Hook
Open with a specific, relatable problem that makes 200 investors picture a real person in a real moment. This is not a mission statement, it is a scene.
YC's Kevin Hale tells founders to open with a concrete, relatable problem before anything else: a 3-minute demo day slot gives you about 15-20 seconds before investors decide whether to keep listening.
- One named or clearly typed person (a role, not a persona deck)
- One concrete moment of pain, with a number if possible
- Plain language a non-expert in the room understands
- A sentence structure that ends on the pain, not on your company
- Your company name in the first sentence
- Industry jargon or acronyms
- Multiple problems stacked together
- Rhetorical questions like 'Have you ever wondered...'
- The first line is about your product, not a person's problem
- The room needs 10 seconds to figure out what business you're in
- The problem could apply to any startup pitch, not yours specifically
- Opening with 'We are the Uber of X' instead of a scene
- Starting with market size stats instead of a human moment
- Reading the hook instead of having it memorized cold
- · Could a stranger repeat my hook back to a friend after hearing it once?
- · Does my hook name a number, a place, or a role instead of staying abstract?
[Role/person] loses [amount of time or money] every [time period] because [specific broken process].
"We're reimagining how global teams get paid."
"A founder in Lagos waits 9 days and pays 6% in fees just to get $2,000 to a contractor in Manila."
Nimbus Payroll's hook names a place, a dollar figure, a fee percentage, and a wait time, all inside one sentence investors can repeat.
Quick quiz
1. What is the main job of the hook slide at demo day?
- ○ Introduce your company name and tagline
- ✓ Make the room picture a specific person's specific problem
- ○ State your total addressable market
- ○ List your competitors
YC's pitch guidance treats the opening seconds as attention capture: a concrete human problem, not a company introduction, is what earns the next 20 seconds.
2. Which hook is strongest for a 15-second opening?
- ○ We are building the future of payments infrastructure.
- ○ Have you ever struggled to pay someone overseas?
- ✓ A founder in Lagos waits 9 days and pays 6% in fees to send $2,000 abroad.
- ○ Our mission is to connect the world's workforce.
It names a place, a wait time, a fee, and a dollar amount, giving the room something concrete to hold onto.