Demo Day
Ten weeks of building, one afternoon on stage. Twenty founders pitch to investors from 180+ firms, then meet the ones who want to go deeper, one to one.
The next Demo Day is being scheduled.
New dates land in the newsletter first.
Subscribe- Startups on stage
- 20
- Per pitch, then questions
- 5 min
- Firms in the network
- 180+
- Investor meetings after
- 1:1
Six stages. One that
changes everything.
Ten weeks from the first customer conversation to the stage. Demo Day is stage five: where the work of the first eight weeks meets the people who fund it. Everything before it builds toward it, and everything after it builds on it.
Discover
Focus: Talk to 20 customers and write down the problem worth solving.
Validate
Focus: Put it in front of real users and iterate on three KPIs.
Demo Day/ Fundraise
Focus: Pitch coaching, deck, data room and investor matching.
How it worksBuild MVP
Focus: Ship the smallest product that delivers the value proposition.
Get Traction
Focus: Land the first paying customers and run growth experiments.
Scale
Focus: Close the round, hire, systematize operations.
- 01Weeks 1–2
Discover
Focus: Talk to 20 customers and write down the problem worth solving.
- 02Weeks 2–4
Build MVP
Focus: Ship the smallest product that delivers the value proposition.
- 03Weeks 4–6
Validate
Focus: Put it in front of real users and iterate on three KPIs.
- 04Weeks 6–8
Get Traction
Focus: Land the first paying customers and run growth experiments.
- 05The milestoneWeeks 9–10
Demo Day/ Fundraise
Focus: Pitch coaching, deck, data room and investor matching.
How it works - 06After Demo Day
Scale
Focus: Close the round, hire, systematize operations.
In the ten-week programAfter the programAll six stages in detail
The afternoon the
program is built around
Demo Day closes every cohort. Each founder takes the stage for a five-minute pitch in front of investors from our network, then meets the ones who want to go deeper, one to one.
It isn’t a competition and there is no prize. The pitch is the door; the meetings after it are the point.
What every founder walks in with
- A pitch-ready deck, rehearsed in two mock Demo Days
- A data room: cap table, monthly metrics, 18-month model
- A shortlist of matched investors in the room
- Three customers who will take a reference call
Founders and mentors, working side by side.
180+
Firms in the network
Before, on the day, after
Weeks 9–10 · The run-up
Two weeks of pitch prep
- Pitch coaching twice a week with program mentors
- Deck and narrative reviews until the story is one sentence
- Two mock Demo Days in front of investor panels
- Data room check: what investors will ask for, ready before they ask
- Investor matching by sector, stage and geography
The day
How the afternoon runs
4:00 PM
Doors open and check-in
4:30 PM
Welcome from the program team
4:45 PM
Founder pitches
7:15 PM
Reception and investor meetings
After · Fundraise and Scale
Where the round happens
- Investors mark the founders they want to meet
- Introductions go out within 48 hours
- Follow-up meetings in the two weeks after
- Post-program mentorship through the Scale stage
Five minutes, five beats
The structure every founder is coached on. Investors hear twenty pitches in an afternoon; the ones they remember answer these five questions in this order.
01 · 1 min
Problem
Who has it, and what it costs them today
02 · 1 min
Product
What you shipped and how it solves it
03 · 1.5 min
Traction
Users, revenue and what is growing
04 · 30 sec
Team
Why you are the ones to build this
05 · 1 min
The ask
How much, and what it buys
Who’s on the other side of the stage
The network founders pitch into, and the track record behind it. Figures across the program to date.
- Capital represented
- $420B+
- Investment firms
- 180+
- Markets
- 65+
- Startups built
- 1,200+
- Company exits
- 120+
- Founders from emerging markets
- 30%
From Demo Day to funded
Every Thursday someone asked for my deck, my data room or my model. By Demo Day it all existed, because I had no choice. That forcing function changed everything.
Maya RosenFounder, LedgerlySilicon Valley AI Cohort 2026 - First term sheet 2 weeks after Demo Day
- Delaware inc. Aug 2026
Without Fundup Club, Kitebase would never have closed a single round.
Tunde AdeyemiFounder, Kitebasekitebase The program was demanding, but it prepared me for life as a founder. Mentors, local operators and partners across the network helped us close our first round.
Camila FerreiraFounder, RestlyRestly
Founders who have taken the stage
Two ways to be at Demo Day
In the audience
Come and watch
The next Demo Day is being scheduled. Follow the events page to hear first.
On the stage
Pitch at the next one
Applications for Silicon Valley Fall 2026 are open. Ten weeks later, it’s your five minutes.
Demo Day questions
Investors, founders, mentors and anyone considering the program. Seats are free but limited, so register on the event page.
Yes. Founders pitch at the Demo Day that closes their cohort. If you want to be on stage, apply to the next cohort.
Five minutes, followed by questions from the room. The coaching in weeks 9–10 is built around exactly that format.
Investors mark the founders they want to meet. Introductions go out within 48 hours, and one-to-one meetings follow in the two weeks after.
No. Demo Day isn't a competition; it's an introduction. The pitch opens the door, and the meetings after it are the point.
Something else? Ask the team