Y Combinator Startup Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#143 - Startup School Week 2 Recap: Michael Seibel, Adora Cheung, and Ilya Volodarsky Sep 11, 2019

Show notes

We've cut down the second week of lectures to be even shorter and combined them into one podcast.
First, a lecture from Michael Seibel. Michael is CEO and a partner at YC. His lecture is about How to Plan an MVP.
Then, a lecture from Adora Cheung. Adora is a YC partner and a cofounder of Homejoy. Her lecture is about How to Set KPIs and Goals.
Last, a lecture from Ilya Volodarsky. Ilya is a cofounder of Segment. His lecture is about Analytics for Startups.
Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.
Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:43 - Michael Seibel - How to Plan an MVP
1:25 - The goal of a pre-launch startup
3:10 - Iterating vs pivoting
3:59 - Lean MVP
5:06 - Heavy MVP
6:19 - Launching
7:35 - Learning is easier with an MVP
8:07 - How to build an MVP quickly
10:17 - Adora Cheung - How to Set KPIs and Goals
11:51 - What are the right KPIs to set?
15:50 - Revenue or active users
16:28 - Why choose active users?
18:55 - Biotech or hardtech KPIs
20:25 - Secondary metric
21:25 - What if you haven't launched?
22:20 - Setting goals
23:47 - How fast should you grow?
25:13 - Defining your own goals
28:40 - Tracking progress
30:27 - Ilya Volodarsky - Analytics for Startups
30:46 - Why analytics?
31:36 - Funnel
32:51 - Collecting data, analytics, and data flow
34:16 - Metric - Signups per week
35:28 - Metric - Retention cohorts
36:30 - Which metric to pick?
36:57 - Have I reached product market fit?
37:27 - Metric - Revenue
37:51 - Dashboards
38:35 - Advisor updates
39:01 - The startup stack
42:13 - Recommendations for the MVP process

#142 - Startup School Week 1 Recap: Kevin Hale and Eric Migicovsky Sep 04, 2019

Show notes

We've cut down the first week of Startup School lectures to be even shorter and combined them into one podcast.
First, a lecture from Kevin Hale. Kevin is a YC partner and a cofounder of Wufoo. His lecture is about How to Evaluate Startup Ideas.
Then, a lecture from Eric Migicovsky. Eric is a YC partner and the founder of Pebble. His lecture is about How to Talk to Users.
Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.
Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:43 - Kevin Hale on How to Evaluate Startup Ideas
2:04 - How can I predict if an investor will like my idea?
2:50 - A startup idea is a hypothesis
5:44 - Problem
6:59 - Solution
8:16 - Insight
8:57 - Unfair advantages
13:45 - Two beliefs about startups
15:19 - Eric Migicovsky on How to Talk to Users
17:36 - Three common errors people make when talking to users
20:20 - Five questions to ask in a user interview
20:28 - What's the hardest part about doing the thing you're trying to solve?
21:02 - Tell me about the last time that you encountered this problem
21:22 - Why was this hard?
23:08 - What, if anything, have you done to try to solve this problem?
24:10 - What don't you love about the solutions you've already tried?
25:21 - Three stages in which talking to users is extremely beneficial
26:07 - Idea stage
30:40 - Prototype stage
33:41 - Iterating towards product market fit

#141 - Diana Hu Aug 28, 2019

Show notes

Diana Hu cofounded Escher Reality, which went through the Summer 2017 batch of YC. They were acquired by Niantic and she is now the head of their AR platform.
She's on Twitter @sdianahu.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.
Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:40 - Getting into AR
2:55 - Her first exposure to AR
4:40 - AR's future role in media
7:45 - Deciding where to go with the product
9:55 - Innovations that enabled AR
14:25 - Building a product in a new market
17:25 - Raising money for a new market
21:40 - Advice for founders after an acquisition
26:40 - Immigrating to the US
31:10 - Advice for Immigrant founders
33:49 - Advice for founders in/after YC

#140 - Aaron Harris on Fundraising and Meeting with Investors Aug 21, 2019

Show notes

Aaron Harris is a Partner at YC and before that he cofounded Tutorspree.
He’s on Twitter @harris.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.
Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:42 - Seed fundraising process
3:32 - Emailing investors
9:32 - Parallelized fundraising process
12:17 - Meeting with investors
14:17 - Overcapitalization
17:07 - Communicating your plan to investors
19:02 - Evaluating investors
22:57 - Fundraising process for a Series A company
27:02 - Meeting Series A investors
28:57 - Post-Demo Day psychology

#139 - Jay Reno Aug 14, 2019

Show notes

Jay Reno is the CEO and founder of Feather. Feather is a furniture subscription service. They were in the Summer 2017 batch of YC.
You can check out their furniture at LiveFeather.com and if you live in LA, SF, or New York you can try out the service.
Jay is on Twitter @jayjreno.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.
Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:49 - Opting out of owning furniture
6:29 - Feather's prototype
9:19 - How much did he make from his MVP?
9:59 - How many products did they have?
12:14 - Legacy competitors
14:04 - Changing branding from RentFeather.com to LiveFeather.com
15:59 - Customer interviews and learnings
18:29 - Scaling a company with physical products
21:29 - Why expand to other markets vs focus on one?
23:59 - Who to hire and when in a logistics-heavy business
26:09 - Unexpected learnings from scaling Feather
27:54 - Feeling his role change over time
29:44 - Counterintuitive advice
35:19 - Advice for YC founders after Demo Day

#138 - Russ Roberts Aug 07, 2019

Show notes

Russ Roberts is the host of the podcast EconTalk (iTunes, RSS, and YouTube), a research fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, and the author of several books, including How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life.
You can find Russ on Twitter @econtalker.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.
Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:29 - What are his thoughts on “meaning, spirituality, or sense of belonging” in regards to creating your own company?
3:34 - Capitalism bearing the burden of human nature
4:04 - Why Russ started EconTalk
7:44 - Key economic concepts for founders after 700 EconTalk episodes
13:49 - Helpful methods for teaching economic concepts
18:09 - "Man naturally desires, not only to be loved, but to be lovely" - Adam Smith in The Theory of Moral Sentiments
19:39 - Why Russ wrote How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life
24:14 - How EconTalk has changed since the beginning
26:14 - Steve Adema asks - Russ Roberts has emphasized the limits of "only looking where the light is" when it comes to studying well-being. How
can economists incorporate the aspects of well-being that aren't easily quantified?
34:34 - Warren Buffett's gift to his son
36:09 - Founders and unintended consequences
39:44 - The emotional aspect of giving your company away
44:19 - Anthony Y. asks - Has a guest on his show ever made him change his mind on a topic?
50:54 - Has Nassim Taleb convinced him to deadlift?
52:59 - Russ often quotes David Foster Wallace's speech, “This is Water”. Specifically, he quotes the phrase, “everyone worships.” What does Russ worship?

#137 - Startup School Podcast Preview with Kevin Hale Jul 31, 2019

Show notes

Today’s episode is a preview of the Startup School podcast.
We’re putting all the Startup School lectures on their own podcast feed. You can subscribe here:
iTunes
RSS
This is the first lecture from Startup School 2019. It’s Kevin Hale on How to Evaluate Startup Ideas.
It’s also not too late to sign up for Startup School.
The course just started and the deadline to sign up is August 4th. Select companies who complete the course will also receive 15,000 dollars in equity-free funding.
Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.
Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:42 - Why we're starting with evaluating ideas
2:07 - YC doesn't just fund companies with traction
3:31 - How can I predict if an investor will like my idea?
5:57 - A startup idea is a hypothesis
7:37 - The problem
11:37 - The solution
13:07 - The insight
14:42 - Founder's unfair advantage
15:42 - Market growing 20% a year
16:22 - Product 10x better
17:12- Acquisition model
18:37 - Monopoly
19:32 - Threshold belief
19:52- Miracle belief
20:42 - Example: YC
24:02 - Example: Wufoo

#136 - Anu Hariharan on Managing a Board Jul 24, 2019

Show notes

Anu Hariharan is a partner at YC. Today’s episode is about her recent post, How To Manage a Board.
You can find her on Twitter @anuhariharan.
If you’re interested in doing Startup School this year, signups are open at StartupSchool.org. The course just started and the deadline to sign up is August 4th. Select companies who complete the course will also receive 15,000 dollars in equity-free funding.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.
Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:57 - Why Anu wrote How to Manage a Board
2:27 - Board composition
4:27 - Adding independent board members
6:27 - The responsibilities of a board member
9:12 - Productive board meetings
12:52 - Sharing materials before the meeting
13:42 - Bringing executives into the meeting
16:57 - Dealing with board conflict
18:22 - Following up after a board meeting
21:12 - Dealing with difficult board members
23:57 - Reality distortion
24:52 - Agustin Feuerhake asks - What does it take to be a great board member?
27:22 - Dave Bailey asks - To what extent should the board culture reflect the company culture?
29:42 - Connor Abene asks - How do you think about adding board members who haven't worked in your industry but you think are good?
33:22 - Rhina asks - Could you address managing a board during product market fit time/ pivot times?

#135 - Camille Fournier Jul 17, 2019

Show notes

Camille Fournier is a Managing Director at Two Sigma and the former CTO of Rent The Runway. She’s also the author of The Manager’s Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change.
You can find her on Twitter @skamille.
If you’re interested in doing Startup School this year, signups are open at StartupSchool.org. The course begins on July 22nd and goes for 10 weeks. Select companies who complete the course will also receive 15,000 dollars in equity-free funding.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.
Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/

***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:47 - Why do many individual contributors (ICs) never experience a good manager?
3:27 - How did the ideology of management being bad become pervasive in startups?
5:27 - What should a new manager do in their first 90 days?
8:57 - Getting better at 1:1s
11:17 - More tips for the first 90 days
13:17 - Remote management
15:12 - Mistakes rookie managers make
19:27 - Letting people go
23:37 - Being a manager and still wanting to write code
27:57 - Feeling overwhelmed as a manager
31:27 - Getting a team to gel
38:42 - Giving people kudos
39:57 - Non-engineers running engineering teams
42:07 - Staying legit technically as a manager
43:27 - Management vs leadership

#134 - Sarah Nahm and Holly Liu Jul 10, 2019

Show notes

Sarah Nahm is the CEO and cofounder of Lever. Lever builds modern recruiting software for teams to source, interview, and hire top talent. They were in the Summer 2012 batch of YC. You can try Lever out at Lever.co.
Holly Liu is a Visiting Partner at YC. Before that she cofounded the gaming company Kabam.
You can find Sarah on Twitter @srhnhm and Holly is @hollyhliu.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.
Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:41 - Did Sarah grow up thinking she'd be a founder?
8:01 - Why did she decide to leave Google and start Lever?
13:56 - Thinking about product in the early days of Lever
15:51 - Fundraising and figuring out the team
24:06 - How do you figure out someone's career motivations?
27:26 - Getting concrete when interviewing
29:31 - Hiring remote employees
32:11 - Writing job descriptions around impact
37:41 - Eva Zhang asks - What's the biggest roadblock you faced in trying to make hiring more inclusive to diverse candidates?
42:06 - What does thinking about inclusion mean at a small company?
47:21 - Not buying into technical and nontechnical people
50:26 - Setting up a culture that allows for conversations about diversity and inclusion

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