- Who is going to be your first paying customer / who was your first paying customer?
- How do you get users?
- How do users know they need this?
- What exactly makes you different from existing options?
- How will users find out about you?
- What makes new users try you?
- What makes new users reluctant to try you?
As of yesterday Y Combinator began its marathon series of interviews to decide which startup teams will ultimately go through the – now world-renowned – program. Interviews go on for five days. Rumours that people have been seen running screaming from the building shouting “The Horror!” have not been confirmed. But I’m currently in the Valley catching up with one or two of those European hopefuls trying to get into Paul Graham’s good books – indeed I bumped into one team at San Francisco’s SFO airport. Turns out the YC pitch document I saw being worked on a laptop on the plane over was for Stackblaze. The guys behind it, James Cunningham and Colin Hayhurst, also put together a cute web app full to the brim with the kinds of typically blunt questions you get asked at a YC interview.
You can check it out here, and subject yourself to the same torture as all those YC hopefuls.
Colin tells me he curated them from various YC pages and a big variety of blog posts by past applicants. “James wrote the app in an hour. It runs on StackBlaze, of course!” We gather that Francis Dierick has done a similar iPhone app to practice his own interview.
On the app, you have 15 seconds to respond to each question, and get given pro-tips like, “DO NOT BEAT AROUND THE BUSH” and “Answer like you would in a conversation, this is not a presentation”. Once you’ve answered you hit return and get another question. Fail to answer in 15 seconds and a sad looking Paul Graham will appear telling you you’ve failed…
But to help you brush up for the interview, we’ve downloaded some of the questions the YC grillers will ask. Many, coincidentally, are the kinds of questions the media will ask you about your startup. So not a bad list to brush up on. Here they are below, though as you can tell they are not in an sort of order.
3 Tips to Nail the Y Combinator Interview
What do you do?
This is the 1-line description of your business and it’s almost certainly the first question you will get when you enter the room. Your answer to this question will set the course for the rest of your interview. So yeah, no pressure…
The 1-liner to your business has to answer the what and who. It has to be simple and anyone without any specific technical knowledge should understand it.
Please avoid buzzwords or jargon, even one is too many. Here is an example of a bad 1-liner:
After reading this, do you have any idea what this company actually does? And you’d be surprised how many founders I’ve met that pitch their companies like this.
A better way to pitch this same startup is to say:
To be honest, even this could be improved but at least here, you can clearly infer who this product is built for and what it specifically does.
You could throw words like “AI” or “Blockchain” in your 1-liner too but you better be ready to get grilled on that.
Note: Founders who’ve gone through YC are a great resource to help you draft your 1-liner.
Why should you exist now?
This is when you have to answer the why and how.
When answering these questions, keep in mind that YC partners have each seen thousands of companies and that makes them very good at detecting bullshit. Don’t try to over-blow your market size or downplay or ignore your competition.
What Y Combinator interviews care about
Y Combinator is a startup accelerator with headquarters in Mountain View, California. Twice annually, YC invests millions of dollars into a whole host of startups, allowing each of them to take strides in the right direction.
When going for a funding interview, you must know what your interviewers value in startups. We’ve put together a list below based on reports from those who Y Combinator previously interviewed.
The qualities of a startup that Y Combinator values (according to previous interviewees):
Getting accepted onto the Y Combinator accelerator programme is a badge of honour – it ain’t easy to make the cut. Here are some tips to give you the best chances of success in your Y Combinator interview.
Incredibly, the total value of the top businesses accelerated by Y Combinator surpassed $300 billion in early 2021 (Medium 2021). Y Combinator’s efforts have helped create 60,000+ jobs, and over 125 of the companies they’ve supported are valued at $150 million or more.
Given these stats, it’s no wonder that so many startups apply to Y Combinator for funding and support. At 4 Day Week, we understand the importance of preparing for interviews, whether for a job or funding. Today, we’ll discuss how you can best prepare for a Y Combinator interview and look at sample questions and answers.
FAQ
How do I prepare for Y Combinator interview?
Rehearse interviews with critical people such as other founders, especially those who have sat for YC interviews. Make sure you have consensus with your cofounders. Prepare questions and have bulleted answers to have ready on screen during the interview.
How hard is it to get a YC interview?
What percent of YC interviews get accepted?
How do I ace my YC interview?
- Be concise.
- Show enthusiasm & energy (passion is infectious).
- Cite specific anecdotes from users.
- Practice body language. Interviewers pay attention to this.
- Know your metrics/numbers. …
- Have a demo prepared & ready to go (this saved us during our interview). …
- Be honest and confident.
