
Female Russian founder. Should I talk in Y Combinator video? - AnnaGuzova
Hello, I am a female founder from Russia, and I am looking for advice, about my video for the YCombinator application. Thank you, for helping!<p>Here is my challenge: I have an accent when I speak English. Not so strong, but very obviously not native. My other founder is an American, so he speaks with perfect English. (And not perfect Russian!)<p>In my opinion, he should talk for maybe all the video. I can say hello and give my introduction, but he should explain the startup, and all technical details.<p>He says my accent is not annoying, and I should also talk, because of specific domain expertise of banking. For me, it is a simple practical issue. He speaks perfectly, so why should we use me, when my pronunciation is not perfect?<p>I read one interview from Paul Graham, about problems with accents. I took no offense! It is 100% logical. In each case, the accent interferes with communication. It is not racism. Just a truth.<p>Can we agree, that it is better for the American to speak his birth tongue? Or could the application be rejected, if I am shy to speak English?<p>All opinions are welcome. I truly appreciate advice.
======
tsukikage
I can't speak for YC applications, however day to day in my workplace I am
surrounded by engineers for whom English is a second language (and, for that
matter, also native speakers with strong regional accents); I also regularly
interview such.

I find that speaking with an accent is generally independent of the ability to
clearly, fluidly communicate, which is actually what is important.

Do you frequently find yourself pausing mid-speech to think of the term you
need? Do you frequently find yourself struggling to understand idiom-laced
speech? Do you frequently find yourself talking at cross purposes with people
because you have used a term with a different meaning to the one you intended,
or have failed to correctly understand a term they have used?

These and similar problems can represent genuine failings of communication
that may become an issue. It is usually obvious partway through a discussion
or interview if this sort of thing is likely to be a problem: they hinder the
candidate telling you about themselves and/or answering the questions they are
asked.

If you do not experience this class of problem - if you are merely concerned
about unusual stress/pronunciation or similar, but do not have trouble making
yourself understood, understanding your interlocutor, or speaking at a
sensible rate - then I suggest you should not worry about your accent, and it
would actually be to your benefit to contribute significantly to the video, in
order to demonstrate that there are no significant communication issues to
anyone who may otherwise be concerned.

EDIT: PG says similar things here:
[http://www.paulgraham.com/accents.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/accents.html)

------
cauterized
If this were a video to market to customers or clients, I would suggest
letting him speak the whole time. Because your accent might get in the way of
selling the product.

But when you're applying to an accelerator, the product you're selling is your
team. You're an integral part of that team, and you need to show the YC folks
what they're getting with you as part of that team.

YC seems to be trying to address the gender gap in startup founding, so I
don't think that being female will put you at a disadvantage. And there are
plenty of other foreign founders of successful startups.

Try to relax, speak slowly and as clearly as you can, and record as many takes
as you need to feel confident that you can be understood. You'll be fine.

------
endswapper
Yes, you should speak in the YC video.

If your startup finds any reasonable degree of success in the US (given you
are applying to YC, and perhaps other accelerators in the US) you will need to
speak to prospective investors, and perhaps industry or trade groups, if not
consumers directly. Consider this the first the first step getting comfortable
doing it, which seems to be the problem.

As far as YC and rejection, the video, in part, is supposed to give them a
read on how you guys interact. Not speaking certainly limits the amount of
information you give them to do that accurately.

In the context of the team and how you guys interact I recommend considering
your partner's input very seriously. If he is in favor of you speaking, and
there is a significant practical reason, such as specific domain experience,
you have to balance your discomfort against submitting the best possible
application.

There will likely be many more items such as this and it's best to confront
them, fail, learn, move through them and move on.

------
kafkaesq
Talk. I wouldn't worry about the "accent" in the sense of vocal register or
overall "sound" (which is after all _you_ ), but (in the spirit of "don't make
people think") it wouldn't hurt to get a precise script of you want to say
corrected to be 100% grammatically (and _idiomatically_ ) correct, with the
help of a native speaker. And to try to get the pronunciation smoothed over to
be as correct as you can get it, also. Then practice it enough so that it
sounds perfectly natural and not forced (resting for a few days in between, to
let it seep in). Basic theatrical technique, in other words.

Because there's something about talking to people in their language on level
that's 100% correct (while still not trying to hide the fact that you're a
foreign speaker) that somehow really impresses people and makes them want to
listen to you. (Which shouldn't be too difficult for you, because going by
your writing, your English is really quite good already).

------
DanielStraight
English is spoken by over a billion people. Many of those people, even ones
who are native speakers, have accents that are nearly incomprehensible to
American English speakers. There are even debates about whether some dialects
of English are actually separate languages at this point.

See:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dialects_of_the_Englis...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dialects_of_the_English_language)

See also: [http://dialectsarchive.com/](http://dialectsarchive.com/)

It's completely unrealistic in today's global world to expect everyone to
speak with the same accent.

Talk.

~~~
AnnaGuzova
With respect, is this not proving the opposite point?!

If my accent is incomprehensible to the American English speaker, it is crazy
for me to talk!!!

We need to communicate. My American founder has the strongest capability, for
this extremist challenge. Every second I am taking from him, is one second he
is not communicating.

~~~
DanielStraight
I obviously can't tell you how YC will respond to your video, but I find it
very unlikely your accent is incomprehensible if your American cofounder said
it was fine.

Here's an example from the site I linked before that I would consider
completely comprehensible:
[http://dialectsarchive.com/russia-5](http://dialectsarchive.com/russia-5)

This, on the other hand, is probably pushing the limits the comprehensibility:
[http://dialectsarchive.com/russia-13](http://dialectsarchive.com/russia-13)

If you fall closer to the second example, then American English speakers may
have trouble understanding you clearly, but if you fall closer to the first,
then I can't see anyone having a legitimate problem understanding you.

But again, I'm just trying to address actual comprehensibility issues. I can't
say whether YC will respond positively or negatively.

------
lnx01
Don't worry about it.

If you're a founder then you have something meaningful to contribute and you
should speak and make yourself heard.

~~~
AnnaGuzova
Thank you. It's true, I have lots to contribute. It's why we are partners! But
why cannot I give my information for him to read, in a video?

The video recording is only for one minute. Such a short time for
communicating! We need every second. He is the most efficient.

If it was a computer algorithm, it would be stupid to use such a leaky
channel, with much entropy. Why should we do the same in recording the video?

~~~
davelnewton
Because a YC application isn't a computer program: it's about people
developing an idea. While the idea is important, the people _behind_ that idea
have a _lot_ to do with whether or not that idea can be realized.

------
oliwarner
Let's just be clear: it _is_ racism, but it's just the sort of naturalistic
—more comfortable with what you know and like— discrimination that's
subconscious and extremely hard to avoid.

One would hope an investor would be able to look past that, but when so much
about pitching is already about making your audience comfortable, you'd be
silly to ignore it. If your co-founder CAN do the talk and is likely to be
more "familiar" to your audience, you probably want them to do more of the
talking.

Also remember that it's not just who's the native speaker. I'm AWFUL at public
talking and I've been speaking the bloody language for 30 years. Confidence
and passion are important.

Without seeing you both pitch, I can't tell you what to do, but you could tell
friends and colleagues how important this is and try to get their honest
opinion.

~~~
AnnaGuzova
How can it be racism? I am the same white race. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Just
Russian. My American founder is much darker. )))))

I have much experience with formal presentation, but only in my Russian
language. I have made presentations about almost one billion dollars, but
always in the native Russian.

In this language, my partner has so many accomplishments. Every week, he is
appearing on BBC for example, as the respect expert. For me, this pressure is
so strong.

We are equals in our company. He is the hacker, I am the banker. But it does
not mean we are equals, in English presentation!

~~~
oliwarner
I include ethnicity under the umbrella that is "racism". It's less of a
mouthful than "racial and ethnic discrimination". Ethnicity and race aren't
the same thing, but people treat them in very similar ways. They'll hear
accents, see facial shapes, learn small details and their stereotypes take
over.

But we're not here to argue about that. I don't think we're here to argue at
all. You've made a clear case that he should do the pitch. I agree.

------
GoalkeeperMedia
Just for the optics of it alone, you should speak. It might send the very
wrong message if your company has a male and female co-founder and only the
man talks. There are all kinds of ways this can be interpreted that aren't
good. Own your space. I guarantee they've heard a lot worse, and still brought
them into the YC family.

------
davelnewton
I'd vote for speaking. IMO it's easier to convey passion and drive in fuller
communication mediums.

That said: if you're shy about speaking English, that will come through. I'd
focus on that aspect first: practice speaking with force and excitement. Take
videos of yourself and watch them; you're more than capable of deciding when
you're ready.)

(Full disclosure: I'm biased; I like accents, and unless it's quite thick,
generally have no comprehension issues.)

------
saluki
Definitely speck on the YC video . . . I think accents are cool and you want
to show off the whole team . . . be yourself and show off your domain
expertise . . . don't even think about your accent, just speak clearly as you
would for any recording . . . good luck with YC and your startup!

------
jgrahamc
Yes, you should speak.

Congratulations on speaking a second language. Don't be afraid of your accent.

~~~
AnnaGuzova
I speak six languages! In Russia, it is not anything special!

~~~
acemarke
Very old joke, but one I've always found amusing:

"What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you
call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone who
speaks one language? American!"

(And as an American who spent a few years overseas teaching English, that is
_so_ true :) )

