Just had a 5 Minute call with YC, not sure if it was terrible or not?! 😬
Just had a 5 minute call with YC, for a project not listed on my IH. It was interview-like in style, but given the time-span and that we only had 24 hours notice, I guess it was something different.
I'm not concerned about the outcome of the process, but it is a learning opportunity, and as I've never been through it before I'd love to hear what other people's perspectives are on the questions that I think I obviously could have been answered better 😊
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When asked the question 'What would it take for you to do this full time?' I kind of felt they wanted to hear 'the day we release it I'm quitting my job, this for me is my future' - but that's just not in my nature, and also not true...I have a family to support and a mortgage to pay! So instead I told the person quite literally how many users we'd need so as to afford to go full time (if we didn't take investment). From what I read online that was probably the wrong answer - is it good that I was honest, or would it have been better to tell them what they perhaps wanted to hear?
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I've been chipping away at this project for 11 months in the background, but it's evenings and weekends around day job and family life - it's a good product/project, and realistically it would be a 4 month build/launch even if I was on it full time. Naturally they ask 'why haven't you launched yet?' to which I told the truth - it's happening around the rest of my life. Again, I feel like really people take that to mean that you don't know how to ship early and iterate - but that's not the problem here, I've worked in startups for years, I know how important that is. I'm a good strategist, and launching early just doesn't make sense with this particular project. From their perspective, is this now a write-off? Like do they only like projects that adhere to the launch a super-early MVP mantra?
I see both the answers to these questions as possible red flags for YC, though I guess I could be wrong! There were other bits that I think went well, and it was an interesting experience, but I'd say I'm currently just as unsure (or more unsure) that we'll be invited to interview, or join the program, as I was before the call 😂
IMHO there is not right or wrong answer here. There's only the answer you're comfortable in saying and living up to. YC doesn't make or break a company. The Companies they pick make or break YC.
Well said.
Probably worthwhile to reiterate: "YC doesn't make or break a company. The Companies they pick make or break YC."
From my understanding being full time on the project is a YC prerequisite. Then there is this 'launch now' silicon valley principle they believe in. Finally, YC interviews typically last 10 minutes, so them cutting it short after 4 might be a bad sign.
But hey, at least you nailed how to make a good application and make it to interview stage, you can always apply again!
How did you get an interview this early, I thought invites for interview for the next batch would be this Sunday?
Thanks @tollie93 We would go full time if we were part of YC of course 😇It was a 5 minute interview, like the email I got literally said 'It's a 5 minute conversation' - and actually it ran over a tiny bit 🙂 I suspect it was a 5 minute block because they were on the fence about whether the idea made sense for them, but that they liked the application. So basically I imagine the invites are basically in 3 buckets:
I could be wrong, but I imagine that's why we had this short conversation a little prior to invites for interviews being sent out!
@blunicorn I think you more or less hit the nail on the head here. They were probing. Just continue to keep your head down and plow forward and don't dwell too badly here, just use it as fuel to be successful.
You grabbed YC's attention, that's a big thing. There are many people reading this thread that died a little inside thinking, "Oh gosh, YC is reaching out to people already, and I haven't heard anything."
They take time out for a very small percentage of folks. But don't kick yourself on this, if they were interested now, as you progress they will be interested still, or perhaps at that point you won't require the help if things good well for you.
Best of luck!
Thanks @marktuff !
Interesting! Then I wouldn't really call it an interview: when they have questions about an application, they reach out to the founding team for clarification.
I got a message myself last week asking me why I thought a competitor of mine they had founded back in 2016 didn't succeed. You might just still be in the game!
😅The mysterious world of YC applications! It was quite interview-like in style the conversation - but yeah it was kind of about clarifying some stuff too. It was odd really...but I think you're right that it doesn't really align with the formal concept of an 'interview' - I think I'll rephrase the post a bit, thanks 😊- I hope your application keeps progressing, good luck!
Hey Chris, I was part of W20 so might be able to provide an iota of useful advice.
There are no wrong answers in this admissions process.
Each company is unique and has its own story so if you think yours doesn't fit the mould of what a small handful of vocal alums have experienced and written about, don't discount yourself.
Hope you get funded and congrats 🎉 on getting the interview in the first place!
Thanks for the reassurance Advait, and indeed it was somewhat validating just to get an interview! How has W20 been for you? Must have been strange with all the COVID-19 stuff emerging
The time I spent at YC continues to be the best 3 months of my life so far, regardless of the circumstances.
I don't mean to offend you at all, but it seems like you should talk to some YC alums to get an idea of how the process works. Here's my understanding;
So while honesty is great, they do have a founder / company profile they're looking for and it's well documented.
Thanks Blake 😊 - I don't have any YC alums in my network and only had 24hours between invite and interview so not really time to make those connections and get actionable advice! I figured I may as well get some feedback after the fact, I'm sure there will be a next time 🙂
I obviously could give it 100% commitment if I joined YC, but if I don't then I'm just not in a position financially to pretend that 'no matter what, I'm quitting my job too make this thing work' - I just haven't got that luxury. It felt like that's the answer they really wanted to hear so I was wondering if other people thought so too. I'm actually confident the project and our team suits their program a lot, but perhaps should have answered these sort of 'aspiration/attitude' questions a bit differently 🙃
I wish you the best, I was just blown away by your lack of preparedness for an opportunity that big haha.
As said, I knew what they wanted to hear, I just went for honesty rather than placation. The only person who has replied to this post who actually is a YC participant feels that it wasn't necessarily wrong that I answered like that - so who knows 🤷🏻♂️
It was a 5 minute conversation with 24 hours notice, not the formal 10-15 minute interview, you try googling advice for that 😛- We read all the advice you find online for the longer interview, did a few practice runs, wrote a bunch of answer to hypothetical questions etc - can't do much more than that in the time frame. Our answers were rock-solid to be honest, I just wasn't sure if I should have leaned into the more aspirational/daydreamer vibe on a few of them...only time will tell.
Thanks for your feedback/thoughts 🙂
Was just giving you the bespreekbaarheid, like I get from my Dutch family 😅. It doesn't always work out as intended, ask my Brazilian ex-wife 🤣
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No worries, this is a discussion forum.
And um, YC is the closest thing to a startup cult that exists... 😅
I understand @blunicorn has a family, and the importance of that. But if you want to play their game, you should try to be familiar with the rules before sitting at the table.
Unless of course playing hard to get with YC, like in dating, makes them want you more...
Kidding here.... but.... Maybe not? 🥰
this reddit post is a team having gone through the same thing: https://www.reddit.com/r/ycombinator/comments/fzty2o/5_min_video_interview/
There are many teams who've had a similar call that commented
Nice one, thanks!
In both your points you know what you were doing, what your priorities are, and you were honest. You also assume that YC is looking for a special type of person... If you just look at what Paul Graham writes, I do believe you pinpointed how they expect people to behave.
There are two possible outcomes: if YC doesn't see in you what you believe you are worth, or if you think there's no cultural match between them and you, then that's more than fine, keep working as you have been doing so far, another incubator/venture will appear later. If they do see your potential and decide to do something with you, do you think it would be beneficial for you? Or do you think they will crush you just to buck in some money for themselves? I don't know your project, but on-boarding a money-hungry group of people like YC can shift completely your focus.
And there is the alternate reality in which you could have lied, and you could have gone for the "I'm all in", I can live on minimum salary for as long as it takes. And then what? If they would have accepted you, could you live with that? And if they didn't, you would always have the doubt if it was because you weren't honest.
I think you did well. Let us know what happens after!
Thanks @aqui_c - I think I like YC's track record of developing entrepreneurial talent, plus the network and alumni community etc is an interesting asset - on balance the upside would outweigh the risks with this particular project. Most projects I'd actually prefer to keep things small, and wouldn't realistically pursue YC or any accelerator or VC, but it's not the sort of project that works too well unless you 'go big'! haha.
Thanks again for the kind words and encouragement, I'll keep you posted 😊