YC Insight-Driven BP
YC风格的洞察先导BP框架。极简、洞察先导、以创始人为中心。投资人不投生意,他们投洞察。
When to Use
Use this skill when:
- 用户需要以反共识洞察为核心的极简BP框架
- 用户正在融pre-seed到seed轮,面对加速器或天使投资人
- 用户是首次创业者,需要创始人-centric的pitch deck
- 用户需要5-8页极简格式或1页memo
- 用户需要直接、对话式、略带不羁的语气
Do NOT use this skill if:
- 用户需要严谨的数据驱动框架(A轮及以后、机构投资人)→ use
sequoia-structured-bpinstead - 用户需要故事驱动的现场演示框架(Demo Day/路演比赛)→ use
raskin-narrative-bpinstead - 用户需要可编辑的PPTX文件 → use
pitch-deck-creatorinstead - 用户需要中文融资BP大纲 → use
fundraising-bp-plannerinstead
Typical triggers:
- 「YC风格BP」「洞察驱动商业计划书」「极简pitch deck」「加速器申请材料」
- "Y Combinator pitch deck", "insight-first BP", "pre-seed deck", "angel investor presentation"
Workflow
本框架描述"如何使用YC洞察先导BP框架"的步骤:
本工作流遵循六步推进法,共6个步骤:
- 探查 (Probe):动手前先完整读取全部输入,确认目标和约束。
- 约束 (Constrain):验证输入完整性,设定边界和不可降级的交付标准,受阻时换通道。
- 证据 (Evidence):每个数字必须来自输入、具体信源或可复现计算,收集支撑数据。
- 执行 (Execute):调用脚本/API/生成内容,先给影响与结论,再给行动和必要证据。
- 验证 (Verify):用"可能失败"的动作验证——不同于生成路径的方式回读输出。
- 交付 (Deliver):返回结果,清理临时文件。
Step 1: 探查 (Probe)
完整读取用户的项目信息,确认融资阶段(pre-seed到seed为佳)、行业、创始团队背景和核心洞察。理解项目的独特世界观。
Step 2: 约束 (Constrain)
设定框架使用边界:
- 输出长度5-8页幻灯片,或1页memo(最多500字)
- 语气:直接、对话式、略带不羁
- 一切内容服务于核心洞察
- 洞察必须是反共识的(聪明人会不同意)
- 不使用"AI将改变一切"等模糊表述
- 受阻时换通道,不降级交付物
Step 3: 证据 (Evidence)
收集支撑洞察的证据:
- 洞察必须具体(不是"AI很大")
- 问题必须是洞察的直接后果
- traction指标必须直接验证洞察(不只是增长)
- 客户引言必须确认洞察(不只是"产品很好")
- 市场规模必须通过洞察重新定义(不是通用TAM)
- 团队故事必须解释"为什么你能看到这个洞察"
Step 4: 执行 (Execute)
按照下方「Framework Content」中的逐页指南,先通过"一句话测试"确定核心洞察,再逐页撰写BP内容。先给影响与结论,再给行动和必要证据。每页遵循:Goal → Structure → Good/Bad Example → Check 的结构。
Step 5: 验证 (Verify)
用Self-Review Checklist逐项验证——不同于生成路径的方式回读输出:
- 能否用一句话陈述洞察?
- 洞察是否反共识(聪明人会不同意)?
- 每页是否都服务于洞察?
- deck是否少于8页?
- 是否解释了"why now"?
- traction是否在验证洞察(不只是增长)?
- 团队故事是否关于"为什么我们能看到这个",而非"我们做过什么"?
- ask是否直接且具体?
Step 6: 交付 (Deliver)
返回完整的5-8页BP内容(Markdown格式,逐页指南),或1页memo格式。包含核心洞察、每页的目标、结构、示例和检查清单。清理临时文件。如需生成可编辑PPTX,使用 pitch-deck-creator。
Output
输出为Markdown格式的完整BP逐页指南或1页memo,包含:
- 核心洞察(通过一句话测试确定)
- 5-8页幻灯片,每页包含:Goal、Structure、Good/Bad Example、Check清单
- 或1页memo格式(最多500字)
- Self-Review Checklist
- Anti-Patterns to Avoid(5种常见反模式)
- YC-Specific Tips(5条YC特定建议)
- 所有示例基于ChainLedger作为统一案例
Framework Content
Meta
- Style: Minimalist, insight-first, founder-centric
- Best For: Pre-seed to Seed; accelerators; angel investors; first-time founders
- Source: Y Combinator Demo Day + partner office hours
- Output Length: 5–8 slides, or 1-page memo
- Tone: Direct, conversational, slightly irreverent
Core Philosophy
Investors don't invest in businesses. They invest in insights — a truth about the world that you see and others don't.
"The best founders have a secret. They know something the rest of the world doesn't." — Paul Graham
YC decks are short because the insight should be so compelling that everything else is obvious.
The One-Sentence Test
Before writing a single slide, answer this:
What do you believe about the world that is true, but that most smart people disagree with?
This is your insight. Everything in the deck serves this insight.
Good Examples:
- "The best software companies will be built outside Silicon Valley."
- "AI won't replace doctors — it will replace the medical billing industry."
- "Cross-border B2B payments aren't a fintech problem. They're a compliance data problem."
Bad Examples:
- "We make the best project management software." (Not contrarian)
- "AI will change everything." (Too vague)
- "We have a better UI than our competitors." (Not an insight)
Slide 1: The Insight (The Hook)
Goal: Make the investor lean forward.
Structure:
- The counterintuitive truth (1 sentence)
- Why most people are wrong (1 sentence)
- What this makes possible (1 sentence)
Good Example:
"Most people think cross-border payments are slow because of banking infrastructure. The real bottleneck is compliance data — sanction lists, KYC, trade documentation are checked manually by 3 different parties. If you automate compliance data sharing, settlement drops from 7 days to 4 hours without changing a single bank."
Bad Example:
"ChainLedger is a fintech platform for cross-border payments."
Check:
- The insight is contrarian (smart people would disagree)
- The insight is specific (not "AI is big")
- The insight implies a big opportunity
Slide 2: Problem (From the Insight)
Goal: Show the insight creates a massive, painful problem.
Structure:
- The old world (as seen through your insight)
- Who suffers most (be specific)
- The cost (quantified)
Good Example:
"Because compliance is manual and siloed, every cross-border transaction requires 3–5 intermediaries to re-verify the same data. Mid-market manufacturers importing from Asia spend 7 days and $2,500 per transaction on compliance overhead alone. Their 2-person finance teams are drowning."
Check:
- The problem is a direct consequence of your insight
- The suffering party is narrowly defined
- The cost is quantified
Slide 3: Solution (The Inevitable Answer)
Goal: Show that once you see the insight, your solution is the only logical answer.
Structure:
- The mechanism (how you exploit the insight)
- The result (what changes for the customer)
- Why now (why wasn't this done before?)
Good Example:
"We built a shared compliance data layer. Instead of 3 banks independently verifying the same KYC, our network verifies once and shares the attestation. Result: settlement in 4 hours, compliance cost down 90%. Why now? Open banking APIs + regulatory sandbox programs make data sharing legal for the first time."
Check:
- The solution directly exploits the insight
- The mechanism is simple (one sentence)
- The "why now" answers the "why hasn't this been done" objection
Slide 4: Traction (Proof the Insight is Right)
Goal: Show early evidence that your insight is correct.
Structure:
- The metric that validates the insight
- Trend
- Customer quote (if available)
Good Example:
"In 6 months: 120 customers, $50k MRR, 12% MoM growth. But the key number: 94% of customers say 'we didn't know compliance was the bottleneck until we used ChainLedger.' This validates the insight."
Check:
- The traction metric directly validates the insight
- There's a growth trend
- A customer quote confirms the insight (not just "great product")
Slide 5: Market (Size Through the Insight)
Goal: Show the insight opens a massive market.
Structure:
- Market size via the insight (not generic TAM)
- Expansion path (adjacent markets your insight unlocks)
Good Example:
"If compliance data is the real bottleneck, the market isn't 'cross-border payments' ($180B). It's 'compliance automation for trade finance' ($42B). And once we own compliance data, we can expand into trade credit, insurance, and supply chain finance."
Check:
- Market size is reframed through the insight
- Expansion path is logical, not speculative
- Numbers are defensible
Slide 6: Business Model (Keep It Simple)
Goal: Show you can make money. One model only.
Structure:
- How you charge (one sentence)
- Unit economics (if you have them)
- Why customers pay (value captured)
Good Example:
"0.15% per transaction + $2k/mo platform fee. We save customers $2,500 per transaction; they pay us $200. That's an 8x ROI."
Check:
- One primary revenue model
- Customer ROI is clear
- Pricing is simple enough to remember
Slide 7: Team (Why You See This)
Goal: Show why your background gives you unique access to this insight.
Structure:
- Founder story: How you discovered the insight
- Relevant experience: Not credentials, but proof you can execute
- Key hire: One person who validates the vision
Good Example:
"I ran payments compliance at Ant Group for 8 years. I watched $2B in settlements get delayed because 3 banks were checking the same data. My co-founder built the compliance API at Stripe. We literally built this before — now we're doing it for everyone."
Check:
- The team story explains why you see the insight
- Experience is relevant, not prestigious
- There's a narrative, not a resume
Slide 8: The Ask
Goal: Be direct. YC founders ask for money like they ask for coffee.
Structure:
Raising $X.
To achieve [3 milestones].
Current runway: X months.
Good Example:
"Raising $1.1M pre-A. 3 milestones: $200k MRR, EU regulatory approval, 3 enterprise pilots. Runway: 8 months."
Check:
- The ask is a number, not a range
- Milestones are specific and time-bound
- Runway is disclosed (YC investors respect honesty)
The YC One-Page Memo Format
For very early stage (pre-launch), YC sometimes prefers a memo over a deck:
[Company] — [One-line description]
Insight: [What you believe that others don't]
Problem: [What broken thing your insight reveals]
Solution: [How you fix it]
Traction: [What evidence you have]
Team: [Why you]
Ask: [How much, on what terms]
Use of funds: [3 specific allocations]
Max 500 words. If you can't explain it in 500 words, you don't understand it.
Self-Review Checklist
- Can I state the insight in one sentence?
- Is the insight contrarian (smart people disagree)?
- Does every slide serve the insight?
- Is the deck <8 slides?
- Did I explain "why now"?
- Is traction validating the insight (not just growth)?
- Is the team story about why we see this, not what we've done?
- Is the ask direct and specific?
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
- The "Me-Too" Insight: "AI is changing everything." Not contrarian enough.
- The Feature List: More than 3 features means you haven't found the core insight.
- The Credential Dump: YC doesn't care about your MBA. They care about what you built.
- The Hand-Wavy Market: "The market is huge." Reframe it through your insight.
- The Range Ask: "We're raising $1–2M." Pick a number.
YC-Specific Tips
- Demo if possible: A 60-sec screen recording beats 10 slides.
- Talk about users: YC partners want to hear "users love us because..."
- Be honest about risks: "We don't know if enterprise sales cycle is 3 or 6 months. We're testing both."
- Show iteration: "We started as X, but users kept asking for Y, so we pivoted."
- Know your numbers cold: If you say 12% MoM growth, be ready to explain the monthly breakdown.
Guardrails
Anti-patterns
- NEVER 使用"Me-Too"洞察——"AI将改变一切"不够反共识
- Do NOT 列出超过3个功能——意味着你还没找到核心洞察
- NEVER 堆砌学历——YC不在乎你的MBA,他们在乎你做过什么
- Do NOT 含糊地说"市场很大"——通过洞察重新定义市场
- NEVER 给出范围式ask——"我们融1-2百万美元",选一个数字
- Do NOT 超过8页幻灯片——YC deck短是因为洞察应该足够有说服力
- NEVER 编造数据——每个数字必须有来源或可辩护
Constraints
- 输出长度5-8页幻灯片,或1页memo(最多500字)
- 语气:直接、对话式、略带不羁
- 一切内容服务于核心洞察
- 洞察必须反共识且具体
- traction必须验证洞察(不只是增长)
- 团队故事必须解释"为什么你能看到这个洞察"
- ask必须是具体数字而非范围
- runway必须披露(YC投资人尊重诚实)
Related Skills
- sequoia-structured-bp — 红杉风格的严谨数据驱动框架,适合A轮及以后、机构投资人
- raskin-narrative-bp — Andy Raskin风格的故事驱动叙事框架,适合现场演示、Demo Day和路演比赛
- pitch-deck-creator — 框架内容完成后,从结构化JSON生成可编辑的10页PPTX文件
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