Startup Roast
Pitch a startup that should not exist.
Each player gets a different startup idea nobody should fund, and pitches it in five slides with a straight face. Make up the market size and skip how it works. The room rates you on Delusion, Fundability and Cringe.
How it works
- 1.Everyone gets a different terrible startup
- 2.Five slides: pitch, problem, solution, TAM, the ask
- 3.Never explain how it actually works
- 4.Make up every number and present it confidently
Your deck is already started
Nobody starts at a blank white slide. Every player gets these 5 slides pre-laid-out in the Seed Round theme, with a prompt on each one telling you what goes there.
Company name + a tagline nobody can argue with
The Problem
A made-up problem everyone in the room has
The Solution
A solution worse than the problem. Don't explain how it works.
TAM
A number with too many zeros and a source you invented.
The Ask
How much, and the one thing you'll spend it all on.
How you're scored
After each presentation the room votes on three things specific to this mode, not generic “was it good”.
Delusion
How detached from reality was that?
Grounded → Unreachable
Fundability
Would you actually put money in?
Hard pass → Wiring now
Cringe
How much did it hurt, in a good way?
Painless → Physical damage
Startup Roast prompts
Every player is dealt a different one of these.
- Uber but for jury duty
- An app that ranks your friends by how likely they are to ghost you
- A subscription box for things you already own
- AI that texts your ex so you don't have to
- A dating app that only matches you with people who owe you money
- Airbnb, but the host stays
- A neobank for people who are bad with money, run by people who are bad with money
- A wearable that shocks you when you say 'circle back'
- DoorDash for things already in your fridge
- LinkedIn, but everyone is honest
- A social network you can only post to at 3am
- Soylent, but it's water and confidence
- A smart mirror that negotiates on your behalf
- Venmo for emotional debt
Ready to run Startup Roast?
Free, in the browser, nothing to install. Share a six-character code and your friends are in.
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