Y Combinator Startup Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#123 - Harry Zhang and Kevin Hale Apr 24, 2019

Show notes

Harry Zhang is the cofounder of Lob. Lob makes it possible for enterprises to programmatically send physical mail. They were in the Summer 2013 batch of YC.
Kevin Hale is a Partner at YC.
Harry is on Twitter @harryzhang and Kevin is @ilikevests.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:31 - Harry's intro
00:41 - What did Lob have when they applied to YC?
2:01 - Documentation as an API company
3:16 - Where did the insight to create Lob come from?
4:26 - Lob's first version and first customer
7:26 - Closing their first big customer then signing others
12:31 - Did Harry always know Lob would be an API company?
14:01 - How long did it take to work up to enterprise customers?
15:31 - Pricing
19:46 - Creating a product roadmap
21:26 - Tradeoffs when building product
22:21 - Competing for top engineers as an API company
24:31 - Options vs RSUs
28:01 - Sales mistakes
32:21 - Building out features for enterprise clients
34:16 - Why did Lob choose to not vertically integrate?
39:31 - How has Harry had to change as a founder over the life of Lob?

#122 - Max Rhodes and Anu Hariharan Apr 17, 2019

Show notes

Max Rhodes is the cofounder and CEO of Faire. Faire helps retailers find and buy unique wholesale merchandise for their stores. They were in the Winter 2017 batch of YC.
Anu Hariharan is a Partner at YC.
Max is on Twitter @MaxRhodesOK and Anu is @AnuHariharan.
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:32 - Max's intro
01:06 - Leaving Square and coming up with the idea for Faire
7:37 - Changes to SMBs in the past five years
9:37 - What is Faire?
11:57 - Max’s vision for Faire
15:12 - Finding product/market fit
18:12 - Switching to try before you buy
21:22 - What separates the great companies
22:32 - Scaling as a CEO
26:32 - Calming down
29:42 - Faire's first hires
33:42 - Faire's first executive hire
38:27 - Fundraising and fundraising advice
43:32 - Ryan McCarthy asks - Why did Max study history at Yale?
44:32 - Why does Max think Square Cash became a successful app?

#120 - Austen Allred Apr 03, 2019

Show notes

Austen Allred is the CEO and cofounder of Lambda School.
Lambda School provides a CS education that's free until you get a job. They were in the Summer 2017 batch of YC.
You can learn more about Lambda School at lambdaschool.com.
Austen is on Twitter at @austen.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
1:01 - Encouraging people to do something that they're scared to do
5:16 - Where did the insight for Lambda School come from?
6:26 - College vs developer schools
10:26 - Building a network
12:16 - Does Austen see value in a traditional liberal arts education?
14:56 - Steven Klaiber-Noble asks - As competitors begin to copy your model what front do you believe you'll be competing on?
17:56 - Why did Austen choose to raise money?
20:06 - Fundraising falling through on Austen's first startup
21:36 - Moving back to Utah and writing a book about growth
23:26 - Why Austen wrote a book
26:26 - "Starting a company is by definition saying, I think what I can do is worth more than what other people will pay me for."
27:26 - Mispriced human capital
30:21 - Other opportunities for Lambda School
32:46 - Modeling risk
35:36 - David Kofoed Wind asks - When Lambda School is incentivized to take in people that will land high paying jobs, how do you think about the diversity of candidates? One would imagine that it quickly becomes a game of pattern matching the stereotypical SV people.
37:51 - Will Lambda School ever not be remote?
41:16 - Dave Dawson asks - You appear to be on the successful path now, was there a point early in Lambda School when you wanted to stop?
43:46 - Helping everyone become an autodidact
46:46 - Rethinking where to start on an online course
48:11 - Dave Dawson asks - What keeps you up at night at this point?
49:46 - Dayo Koleowo asks - “I have made remarks I do not agree with” - from Austen's Twitter bio. What is that one remark you wish you didn’t have to disagree with?
53:26 - Choosing remote work as a core problem to solve in your company
55:56 - Analysts aren't good at measuring product quality
57:36 - Teaching taste

#119 - Amy Buechler and Michael Seibel Mar 27, 2019

Show notes

Amy Buechler is an executive coach for startup founders.
Michael Seibel is a partner and the CEO of YC.
In this episode we talk about coaching and use examples from Michael’s time working on Justin.tv and Socialcam.
You can find Amy at her site foundercoach.io and on Twitter at @amybue.
Michael is on Twitter at @mwseibel.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:41 - What is coaching?
01:11 - How is coaching different from therapy?
2:31 - What are the most common challenges founders in coaching have?
3:26 - Challenges with roles and responsibilities at Twitch
7:46 - How would Amy have coached Michael around roles and responsibilities?
9:41 - Not being disruptive as a leader
11:31 - Switching roles at Twitch
12:46 - Uneven equity splits
15:01 - Distributing and negotiating equity
21:16 - Communicating your own value
22:51 - Can there be too much communication?
24:11 - Productive arguments
28:11 - Talking about performance issues
30:16 - Setting clear goals and managing motivation
33:16 - Enjoying the work
34:01 - Conversations about runway
36:51 - Digging your company out of the grave and continuing
40:21 - Michael being against coaching initially
42:31 - How to have hard conversations
44:16 - Removing a responsibility from someone
49:51 - Returning to roles and responsibilities
50:41 - Jeanie McCallister asks - What’s the single most important piece of advice you can give a founder?

#118 - Marques Brownlee Mar 21, 2019

Show notes

Marques Brownlee is a YouTuber. He has over 8 million subscribers to his channel MKBHD where he reviews electronics, drives electric vehicles, and interviews people such as Kobe Bryant and Bill Gates.
You can find Marques on YouTube and on Twitter at @MKBHD.
The YC Podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
***
Topics
00:00 - Intro
00:26 - What does Marques attribute his channel's success to?
2:41 - The early days
5:11 - How does he go about evaluating a product?
7:31 - Features that Marques thought were great that didn't catch on
8:41 - Peak smartphone?
10:31 - Folding phones and new trends
11:26 - Tesla and the EV market
15:46 - Getting older and staying relevant
17:06 - New kinds of videos and podcasting
22:26 - Does Marques feel limited by gear?
26:11 - Storytelling techniques
28:16 - Tech vs Marques as the star of the show
29:56 - Marco Castro asks - What advice do you have for new creators on YouTube?
30:56 - When did Marques find his voice as a creator?
33:56 - Overcoming perfectionism
34:56 - Gut instinct vs data
37:26 - YouTube comments
39:31 - Austin Ryder asks - In the early years of his channel, Marques took a several month hiatus from YouTube, but then came back with a new video format and seemingly renewed drive. What happened during those months off that led to the channel becoming what it is today?
40:41 - Winston asks - What’s your daily schedule?
43:06 - Ultimate frisbee injuries
43:26 - Amad Khan asks - Are there any problems that you see or face that you really wish engineers/developers would solve?
44:51 - Christian Giordano asks - Any tips on how to engage/work with influencers when you are a very early stage startup with little or no money?
46:41 - The future of creators supporting themselves financially
49:31 - His biggest challenge as a creator
50:31 - Long-term goals

#117 - Craig Cannon and Adora Cheung Mar 13, 2019

Show notes

Craig Cannon is the Director of Marketing at Y Combinator. He usually hosts the YC podcast but is the guest on this episode about podcasting.
Adora Cheung is a Partner at YC.
You can find Adora on Twitter at @nolimits and Craig at @craigcannon.
***
Topics
00:21 - Adora's intro
1:26 - Craig's intro
4:06 - Starting the YC podcast
5:21 - Podcast metrics
6:21 - Tips on creating a podcast
8:31 - Picking episode topics
9:21 - Order of operations for finding guests
10:51 - Preparing for interviews
14:11 - How to keep an episode engaging
16:26 - Analytics
18:51 - Gear
23:21 - Software
24:16 - Listening to your own voice
25:41 - Favorite interviews
26:41 - Most surprising things Craig's learned about startups on the podcast
29:21 - What has Craig learned from guests that he's put into practice?
32:01 - Non-consensus things about building startups
34:21 - If Craig had to start a podcast from scratch, how would he structure it?
37:01 - Clipping the show
42:21 - Monetizing podcasts
45:51 - Will podcasts become saturated?
46:21 - What's missing in the podcast world?
48:21 - Influential podcasters
52:11 - Adora's podcast picks
53:11 - Patrick Benders asks - What idea do you believe in that your social group would think is crazy?
58:11 - Zachary Canann asks - Please tell us about the time you most successfully hacked some (non-computer) system to your advantage.
1:00:11 - Being at YC, do Craig and Adora feel pressured to go start a company?
1:06:21 - When is an opportunity good enough to quit your current job?

#116 - Domonique Fines and Cadran Cowansage Mar 11, 2019

Show notes

Domonique Fines is the Director of Events at YC.
Cadran Cowansage is the cofounder and CEO of Elpha. Elpha is a private online community for women in tech.
Join Elpha to read Dom's AMA.
You can find Dom on Twitter at @domoniquefines and Cadran at @cadran_c.
***

Topics
00:30 - Dom’s intro
00:50 - How Dom started in events and her background
2:25 - Deciding to not go to law school
3:55 - Choosing to work on tech events
6:00 - Outreach to underrepresented founders
9:15 - Common misconceptions about getting into tech
10:35 - University outreach
11:55 - Identifying problems to fix and not being blocked
14:35 - Reflecting on accomplishments
15:40 - Dom’s career plans
17:10 - Will Dom do a startup?
17:35 - Avoiding burnout
20:55 - The importance of just getting started

#115 - Mike Knoop and Kevin Hale Mar 06, 2019

Show notes

Mike Knoop is cofounder and Chief Product Officer at Zapier, which was in the YC Summer 2012 batch. Zapier moves information between your web apps automatically.
Kevin Hale is a Visiting Partner at YC. Before YC Kevin was the cofounder of Wufoo, which was funded by YC in 2006 and acquired by SurveyMonkey in 2011.
You can find Mike on Twitter at @mikeknoop and Kevin at @ilikevests.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
***
Topics
00:43 - Kevin's intro
01:03 - Mike's intro
2:03 - How Mike and Kevin met
4:03 - Market sizing for consumer software
5:13 - Zapier's growth strategy today vs 2012
6:28 - Jumpstarting a platform like Zapier
9:03 - Building an app directory before building a product
11:03 - Applying to YC twice
13:23 - Zapier after Demo Day
14:48 - Zapier's first remote hire
16:48 - Remote companies not being perceived as legitimate
18:48 - Noticing remote was working then committing
21:28 - Qualities to look for when hiring remote employees
24:28 - Nina Mehta asks - What’s the best way to share work and knowledge across designers working on different parts of product without distracting from focused working time?
25:58 - Remote mistakes in the early days
27:33 - When to change modes of communication to allow for deep work
29:28 - When to ask for someone's full attention
31:33 - Product and design practices at Zapier
34:38 - OKRs for teams vs individuals
39:48 - Tools for remote teams
43:48 - No internal email at Zapier
46:53 - Keeping morale high in a remote team
49:28 - What happens at a Zapier retreat
51:43 - Remote design critiques
56:43 - Serendipity and over optimizing for it
58:33 - Setting up a remote company for success

#114 - Karn Saroya Feb 27, 2019

Show notes

Karn Saroya is the CEO and cofounder of Cover, which was in the YC Winter 2016 batch.
Cover is a nationally licensed insurance brokerage. You can use their app to take a picture of property you want to insure and they’ll connect you with their insurance partners so that you can get the best price and coverage.
You can find Karn on Twitter at @karnsaroya.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
***
Topics
00:36 - Karn’s intro
01:01 - Using computer vision to identify and catalogue property
2:28 - How Karn ended up starting Cover
3:48 - Being a maker vs. an advisor
5:58 - Stylekick, Karn’s previous startup
9:28 - Joining Shopify
10:08 - How the idea for Cover happened
11:58 - The capital-light way to start an insurance business
16:28 - Underwriting
17:58 - Lead generation
20:18 - Product development
21:28 - Buying Cover.com for $750k
24:53 - Being engaged to a cofounder
28:43 - Managing two offices and cultures
30:58 - Being an international founder in YC
31:58 - Advice to people in the current batch of YC

#113 - Caterina Fake and Kat Manalac Feb 21, 2019

Show notes

Caterina Fake hosts the podcast Should This Exist? which is about how technology is impacting our humanity. It launches today on iTunes. She also cofounded Flickr, Hunch, and Findery and is an investor at Yes VC.
Kat Manalac is a partner at YC.
You can find Caterina on Twitter at @Caterina and Kat at @KatManalac.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
***

Topics
00:32 - Caterina's new podcast, Should This Exist?
2:32 - Is there a process for considering if something should exist?
4:02 - Who should be part of these conversations?
5:17 - Wait But Why and the Human Colossus
7:22 - Episode 1 of Should This Exist?
10:17 - Having conversations before things exist
11:42 - How might employees think about their role in whether or not something should exist?
14:32 - Caterina reflecting on her creations and if they should exist
19:02 - Considering whether things should exist as investors
23:32 - Cofounder charter - What you will and won't do
26:03 - Questioning the VC model
27:22 - Working on Wall St, feeling herself change, and quitting
31:22 - Caterina as a student
34:02 - Peculiarity and entrepreneurship
35:22 - "Don't fight to win prizes that aren't worth winning"
38:32 - What was once fringe is now mainstream
40:52 - Kat looking up to Lea Salonga
42:42 - Evgeny asks - How did she get her first 100 paying users?
49:27 - How does she advise founders to find investors?
54:47 - What questions should founders ask themselves while making something?

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