Meet investors
without a warm intro.
See the real criteria, get scored across 12 dimensions, and pass the bar. Your report reaches the actual investor directly.
Only 2 founders have ever passed the bar. Think you can?
Start pitching our growing list of investors. Browse the roster →
Pitch the investor's real criteria, get scored across 12 dimensions, and if you pass, your report goes to the real VC.
Pick an investor
Claimed profiles are calibrated by the real investor. Look for the green check.
Pitch for 30 minutes
Answer real questions. Think on your feet. Get scored across 12 dimensions.
Reach the VC
Pass the bar and your scored report lands in their inbox. For real.
Founders qualify themselves by pitching an AI persona calibrated to your thesis. You still take the meeting. The AI filters the noise.
Claim your persona
Your profile is already here. Claim it and calibrate it to your actual criteria.
Set your scoring bar
Define the minimum score, set red flags, and calibrate your must-ask questions.
Receive handoffs
Only founders who pass your bar reach your inbox. Review, accept, connect.
Try it in 5 minutes.
Talk to an AI investor right now. You'll see exactly how a pitch works.
Know what they want.
Prove it. Reach them directly.
What is Gatekeep? The investor discovery layer. Founders meet real investors on merit: real criteria in, merit handoff out. Transparency, pitch, pass, meeting.
Transparency
Every persona publishes its real thesis, red flags, the questions it will ask, and its pass bar. Claimed personas are calibrated by the actual VCs, you know exactly what each investor wants before you pitch.
Pitch
A 30-minute conversation against the real bar, not a form. You're scored across 12 evidence-backed dimensions with a written rationale for each.
Merit handoff
Pass the bar and a scored memo lands in the real investor's inbox, your report, your words, no spray-and-pray.
Meet
They accept and send a calendar link. They decline, and you know exactly why, then you refine and try again.
Real calibration data from claimed personas. This is what transparency looks like:
Thesis: I invest in one sentence. Every deal has to compress into "what I'm investing in is ___" — one sharp, specific, defensible standout, in either the people or the…
Pass bar: Yes means I can write that one sentence and defend it against the "what I'm not investing in" column I write right next …
Thesis: Robotics, World Models, Chinese in Singapore. etc... Opportunistic
Pass bar: does not know their competition. solving problems of today and not tomorrow
Thesis: We want to invest in early-stage founders that want to go global, move fast, are adaptable, open-minded, and resilient.
Pass bar: They look for startups that want to move fast and are building global tech companies, with a preference for founders who…
Pick your investor.
8 you can pitch now. 4 more behind the gate, sign in to see who.
Claimed profiles carry a
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What VCs are looking for
YC RFS FALL 2026·6 briefs
Built for both sides of the table.
Founders pitch AI personas. VCs calibrate them. Reports bridge the gap.
Browse
Pick from 50+ AI investor personas, each with a distinct thesis, sector focus, and communication style.
Pitch
30 minutes. The AI persona challenges you, follows up on weak spots, and runs the clock like a real investor meeting.
Get scored
12-dimension verdict with actionable feedback. Every dimension broken down, where you won, where you lost, how to improve.
Get discovered
Pass the bar? Your report surfaces to the real VC. They review it, pipeline it, and can reach out to connect.
VC may reach out directly
Three things worth keeping.
Pass or fail, you leave with something worth sharing.
A real score
12 dimensions, scored and benchmarked. Share it if you want. Frame it if you like.
Actionable feedback
Every weakness comes with a concrete step to improve. You'll know exactly what to fix next.
Retry anytime
Didn't pass? Shift your angle and try again free every day. Go Core for unlimited retries across every persona.
Less than a cab to Sand Hill Road.
Free to start. $20/mo Core for unlimited pitches and discovery depth. $50/mo Pro for priority exposure and intros.
Enough to get your real score. The deeper discovery layers stay locked.
- 2 full free pitches to start
- 1 free pitch every day, forever
- Full 12-dimension verdict + score
- Shareable score card
- Prep briefs for every persona
- 1 discovery match, no reasons
- Sector benchmarks: locked
Unlimited pitches, and every learning layer unlocked.
- Unlimited pitches across every persona
- Full 'how to win' prep briefs
- All discovery matches with fit reasons
- Sector benchmarks vs other founders
- Score trends + improvement analytics
Everything in Core, plus the access layer. For founders who are ready to be seen.
- Everything in Core
- Priority exposure in Discovery
- Syndication to 10 investors on pass
- Warm intro requests to matched investors
Students get 6 months free
Stanford · MIT · Harvard · Berkeley · Wharton · NUS · NTU · HKU +20 more
Don't see your school? Club leaders, email us or book a call and we'll add your university right away.
Pitch the AI.
Meet the fund.
Pick an investor. Pitch for 30 minutes. Get scored. If you pass, your report lands in the real VC's inbox. Two free pitches. No catch.
Book a demo call · $20/mo Core, $50/mo Pro, or free every day
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know before your first pitch.
What is Gatekeep?+
Gatekeep is an investor discovery layer. Founders meet real investors on merit, not network: you pitch the investor's published criteria through their AI persona, get scored across 12 dimensions, and pass the bar for your report to reach the real fund.
How does Gatekeep work?+
Pick an investor, see their real thesis and pass bar, then pitch in a timed 30-minute conversation. You get a 12-dimension scored report with evidence and an action plan. Pass the bar and your report is surfaced directly to the real investor.
How do I meet investors without a network?+
Gatekeep replaces the warm intro. Pitch the investor's real bar, and if you pass, your scored report reaches the actual VC. No cold emails, no introductions, no network required. If you don't pass, you get exact feedback and can retry.
How do investors get deal flow on Gatekeep?+
Investors claim their persona for free, calibrate their real thesis, red flags, and pass bar, then receive scored, structured inbound deal flow with primary founder data. Reports only land when founders clear the investor's own bar.
Who are the AI investor personas based on?+
Personas are based on real investors and funds. Claimed personas are calibrated by the actual VC and carry a green badge. Unclaimed personas are built from public investment data and warn founders that reports cannot be sent to the real fund.
Is it free to pitch?+
Yes. You get 2 free pitches to start, plus 1 free pitch every day. Core ($20/mo) gives unlimited pitches and full discovery. Pro ($50/mo) adds priority exposure and warm intros. Investors claim their persona and receive deal flow for free.
What happens after I complete a pitch?+
You get a verdict (Pass / Conditional / Fail), a score out of 10, a 12-dimension breakdown, specific evidence-based feedback, a SWOT analysis, and a 7/30/90-day action plan. If you passed, you can surface your report to the real VC behind the persona.
Do I need a warm intro to pitch on Gatekeep?+
No. That's the point. No intros, no network, no cold emails. The investor's real bar does the first filter. If you're good, the VC sees your report. If you're not there yet, you get actionable feedback to improve.
Can investors see who I am before I decide to surface?+
No. Your pitch is anonymous until you choose to surface your report to a specific VC. VCs only see anonymized founder profiles unless a founder opts in to share their full report.
How do investors claim their persona?+
VCs and angels sign up, calibrate their persona with their actual thesis, red flags, and signature questions, and claim their profile. Once claimed, their badge turns green and passing founders can surface reports directly to them. Claiming is free and takes about 10 minutes.
What kind of feedback do I get?+
A 12-dimension breakdown across Team, Market, Product, Traction, Business, and Pitch Quality. Every score comes with evidence from your conversation: what you said, what drove the score, and exactly what to improve. Plus SWOT and a prioritized action plan.
AI personas are built from public data. When investors claim their profiles, they calibrate the criteria themselves. The thesis, red flags, and scoring bar become theirs. Passing reports create real introductions to the actual VC.