

Tell HN: Our YC Interview Story and Advice - tdavis
http://ticketstumbler.com/new-stuff/2008/11/03/when-ticketstumbler-met-livingston/

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mattmaroon
I'm both happy and sad that they're not doing the same thing this year. I
really liked interviewing all the companies, but it also monopolized a couple
days. I think they took my advice an all of them actually, so it didn't feel
like a waste of time.

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yters
Do selected startups also help in the next round's selection process?

~~~
fallentimes
Not this time (that I know of).

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vlad
Nice post! You said you hadn't realized your idea wasn't exactly unique until
after you had started working on it. Some may call this a stretch, but I think
this is similar to Steve Wozniak often creating things that already existed,
just not to his standards or accessibility (i.e. costs, limited time and
place, etc.) When a startup doesn't have it's hopes up on just trying to be
the first to accomplish something, but more importantly to create a quality,
accessible product, that is probably when things come together for them.

~~~
fallentimes
Believe me, the only thing I have in common with Steve Wozniak is a seven-
letter last name :).

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sobriquet
Sounds so easy! 40 hour mock up, off the cuff interview, and head to the bar!
I can handle that.

But seriously, I'm sure all the hard work that's not mentioned in the post is
starting to pay off. Congrats, and thanks for the encouragement and advice.

~~~
jmorin007
Just to clarify a bit...Dan is one of the best "off the cuff" speakers that I
know, and Tom is almost inhuman in his ability to work for countless hours
straight and turn out an amazing product.

The Ticketstumbler advice is definitely spot on:

\- Make sure that you know your shit when you're going in for the interview.
Know your competitors inside and out (there will be laptops open during the
interview and active googling will be conducted while you're talking), and be
able to articulate why you're different.

\- Be confident in your idea, but also be open to suggestions/recommendations.
Push back if you feel it's necessary, but being open and flexible are traits
that YC is looking for.

\- Anticipate obvious questions and have intelligent answers ready.

\- Definitely have a demo/prototype.

We'll be writing up a more in depth blog post in the next few days on the
Anyvite blog, but just wanted to toss some ideas out there now in response to
the TS blog post.

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jumper
"Anticipate obvious questions and have intelligent answers ready." Does that
include putting the answers in the presentation? I suppose their might be some
that wouldn't really fit there even if they were predictable though.

Otherwise, I'm not sure if intentionally withholding them until the QA part is
a good way of looking stupid or smart...

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drm237
There is no presentation. No powerpoint, no projector, none. This isn't a
business meeting. You walk in and they fire questions at you. You respond as
best you can and realize that your only ability to steer the conversation is
with the responses you give.

~~~
jumper
Ah, what with the talk of the mock up I assumed you at least put up something
as a visual basis. Sounds... refreshing, actually, even if it puts you on the
spot, it frees you to show your stuff personally, as opposed to through
prepared materials.

~~~
jmorin007
Yep, you actually just walk into the office with your laptop in hand, set it
down on the table, everyone gets up and stands behind you to watch as you
start driving and talking...then they start asking you questions, you get
derailed answering the questions, and suddenly ten minutes have gone by.

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babul
_Our interviews went pretty well despite getting absolutely grilled by Pete
from Songkick. It was probably one of the sharpest, toughest interviews I’ve
ever had._

Pete is such a nice friendly guy it makes me smile thinking of him grilling
someone (though, of course, he can). So who was being "good cop"?

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fallentimes
Pete was the only one from Songkick that interviewed us. He was much nicer
after the interview :). It wasn't a mean grilling - just a thorough one. He
was/is very impressive. Also, it didn't help that we were on a transatlantic
conference call.

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jumper
"...we spent the next 8 years playing Starcraft" Heh. Reminds me of my friends
and I falling into it. Somehow, I can't help but think Starcraft could be a
useful if crude litmus test to divide people into social groups. I wonder if
there are any entrepreneur focused lan parties...

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fallentimes
We pioneered the goon/ling 2v2 strategy ;p. I didn't let myself bring my
Starcraft CD to college.

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fallentimes
In unrelated news: we managed to spend almost the entire reimbursement check
that night.

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hugh
If you'd spent the whole investment in one night I'd be impressed.

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fallentimes
Hopefully three years from now at Robert's Steakhouse in New York City :).

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jmorin007
I'm pretty sure we'll be spending more than the amount in that original
reimbursement check that night.

~~~
fallentimes
If we're lucky enough to make it that far, the goal will be to keep it under
six figures.

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brandonkm
Great story. I'm sure quite a bit of other startups and applicants can relate
to your situation and its always great hearing about the lead up to getting
funded by YC.

~~~
fallentimes
I wish additional young startups would share their stories. Many of them are
much more interesting than ours.

