Livingston: YC proved funding top MIT and Harvard hackers does not guarantee success
Jessica Livingston · Jessica Livingston : How to Build the Future · Y Combinator · Aug 30, 2016 · at 16:14
Y Combinator co-founder Jessica Livingston discusses early misconceptions about founder selection with Sam Altman.
0:00 / 0:14exact quote · 14.5s
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube → 720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“Remember when we started Y Combinator, our hypothesis was, oh, we'll just fund all the best hackers from MIT and Harvard, and they'll turn out to be great startup founders. That is not true. That is absolutely not true.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Jessica Livingston
Livingston: Determination matters more than intelligence or school success for founders
“If I had to say the most important traits of the most successful founders, I've already mentioned determination. That is by far the most important quality. More than intelligence. More than previous success, you know, in school.”
Livingston describes traditional 2005 venture investors as hardened, aggressive, and ruthless
“I was soft and sensitive at a time when investors tended to be hardened and aggressive, and I'll throw in ruthless too for a couple of them that I know.”
Operating without LPs initially allowed Y Combinator greater benevolence and risk-taking
“Because YC didn't have any LPs at the time, we weren't even constrained by a vague fiduciary responsibility to anyone, and That allowed us to take more risks with who we chose to fund, and it also allowed us to be benevolent to failing startups and that often …”
Graham tried to change Airbnb's core idea in their YC interview
“During the interview, ah, Paul tried to change their idea. We thought this idea of, like, renting out airbeds was a little weird.”
Livingston: Blind dates and last-minute co-founder pairings rarely work out
“Rarely. I'm trying to think of an example, and off the top of my head, I can't think of an example. Wow. Of two people who were introduced, or sort of bolted on to each other at the last minute, ever working. I'm sure there are examples of it has, having work,…”