Sixty seconds of talking, not a demo
From ycombinator.com/video (retrieved 2026-09-15):
- Introduce yourselves, explain what you are doing and why, and anything else you want YC to know about the founders or the project.
- The video should be 1 minute long and should contain nothing except the founders talking.
- This is not the place to submit a demo or promotional video. Demo has a separate application field.
- All founders in the video. If you cannot be in the same room, screen-record a call.
- Do not recite a written script. Use bullet points and talk as you would to a friend.
If you are solo, you are the only founder on camera. Do not apologise for an empty chair. Do not add stock footage, music, or voice-over-only.
Recording hygiene (editorial, not YC law)
Face the lens. Daylight or a lamp in front of you. Phone horizontal or a laptop webcam. One take if you can. Unlisted YouTube (or whatever the live form asks). Click the link in a private window before you paste it.
Suggested spoken order (editorial)
Who you are; the problem in the world; what exists today in one sentence; why you, why now. Keep the product walkthrough for the demo field.
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