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Mar 2, 2015 · 22m · 20vc

20 VC 016: Y Combinator, Twitch.TV and Socialcam with Mike Seibel

Mike Seibel · 15m spoken Harry Stebbings · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of The 20 Minute VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews Y Combinator partner Mike Seibel about his journey from founding Twitch and Socialcam to selecting and mentoring top tech startups. Seibel details YC's evaluation criteria, key founder red flags, and essential strategies for building high-velocity execution teams.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Harry holds 21.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Harry as informed peer 2.2 Guest teaching 4.3 Guest disagreement 2.5 Harry pushing back 2.0
05100:0010:0020:001:22–5:10 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Mike Seibel's Early Career and Founding Justin.tv The host allows the guest to detail his background story, stepping in only with light encouraging follow-ups like asking why he did not pursue programming. The dynamic is amicable and narrative-driven without host technical display or guest resistance.5:10–9:07 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Transitioning from Founder to Y Combinator Partner The host lists notable YC alumni companies and asks if YC has a formula for success. The guest politely reframes the question, clarifying his personal YC timeline and explaining that founders drive success while YC merely assists across three core pillars.9:07–12:56 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 The Y Combinator Application and Selection Process The host cites YC blog statistics on acceptance rates to prompt an explanation of the selection pipeline. When the host asks whether degrees from elite schools like Stanford or Harvard are required, the guest flatly shuts down the idea, stating YC does not care about educational prestige.12:56–15:32 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Startup Red Flags and Interview Voting Dynamics The host presses on whether outsourcing engineering is a complete dealbreaker, prompting the guest to clarify YC's single-partner approval mechanism. Later, when asked which market sector excites him most, the guest forcefully rejects the host's premise by declaring he neither knows nor cares about predicting trends.15:32–17:42 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 A Day in the Life of a Y Combinator Partner The host references a listener poll question regarding a partner's daily schedule. The guest responds with an informative explanation of his 50/50 time split while the host simply listens and agrees.17:42–22:08 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Quickfire Round: Career Advice, Decisions, and Investment Criteria During the quickfire round, the host challenges the guest's 'start now' advice by bringing up non-technical founders and asking if outsourcing development is acceptable. The guest firmly holds his ground, insisting outsourcing cannot build a billion-dollar tech company and insisting team assembly comes first.1:22–5:10 · Guest teaching 2/10 Mike Seibel's Early Career and Founding Justin.tv The host allows the guest to detail his background story, stepping in only with light encouraging follow-ups like asking why he did not pursue programming. The dynamic is amicable and narrative-driven without host technical display or guest resistance.5:10–9:07 · Guest teaching 5/10 Transitioning from Founder to Y Combinator Partner The host lists notable YC alumni companies and asks if YC has a formula for success. The guest politely reframes the question, clarifying his personal YC timeline and explaining that founders drive success while YC merely assists across three core pillars.9:07–12:56 · Guest teaching 5/10 The Y Combinator Application and Selection Process The host cites YC blog statistics on acceptance rates to prompt an explanation of the selection pipeline. When the host asks whether degrees from elite schools like Stanford or Harvard are required, the guest flatly shuts down the idea, stating YC does not care about educational prestige.12:56–15:32 · Guest teaching 6/10 Startup Red Flags and Interview Voting Dynamics The host presses on whether outsourcing engineering is a complete dealbreaker, prompting the guest to clarify YC's single-partner approval mechanism. Later, when asked which market sector excites him most, the guest forcefully rejects the host's premise by declaring he neither knows nor cares about predicting trends.15:32–17:42 · Guest teaching 3/10 A Day in the Life of a Y Combinator Partner The host references a listener poll question regarding a partner's daily schedule. The guest responds with an informative explanation of his 50/50 time split while the host simply listens and agrees.17:42–22:08 · Guest teaching 5/10 Quickfire Round: Career Advice, Decisions, and Investment Criteria During the quickfire round, the host challenges the guest's 'start now' advice by bringing up non-technical founders and asking if outsourcing development is acceptable. The guest firmly holds his ground, insisting outsourcing cannot build a billion-dollar tech company and insisting team assembly comes first.1:22–5:10 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Mike Seibel's Early Career and Founding Justin.tv The host allows the guest to detail his background story, stepping in only with light encouraging follow-ups like asking why he did not pursue programming. The dynamic is amicable and narrative-driven without host technical display or guest resistance.5:10–9:07 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Transitioning from Founder to Y Combinator Partner The host lists notable YC alumni companies and asks if YC has a formula for success. The guest politely reframes the question, clarifying his personal YC timeline and explaining that founders drive success while YC merely assists across three core pillars.9:07–12:56 · Guest disagreement 3/10 The Y Combinator Application and Selection Process The host cites YC blog statistics on acceptance rates to prompt an explanation of the selection pipeline. When the host asks whether degrees from elite schools like Stanford or Harvard are required, the guest flatly shuts down the idea, stating YC does not care about educational prestige.12:56–15:32 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Startup Red Flags and Interview Voting Dynamics The host presses on whether outsourcing engineering is a complete dealbreaker, prompting the guest to clarify YC's single-partner approval mechanism. Later, when asked which market sector excites him most, the guest forcefully rejects the host's premise by declaring he neither knows nor cares about predicting trends.15:32–17:42 · Guest disagreement 0/10 A Day in the Life of a Y Combinator Partner The host references a listener poll question regarding a partner's daily schedule. The guest responds with an informative explanation of his 50/50 time split while the host simply listens and agrees.17:42–22:08 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Quickfire Round: Career Advice, Decisions, and Investment Criteria During the quickfire round, the host challenges the guest's 'start now' advice by bringing up non-technical founders and asking if outsourcing development is acceptable. The guest firmly holds his ground, insisting outsourcing cannot build a billion-dollar tech company and insisting team assembly comes first.1:22–5:10 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Mike Seibel's Early Career and Founding Justin.tv The host allows the guest to detail his background story, stepping in only with light encouraging follow-ups like asking why he did not pursue programming. The dynamic is amicable and narrative-driven without host technical display or guest resistance.5:10–9:07 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Transitioning from Founder to Y Combinator Partner The host lists notable YC alumni companies and asks if YC has a formula for success. The guest politely reframes the question, clarifying his personal YC timeline and explaining that founders drive success while YC merely assists across three core pillars.9:07–12:56 · Harry pushing back 2/10 The Y Combinator Application and Selection Process The host cites YC blog statistics on acceptance rates to prompt an explanation of the selection pipeline. When the host asks whether degrees from elite schools like Stanford or Harvard are required, the guest flatly shuts down the idea, stating YC does not care about educational prestige.12:56–15:32 · Harry pushing back 4/10 Startup Red Flags and Interview Voting Dynamics The host presses on whether outsourcing engineering is a complete dealbreaker, prompting the guest to clarify YC's single-partner approval mechanism. Later, when asked which market sector excites him most, the guest forcefully rejects the host's premise by declaring he neither knows nor cares about predicting trends.15:32–17:42 · Harry pushing back 0/10 A Day in the Life of a Y Combinator Partner The host references a listener poll question regarding a partner's daily schedule. The guest responds with an informative explanation of his 50/50 time split while the host simply listens and agrees.17:42–22:08 · Harry pushing back 4/10 Quickfire Round: Career Advice, Decisions, and Investment Criteria During the quickfire round, the host challenges the guest's 'start now' advice by bringing up non-technical founders and asking if outsourcing development is acceptable. The guest firmly holds his ground, insisting outsourcing cannot build a billion-dollar tech company and insisting team assembly comes first.

speaking balance: gold is Harry, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Harry 48.8% · guest 51.2%0:00 · Harry 48.8% · guest 51.2%3:00 · Harry 4.7% · guest 95.3%3:00 · Harry 4.7% · guest 95.3%6:00 · Harry 15.2% · guest 84.8%6:00 · Harry 15.2% · guest 84.8%9:00 · Harry 14.9% · guest 85.1%9:00 · Harry 14.9% · guest 85.1%12:00 · Harry 21.4% · guest 78.6%12:00 · Harry 21.4% · guest 78.6%15:00 · Harry 17.1% · guest 82.9%15:00 · Harry 17.1% · guest 82.9%18:00 · Harry 21% · guest 79%18:00 · Harry 21% · guest 79%21:00 · Harry 38.6% · guest 61.4%21:00 · Harry 38.6% · guest 61.4%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:37 Dismissing sector forecasting

When asked which hot industry sector excites him most, Mike bluntly rejects the question's premise stating 'I neither know nor care' and denying any predictive powers.

 Hardest push from Harry ▶ 13:26 Challenging the outsourcing rule

Harry directly probes Mike's red flag statement by asking if he would literally never invest in a team outsourcing engineering, forcing Mike to clarify YC's partner voting dynamics.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:02 Founders over YC formula

When Harry asks if YC has a formula for producing incredible companies, Mike educates him by explaining that founders create the success and YC only operates on the margins.

 Harry holds his own ▶ 9:06 Citing YC acceptance statistics

Harry demonstrates research and preparation by citing specific statistics from the YC blog regarding their 3% acceptance rate before diving into the application review stages.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicHarry as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementHarry pushing backWhy
Mike Seibel's Early Career and Founding Justin.tv 1211 The host allows the guest to detail his background story, stepping in only with light encouraging follow-ups like asking why he did not pursue programming. The dynamic is amicable and narrative-driven without host technical display or guest resistance.
Transitioning from Founder to Y Combinator Partner 2521 The host lists notable YC alumni companies and asks if YC has a formula for success. The guest politely reframes the question, clarifying his personal YC timeline and explaining that founders drive success while YC merely assists across three core pillars.
The Y Combinator Application and Selection Process 3532 The host cites YC blog statistics on acceptance rates to prompt an explanation of the selection pipeline. When the host asks whether degrees from elite schools like Stanford or Harvard are required, the guest flatly shuts down the idea, stating YC does not care about educational prestige.
Startup Red Flags and Interview Voting Dynamics 3654 The host presses on whether outsourcing engineering is a complete dealbreaker, prompting the guest to clarify YC's single-partner approval mechanism. Later, when asked which market sector excites him most, the guest forcefully rejects the host's premise by declaring he neither knows nor cares about predicting trends.
A Day in the Life of a Y Combinator Partner 1300 The host references a listener poll question regarding a partner's daily schedule. The guest responds with an informative explanation of his 50/50 time split while the host simply listens and agrees.
Quickfire Round: Career Advice, Decisions, and Investment Criteria 3544 During the quickfire round, the host challenges the guest's 'start now' advice by bringing up non-technical founders and asking if outsourcing development is acceptable. The guest firmly holds his ground, insisting outsourcing cannot build a billion-dollar tech company and insisting team assembly comes first.

Statements from this episode (11)

Opinion
Mike Seibel does not care much about initial ideas when evaluating startups
“It's one of the reasons why I don't really care much about ideas now.”
Mike Seibel Mar 2, 2015 ▶ 4:19
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Every Y Combinator application is graded by at least three partners
“Involves each application being read and graded by at least three partners. And from that process, we create a stack ordering stack ranking of approximately 450 applications. At the top. And then we take those 450 best ranked applications and we offer them all…”
Mike Seibel Mar 2, 2015 ▶ 9:55
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Y Combinator accepts approximately 25 percent of the startups it interviews
“And then of those interviews you know, approximately one in four companies will be offered a spot in YC.”
Mike Seibel Mar 2, 2015 ▶ 10:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Y Combinator does not care at all about a founder's academic credentials
“Yeah, we don't care at all. Absolutely don't care at all.”
Mike Seibel Mar 2, 2015 ▶ 12:53
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mike Seibel outlines the primary red flags for Y Combinator applicants
“They usually center around either the lack of a technical co-founder, a very, very unequal equity split, teams that aren't working full time, teams that are relying on outsourced engineering to build their product.”
Mike Seibel Mar 2, 2015 ▶ 13:11
Assertion Supported
Startups only need one YC partner's approval to be accepted
“One of the unique things about the YC interview process is that you only have to get one partner in the room to say yes to get in. Typically there are three to four partners in the room.”
Mike Seibel Mar 2, 2015 ▶ 13:33
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Mike Seibel will never accept a startup that outsources its engineering
“I would never say yes to a company that's outsourcing engineering.”
Mike Seibel Mar 2, 2015 ▶ 13:45
Insight
Mike Seibel believes a good startup will succeed with or without YC
“You know, we have a saying that like a good company is going to be a good company, regardless of whether it does YC.”
Mike Seibel Mar 2, 2015 ▶ 13:54
Insight
The strongest companies in a trend are started years before it peaks
“I kind of feel like by the time the trend is taking off, the companies that are strong in that area started years before.”
Mike Seibel Mar 2, 2015 ▶ 15:16
Insight
Founders should pick their co-founders before deciding on a startup idea
“I think most people make the mistake of starting with an idea. And it's interesting, I think there's a lot of controversy on which way is better, but I think it's actually better to start with at least an idea of who you want to work with, and then kind of for…”
Mike Seibel Mar 2, 2015 ▶ 19:38
Insight
Products you love and use every day make perfect investments
“Looking back, if there's a product that you use every day that you love it's a perfect investment.”
Mike Seibel Mar 2, 2015 ▶ 21:48
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