May 12, 2023 · 24m · y-combinator
How to Apply And Succeed at Y Combinator | Startup School · Y Combinator
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In this Y Combinator Startup School lecture, Group Partner Dalton Caldwell provides tactical advice and mindset guidance on how founders can craft compelling applications and navigate YC interviews successfully. He debunks common myths, emphasizes clarity and honesty, and highlights how putting oneself forward maximizes opportunistic upside.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. The partners hold 99.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
The partners as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 0.0 Guest disagreement 0.0 The partners pushing back 0.0
speaking balance: gold is the partners, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 23:02 Audience clarifying interjection
In a talk lacking genuine combativeness, an audience member interjects asking 'What does that mean?' when Dalton mentions being yourself.
Hardest push from the partners ▶ 5:00 Pushing back against third-party gatekeepersDalton strongly advises founders to push back on uncommitted investors or gatekeepers discouraging them from applying to YC.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:20 Schooling applicants on GitLab's concise applicationDalton illustrates what excellence looks like by analyzing GitLab's concrete, unpretentious application answers as an instructional benchmark.
The partners hold their own ▶ 10:45 Demonstrating review perspective and narrative framingDalton reveals the exact internal thought process and mental checklist YC partners use when reviewing thousands of applications.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The partners as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The partners pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome and Why Applying to Y Combinator Is Worth It | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Solo lecture segment where Dalton Caldwell introduces the concept of applying to Y Combinator as an asymmetrical bet to expand luck surface area. Because it is a monologue, interactive scores are set to zero. | |
| Debunking Questionable Excuses Not to Apply | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dalton systematically dismantles common excuses prospective founders make to avoid applying, such as being too early or too far along. The audience only offers minor affirmations. | |
| Legitimate Reasons Not to Apply to Y Combinator | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dalton outlines the rare valid reasons to forgo applying to YC, including non-tech businesses or lack of long-term commitment. Brief audience acknowledgments do not constitute dialogue. | |
| How Reviewers Evaluate Applications: Narrative vs. Obfuscation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dalton explains the mental model application reviewers use to construct a narrative around a founding team and warns against obfuscation. The presentation remains a monologue. | |
| Prioritizing Honesty and Supporting Extraordinary Claims | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dalton emphasizes absolute honesty in application metrics and explains how technical strength drastically improves interview odds. Audience interjections are purely listening acknowledgments. | |
| Navigating the YC Interview and Avoiding Common Pitfalls | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dalton advises founders on approaching the 10-minute YC interview collaboratively rather than treating it as an adversarial examination. The segment is an uninterrupted monologue. | |
| Attributes of Winning Interviews and the Power of Re-Applying | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dalton concludes by describing winning interview demeanor and the value of re-applying after incorporating actionable feedback. A brief audience prompt prompts Dalton's elaboration. |
Statements from this episode (11)
Caldwell: Answering YC application questions clarifies thinking for any startup
“Going through and answering the application questions to organize and clarify your thinking, super helpful, right? Go look at the questions. It'll help you think about your own business and maybe find some edge cases. And so I think that's worth doing for ever…”
Caldwell: Founders can enter YC without quitting jobs or writing code
“If you look at the history of great YC companies that have gotten in, many of them pivoted after they got in, and so if that's not too early, I don't know what is. Many folks haven't quit their job. They get into YC. They haven't written any code. There's hone…”
Caldwell: YC accepts startups with $500K ARR or $1M+ raised
“We have folks that get into YC that have, I don't know, half a million dollars in annual recurring revenue. Also a common one here these days is, oh, I'm too far along because I've already raised some money. We have folks that apply and get accepted to YC that…”
Caldwell: Most founders in recent YC batches are repeat applicants
“And the fact is, most of the folks in the most recent YC batches are not first-time applicants. There's some folks that applied five times, six times, seven times.”
Caldwell: Non-tech businesses lacking programming or biotech should not apply to YC
“If your business is not a technology startup, say it's more of a traditional business where there's no technical component, there's no programming, there's no biotechnology. That's probably a good reason not to apply. That's not really our sweet spot.”
Caldwell: YC selection criteria explicitly weighs whether applicants follow directions
“Our entire application process has these detailed instructions, and we definitely take into account if you follow them in our selection criteria. This is one of the ways to tell How detail-oriented someone is if they just follow directions, and so pro tip, rea…”
Caldwell: Technical founding teams have 5x higher odds of a YC interview
“So if there is a team that's applying where at least one of the founders is at a skill set level to be hired into a technical role at a top YC company, they have five X better odds than teams that don't.”
Caldwell: YC is designed to fund strangers without warm intros or decks
“The entire YC model was built to not require networking. We don't want warm intros. We don't want pitch decks. We don't want to hop on a quick call. That is not how YC works in our funding decisions. We built a system that is optimized for funding complete str…”
Caldwell: Paying advisors equity does not help founders get into YC
“Giving these kinds of people equity or whatever in your company does not help you get into YC.”