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Seibel: Successful startups get abundant free help without giving equity

Michael Seibel · A Decade of Learnings from Y Combinator's CEO Michael Seibel · May 8, 2019 · at 10:24

This episode carries Michael Seibel's own address, with nobody on the show putting questions to them. It still counts as said, and it is kept out of every score on their page.

Michael Seibel, CEO of Y Combinator, advises founders that they do not need to give investors equity on their cap table in order to receive valuable operational help.

0:00 / 0:19exact quote · 19.4s
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“Once you are successful to any degree, there is a large amount of advice and help that people will be willing to give you for free. I've experienced this twice in my startups, and I see it every day with YC startups. So, someone doesn't have to be on your cap table to help you.”

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