* denotes required question
1. Email *
Core Info
2. What is your full name? *
3. What's your LinkedIn URL? *
4. What’s your Twitter URL?
5. What’s your phone number? *
6. Which best describes the stage you're at right now? *
There's no wrong answer here - we are here to support you from the earliest
stages.
a. I think I want to start a company, but *some things need to fall in place*
before I’m ready to do so. (e.g. find a cofounder, land on an idea, leave
full-time job, etc.)
b. I’m ready to start a company or have already started building.
7. What’s your company’s name?
If you haven’t decided, add a line that describes what it does, e.g. “Space Travel
NewCo”. If you’ve incorporated, please state the legal name of the venture, e.g.
“nZero Labs, Inc.”
8. What’s the company’s URL?
Leave blank if you don’t have one yet.
9. Describe what the company does in three sentences or fewer. *
Can you do it in two?
10. Link to a short (<2-min) video introducing you and your company. *
We recommend a Loom, YouTube or Vimeo video that’s hidden from search (i.e.
unlisted).
Video Guidelines:
- Please introduce anyone on the core team and explain what you are
building and why you are a great fit for your business.
- If you have more than one founder, try to have all of your founders in the
video. If you can’t be in the same room at the same time, you may want to
record a video conference conversation instead.
- The video should contain nothing but yourselves talking (e.g., no
screenshots or graphics). No background music please.
- This is not a demo video. There is a follow-up application question where
you can share a demo link.
- Please test that your video’s audio is clear and that the link works before
submission.
11. What’s the problem you’re solving? *
12. What sector best describes your startup? *
Choose 1 or 2 options.
a. AI & ML tools
b. AR & VR
c. Blockchain & Cryptocurrency
d. Climate Tech
e. Consumer Goods
f. Consumer Services (including Social; Digital Media; Entertainment)
g. Creator Economy
h. Data Infrastructure
i. Deep Tech & Hardware
j. Developer Tools
k. Drug Discovery & Therapeutics
l. eCommerce, Shopping, Retail
m. Education
n. Energy & Cleantech
o. Enterprise SaaS
p. FinTech
q. Gaming & eSports
r. Healthcare Services
s. Legal Tech
t. Logistics & Supply Chain
u. Longevity & Biotech
v. Medical Devices
w. Productivity & Collaboration
x. Real Estate & Proptech
y. Other
13. What is your startup going to make? *
Please describe your product and what it does or will do. Be clear on exactly
what it is, e.g. software, marketplace, or a robot. [Recommendation: 3-5
sentences]
14. Will you or someone currently on your team be able to build the product
without external assistance? *
Answer yes if you don’t need to hire or contract anyone to get to market.
a. Yes
b. No
15. If you have a demo, share the URL!
Demo can be anything that shows us how the product works. Usually that’s a
video or screen recording, a Figma document, Shopify store, or anything else.
Optional, but encouraged!
16. Feel free to upload a deck, memo, or materials you may already have on
hand. No need to create one if you don’t have this yet.
Please do not password protect, and set viewing settings such that anyone on
the Internet with this link can view.
17. What best describes your stage as a startup? *
a. Concept & planning stage
b. Prototyping
c. Testing with users
d. Generating revenue <$1 million annually
e. Generating revenue >$1 million annually
f. Other
[You selected “Other”]
I. Specify the stage you’re in! *
18. What unique insight or relevant experience do you and your team have to
solve this problem? *
[Recommendation: 3 - 5 sentences]
19. What metrics are you using to track your success? Tell us about your
revenue, growth rate, customer retention, customer acquisition cost, etc.*
For monetary metrics, please use USD. [Recommendation: 3 - 5 sentences]
20. What is the total addressable market? *
Are you creating a new market or capturing market share from an existing one?
[Recommendation: 3 - 5 sentences]
21. What’s your business model? How will you get paying customers? If you
don’t have a business model yet, no worries please leave blank. *
[Recommendation: 3 - 5 sentences]
22. Who are your competitors / what are alternatives to your solution? How are
you different and better? *
[Recommendation: 3 - 5 sentences]
23. What are the biggest risks you foresee? *
[Recommendation: 3 - 5 sentences]
24. Are you currently full-time on what’s next? *
a. Yes
b. No
[You selected “Yes”]
I. How long have you been working on your startup? *
Please specify timeframe in which full-time versus part-time. e.g. “January
- March 2021 was part time and then March 2021 to present is full-time.”
[You selected “No”]
I. What is your timeline for going full-time on what’s next? *
Please specify timeframe in which full-time versus part-time. e.g. “January
- March 2021 was part time and then March 2021 to present is full-time.”
a. < 1 month
b. < 3 months
c. < 6 months
d. < 1 year
II. Please describe any barriers that may prevent you from going full-
time on what’s next. *
e.g. conviction on an idea, financial barriers, vis / immigration issues,
personal circumstances, vesting schedules, etc.
25. What’s an accomplishment, outside of this startup, worth sharing, that
would really show off your abilities? *
26. What’s something that hasn’t been included in this application that you
think we should know when we review your submission?
27. What would be most valuable to you in your On Deck experience? *
What do you hope or expect On Deck to help you achieve? e.g. find a community
of other founders, move towards product-market-fit, find a cofounder, validate an
idea, etc.
28. Is there another URL you’d like to share?
Could be GitHub, a personal website, Web3 wallet, or anything else you want to
show us!
29. How did you hear about On Deck? *
30. Want to share more about how you heard about On Deck?
Team
31. How many cofounders are there total on the team? *
Includes you!
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4+
[You selected “2”, “3”, or “4+”]
I. How many of your cofounders are working on this full time, and how
long for? *
Don’t include yourself. Please specify timeframe in which full-time (FT) vs
part-time (PT), e.g:
Alix Caruso - Jan 2021 - Present has been FT
Reggie Jacobs - Jan 2021 - Oct 2021 was PT, then Oct 2021 - Present
has been FT
Minn Vuong - Sept 2021 - Present has been PT
[same set of questions depending on how many you cofounders you
selected]
II. What’s the full name of your second cofounder? *
I.e. someone who isn’t you - you’re the first cofounder! First and last
name only e.g. Elon Musk
III. What is the best email for your second cofounder? *
IV. What’s the LinkedIn of your second cofounder? *
32. Has your company taken any investment yet? *
a. Yes
b. No
[You selected “Yes”]
I. Great! How much have you raised? *
II. What was your latest post-money valuation, in millions of dollars? *
Alternatively, the post-money cap on your most recently issued SAFE.
III. When did you first take investment for this company? *
a. < 1 months ago
b. 1 - 6 months ago
c. 6 months to 1 year ago
d. 1 to 2 years ago
e. 2+ years ago
IV. Who are your shareholders? *
Please describe the breakdown of equity ownership in percentages
among founders, employees, investors, advisors, and any other
shareholders. If there are multiple founders, please make sure to give the
equity ownership for each individual.
33. When are you next planning to fundraise? *
This may be in the US or in another country. On Deck can also provide support
with incorporation.
a. I’m actively fundraising.
b. < 1 month
c. < 3 months
d. < 6 months
e. < 1 year
f. I’m not sure on timeline.
34. Have you formed any legal entity yet? *
This may be in the US or in another country. On Deck can also provide support
with incorporation.
a. Yes
b. No
[You selected “Yes”]
I. Briefly describe your current incorporation situation. *
i.e. location/region, if you used a provider, if you’re looking for any
support, etc. Please note whether you ARE or ARE NOT a Delaware C
Corp.
35. Is there anything else we should know about your startup? *
e.g. pending lawsuits, cofounders who have left, etc.
References
36. How many people will you submit as references? *
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 3
[You selected “1”, “2”, or “3”] [Same set of questions depending on how
many references you will submit]
I. Full name for reference #1 *
First and last name only e.g. Jeff Bezos
II. Email address for reference #1 *
III. LinkedIn for reference #1
Founder Info
37. Where are you primarily based? *
38. Did someone encourage you to apply? *
a. Yes
b. No
[You selected “Yes”]
I. What’s the full name of the person who encouraged you to apply? *
II. What’s the email of the person who encouraged you to apply?
39. What is your gender?
Optional - Will only be used for demographic purposes.
a. Woman
b. Man
c. Nonbinary
d. Prefer not to disclose
e. Prefer to self-describe
[You selected “Prefer to self-describe”]
I. Feel free to self-describe.
40. What is your Ethnicity?
Optional - Will only be used for demographic purposes. Select all that apply.
a. Caucasian
b. Latino/Hispanic
c. Middle Eastern
d. Native American
e. Black/African American
f. Caribbean
g. Pacific Islander
h. South Asian
i. East Asian
j. Prefer not to answer
41. Any feedback on how we can make this application better for future
applicants?
42. Would you like to receive emails from On Deck to keep you in the loop on
future events and other updates?
a. Yes
b. No
