TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Demo days at startup accelerators are a pretty big deal around here. Here’s just one example from Y Combinator’s Summer 2013 Demo Day: Positioning itself as the “FedEx of today,” it hopes to provide a logistics framework that goes beyond food and can be used for any type of on-demand order. Omnitron Sensors. Apothecary.

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This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 2, 2012

Similarly, picking seed investors for your first startup in and around the craziness of an accelerator demo day can be just as scarring over the long term. In fact, you'd probably be better off both deciding on a tat on demo day. I'm saying this because I went to my first YCombinator Demo Day last Tuesday. He said, "Sure!"

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Dream It

JULY 31, 2019

The press enhances this misconception around YCombinator demo days, where the 3-day pitch event is perceived like an auction, with investors fighting each other for the best deals. Many programs still put a lot of focus on demo day rehearsals, prep, and on getting the pitch deck just right. It did for me, at least.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 26, 2022

Along with demo space, a $725 Early-Stage Startup Demo Package includes: Four event passes to help your team maximize time and opportunities. An exhibitors-only invitation to the live, online pitch feedback session with TC staff on May 20. Buy your Early-Stage Startup Demo Package before prices go up on May 15.

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TechCrunch

MAY 26, 2022

TechCrunch has been covering the demo days of the seed-stage venture firm Pear VC since 2015. A lot of top firms show up, including from NEA, Lux Capital and Sequoia Capital. For example, Mark Suster of Upfront Ventures and Kirsten Green of Forerunner Ventures helped advise Pear’s newest batch of companies.

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TechCrunch

MAY 5, 2022

Momentum pulled off what every entrepreneur dreams of: Last year, it closed a lead investor for its seed round — which our own Ron Miller covered at the time — without even creating a pitch deck. Once a lead was secured, Momentum created a pitch deck to fill out the round. 17 — Placeholder for demo.

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TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

Our favorite startups from YC’s Summer 21 Demo Day, Part 1. For YC Summer 2021 Demo Day, the accelerator’s fourth virtual gathering, Natasha Mascarenhas, Alex Wilhelm, Devin Coldewey, Lucas Matney and Greg Kumparak selected 14 favorites from the first day of one of the world’s top pitch competitions.

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TechCrunch

JUNE 30, 2022

Last week, I covered the company’s $7 million seed funding round , and the company’s CEO, On Freund, was gracious enough to let me use the deck the company created to close that round for my Pitch Deck Teardown series. Oh, yeah, pitch decks and the tearing down thereof. Where were we? Go-to-market slide.

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

SparkLabs Korea , a Seoul-based seed to early-stage accelerator, held a demo Day on Thursday for its 19th cohort of companies. The latest demo day marks its tenth year after SparkLabs launched its accelerator program in December 2012. Not all teams end up pitching at demo day.

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This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 21, 2010

Personally, I find pitch events to be a little bit contrived. For the most part, while the companies may be interesting, the actual pitches are usually so-so. For the most part, while the companies may be interesting, the actual pitches are usually so-so. Furthermore, you should be able to give your pitch to anyone sans deck.

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TechCrunch

MARCH 26, 2021

Amid the pandemic, investors became laser-focused on sections of the pitch deck that address monetization and business viability — signs that founders need to come to the table with better-defined businesses in order to succeed. Our favorite companies from Y Combinator’s W21 Demo Day. Image Credits: nadia_bormotova / Getty Images.

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TechCrunch

OCTOBER 15, 2021

We can’t check out every investing outfit’s demo day. Pear, a seed-stage venture firm founded in 2013, has an impressive track record when it comes to identifying promising companies from their earliest stages — including DoorDash, Gusto, Aurora Solar, Vanta, Branch Metrics and Guardant Health.

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David Teten VC

JULY 27, 2021

Contestants pitch their legal product idea for a chance to win $5,000, tutoring, and more. The Baylor New Venture Competition is a business plan and elevator pitch competition for college students from around the globe. Student teams pitch and compete for more than $1.5 The competition has $50,000 in cash prizes.

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This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 19, 2013

Paul''s point is all about being upfront and honest, which is ironic, because Demo Days seem to be one giant dog and pony show where the flashiest, biggest talking companies seem to get the most attention. I had someone pitch me recently who started their e-mail out with an indication of how fast the round was going.

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TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

In the rest of this newsletter, we’ll talk about the new career path to CEO, our favorite startups from Techstars Demo Day and the latest SPAC you should probably know about. A triple-hitter Demo Day. TechCrunch covered favorites from Techstars’ three Demo Days, which were focused on Chicago, Boston and workforce development.

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Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

You can see Zach James & Rich Raddon who are standing next to a demo table pitching a small, yet-to-be-funded company called MovieClips – now the powerhouse ZEFR. And Jim & I went on to raise several more venture capital funds in our day jobs. Jim raised another venture fund as did I at Upfront Ventures.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 7, 2023

But after spending hours watching YC’s Winter 2023 Demo Day pitches this week, we also couldn’t help but try to connect the dots: Are Scandinavian startups making waves at Y Combinator? When The Exchange wrote about Sweden’s startup scene at the end of last month, we said we’d revisit the Nordics this week.

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TechCrunch

MAY 14, 2021

You can highlight your pitch deck, run a video loop and/or host live demos. CrunchMatch lets you host private video meetings — pitch investors, recruit new talent or grow your customer base. Will Venture Capital Drive the Future of Mobility? Your virtual expo booth features lead-generation capabilities.

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TechCrunch

MARCH 25, 2023

However, that’s what we’re seeing happen in the solo GP world, where investors, hearing about institutional investor risk appetite changing, are extending fundraising timelines, cutting investment vehicle targets or planning to leave venture altogether. In the rest of this newsletter we’re talking AI, icons and demo days.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 6, 2023

I’ve been among the group of TechCrunchers watching pitch after pitch at Y Combinator’s Demo Day. Connie notes that the market might be slowing, but venture capital firms are continuing to amass big funds, as we also saw S2G Ventures do today. Well, hello there! On with the news! Connie tells you why.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

On December 2nd, 2006 I wrote the blog post published later in this post when I was CEO of startup Koral about my experiences in pitching VCs. It included some well known firms that made me come for a team pitch and then only gave me literally 15 minutes when we’d scheduled an hour. My blog was wiped out. Tempus Fugit.

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Haystack

OCTOBER 2, 2019

all together) combined with the culture of “demo days,” in-person gatherings where angels and professional investors collide with entrepreneurs. Yesterday, I tweeted this: I get emails from friends @ accelerators, asking me what kind of co’s I’m interested in, or to watch online demo day (no), etc. 5/ Who Is On The Hook?

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TechCrunch

AUGUST 18, 2023

A growth framework for reaching $1M ARR Pitch Deck Teardown: DeckMatch’s $1M pre-seed deck Image Credits: DeckMatch (opens in a new window) Using this slightly redacted 14-slide deck, the founders of DeckMatch raised a $1.1 “But it doesn’t negate the fact that women are coming to the table from an investor standpoint.”

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TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 23, 2022

Your all-access pass includes panel discussions, 1:1 interviews, breakout sessions and networking, plus access to our indoor AND outdoor expo area — where you’ll find dozens of innovative early-stage startups demoing their latest and greatest. More on that in a moment. You’ll also have access to our day of virtual content on May 20.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 16, 2014

If all my deals came as intros from trusted connections that I know for years versus at founder pitch events that''s interesting data. If you meet someone at a pitch event, they''ve already got a company and they''re looking to close as quickly as possible. Venture Capital & Technology'

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TechCrunch

MARCH 30, 2023

Cashing in on the generative AI frenzy : In Kyle ’s second top story of the day, Fixie, backed by $17 million in venture capital, wants to make it easier for companies to build on top of language models. That’s where Parloa comes in, raising $21 million to add a little automation to contact centers, Kyle writes.

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David Teten VC

FEBRUARY 9, 2015

I’m surprised at how many funding pitches I get which lack some of the basic information which investors require before funding. 50% of these meetings led to pitches to individual partners. About 30% of partner pitches led to full partnership pitches. Raising capital is about quality of outreach, not quantity.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 13, 2022

TC Sessions: Mobility will feature speakers on the main stage, a bevy of startup exhibits, demos, networking and a live pitch-off with a pretty sweet prize. Buy your general admission or early-stage startup demo package today before prices increase. TechCrunch Mobility Pitch-off. TechCrunch Mobility Pitch-off.

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TechCrunch

MARCH 13, 2022

Your all-access pass includes panel discussions, 1:1 interviews, breakout sessions and networking, plus access to our indoor AND outdoor expo area — where you’ll find dozens of innovative early-stage startups demoing their latest and greatest. More on that in a moment. You’ll also have access to our day of online content on May 20.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 12, 2022

TC Sessions: Mobility will feature speakers on the main stage, a bevy of startup exhibits, demos, networking and a live pitch-off with a pretty sweet prize. Buy your general admission or early-stage startup demo package today before prices increase. TechCrunch Mobility Pitch-off. TechCrunch Mobility Pitch-off.

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

” New crypto startups forged ahead during Alliance DAO’s demo day on Wednesday amid the FTX implosion. The most recent cohort, known as All9, for Alliance DAO, a web3 accelerator and builder community, presented their ideas on Wednesday during a demo day , exclusively covered by Jacquelyn. Hitting rock bottom…maybe?

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. I think my mentality to banker pitches was best summed up in this article about Y Combinator in which Paul Graham apparently made the following quotes. So I stand by my well-read Quora post of why I don’t attend demo days. What stage?

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TechCrunch

APRIL 15, 2022

TC Sessions: Mobility will feature speakers on the main stage, a bevy of startup exhibits, demos, networking and a live pitch-off with a pretty sweet prize. Buy your general admission or early-stage startup demo package today before prices increase. TechCrunch Mobility Pitch-off. TechCrunch Mobility Pitch-off.

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TechCrunch

JANUARY 19, 2021

They also build sales collateral, such as demo videos, pitch decks and one-pagers, to more effectively reach and build long-term relationships with these prospects. To this end, marketers develop creative ways to gather lists of, and information on, key contacts at these potential partners.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I recently filmed a show for This Week in Venture Capital in which I talked about how to prepare for a VC meeting: whom you’ll meet, who should attend from your side, what materials you should bring and how you should run the meeting. I’m comfortable with introductions and then getting into the demo.&#. Mobile app?

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This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 8, 2014

All he had to do was hangout at hackathons and do demos where he wrote code live. you know they have other reasons to meet with people besides pitching your product. Venture Capital & Technology' someone who can win over the VCs, the CTOs, create content, etc. all at once. In other words, a unicorn.

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TechCrunch

OCTOBER 27, 2022

Venture capitalists get flooded with startup pitches, which can make it difficult for founders, especially those building in crowded categories, to stand out. Case said that it’s incredibly helpful when founders help investors prepare for their pitch meeting. Sheel Mohnot, co-founder, Better Tomorrow Ventures.

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