4 ms·

I've had a lot of encounters with YC founders, most of them negative. This anecdote well encapsulates the impression I had of a lot of them. I'd really like t

I've had a lot of encounters with YC founders, most of them negative. This anecdote well encapsulates the impression I had of a lot of them. I'd really like to meet the better of the crop, because I can't imagine PG and Jessica (she's usually the expert on character and personality in YC interviews) are intentionally picking petty people. I'm not the only person in the startup industry who's had this impression either. They remind me a lot of underqualified legacy Harvard kids who think they're god's gift because they snagged a status symbol. Maybe the better founders are too busy shipping product to run into me :)

moultano 14y ago
I can imagine that for a company with a runway measured in months, immediate skills might be more important than for a well established company.
- codewright 14y ago
  Specific skills weren't the issue in my interviews. I was remarking more on the pettiness of the founders I talked to. That aside, both of my interviews at YC companies (two, although I've talked to a lot of YC'ers besides), had profitability so the typical runway concerns weren't predominating their conccerns I would think.
- yummyfajitas 14y ago
  I'm not sure about this. When I was at my startup, I hired a guy with no Django experience and minimal python. He made his first bug fix within 24 hours of showing up and was productive within a week. Maybe RoR has a much steeper learning curve, or maybe the people doing the hiring just don't get it.
  - codewright 14y ago
    >When I was at my startup, I hired a guy with no Django experience and minimal python. He made his first bug fix within 24 hours of showing up and was productive within a week. I had the same experience with Django walking in with the same repertoire (minimal Python, no Django) back when I lived in NYC. I don't do Django anymore, but it taught me a lot about trusting people to pick things up on the fly. Especially with the right person and environment.
- waterlesscloud 14y ago
  In that case what's the cost of having the position completely unfilled for a month or two? Seems like it would be so drastically high that hiring a MVC (Minimal Viable Candidate) might be the right choice.
- npsimons 14y ago
  This was my first thought, although it comes from my POV where I think I am a slow learner because I can't pickup a new programming language over a weekend. I'm still exploring the dark corners of C++ after a year or two, but mostly that's due to the demands of the current and previous project. I went through the whole Python tutorial once, to never use it much again, then flubbed a Google on-site because of it. On the flipside, when given a week to work up some post-proc analysis code and the opportunity to do it Python, I was up and running in a little less than a day. It's amazing what you can do when you have access to reference materials and more than 60 minutes.
brudgers 14y ago
Leaders may be born, but management skills are learned from experience. Those skills require conscious thought to implement because they are antithetical to the natural inclination to abuse power disparities within a relationship. Using management skills as a primary selection criterion would be premature optimization in YC's process. At some point, hopefully HR is screening rather than the founders, but early on putting up with the founders' bullshit is part of a necessary skill set.
jokull 14y ago
But how were they supposed to know you were the kind of programmer that picks up a new language in a matter of days or weeks? Most programmers take years to become competent in a language. I think this hiring practice, although unfortunate, is just the employer securing themselves in case the programmer is only at medium competency. Then at least he or she can use that one language where they have shown at least some competency.

moultano 14y ago

I can imagine that for a company with a runway measured in months, immediate skills might be more important than for a well established company.

codewright 14y ago
Specific skills weren't the issue in my interviews. I was remarking more on the pettiness of the founders I talked to. That aside, both of my interviews at YC companies (two, although I've talked to a lot of YC'ers besides), had profitability so the typical runway concerns weren't predominating their conccerns I would think.
yummyfajitas 14y ago
I'm not sure about this. When I was at my startup, I hired a guy with no Django experience and minimal python. He made his first bug fix within 24 hours of showing up and was productive within a week. Maybe RoR has a much steeper learning curve, or maybe the people doing the hiring just don't get it.
- codewright 14y ago
  >When I was at my startup, I hired a guy with no Django experience and minimal python. He made his first bug fix within 24 hours of showing up and was productive within a week. I had the same experience with Django walking in with the same repertoire (minimal Python, no Django) back when I lived in NYC. I don't do Django anymore, but it taught me a lot about trusting people to pick things up on the fly. Especially with the right person and environment.
waterlesscloud 14y ago
In that case what's the cost of having the position completely unfilled for a month or two? Seems like it would be so drastically high that hiring a MVC (Minimal Viable Candidate) might be the right choice.
npsimons 14y ago
This was my first thought, although it comes from my POV where I think I am a slow learner because I can't pickup a new programming language over a weekend. I'm still exploring the dark corners of C++ after a year or two, but mostly that's due to the demands of the current and previous project. I went through the whole Python tutorial once, to never use it much again, then flubbed a Google on-site because of it. On the flipside, when given a week to work up some post-proc analysis code and the opportunity to do it Python, I was up and running in a little less than a day. It's amazing what you can do when you have access to reference materials and more than 60 minutes.

brudgers 14y ago

Leaders may be born, but management skills are learned from experience. Those skills require conscious thought to implement because they are antithetical to the natural inclination to abuse power disparities within a relationship. Using management skills as a primary selection criterion would be premature optimization in YC's process. At some point, hopefully HR is screening rather than the founders, but early on putting up with the founders' bullshit is part of a necessary skill set.

jokull 14y ago

But how were they supposed to know you were the kind of programmer that picks up a new language in a matter of days or weeks? Most programmers take years to become competent in a language. I think this hiring practice, although unfortunate, is just the employer securing themselves in case the programmer is only at medium competency. Then at least he or she can use that one language where they have shown at least some competency.