4 ms·

"He is brilliant and hilariously funny." How is being hilariously funny an advantage in terms of working for YC?

by larrys 13y ago

asolove 13y ago
Presumably being likable is important when you're trying to make business deals. Plus, if you are doing well and earning more money that is necessary, you can probably afford to optimize for other things, like enjoying the people you work with.
pg 13y ago
That's actually a very interesting question. I've noticed for a while that the people who are best at giving advice to startups tend to be funny. It's not a job where it would be good to be the humorless variety of smart. I think the reason is not that being funny is important per se, but that being funny and having good ideas about startups are so similar that it's impossible to find one without the other.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- larrys 13y ago
  Would add that humor to me is linked to being liked which is important in getting people to do what you want them to do or listen to you.. And being liked is related to at least two things [1]. One is having lots of people who want to be around you which can be an advantage (you can get people to help you and do things for you it's like being the "pretty" girl). Of course it can also be a big distraction (you are funny and people want to spend time with you so you are less inclined to stay in side and study or hack at something). In terms of someone listening to you humor is like an anesthetic that puts people at ease and makes them more inclined to at least hear you out (that is if they don't take you as being a complete goofball). And perhaps the mental state that a good joke puts them in makes it less likely that they will be defensive and opens them up. (An example is my wife who I can never get mad at because she is always following up with humor to anything that goes wrong.) I could also stretch and add that being funny provides social proof since the group as a whole likes or appears to like the funny person giving advice. [1] Strictly my observations over time.
- davidw 13y ago
  One component in humor is taking an idea out of context. This is in some ways related to "lateral thinking" where you try and brainstorm by randomly changing marketing bits (price, place, promotion, product) to come up with a new way of seeing things. I think some people with a creative/entrepreneurial mindset automate this process in their heads. So you could see humor as a similar creative process to that of some innovators: being able to see the world in a slightly different/skewed way. In one case, it makes you laugh because of the incongruity, in another, it may help you see ideas for businesses where others do not see them.
  - andrewflnr 13y ago
    More generally, I would tend to say that humor is often about finding odd connections. I can easily imagine that being an important ability for giving good advice to businesses.
  - david927 13y ago
    Jesters were important in monarchies because they could speak truth to power. I think there's a similar idea here: you have to be very headstrong to do a startup, but at times you also need to pull yourself out of that and really consider other angles/viewpoints. If you can couch advice sometimes in humor, maybe it can be an effective way of getting through to a founder who would otherwise have a hard time hearing it.
- the_economist 13y ago
  Although one could imagine a humorless person spending 20 years of his life building startups and thus becoming a useful advisor, despite not being particularly funny. Another possibility is that the humorless type aren't as interested in offering to help.
mathattack 13y ago
Could it be that people from startups won't listen to someone that takes themselves too seriously? A "Very Important Person" in a "Very Nice Suit" won't resonate with an engineer in flip-flops. But someone who experienced hypergrowth, and can laugh at their own mistakes.... Well that's someone worth listening to.
theorique 13y ago
Humor is correlated with mental resilience. Laughter diffuses stress and improves mental well being. Additionally, being funny is associated with mental quickness and thinking on your feet. A person who can't laugh at himself and the absurdity of the world and situations that tend to happen when you are creating a startup ... he won't last long as an entrepreneur.
Macsenour 13y ago
I think a good sense of humor is an advantage at every company. I'm a Scum Master, been at it 7 years, and I shudder to think what my experience would be like if I didn't have a sense of humor. (Some say over active, but let's not quibble)
arbuge 13y ago
It's an advantage at working at any non-menial job anywhere. If you're competent as well as a pleasant person to work with, you'll go far in most fields.

"He is brilliant and hilariously funny." How is being hilariously funny an advantage in terms of working for YC?

by larrys 13y ago

"He is brilliant and hilariously funny." How is being hilariously funny an advantage in terms of working for YC?

Presumably being likable is important when you're trying to make business deals. Plus, if you are doing well and earning more money that is necessary, you can probably afford to optimize for other things, like enjoying the people you work with.

pg 13y ago

That's actually a very interesting question. I've noticed for a while that the people who are best at giving advice to startups tend to be funny. It's not a job where it would be good to be the humorless variety of smart. I think the reason is not that being funny is important per se, but that being funny and having good ideas about startups are so similar that it's impossible to find one without the other.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
larrys 13y ago
Would add that humor to me is linked to being liked which is important in getting people to do what you want them to do or listen to you.. And being liked is related to at least two things [1]. One is having lots of people who want to be around you which can be an advantage (you can get people to help you and do things for you it's like being the "pretty" girl). Of course it can also be a big distraction (you are funny and people want to spend time with you so you are less inclined to stay in side and study or hack at something). In terms of someone listening to you humor is like an anesthetic that puts people at ease and makes them more inclined to at least hear you out (that is if they don't take you as being a complete goofball). And perhaps the mental state that a good joke puts them in makes it less likely that they will be defensive and opens them up. (An example is my wife who I can never get mad at because she is always following up with humor to anything that goes wrong.) I could also stretch and add that being funny provides social proof since the group as a whole likes or appears to like the funny person giving advice. [1] Strictly my observations over time.
davidw 13y ago
One component in humor is taking an idea out of context. This is in some ways related to "lateral thinking" where you try and brainstorm by randomly changing marketing bits (price, place, promotion, product) to come up with a new way of seeing things. I think some people with a creative/entrepreneurial mindset automate this process in their heads. So you could see humor as a similar creative process to that of some innovators: being able to see the world in a slightly different/skewed way. In one case, it makes you laugh because of the incongruity, in another, it may help you see ideas for businesses where others do not see them.
- andrewflnr 13y ago
  More generally, I would tend to say that humor is often about finding odd connections. I can easily imagine that being an important ability for giving good advice to businesses.
- david927 13y ago
  Jesters were important in monarchies because they could speak truth to power. I think there's a similar idea here: you have to be very headstrong to do a startup, but at times you also need to pull yourself out of that and really consider other angles/viewpoints. If you can couch advice sometimes in humor, maybe it can be an effective way of getting through to a founder who would otherwise have a hard time hearing it.
the_economist 13y ago
Although one could imagine a humorless person spending 20 years of his life building startups and thus becoming a useful advisor, despite not being particularly funny. Another possibility is that the humorless type aren't as interested in offering to help.

mathattack 13y ago

Could it be that people from startups won't listen to someone that takes themselves too seriously? A "Very Important Person" in a "Very Nice Suit" won't resonate with an engineer in flip-flops. But someone who experienced hypergrowth, and can laugh at their own mistakes.... Well that's someone worth listening to.

theorique 13y ago

Humor is correlated with mental resilience. Laughter diffuses stress and improves mental well being. Additionally, being funny is associated with mental quickness and thinking on your feet. A person who can't laugh at himself and the absurdity of the world and situations that tend to happen when you are creating a startup ... he won't last long as an entrepreneur.

Macsenour 13y ago

I think a good sense of humor is an advantage at every company. I'm a Scum Master, been at it 7 years, and I shudder to think what my experience would be like if I didn't have a sense of humor. (Some say over active, but let's not quibble)

arbuge 13y ago

It's an advantage at working at any non-menial job anywhere. If you're competent as well as a pleasant person to work with, you'll go far in most fields.