

Ask HN: Dress for interview with an Incubator/VC firm? - ffumarola

This may seem like a silly question, but what is the expectation for dress?<p>In my mind, I'm not applying for a job, so it would be business casual... a suit would be silly. But I'm not sure if there are any expectations out there with these VCs/angels.<p>Thanks!
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pg
At YC there are certainly none. We tell people to dress like they do
ordinarily. We do. Which in my case means shorts and Birkenstocks.

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bdclimber14
I think the way an individual normally dresses is a reflection of their
personality. You can infer quite a bit about what someone is like based on
their pants, shoes, shirt, and even overall coordination. Some of these
inferences are valuable, others are just interesting. This certainly doesn't
mean that you are smarter or more motivated if you wear a suit.

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ecuzzillo
Or you could just talk to them.

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curt
Dress how you want to present yourself and your company. Are you planning on
being a casual, fun workplace, then dress like that. Are you targeting a
financial area, then you need to show you can do the suit and tie.

Personally, I never wear a suit and tie or a white shirt. My standard is a
pair of slacks and button down. A lot of that has to do with my extreme height
and trying to break it up with color. Everyone's different, you need to find
your own personal style. How you want to present yourself to the world.

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ffumarola
Thanks for the response.

I never wear a suit or tie, either. I wear sneakers, jeans, and a polo to work
everyday. I work for an ecommerce company, so it makes sense. But something
about the image of people with money to invest just made me question my
perception of what is "acceptable" or expected.

Good insight on just dressing based on how we foresee our company. A suit
would definitely make sense if the idea were B2B in the payments industry.

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erik_p
I've wondered about this as well.

I'd guess it would depend on the investor and the type of perception you are
trying to convey about yourself and your product. (I'm hip, I'm smart, I'm
successful, I'm trustworthy for investment, etc).

Hopefully your funding doesn't depend on your fashion sense, but perhaps
there's something to that first impression thing and other intangibles.

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ffumarola
"Hopefully your funding doesn't depend on your fashion sense" -- If that were
the case, a whole lot of us would be screwed!

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jasonlynes
i agree with the no suit sentiment. but i work in a place where plenty of
people look like crap in a suit. it's all about how you take care of yourself.
you can look put together in shorts and flip flops. ultimately you're asking
someone to give you hundreds of thousands of dollars. your ability to get
dressed in the morning will say a lot about your ability to build a company.

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saifa
If i could come to YC or other VCs interview, i would wear a t-shirt with my
startup/idea identity. Would it be silly?

