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Preparation Tips for 2nd Round Y Combinator Interviewees

20 points by jeffjv 15y ago

jeffjv 15y ago
Hi Everyone. Just posted some tips gleaned from our experience interviewing with YC yesterday and thought it may help those awaiting their interview. Good luck!
- follower 15y ago
  Small fix in your titles: "Preparation"
  - jeffjv 15y ago
    Ouch! Good catch, thanks. Just fixed that.
dshankar 15y ago
"a previous YC funded company most of us know about, Square," Last I checked, Square was not a Y Combinator company. But good writeup! I laughed at the anecdote towards the end ;-)
- jeffjv 15y ago
  Oh, right, that was a quiz to see who could catch that mistake and uhhh YOU WON! hehe No, my mistake. I think my still semi-hungover mind was thinking Bump but wrote about Square. I'll fix that. And can somebody please create that hangover cure app soon please? Cuz that would be nice.
rdl 15y ago
Generally great, but I disagree with "get there an hour early". (15-30 minutes, sure) Actually, I got kicked out for being there too early. I got in around 0800 (I was staying nearby), and figured I'd eat free YC food (which YC alums lied and said was present in large quantities and of exceptional quality; in the morning it was just some bottled water and sodas...). There were only construction contractors, and so I internetted while waiting for my cofounders to arrive (from SF and RWC). Kirsty suggested politely that I go to downtown castro street so I wouldn't be bothered by the noise as they were setting up; I went to Hacker Dojo (nearby, a great place, 100mbps internet!) for a bit, then met up with my cofounders for out interview. (apparently showing up too early doesn't get you banned or anything; we got the call from pg in the late afternoon and accepted, so we're in S2011)
- jeffjv 15y ago
  Congrats on getting accepted! Yeah, we didn't have an issue getting there about an hour early but ours was at 2:45. Maybe since it was later in the day there was less of an issue. My main reason for suggesting an hour is so if something happens (you get lost, forget something, etc.) you have breathing room fix the problem. Sounds like Hacker Dojo is good suggestion if you are too early.
  - rdl 15y ago
    If anyone is interviewing on Wednesday or Thursday, it might be fun to hang out at the Dojo; I normally work from Sunfire (downtown MV), but maybe I'll move over to the dojo instead for the next couple days.

20 points by jeffjv 15y ago

Hi Everyone. Just posted some tips gleaned from our experience interviewing with YC yesterday and thought it may help those awaiting their interview. Good luck!

follower 15y ago
Small fix in your titles: "Preparation"
- jeffjv 15y ago
  Ouch! Good catch, thanks. Just fixed that.

dshankar 15y ago

"a previous YC funded company most of us know about, Square," Last I checked, Square was not a Y Combinator company. But good writeup! I laughed at the anecdote towards the end ;-)

jeffjv 15y ago
Oh, right, that was a quiz to see who could catch that mistake and uhhh YOU WON! hehe No, my mistake. I think my still semi-hungover mind was thinking Bump but wrote about Square. I'll fix that. And can somebody please create that hangover cure app soon please? Cuz that would be nice.

rdl 15y ago

Generally great, but I disagree with "get there an hour early". (15-30 minutes, sure) Actually, I got kicked out for being there too early. I got in around 0800 (I was staying nearby), and figured I'd eat free YC food (which YC alums lied and said was present in large quantities and of exceptional quality; in the morning it was just some bottled water and sodas...). There were only construction contractors, and so I internetted while waiting for my cofounders to arrive (from SF and RWC). Kirsty suggested politely that I go to downtown castro street so I wouldn't be bothered by the noise as they were setting up; I went to Hacker Dojo (nearby, a great place, 100mbps internet!) for a bit, then met up with my cofounders for out interview. (apparently showing up too early doesn't get you banned or anything; we got the call from pg in the late afternoon and accepted, so we're in S2011)

jeffjv 15y ago
Congrats on getting accepted! Yeah, we didn't have an issue getting there about an hour early but ours was at 2:45. Maybe since it was later in the day there was less of an issue. My main reason for suggesting an hour is so if something happens (you get lost, forget something, etc.) you have breathing room fix the problem. Sounds like Hacker Dojo is good suggestion if you are too early.
- rdl 15y ago
  If anyone is interviewing on Wednesday or Thursday, it might be fun to hang out at the Dojo; I normally work from Sunfire (downtown MV), but maybe I'll move over to the dojo instead for the next couple days.