My Takeaway from Y Combinator Interview | with Twitch CEO, ex-Google Director, Serial Entrepreneurs

[@1bubble]

I think you are already amazing, just few minutes into the video and had to pause to say your storytelling is really hook-driven..mark of a great future ceo

[@SeanTechStories]

Thanks so much for your support!

[@Ranjanwatson]

Thanks, Sean that was really helpful. You short content brims with value, thank you.

[@SeanTechStories]

No problem! Glad it helped!

[@Tom_Gally_UTokyo]

Sean> Very informative video. I’m glad to hear that you submitted a proposal to YC. It sounds like it was a great experience. I continue to think that you had a really good idea, though I can see why they thought the potential market might not be large enough for them. If you’d ever like to chat about your ideas again in the future, please feel free to get in touch.

[@SeanTechStories]

Thank you so much for your support Tom!

[@yuanyuanLing]

Great sharing. Glad to hear the amazing experience which i might not have opportunity to have in my whole life. I was impressed by the your thoughts and atiitude to the interview results. And looking forward to hear more progress of your project.

[@SeanTechStories]

Hey thanks for your support! And never say never! These opportunities are always open for those who have the grit to keep trying and never give up. I started from a very humble beginning and worked my a* off to today and I believe if I can keep doing this and keep getting opportunities, anybody can too!

[@rapzid3536]

I guess I don't understand the process. Not sure how much patience I would have to be traveling out to an interview and be told "I don't like your idea". It's like bro, I submitted this idea and ya'll reviewed it and invited me out here.

[@SeanTechStories]

Haha true, but the interview was remote though so wouldn’t cost much haha.

[@BrennanMurphy]

The Psyduck scream painting is sick lmao

[@SeanTechStories]

One of my fav 🔥

[@KrisConklin]

Excellent run down. Thank you for sharing.

[@SeanTechStories]

Thanks for watching!

[@ousmand742]

Sick dude… best of luck on your future ventures.

[@SeanTechStories]

Thanks!

[@SeanTechStories]

Follow me for more: LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/shen-sean-chen Twitter - twitter.com/ShenSeanChen Instagram - instagram.com/sean_tech_stories Discord - discord.gg/TKKPzZheua

[@ArieS1]

Great video bro thank you for sharing. Knowing these questions is actually super helpful for my business.

[@chrisashby4733]

Thanks for making this video! Very informative.

[@SeanTechStories]

Thanks for your support:)

[@viktorbanczi9905]

Great video. Amazing insights.

[@SeanTechStories]

Glad it was helpful:)

[@CreamieLiu2022]

Hey Sean, I really love the picture behind you, wanted to hang one of them on my wall. Would you mind telling me where I can get it? Btw, great video, thanks for sharing your experience, good luck with 🎉venture!

[@SeanTechStories]

The poster was from amazon haha. I'm a big psyduck fan! Thanks for the comment!

[@daredevil5371]

really good video diff perspective and very helpful

[@SeanTechStories]

Glad it was helpful!

[@RamkumarCreates]

It was really really helpful sean 🎉

[@SeanTechStories]

Glad it helped:)

[@prateeksharma4]

Any inputs for solopreneurs? Do the chances of selection decrease if you don’t have a team ?

[@SeanTechStories]

I personally don't mind solopreneurship, but for some investors it is a red flag. I'd think about what proves values and how do you gain traction more, than worrying too much about a cofounder, unless you are blocked by tech, connections or others

[@Daniely-z2k]

From an outsider's perspective, it appears that you might need to undergo a certain process. It seems like your primary goal is to gain acceptance to Y Combinator as if it were a university. Instead, your focus should be on building your company. If you can't succeed without YC, then you may struggle even with their support. YC could be seen as a shortcut in this game, but it's essential to navigate the stages independently. You sound smart and with potential but take yourself a time to think a build yourself.

[@SeanTechStories]

You are right on point😊 Thanks for your reminder.

[@ebitdaddyca3676]

Very good video! However I hear a lot that YC invests mostly in people and not in ideas. Their videos and website mentions this a lot... but in your case it seems your team was great but not the idea and they turned you down. It makes it weird to me.

[@SeanTechStories]

Agreed:)

[@rira12621]

The problem is that, if you don't plan to build a venture scale business, ie unicorn+ you probably shouldn't raise venture capital. If you don't plan to raise venture capital, you don't really have a need for YC as building huge companies is what it's about, hence also things like demo day at the end. Raise more, build more, go big.

[@altorjoman-]

Thank you for uploading this video ❤, I'm working on a startup idea and trying to figure out wether i should charge the first customers i'd love to hear your thoughts?

[@SeanTechStories]

Hey thanks for the kind comment! Depends on what you value most at this stage. If you wanna test out if your customer has willingness to pay, you can, but if that's your only customers and you want more feedbacks and iterate with them more for discovery, then probably can do that later

[@7ckngsane354]

Hey Sean very helpful video! I wish I could know more about what type of product that you built and who are your expected customers.

[@SeanTechStories]

Someday will make a video about that:) Thanks for your interest!

[@Sacha-i3g]

Awesome!

[@SeanTechStories]

Thanks a lot!

[@Omahaneb6]

Great feedback

[@SeanTechStories]

Glad it was helpful!

[@dawa4233]

nice job! a question, is demo video necessary or just team video is good enough?

[@SeanTechStories]

Both were required:)

[@cheunglouislc]

Great video Sean! How long did it take to receive the interview invite after you submit the application?

[@SeanTechStories]

Thanks! Like a couple of months?

[@dibyendudas3949]

great informative video...thanks! Would like to know a bit more about the preparation of document for my business. Please share your contact to talk about this little more.

[@SeanTechStories]

Thanks for your message. I've shared how to reach out to me in the description ☺️

[@Bite-Size-Tech]

Your volume is a bit low but loved the video!

[@CarlossWorld]

Can u explain what impressed them about your team

[@SeanTechStories]

Ummm, I guess we built and launched fast, and perhaps some titles on the resume worked...

[@whydiswhydat]

subscribed! Bro, MIT, Antler, demo, customers and so much brain. Still rejected?

[@SeanTechStories]

Haha this video was filmed one year ago, since then I guess a lot changed? Maybe I don’t know loll… thanks for your support though

[@whydiswhydat]

@SeanTechStories i tried few things too but one thing that always kills all my research is getting first few users. How do founders get users just from signups? Also, does sell before you build work? If so how? I have seen YC founders who are kids in highschool making some software for doctors offcie, etc. Why would a doctor trust a kid? Any answer to these questions is really appreciated.

[@SeanTechStories]

I’m also looking for answers for these questions. I think it’s about showing value. If a doctor can actually see value of a tool somebody built for them which either helps them save time or money or increase productivity, I guess they wouldn’t mind if it comes from a kid or an adult?

[@whydiswhydat]

@SeanTechStories no but the question is how the kids know what to build? You need expertise and experience to understand the actual problem they face right?

[@SeanTechStories]

@whydiswhydat Talk to the users. That’s the only way.

[@jixueqian9593]

you should start a 小红书 account bro great contents

[@SeanTechStories]

My 小红书 ID is ShenSeanChen😄

[@hispantrapmusic301]

YC is just for Ivy leagues right?

[@SeanTechStories]

I don’t think so

[@hispantrapmusic301]

@@SeanTechStories I think you are a great person and you'd accomplish a lot of things. But the reality is that, they invest on the person not the project because that's how they want to make money. It's more attractive for PR someone who have their diploma in a ivy League than someone who got their diploma in the middle of nowhere.

[@SeanTechStories]

Hey thanks for the kind words. I think for sure people with a fancier background will have a higher chance of getting in or at least just having an opportunity to talk to one of their partners. I won’t deny that and I think this is generally applicable for most investors. But I also saw great teams without Ivy League degrees who proved themselves able to produce track records of execution and sales who got in after getting certain amount of recognition on the market. At the end of the day, getting in a reputable program doesn’t matter too much. It’s good as a starting point for any early stage founders but eventually it all goes back to building something people want;) Best of luck on your journey!

[@raymobula]

It’s not. They get applications from all over the world.

[@thieltube390]

Nice video. The “punchlines” section was unclear imo. Maybe put a title on the screen letting viewers know that it’s still the intro to the video? Also think it can be shorter or skipped entirely so we just jump into the meat of the video

[@SeanTechStories]

Very helpful advice! Thank you very much!

[@Sacha-i3g]

Thanks!

[@SeanTechStories]

Thanks so much!!!

[@TownsquareOriginals]

We use this youtube account to reach out to entrepreneurs with technical skills with great promise who we would love to work with. Respond to this comment and we will shoot you an email. Oh yeah and one important fact: We are based in Miami FL.

[@SeanTechStories]

Thanks but no thanks;)

[@MorrisHsu-h1p]

Thanks!

[@SeanTechStories]

Oh my god thanks Buddy!!!