How to get accepted for a Y Combinator interview

http://leavingcorporate.com/2008/03/24/how-to-get-accepted-for-a-y-combinator-interview/

by thingsilearned • 18 years ago

37 36 18 years ago

Sam_Odio• 18 years ago

Here's one suggestion they left out which I think would help: have something to show the partners (ideally, a working prototype)

garbowza2• 18 years ago

Great point, I definitely endorse that point as well. We didn't have a prototype when we applied, but we created one by the time we were interviewed. Showing even a rough prototype will explain your idea better than anything you say during that 5 minutes.

notauser• 18 years ago

I do wonder about the demo. All is well and good if it works with no glitches, but what if a spectacular bug catches you out when you don't expect it and the whole thing blows up in your face?

By limiting the scope (rather than the maturity) and testing heavily you can be reasonably confident, but it will leave you with a less impressive demo to throw up.

dustineichler• 18 years ago

I'd be interested to know what amount of accepted applicants don't even have a prototype if not at least something drawn out on paper.

SwellJoe• 18 years ago

The first thing I ask of anyone interviewing with YC: Do you have a demo?

If you don't have a demo, you're going to have to describe your vision in a very short span of time and under pressure. Your demo, presumably, won't be shaky or easily confused by pg's questions (which I was pretty much always thrown off by, as they weren't the things we came in expecting to answer or talk about), and will just work. Even a mockup is better than having nothing, though not by much.

Having a demo exhibits so many things that are impossible for them to really judge in any other way. It shows you're committed to the project enough to spend some of your own time on it. It shows you're capable enough to build the things you say you're going to build (or at least a reasonable start on those things). It shows that you've thought enough about the idea to produce a prototype, which gives a much better view of the workability of the concept. And, finally, it helps them to understand what the heck you're talking about--they're hearing dozens of pitches on the interview weekend, and will be far more likely to remember what you're doing, if you show them than if you merely tell them.

tim2• 18 years ago

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=143097

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=143451

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=96078

marvin• 18 years ago

I assume that PG, after all his bashing of the college application process, is very careful about not giving the wrappings more weight than the applicant. So hints like these wouldn't be worth much. All of these points are really obvious anyway, the kind of things you would consider when writing any important text.

garbowza2• 18 years ago

The wrappings are what exposes how good (or bad) the applicant is. Thinking that your natural wonderfulness will be obvious no matter how you fill out your application sets yourself up for failure.

tptacek9• 18 years ago

Union bylaws obligate me to point out that with a similar expenditure of effort and planning, you could "raise" more than twice as much money as a YC "round" by consulting for a month, and then simply start your company.

The market does not care whether your friends are "top quality players" who make important contributions. You are not a unique snowflake. If your product or service offering works, you will win.

jsjenkins168• 18 years ago

I wish it was that easy...

Raising money beyond bootstrapping is very difficult unless you are referred by a credible source, which is what YC is. Its about the referrals and connections and the associated attention that comes along with them, not so much the money. I'd give up 6% of my startup if I could personally connect with all of the important angels in SV and Boston, probably even if no money was involved.

But, like you say it all really comes down to the product. That I'll agree with.

tptacek9• 18 years ago

I see this argument a lot from YC fans, but I never see the two big problems with it addressed:

(1) The overwhelming majority of VC A-rounds don't go to YC companies.

(2) A majority of YC companies don't seem to get funded --- defined here as "an A round of over $1MM".

Graham knows more about (2) than I can claim to, and I could be wrong, but my sense of it is that I am not.

The normal route to funding for News.YC readers seems to be:

(1) Bootstrap (2) Prototype (3) Customers (4) Adult Supervision (5) Funding

(4) --- a CEO who knows how to talk to VC --- sounds demeaning, until you realize that it pales in comparison to (5), which dominates both the normal and the YC graph (note edge to (0) FAILURE at every vertex).

ivankirigin2• 18 years ago

You can't raise the networking opportunities nearly as easily. The social motivators to work like hell and launch as soon as possible are also worth more than the actual cash.

tptacek9• 18 years ago

You know what's harder than getting motivated, and networking with successful entrepreneurs? Everything else about running a company.

With the caveat that you shouldn't really give a shit about what I think, my objection to this process is that it turns starting a company into yet another "thing you apply to", like college and grad school and a job at Google. Starting up is simultaneously much easier than YC can make it sounds like, and much harder.

pg3• 18 years ago

I wrote a whole essay about that one. Short version: at the seed end of the startup funding continuum, money is not the active ingredient.

http://www.paulgraham.com/ycombinator.html

tptacek9• 18 years ago

6% of 0 is 0, so you've picked an attractive time to make that argument. Your readers should just know that 6 months after starting their company, 6% of their company is 1-6 rock star team members. It could also be $1-6MM in a reasonable happy outcome.

I'm not trying to debate whether YC is a good deal; I'm objecting to the idea of spending more time and effort applying to YC than building an offering.

nextmoveone• 18 years ago

"You are not a unique snowflake"

I love the fight club tone...

xirium2• 18 years ago

> you could "raise" more than twice as much money as a YC "round" by consulting for a month

However, you'd be one month behind in development. For a start-up, that could be critical.

nostrademons3• 18 years ago

Same goes for spending a month finessing your YC application. tptacek's point is that the time spent getting into YC could be better spent building your product.

tptacek9• 18 years ago

If the first month is critical, you're probably picking a crappy segment to chase. Yeah, the window's closing on social networks. Go do something else.

webwright2• 18 years ago

I also believe it helps to have an accent of some kind. PG loves accents.

sratner• 18 years ago

You are just jealous you don't have one.

abstractbill• 18 years ago

When I first came to the US I was still dating and, of course my accent came up in conversation pretty early. I remember a couple of times saying "oh thanks, I like your accent too", only to be told "but I don't have an accent" ;-)

webwright2• 18 years ago

"The 3 months is just the beginning. After that, you will continue to build your product, find investment, hire employees and create an actual business. This process will take years!"

Read that over a few times. By putting your name on that application, you're starting a commitment to your co-founders that you should take seriously... Life can take a turn, but for the most part, you should be prepared to set aside a couple of years at least-- losing a co-founder early on can be pretty deadly.

How to get accepted for a Y Combinator interview

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