or LLC, a Tax ID (EIN), and a business bank account ready to accept investment.

This is exactly why we built doola, to handle the formation paperwork so founders can focus on building their business instead of navigating bureaucracy.

Slide 8: The Market (TAM Slide)

The Rule: Investors want to see massive markets with room for a big outcome.

Example: “The US market for business formation is $X billion. The international market is 5x larger.”

Your Action: Do a bottoms-up analysis if you can. Show how many potential customers exist and what they’re worth. Top-down market research is fine, but specific calculations are better.

Slide 9: The Team

The Rule: Why are you and your team the right people to build this?

Example: Show your founding team with specific credentials that relate to this problem. Previous startup experience, domain expertise, or technical skills that matter.

Your Action: Include photos, names, and most importantly—why your background makes you uniquely qualified to execute on this opportunity.

Slide 10: The Ask

The Rule: Be crystal clear about what you’re raising and what you’ll do with it.

Example: “Raising $2M seed round to reach $1M ARR in 12 months.”

Your Action: State the amount you’re raising and the specific milestone you’ll hit with that capital. Investors need to know what success looks like.

Now Build Yours:

→ Download Y Combinator’s Seed Deck Template

→ See doola’s Y Combinator Funding Template

What Makes a Pitch Deck Actually Work

Now that you have the structure, let’s talk about what separates decks that get funded from those that get ignored.

Clarity over creativity. Your deck isn’t an art project. Simple slides with clear messaging beat elaborate designs every time.

Traction over promises. One slide of real metrics is worth ten slides of projected growth charts.

Specificity over generalities. “We reduce customer acquisition costs by 40%” beats “We make marketing better.”

Evidence over claims. Show don’t tell. Customer testimonials, usage data, and revenue numbers prove your point better than adjectives.

Common Pitch Deck Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake #1: Too many slides. If you can’t tell your story in 10-12 slides, you don’t understand your business well enough yet.

Mistake #2: No clear problem. If investors don’t feel the pain you’re solving, they won’t understand why anyone would pay for your solution.

Mistake #3: Burying the traction. Your growth metrics should be impossible to miss. If you’re growing, make it obvious.

Mistake #4: Unclear ask. Don’t end your deck without telling investors exactly how much you’re raising and what you’ll accomplish with it.

Mistake #5: No proof of execution. Investors bet on teams that execute. Show what you’ve already accomplished with limited resources.

After Your Deck: What Actually Gets You Funded

A pitch deck sitting on your hard drive gets you exactly $0.

The deck is important, but it’s just the beginning. You need to get in front of investors, deliver a compelling pitch, and close the deal.

The best pitch decks are conversation starters, not comprehensive business plans. Your goal is to get the meeting, tell a clear story, and prove you’re worth a follow-up conversation.

Use this framework, keep it simple, and focus on the metrics that matter. That’s how you build a pitch deck that actually gets funded.

Ready to start raising capital? Make sure your business is properly incorporated and ready to receive investment. Learn more about setting up your US entity.

Download the templates:

→ Download Y Combinator’s Seed Deck Template

→ See doola’s Y Combinator Funding Template