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Yesterday my co-founder and I attended YC’s Open Office Hours. Fortunately we had watched the “How to Start a Startup” series, so we knew in advance how to conc

Yesterday my co-founder and I attended YC’s Open Office Hours. Fortunately we had watched the “How to Start a Startup” series, so we knew in advance how to concisely introduce our company and also set an appropriate goal for the meeting. Every second counts in a 20 minute meeting with a YC-partner. In under 1 minute we defined the product, market size, and traction to date. In under 1 minute we introduced the team. It takes discipline to not promote your past successes and the degrees you earned. Instead we just stated all the founders are highly technical with a good sense for design, and we have known each other for years. We then simply proposed 3 or 4 opportunities and then kept quiet. Our target talk-to-listen ratio was 1:5. We kept the single minded goal to obtain advice on strategy and direction. At the very least this series is a kernel that should eventually produce your company’s unique culture. I hope it resonates with you as it did with our team. Thanks YC!

sharemywin 11y ago
How did it go? any generally applicable advice?
- louprado 11y ago
  We expected to receive the canonical advice to focus on one opportunity. But the YC-partner felt that it was still early enough for us to explore multiple opportunities simultaneously even though they lacked synergy. Also he leaned most heavily towards an enterprise idea that we were going to exclude from our list. Furthermore, we were surprised to learn that some companies are so large that even YC can’t help much in establishing a relationship. This was really helpful to know that we should not waste resources chasing certain accounts and that just because you get into YC don’t expect everyone will suddenly return your phone call. It is worth mentioning our past 30 days revenue was flat (no growth). If a new founder isn’t careful their mood is directly related to their sales. Our sales were flat, so my personality was flat. It’s tough to break out of this and we wish we had been a little more enthusiastic during the meeting. The OP lecture series will remind you that a winning team keeps winning, so don’t stop focusing on growth and you’ll always project enthusiasm. Barring that, focus on the upside of all the opportunity.
barbolo 11y ago
It doesn't sound spontaneous. I don't like rules like "1 minute for this, 5 minutes for that". But if that works for you, go ahead.
- louprado 11y ago
  Agreed. It's a gimmick, but useful since most people talk way more than they should.

sharemywin 11y ago

How did it go? any generally applicable advice?

louprado 11y ago
We expected to receive the canonical advice to focus on one opportunity. But the YC-partner felt that it was still early enough for us to explore multiple opportunities simultaneously even though they lacked synergy. Also he leaned most heavily towards an enterprise idea that we were going to exclude from our list. Furthermore, we were surprised to learn that some companies are so large that even YC can’t help much in establishing a relationship. This was really helpful to know that we should not waste resources chasing certain accounts and that just because you get into YC don’t expect everyone will suddenly return your phone call. It is worth mentioning our past 30 days revenue was flat (no growth). If a new founder isn’t careful their mood is directly related to their sales. Our sales were flat, so my personality was flat. It’s tough to break out of this and we wish we had been a little more enthusiastic during the meeting. The OP lecture series will remind you that a winning team keeps winning, so don’t stop focusing on growth and you’ll always project enthusiasm. Barring that, focus on the upside of all the opportunity.

barbolo 11y ago

It doesn't sound spontaneous. I don't like rules like "1 minute for this, 5 minutes for that". But if that works for you, go ahead.

louprado 11y ago
Agreed. It's a gimmick, but useful since most people talk way more than they should.