5 ms·

Interviewing with Y Combinator or How to Not Finish Your Sentences

20 points by sinzone 17y ago

pmjordan 17y ago
Interesting - I seem to remember YC having a policy of deciding "there and then", but receiving a call 12hrs later means that's not the case. Did this change or is my memory incorrect? In any case, I wish the author and his cofounders all the best with their startup!
- SwellJoe 17y ago
  Your recollection is incorrect, at least for as long as I've been aware of the process. In 2007, it was as it is today. We got our call at about 10PM the night of the interview. I've been told by some (very few) interviewees that they got a "no" immediately, but those were usually folks who had obvious reasons for getting a no. The most obvious was a group that were sophomores at MIT, and their business idea was vague at best (no business model, no idea of what kind of user would use their code, and lacking in obvious desire or plans to start the company without YC backing; it looked like a classic case of "what I did on my summer vacation", to me, and I'm not as good a judge of these things as pg and co.)...pg told them to go back to school, and re-apply later because they were a great team of smart people, but weren't really ready to start a business. Generally, though, teams do not get an answer until the night of the interview, and that's the way it's always been, as far as I know.
  - pmjordan 17y ago
    Thanks, fair enough. Maybe I misinterpreted something I read - I guess a couple of hours is still a hell of a lot quicker than raising money via angels or VC, so it could be that. Or maybe it was the other way around, i.e. the founders have to decide more or less immediately whether to accept the investment at the proposed valuation? Not that any of this technical detail is especially interesting or relevant, I suppose. :)
revorad 17y ago
Good to hear from someone who didn't get in. Thanks for the tips. Keep up the good work and wish you the best.
yosho 17y ago
Did they tell you the specific reason you didn't get in? I'd rather know what went wrong than how to prepare.
- SwellJoe 17y ago
  They generally do not give specific reasons; at least not in any form that would be generally useful to anyone other than the applicant.
- avk 17y ago
  They did give us a specific reason: our idea still seemed too much cool tech and not enough of a business to them. Thus Jerry's "Assume Nothing" advice: "Even if something about your product or plan is completely obvious to you and everyone you know, your interviewing audience won’t know about it. If you want to convey it, say it."
avk 17y ago
Thanks for the support guys! My co-founder Jerry wrote this but I didn't catch this HN post until today. Glad you all found it useful.

20 points by sinzone 17y ago

Interesting - I seem to remember YC having a policy of deciding "there and then", but receiving a call 12hrs later means that's not the case. Did this change or is my memory incorrect? In any case, I wish the author and his cofounders all the best with their startup!

SwellJoe 17y ago
Your recollection is incorrect, at least for as long as I've been aware of the process. In 2007, it was as it is today. We got our call at about 10PM the night of the interview. I've been told by some (very few) interviewees that they got a "no" immediately, but those were usually folks who had obvious reasons for getting a no. The most obvious was a group that were sophomores at MIT, and their business idea was vague at best (no business model, no idea of what kind of user would use their code, and lacking in obvious desire or plans to start the company without YC backing; it looked like a classic case of "what I did on my summer vacation", to me, and I'm not as good a judge of these things as pg and co.)...pg told them to go back to school, and re-apply later because they were a great team of smart people, but weren't really ready to start a business. Generally, though, teams do not get an answer until the night of the interview, and that's the way it's always been, as far as I know.
- pmjordan 17y ago
  Thanks, fair enough. Maybe I misinterpreted something I read - I guess a couple of hours is still a hell of a lot quicker than raising money via angels or VC, so it could be that. Or maybe it was the other way around, i.e. the founders have to decide more or less immediately whether to accept the investment at the proposed valuation? Not that any of this technical detail is especially interesting or relevant, I suppose. :)

revorad 17y ago

Good to hear from someone who didn't get in. Thanks for the tips. Keep up the good work and wish you the best.

yosho 17y ago

Did they tell you the specific reason you didn't get in? I'd rather know what went wrong than how to prepare.

SwellJoe 17y ago
They generally do not give specific reasons; at least not in any form that would be generally useful to anyone other than the applicant.
avk 17y ago
They did give us a specific reason: our idea still seemed too much cool tech and not enough of a business to them. Thus Jerry's "Assume Nothing" advice: "Even if something about your product or plan is completely obvious to you and everyone you know, your interviewing audience won’t know about it. If you want to convey it, say it."

avk 17y ago

Thanks for the support guys! My co-founder Jerry wrote this but I didn't catch this HN post until today. Glad you all found it useful.