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The person who is perhaps the brightest [1] person I've ever met would - if this is a fair simulation - be rejected by YC. When answering a question he often w

The person who is perhaps the brightest [1] person I've ever met would - if this is a fair simulation - be rejected by YC. When answering a question he often won't even have begun to reply after fifteen seconds. I wonder how often YC rejects people such as that. [1] I mean this in a particular way: capable of extraordinarily deep insight very, very rapidly. Just not 15 seconds rapid.

jamescun 14y ago
Yes of course, the 15 seconds is not a particularly valid method, however the intention was to try and make you think on your feet and keep your answers concise.
zck 14y ago
This page really has a different lesson than what you think. The lesson is not "respond quickly"; that only shows that you can think on your feet. While that's useful, you don't build a business by thinking on your feet. The real lesson is that you should have already answered these questions. Before you try to get funding, you should already know who's going to use your product. Before you launch, you should know who your competitors are. Before talking to anyone you don't know about your product, you should be able to describe your product quickly. You're trying to convince YC to invest in you. Why would anyone want to give money to founders who haven't thought about these questions?
- lusr 14y ago
  Right - none of these questions are difficult to answer quickly and concisely or to prepare for - if you have a valid business model. Applying for investment without a business model you understand through and through is like applying for a job without a resume.
  - sparknlaunch12 14y ago
    So do you disagree with the questions or technique/method? If the questions were better or more relevant would it help you? what are your feelings on this method of reversal?
    - lusr 14y ago
      Oh no don't get me wrong - the site is great and I expect it'd be very useful for any entrepreneur, whether seeking investment or not! I'm commenting on the GP's post, which implies some people aren't capable of answering questions this quickly because they have a different mental processing style. The reality is they need to realise they're approaching people with little free time who have to quickly sort the wheat from the chaff, and asking basic, targeted business model questions like these are a fair way of doing so. These types of questions aren't meant to make any sort of statement about the person's worth; they are there to determine (a) if the person, at this point in time, is investable as an entrepreneur at the most basic level, i.e. do they understand the basics of business, and have they done their homework with respect to their business; and (b) whether the results of that homework suggest a business potentially worth investing in. A person with positive scores on both these accounts would be able to easily answer these questions in the time allocated. For the remainder, either they don't have a viable business model (fail at (b)), or they aren't familiar with business (fail at (a)), and that's why the site is valuable -- it gives the latter experience validating their business model before the pitch, which may otherwise cost them a missed investment opportunity. (That being said I didn't like some questions: "Tell us something surprising you have done" or "What's the funniest thing that has happened to you." Have a few beers with me and all kinds of stories will come out, but I don't have a reverse lookup for my experiences -- my mind goes blank when I'm asked questions like these! That being said, it's good to be aware they might be asked, and to at least prepare in some way to respond.)
      - sparknlaunch12 14y ago
        Okay. Thanks for the clarity. So the actual rehearsal process would be beneficial? Maybe without a timer?
        lusr 14y ago
        Yes, and keep the timer! It's a critical aspect of evaluating whether your answer is solid.
zerostar07 14y ago
Maybe you have academia in mind. What makes you think business requires extraordinarily deep insight?
mhartl 14y ago
I don't think he would be rejected, at least not for slowness of thought. If he were applying to YC with an idea he had thought about deeply, the answers to the questions in this simulation would be mere cache lookups, requiring negligible CPU. Only in the case of a cache miss would he have to think very much, and even then one or two cache misses probably wouldn't be enough to sink his application, especially considering how good the YC partners are at detecting deep intelligence.

jamescun 14y ago

Yes of course, the 15 seconds is not a particularly valid method, however the intention was to try and make you think on your feet and keep your answers concise.

zck 14y ago

This page really has a different lesson than what you think. The lesson is not "respond quickly"; that only shows that you can think on your feet. While that's useful, you don't build a business by thinking on your feet. The real lesson is that you should have already answered these questions. Before you try to get funding, you should already know who's going to use your product. Before you launch, you should know who your competitors are. Before talking to anyone you don't know about your product, you should be able to describe your product quickly. You're trying to convince YC to invest in you. Why would anyone want to give money to founders who haven't thought about these questions?

lusr 14y ago
Right - none of these questions are difficult to answer quickly and concisely or to prepare for - if you have a valid business model. Applying for investment without a business model you understand through and through is like applying for a job without a resume.
- sparknlaunch12 14y ago
  So do you disagree with the questions or technique/method? If the questions were better or more relevant would it help you? what are your feelings on this method of reversal?
  - lusr 14y ago
    Oh no don't get me wrong - the site is great and I expect it'd be very useful for any entrepreneur, whether seeking investment or not! I'm commenting on the GP's post, which implies some people aren't capable of answering questions this quickly because they have a different mental processing style. The reality is they need to realise they're approaching people with little free time who have to quickly sort the wheat from the chaff, and asking basic, targeted business model questions like these are a fair way of doing so. These types of questions aren't meant to make any sort of statement about the person's worth; they are there to determine (a) if the person, at this point in time, is investable as an entrepreneur at the most basic level, i.e. do they understand the basics of business, and have they done their homework with respect to their business; and (b) whether the results of that homework suggest a business potentially worth investing in. A person with positive scores on both these accounts would be able to easily answer these questions in the time allocated. For the remainder, either they don't have a viable business model (fail at (b)), or they aren't familiar with business (fail at (a)), and that's why the site is valuable -- it gives the latter experience validating their business model before the pitch, which may otherwise cost them a missed investment opportunity. (That being said I didn't like some questions: "Tell us something surprising you have done" or "What's the funniest thing that has happened to you." Have a few beers with me and all kinds of stories will come out, but I don't have a reverse lookup for my experiences -- my mind goes blank when I'm asked questions like these! That being said, it's good to be aware they might be asked, and to at least prepare in some way to respond.)
    - sparknlaunch12 14y ago
      Okay. Thanks for the clarity. So the actual rehearsal process would be beneficial? Maybe without a timer?
      - lusr 14y ago
        Yes, and keep the timer! It's a critical aspect of evaluating whether your answer is solid.

zerostar07 14y ago

Maybe you have academia in mind. What makes you think business requires extraordinarily deep insight?

mhartl 14y ago

I don't think he would be rejected, at least not for slowness of thought. If he were applying to YC with an idea he had thought about deeply, the answers to the questions in this simulation would be mere cache lookups, requiring negligible CPU. Only in the case of a cache miss would he have to think very much, and even then one or two cache misses probably wouldn't be enough to sink his application, especially considering how good the YC partners are at detecting deep intelligence.