What Was Remote YC Like?

https://www.richardesigns.co.uk/2020/10/27/what-was-remote-yc-like.html

by crowdhailer • 6 years ago

83 10 6 years ago

richardesigns.co.uk

openquery• 6 years ago

Great experience. Obviously I can't say what non-remote YC is like - and I assume that we did miss out on the interpersonal aspect of YC slightly.

But honestly, kudos to the YC team. At a time when remote working was not as established as it is today - things were still awkward as people were not necessarily used to socialising over Zoom - the array of tools which have been developed to make remote working easier during the pandemic were not as refined and so on - the YC team delivered a really excellent experience which was very fulfilling.

We had loads of time with the partners - we met a bunch of other founders (even became friends with some). Every event that I attended was executed perfectly, with almost 0 scheduling or connection issues.

The only reality (not much could be done about this) which was a bit awkward is juggling time zones. We are based in Europe so all events were deep in the PM.

(Also not paying an exorbitant rent for 3 months definitely helped our runway)

nogabebop23• 6 years ago

This sounds a lot like remote-school vs. attending uni in-person. There's still value but you definitely question if the cost justifies what you're receiving. If YC is still getting post-program funding at comparable levels as the in-person batches then I'd guess it is worth it; is this the case?

richardesigns3• 6 years ago

Straw poll on teams in our batch, yes they are 'raising successfully at demo day' roughly in line with previous batches. Far fewer in-person investor meetings as you would expect. Yet more Zoom calls of course.

nhourcard• 6 years ago

We did YC remotely this year. The flexibility from being remote was a real plus. Less time spent on SF related admin, that can be utilised to connect with more founders. Obviously you lose out by less meaningful connections that are made face to face.

One cool aspect was to talk to companies building out the remote tools of tomorrow and see what the future could en up looking like.

The value from YC still applies in a remote environment. YC demo day remotely is actually probably even better for founders and just as effective.

quartz• 6 years ago

Chill before the call.

When we had our in-person YC interview way back in 2010 it was incredibly helpful to have time beforehand outside the interview room where we got to hang out with other hopeful founders and casually chat, learn about what they were doing, and talk about ourselves and our product a little.

Like a warmup, it helped to calm everyone's nerves and got us into a mode of talking confidently and happily before going in.

That moment before the interview was incredibly empowering to me as a first time founder because it was also my first exposure to a bunch of other people who seemed to be just like me: passionate about not only building products but also building companies (which at the time wasn't common at all in my social circles).

I think even if we had not gotten in that experience would have given us the confidence to continue forward as founders.

It's a shame if the video calls remove this opportunity for interviewees. I think a few startups are trying something like this, but it would be cool if there was a way for YC to let founders wait together in a virtual lobby of some kind where they can have casual conversations ahead of time, exchange contact info, etc.

andrewxhill• 6 years ago

I've been to a few events lately that have used https://www.airmeet.com/ and achieved similar, in case others are looking.

richardesigns3• 6 years ago

This is a cool idea and an interesting insight. Glad to hear about what a 'normal' YC interview is like. Reminds me of amateur theatre, waiting in the wings to go on. YC could do the random '10 in a call' before the interviews, although I suppose there are thousands of people being interviewed.

areichert• 6 years ago

Before YC, I sat here at my desk. During YC I sat here at my desk. Now I still sit here at my desk. This is perhaps the hardest aspect of doing anything remotely, you don’t have any tangible memories of going to a place, shaking hands with a person, coming away with a YC souvenir.

This really resonated with me. When people ask me, "what's it like now that YC is over?" I really don't know what to say, because it barely feels any different :P

richardesigns3• 6 years ago

Agree completely. One thing is for sure, I Zoom a lot less now! I guess the imperitive to build a strong company remains the same, there is just no substitute for going out into the world and meeting people.

jibolso• 6 years ago

"Like riding a rollercoaster in VR" Very succinct

What Was Remote YC Like?

Related Stories