guide · updated 2026-09-28
Design before Demo Day: a three-week checklist for YC founders
Investors look at your site within 72 hours of the pitch, and most meetings happen inside that window. The site has one job: make the pitch make sense again in ten seconds. This is a sharpening sprint, not a redesign.
What they actually check
- Can I say what this is in one sentence? (Your H1, not your tagline.)
- Who's using it? Logos, numbers, or one named customer beat adjectives.
- Does the product exist? A real screenshot or a 20-second loop.
- Does it look like every other company in the batch?
The batch defaults you're competing with
From our analysis of 705 YC 2026 homepages: 61% lead with "AI" in the hero, Inter is the most-used typeface, "Book a demo" is the most common CTA, 18% show pricing, and 15% have no recognisable call to action. Every one of those is an opening.
Week by week
| Week | Do this |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Positioning and the H1. Ten-second test with five strangers. Decide the one CTA (demo, waitlist, or sign up). Gather proof: logos, numbers, a real screenshot. |
| Week 2 | Design and build the hero, proof section, product section, CTA. One typeface choice that isn't the batch default. Mobile first: the pitch is watched on a laptop, the follow-up happens on a phone. |
| Week 3 | Speed (fonts self-hosted, no tag bloat), share image, favicon, analytics. Deck and site say the same words. Freeze two days before. |
What not to redesign
- The product itself — ship, don't reskin
- The brand system — a wordmark and a type pair are enough
- Anything below the fold that isn't proof
After Demo Day
The site now works for customers, not investors. Add pricing (or a reason it's hidden), a real onboarding path, and case studies as they arrive. Groto's three inflection points hold: Demo Day, seed conversion (months 3–12), then design system and first hire (months 12–24).
Questions
Should I redesign my site before Demo Day?
No — sharpen it. A 2–3 week sprint on positioning, hero, proof and CTA. Full redesigns before Demo Day are how founders lose two weeks of fundraising prep.
Which CTA should the site have during the batch?
One. 'Get a demo' for sales-led, 'Start free' for self-serve, a waitlist only if you genuinely can't onboard. Investors read a missing CTA as a missing plan.
What conversion rate is good?
YC's own guidance benchmarks freemium SaaS at 1.5–5% visitor-to-signup; you can't measure it without a CTA.
Can non boring.gg do this in three weeks?
That's the sprint we sell. Ask early; batch slots go quickly.
Sources
- non boring.gg, State of YC startup design 2026 (705 homepages)
- LTSE, Demo Day tips from past YC founders
- Groto, UX design agency for startups
- YC Library, how to improve conversion rates
Prices checked 2026-09-28. Vendor prices change; treat ranges as of that date.
Building something people should remember?
non boring.gg is a product and brand design studio in Bangalore, India, working with startups and tech companies across the US, Europe and Australia. Average engagement around $20,000. atul@nonboring.gg