SplitStay
Founding Product Storytelling Designer (YC Sprint)
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đź“Ť London Area (Remote) | Immediate Start | 2-week Sprint | Potential Long-Term Opportunity
Help shape a Y Combinator application that could define the future of travel.
Millions of people coordinate trips in fragmented WhatsApp groups before anyone books accommodation.
We believe that coordination deserves its own software layer.
That's what we're building at SplitStay.
Instead of competing with Booking.com or Airbnb, we're building the coordination layer for travel—helping groups align preferences, budgets, availability, and logistics before a booking is ever made.
Over the next 12 days, we're preparing our Y Combinator application, and we're looking for one exceptional designer to help us tell that story with absolute clarity.
This isn't a production design role.
It isn't a marketing role.
It isn't an agency engagement.
It's a founding storytelling challenge.
What you'll work on
You'll work directly with the founder and product team to refine how SplitStay communicates one of the biggest opportunities in travel technology.
Together we'll improve:
- Pitch Deck: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FTsHBfOq5j-f1qnjWUYUA9BfQ1i5ovWi4j4-xLCCalo/edit?usp=sharing
- Category Thesis: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17GDnV_6SRwfzxrDUP9diXYd4mhNb5jHZ/view
- Design System: https://splitstay.netlify.app/
Who we're looking for
We're deliberately looking for one exceptional person—not an agency and not someone looking for a traditional design contract.
You probably have experience in several of these areas:
- Startup storytelling
- Product Design
- UX/UI
- AI or SaaS products
- Investor pitch decks
- Product marketing
- Figma
- Design systems
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
More importantly...
You naturally ask:
"How can this be understood faster?"
- You simplify.
- You remove noise.
- You challenge assumptions.
- You think in systems.
- You care more about clarity than decoration.
You'll thrive here if you...
- enjoy working directly with founders
- love simplifying complex ideas
- move quickly and iterate even faster
- think strategically as well as visually
- aren't afraid to challenge existing work
- care deeply about user understanding
- enjoy solving ambiguous problems
- want to help build something from its earliest stage
Why this opportunity is unique
If we get this right, your work won't simply improve a pitch deck.
It will influence:
- our Y Combinator application
- future fundraising
- strategic partnerships
- recruiting
- product positioning
- how investors understand SplitStay
You'll help shape the story of the company before it's written.
Success looks like this
By the end of the sprint we want reviewers to understand, within 30 seconds:
- the problem
- why now
- why SplitStay is different
- why our approach can scale
- why we're the team to build it
If you've achieved that, you've succeeded.
Before applying
Please review:
đź“„ Pitch Deck: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FTsHBfOq5j-f1qnjWUYUA9BfQ1i5ovWi4j4-xLCCalo/edit?usp=sharing
đź“„ Category Thesis: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17GDnV_6SRwfzxrDUP9diXYd4mhNb5jHZ/view
🎨 Design System: https://splitstay.netlify.app/
These documents explain our current thinking.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
We're looking for someone who can help us make them significantly better.
Application Challenge (Highly Encouraged)
Rather than writing a traditional cover letter, we'd love to see how you think.
Please spend 20–30 minutes reviewing the documents above.
Then answer:
If you had just four hours to improve our Y Combinator application, what would you change first — and why?
If it helps communicate your thinking, feel free to go beyond text.
For example, you could:
- redesign a single slide
- sketch a new layout
- annotate our existing deck
- create a quick Figma frame
- record a short Loom explaining your ideas
Don't worry about polishing it.
We're not looking for finished work.
We're looking for someone who can identify the highest-leverage improvements and communicate them clearly.
The quality of your thinking matters far more than the amount of work you produce.
Our Team
You'll collaborate directly with:
- Ruben Vanhees — Founder & CEO
- Tommy Morgan — Founding Engineer (30+ years building hospitality technology, including HomeAway)
- Brett McCall — Head of Product
- Elizabeth Romanova — Product Strategy & User Experience
About SplitStay
SplitStay helps groups coordinate accommodation before anyone books.
Rather than replacing booking platforms, we're building the coordination infrastructure that sits before them — transforming fragmented conversations into booking-ready decisions.
We're initially focused on sports communities and event-driven travel, with a long-term vision of becoming the coordination layer for group travel worldwide.
Long-Term Opportunity
This sprint is focused on submitting the strongest Y Combinator application possible.
If there's a strong mutual fit, we'd love to continue building together beyond the sprint as SplitStay grows.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
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