▸case-10 For a Y Combinator application question on competitive moat, our draft reads: 'We are the world's most revolutionary, unbeatable AI unicorn that will effortlessly dominate all competitors.' How should this response be rewritten to meet accelerator evaluation standards? | fail→pass | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-04 I am drafting a 1-page executive memo for our Series A raise for Acme Analytics. The current draft opens with a 3-paragraph backstory of how the founders met. How must the opening header/sentence of the one-pager be structured to state the company's core proposition? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-01 We are outlining a 12-slide seed pitch deck for Acme Analytics. Our lead designer wants to put the Team slide as Slide 2 right after the Title slide. How should slides 1 through 4 be ordered in the deck outline, and why does Problem belong at Slide 2 instead of Team? | fail→pass | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-20 An angel investor offers $500,000 on a $5,000,000 post-money SAFE cap for Acme Analytics. What percentage of company equity will the angel investor own immediately upon conversion based on this post-money valuation cap? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-21 Acme Analytics has $1,200,000 in cash reserves. The financial model shows monthly revenue of $50,000 and monthly operating expenditures of $150,000. How many months of cash runway does the company have? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-22 Prior to a seed investment round, founders own 100% of Acme Analytics with 10,000,000 shares. If lead investors require creating an unallocated employee option pool equal to 10% post-money before the investment, who absorbs the dilution from creating this option pool? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-06 We are building the 3-year revenue forecast tab in our financial model for Acme Analytics (B2B SaaS). A consultant suggested hardcoding monthly revenue figures ($50k, $60k, $75k) directly into the cell outputs. What explicit mathematical formula and driver components must drive the monthly revenue cell calculation? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-17 In Acme Analytics' financial model, R&D expenses are modeled as a flat $50k/month across all 24 months. How should OpEx and headcount expenditures be modeled over time to align with seed milestone execution? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-13 In Acme Analytics' seed deck ($3.0M ask), the Use of Funds breakdown lists: Engineering $1.5M, Marketing $1.0M, and Operations $800k (summing to $3.3M). How must this Use of Funds section be corrected? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-15 In our 12-slide pitch deck draft for Acme Analytics, the designer placed the Monetization / Business Model slide as Slide 2. What is the correct slide index for the Business Model slide, and what key metrics must it define? | fail→pass | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-02 In our 12-slide seed pitch deck outline for Acme Analytics, the CTO wants to include a 4-page technical architecture breakdown and a 10-tier cohort retention matrix between the Product and Market Size slides. Where should these detailed technical assets be relocated, and what is the maximum slide count for the core narrative deck before the appendix? | fail→pass | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-08 Acme Analytics' unit economics depend heavily on two primary variables: CAC ($200–$500) and Monthly Churn Rate (1%–5%). How should this dependency be presented in the financial model to show the exact impact on Gross Margin and Runway Months? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-07 Our financial model spreadsheet for Acme Analytics currently has a single static column for 36-month projections. How should the scenario architecture be constructed in the Assumptions tab to allow investors to evaluate Bear, Base, and Bull operational outcomes? | pass→pass | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-14 Our co-founder suggests omitting the Competition slide from our seed deck to avoid drawing attention to rivals. Where in the 12-slide sequence should the Competition slide be positioned, and what matrix or grid layout format should be used? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-09 In the Y Combinator application form question 'What is your company's current monthly revenue?', our founder wants to write a 4-paragraph essay discussing global TAM projections. What exact response structure must be used for this quantitative question? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-03 We are structuring the final slides of our seed pitch deck for Acme Analytics ($2M ask). Our co-founder wants to put the 18-month product roadmap milestones on Slide 3 right after the Problem slide. Where should the 18-month milestones and Use of Funds breakdown be placed relative to the Ask slide near the end of the deck structure? | fail→pass | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-05 We are formatting our 1-page investor memo for Acme Analytics. The marketing lead suggests placing the Key Metrics table (MRR, MoM growth rate, logo count) at the very bottom of the document below the long-term vision text. In what section position should key traction metrics appear in the 1-page memo template? | fail→pass | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-11 Before distributing investor materials for Acme Analytics, an audit reveals: Pitch Deck lists ARR at $1.2M, One-Pager lists ARR at $1.0M, and Financial Model output tab lists ARR at $950k. What quality gate rule must be enforced before any materials are sent to prospective investors? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-12 On Slide 9 (Financials) of Acme Analytics' deck, Gross Margin jumps from 20% in Q1 to 85% in Q3. The underlying drivers (transition from human agents to API automation) are currently buried in Excel cell formulas. How must this driver transition be displayed on the financial slide? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-16 In our 1-page executive memo draft, the founder wrote: 'We will capture 80% market share within 6 months.' How must this claim be restructured to meet professional diligence standards in investor materials? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-18 Our team is beginning work on a seed deck, financial model, executive memo, and YC application. What initial document must be created first before writing any of these individual assets, and what core data points must it establish? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
▸case-19 Our team wants to deliver an interactive web-native presentation deck instead of a standard PDF pitch deck. Is there a specific specialized layout skill recommended for web-native slide decks? | fail→fail | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |