Y Combinator Startup Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#133 - Updates for Startup School 2019 and Office Hours with Kevin Hale Jul 03, 2019

Show notes

Kevin Hale is a Partner at YC. Before working at YC he cofounded Wufoo.
Kevin’s on the podcast today to do some Office Hours and talk about this year’s edition of Startup School.
If you’d like to sign up or learn more, check out https://StartupSchool.org.
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
00:51 - Stats from Startup School 2018
2:11 - Updates for Startup School 2019
8:41 - Sign up at StartupSchool.org
9:16 - Sean Maina asks - In the early days of Wufoo, how did you give a great customer experience?
11:56 - Design affordances
14:11 - Sunil Tej asks - How was Wufoo 10x better than the market when they just got started?
18:11 - Building an audience before a product
20:41 - Wufoo's growth
23:56 - Coming up with the idea for Wufoo
27:56 - Companies pivoting during YC
29:26 - Building a product in an unsexy space
32:56 - Sivaraj Ghanesh asks - How do you know if you've achieved product market fit? Or if your product just isn't noticed yet?
43:56 - Sivaraj Ghanesh asks - How do you gauge the size of a market?
46:26 - Tips for Startup School success
50:41 - Advice on vetting cofounders
54:11 - Sign up at StartupSchool.org

#132 - Dan Hockenmaier and Gustaf Alströmer Jun 26, 2019

Show notes

Dan Hockenmaier is the founder of the growth strategy firm Basis One. Prior to Basis One he was the Director of Growth Marketing at Thumbtack. You can learn more at BasisOne.com.
Gustaf Alströmer is a Partner at YC. Prior to YC he was the Product Lead for Growth at Airbnb.
You can find Dan on Twitter @danhockenmaier and Gustaf is @gustaf.
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
00:50 - Dan's most unpopular advice
1:45 - What growth strategies do people jump on too soon?
2:20 - Questions Dan asks a company he's advising
3:50 - Traits Dan looks for in early growth hires
6:30 - How product and growth are tied together
11:30 - Good/bad learnings from Facebook's growth team
14:00 - A/B testing
17:00 - Retention and other metrics
20:45 - The importance of experimentation
23:45 - Getting ideas for A/B tests then choosing which to do
25:00 - Advice for employees who want to get a growth program going
29:00 - B2B vs consumer growth tactics
34:00 - Pricing experiments
35:30 - Paid marketing
39:30 - Launching in new markets
40:15 - Hiring for marketing
43:45 - Metrics for marketing hires
45:45 - Toni asks - Why did Airbnb grow so fast?
48:45 - Step function growth changes for companies that already had scale
49:55 - Michael Savage asks - It would be great to discuss growth into new regions for example Africa and UAE. What would their approach be, how does it differ from region to region, culture to culture?
52:30 - Justin LaRosa asks - What are some of the most common drivers of viral growth?
55:20 - Hiring a growth agency vs building your own team
58:20 - How do you think about growth in the context of improving humanity?

#131 - Jeremy Rossmann Jun 19, 2019

Show notes

Jeremy Rossmann is the cofounder of Make School. Make School is a college for computer science headquartered in San Francisco. Make School students don't pay until they have a job after graduation. They were part of YC’s Winter 2012 batch.

You can find MakeScool on Twitter @MakeSchool.
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
00:32 - What is Make School?
01:12 - How is their intensive track different than a traditional college course load?
2:22 - How are their students differentiated from students educated in a traditional CS program?
3:12 - Interacting with the parents of Make School students
8:12 - William Triska asks - What are some ways to encourage greater independence and autodidactic behavior in students pursuing technical skills and knowledge?
10:02 - The autodidact myth
15:57 - Two stakeholders making purchasing decisions: potential students and parents
20:07 - The education landscape 20 years from now
23:57 - Education stacking
25:02 - Vikram Malhotra asks - When are we going to do away with degrees?
32:42 - Evan Ward asks - Should liberal arts colleges consider adopting ISA's?
35:17 - Are there instances of predatory ISAs?
37:27 - Make School students who want to be entrepreneurs
40:27 - Advice for people in YC

#130 - Tracy Young and Kat Manalac Jun 12, 2019

Show notes

Tracy Young is a cofounder and the CEO of PlanGrid. PlanGrid makes mobile construction productivity software. They were acquired by Autodesk in 2018 and were part of YC’s Winter 2012 batch.
Kat Manalac is a Partner at YC.
You can find Tracy on Twitter @Tracy_Young and Kat is @KatManalac.
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
00:46 - How Tracy got into the construction industry
2:51 - What convinced Tracy and her cofounders to build PlanGrid?
3:31 - Finding a technical cofounder
6:26 - Tracy still sees herself as an engineer
7:16 - PlanGrid's MVP and their first customers
11:56 - Their sales process
13:46 - Product breakthroughs
17:21 - Not firing fast enough
20:31 - What does she look for when hiring someone?
26:01 - Tim Cook's closing statement at WWDC
28:46 - Fredi Fernández asks - Does Tracy track wellness levels of the team?
29:26 - At what point did Tracy hire an office manager?
30:16 - How does Tracy take care of herself?
31:46 - Founding a company with a partner
33:31 - Managing a company as a new parent
35:46 - Seyed Rasoul Jabari asks - What's your big plan to go from 1.5 to 10 million projects?
36:46 - Holly asks - What has been your single largest influence in helping you scale?
38:06 - Why do some executives not work out?
38:56 - What skills did Tracy have to work on when scaling?
42:41 - What do a lot of startups get wrong?
46:21 - Tracy's recommended books
48:01 - What Tracy wishes she knew when she started out

#129 - Simone Giertz Jun 05, 2019

Show notes

Simone Giertz describes herself as a maker/robotics enthusiast/non-engineer. She’s also known as the Queen of Shitty Robots. She runs a YouTube channel about those robots and is a cohost on Tested with Adam Savage from MythBusters.
You can find her on YouTube and on Twitter @SimoneGiertz.
She also has a Patreon.
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
1:41 - "Whatever feeds the ego kills the soul."
4:21 - Maintaining passion for your work
7:16 - Building a sustainable business as a creator
9:01 - Shipping a real product - The Every Day Calendar - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/simonegiertz/the-every-day-calendar
18:01 - Being scared to step away
19:31 - Generating ideas
20:46 - Finding out she had a brain tumor, having surgery, and sharing it
26:01 - Returning to work after brain surgery
28:01 - Learnings from taking time off
29:01 - Asking for help
30:31 - Evaluating how she's spending her time
32:16 - Giving herself permission to try other things
34:21 - Challenges as a creator and entrepreneur
36:01 - Not feeling guilty about play and pursuing the things you enjoy
41:01 - Becoming less disciplined in certain areas over time
42:46 - Ali asks - How to get started when dealing with imposters syndrome?
43:06 - beep boop asks - What's your favorite robot?
43:46 - Beste asks - Are there any moments where she is bored and feels like giving up on creating new things?
44:56 - Khawar Shehzad asks - What thing do you wish you knew when you started your career?
46:06 - Olaf Doschke asks - What would have happened if Simone's toothbrush helmet wouldn't have gone viral?
48:36 - Johnathan Nader asks - What is the best version of yourself?

#128 - Michael Babineau and Kevin Hale May 29, 2019

Show notes

Michael Babineau is cofounder and CEO of Second Measure. Second Measure analyzes billions of credit card transactions to answer real-time questions on consumer behavior. They were in the Summer 2015 batch of YC and you can check them out at SecondMeasure.com.
Kevin Hale is a Partner at YC. Before working at YC he cofounded Wufoo.
You can find Michael on Twitter @mikebabineau and Kevin is @ilikevests.
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

00:35 - What idea did Mike apply to YC with?
01:20 - Where did the idea come from?
4:35 - From project to company
10:20 - What info did investors want to know that Second Measure could provide?
12:05 - Their first customers
14:35 - The primary use case of Second Measure for VCs
15:20 - What questions are they trying to answer?
19:35 - Data examples from their blog
21:05 - Post: Fashion retailers have nothing to fear (yet) from the rise of Stitch Fix
23:35 - Post: Holiday sales rocket Peloton memberships ahead of SoulCycle active riders
25:05 - Post: Prime members deliver for Amazon every day
27:35 - Second Measure's product development process
29:35 - Finding good data scientists who work from first principles
37:05 - Why is credit card data so messy?
42:05 - Cleaning data
44:20 - Using their product for competitive analysis
47:35 - Their sales process
49:05 - Raising money from Goldman Sachs and Citi
52:05 - Focusing on a specific problem
54:05 - Keeping the product compelling when it's table stakes

#127 - Vidit Aatrey and Adora Cheung May 22, 2019

Show notes

Vidit Aatrey is cofounder and CEO of Meesho. Meesho is a platform in India that allows people to resell products using their social networks. They were in the Summer 2016 batch of YC and you can check them out at Meesho.com.
Adora Cheung is a Partner at YC. Before working at YC she cofounded Homejoy.
You can find Vidit on Twitter @viditaatrey and Adora is @nolimits.
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
01:20 - What is Meesho?
3:20 - Why not just sell directly to consumers?
5:05 - What are the macro trends in Meesho's favor in India?
7:30 - A trust deficit market
8:55 - How does Meesho help users get online and start selling?
11:45 - Most impactful user stories
13:50 - Growth drivers
15:50 - Balancing growth and quality
17:25 - What if Facebook copies Meesho?
18:50 - When did Vidit and his cofounder know they wanted to start a startup?
21:20 - Their first startup idea and the inspiration for Meesho
25:40 - When did they know Meesho was working?
27:20 - How hard was it to pivot the business and how did they manage it?
30:05 - As a CEO how does he stay in touch with users?
34:50 - How has Vidit's role changed over time?
36:55 - How has he learned to be a CEO?
38:30 - What mistakes have they made?
39:35 - What was his best decision?
40:15 - What's a strong opinion he had about running a startup that he's changed since running Meesho?
41:45 - How has the Indian startup ecosystem evolved?
43:20 - Big problems worth solving in India
43:05 - Can foreigners come to India and start a startup?
45:10 - Best advice for aspiring Indian founders
46:20 - After Meesho, what's the most exciting startup in India?
47:20 - Why is Delhi the best IIT?
48:15 - What's a must read book and why?
49:10 - What's a startup idea he'd be working on if Meesho didn't happen?
49:25 - In 100 years, what does he hope Meesho is?

#126 - Chris Best and Jonathan Gill May 15, 2019

Show notes

Chris Best is the cofounder and CEO of Substack. Substack makes it simple for a writer to start a paid newsletter. They were in the Winter 2018 batch of YC. You can check them out at Substack.com.
Jonathan Gill is the cofounder and CEO of Backtracks. Backtracks is a podcast analytics and hosting platform. You can check them out at Backtracks.fm.
Chris is on Twitter @cjgbest and Jonathan is @jgill333.
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
1:03 - Paid vs advertising in podcasting
3:33 - Are advertisers overpaying for podcast ads?
6:13 - What percent of the market will ultimately be paid content?
8:13 - Payment mechanisms
9:48 - Price anchoring
12:28 - Individual creators vs brands
17:23 - Deplatforming
18:53 - Spotify
20:23 - Discovery and growth in newsletters
22:53 - Public and private feeds
25:23 - Apple's role
26:38 - Will education be the driver of paid content?
30:23 - Educational podcasters in China
32:23 - How are their newsletter and podcast customers growing?
36:18 - Jack Ryder asks - In 5 years time, are personal newsletters going to replace social networks like Facebook?
38:13 - Debdut Mukherjee asks - Do podcasts actually work? If so, how do startups calculate the ROI & the CAC?
43:38 - Measurement
45:23 - Best practices for new podcasters and newsletter creators

#125 - Brian Halligan and Kevin Hale May 08, 2019

Show notes

Brian Halligan is the CEO and cofounder of HubSpot. HubSpot builds software for marketing, sales, and customer service. You can try it out at HubSpot.com.
Kevin Hale is a Partner at YC and cofounder of Wufoo.
Brian is on Twitter @bhalligan and Kevin is @ilikevests.
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
00:27 - Brian's an introvert that likes to work from home. He also runs a public company. How does he do both?
2:12 - How does he manage his calendar as an introvert?
4:12 - How Brian met his cofounder Dharmesh
6:12 - The first project they worked on together
7:27 - What was their unique insight when starting HubSpot?
8:52 - Pricing in the early days
9:27 - How would he have priced HubSpot differently knowing what he knows now?
10:27 - HubSpot's first customer
12:27 - Important early features
14:47 - At what point did they shift entirely away from consulting?
15:32 - Providing advice as content vs in the product
16:27 - SEO is underrated
17:12 - Trends in B2B and marketing
21:57 - Inbound marketing and audience building advice
26:52 - How did Brian know that his cofounder was right for him?
28:12 - The internet disproportionately benefiting small businesses over big ones
29:12 - Keeping your company hungry when you're big
29:52 - Building assets for your company
30:47 - Freemium
34:27 - Structural pieces of HubSpot Brian would have changed if he did it again
37:27 - Creating the voice of your company
39:57 - Early metrics they tracked
40:32 - Having a coach and reviews
41:57 - How Brian's changed as a CEO from the beginning
42:51 - What was the hardest thing to give up as CEO?
43:57 - Humility

#124 - Jarvis Johnson May 01, 2019

Show notes

Jarvis Johnson was previously a software engineer at Patreon, Yelp, and Google. He’s now a YouTuber.
You can find him on YouTube at Jarvis Johnson and on Twitter @jarvis.
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
00:20 - Jarvis' intro
00:50 - Where his videos first got traction
1:30 - Being part of the software industry while critiquing it
4:05 - How he got into programming
6:30 - Moving to California
7:50 - Interning at Google then Yelp
9:20 - Interviewing multiple times at the same company
10:20 - Moving from Yelp to Patreon
14:30 - Switching from individual contributor to manager
18:35 - Learnings from managing that he applies to himself
21:45 - What made Jarvis want to do YouTube full time?
30:20 - Investing in yourself
31:25 - Making what you want vs talking to viewers
35:55 - When did things really start to click for his channel?
38:20 - Choosing to make multiple genres of video
44:00 - Nathan Allebach asks - Are content creators responsible in any capacity for their audiences?
51:05 - Taylor asks - In what ways do you think content creation can benefit one's career in the tech industry?
54:40 - Jarvis made a podcast when he was a teenager
56:30 - Octopus Blues asks - What lessons did improv teach you/who would you recommend it to, if anyone?
58:45 - Predictions for YouTubers and content creators

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