An original desk-research note
What startup application guides ask founders to prove
A useful application starts with evidence you can explain: what you are building, why you understand the problem, what each founder contributes and what you have learned.
We compared four official public pages from three organizations: Y Combinator, Techstars and Antler Nigeria. Our finding is that founders can prepare a reusable set of evidence, while adapting the format and answers to each application.
What the public guidance asks founders to show
| Organization and guidance | Evidence emphasized | Practical preparation |
|---|---|---|
| Y Combinator Application advice · Video instructions | A clear product description, specific founder achievements and insight into the problem. Founder introductions and product demonstrations are separate. | Prepare a plain-language explanation, one concrete achievement per founder and a natural founder introduction. |
| Techstars Application preview | Problem, solution, team, traction, revenue, funding, customers, competitors and milestones. The preview lists a demo, pitch deck and team video. | Organize product, customer, team and progress evidence so each answer addresses the question being asked. |
| Antler Nigeria Location and application guidance | Founder background through a LinkedIn URL or CV, problem insight, and what the founder has built or tested. Screening explores founder fit. | Connect your experience to the problem and describe an actual build or test, including what you learned. |
Prepare the evidence once. Adapt the application.
Across all three organizations, the selected pages ask founders to make their own contribution understandable. The formats vary. A founder video, a product demonstration and a pitch deck each serve a different purpose in the reviewed guidance.
Our practical recommendation is to keep five short records ready:
- Product. Who uses it, the task it helps with and the alternative they use today.
- Founders. Each person’s contribution, relevant experience and a specific example of work they have completed.
- Progress. What you built, tested or learned, with dates and evidence links where available.
- Demand. Distinguish customer conversations, unpaid tests, paying customers and revenue. Give the period and units behind any number.
- Next test. The uncertainty you will investigate next, what you will do and what result would change your plan.
This checklist is Oakvale’s editorial synthesis of the comparison. It does not replace any organization’s application instructions.
For founders building with AI
Add a short explanation of what the AI does, what a person still checks and how you assess whether its output is useful. A demonstration becomes easier to evaluate when it includes a real task, an observed result and a known limitation.
This is our suggested preparation approach, not a requirement attributed to the organizations above.
How we conducted this comparison
On 27 October 2026, we reviewed four publicly accessible pages published by the organizations themselves. We grouped their explicit guidance into founder evidence, product explanation, progress and submission materials. The table reports what those selected pages say; the preparation checklist is our interpretation.
This is a small, deliberately selected sample. YC’s application essay is long-standing advice, and Antler’s page is specific to Nigeria. Public guidance may differ from a live application or change over time.
We did not inspect private application forms, contact applicants, compare acceptance rates or assess investment outcomes. The findings do not establish universal investor requirements or predict funding decisions.