Silicon Valley Embraces In-Person Innovation: Y Combinator Revives Demo Day Tradition
Silicon Valley is abuzz with the return of face-to-face connections as Y Combinator, the renowned startup accelerator, revives its iconic Demo Day in person. This week, YC welcomed back the tradition after a pandemic-induced hiatus.
The prelude to the main event, an Alumni Demo Day, took place on Sunday, November 26th, showcasing pitches from 93 startups from YC’s Fall 2024 class. Attendees included alumni eager to support the next generation of innovators.
"The high energy of getting to hear 93 startups pitch in person was amazing," remarked Esther Crawford, founder of Squad and former product manager at Twitter and Meta.
Avni Patel Thompson, founder and CEO of Milo, echoed the sentiment, calling the event "a dress rehearsal for the founders but also a beautiful pay-it-forward for alums to come back and support the current batch."
The enthusiastic response underscored the significance of in-person interaction in the tech world.
YC’s main Demo Day, scheduled for Wednesday, December 4th, promises a similar atmosphere. This year marks a definitive shift away from virtual presentations, which were recently adopted as a safety precaution during the pandemic.
At YC’s September Demo Day, CEO Garry Tan expressed confidence that future presentations would be held in person, stating, "knock on wood," that they would move beyond virtual formats.
Now, YC explicitly describes Demo Day as "back to being in-person." An invite-only audience of around 1,500 is expected at the San Francisco event, with a dedicated website offering information on participating companies for those unable to attend in person.
The return of Demo Day marks a resurgence of traditional networking and the excitement of witnessing innovation unfold firsthand.
The high energy of getting to hear 93 startups pitch in-person was amazing 🤩 #YC #DemoDay https://t.co/dw7FKOKn4o
— Esther Crawford (@esthercrawford) December 3, 2023
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