Y Combinator Head Michael Seibel: The ONE Mistake Killing Startups

[@mikulcek]

It is so easy to draw lines between Michael's business advice and his real world experience. Thank you guys, it was really insightful and fun talk. I particularly want to reflect on the part where Michael talks about 'broken people' and the need to expand the envelope in face of negative odds. I fancy the idea that some people just hold very high standards for themselves and have relentless hunger to better understand the world we live in.

[@worldofdaas]

Love this comment! Thanks for watching

[@sineadward5225]

He and Dalton have really helped me to the extent that I have some more common sense and am less deluded. It's lifelong learning.

[@carlatashkadeh5890]

Michael is so pleasant to listen to!

[@worldofdaas]

Really calming voice 💯 Saying smart things 💯

[@octavioavila6548]

I will never do a start up but I enjoy watching these videos for some reason

[@worldofdaas]

never say never!

[@Michaelgordonryan1]

Excellent share Auren. Should be required watching for pre-YC companies and other startup founders. Michael's insights, expertise and wisdom with startups, founders and funding challenges. Bravo!

[@worldofdaas]

Wow high praise, thank you! Michael is an elite guest.

[@Michaelgordonryan1]

@@worldofdaas You know I have a few decades of experience in the startup world and I often say "People recognize talent" and in addition to timing is one of the most important indicator to success including 10 other "Ts".

[@meowmix6401]

This guy is a gem

[@worldofdaas]

AGREE 💎💎💎

[@axiomalpha]

"I often feel as though the misunderstanding happens in the problem space. Everyone we fund [at YC] can build software, and so building good solutions is way more... that skill is way more distributed among the YC population. Understanding customer problems? That's actually really hard. Most people don't even want to engage with that intellectually." -- Michael

[@worldofdaas]

Interesting call out. Maybe the YC population needs more right-brain thinkers - perhaps not so good at coding but excellent at intuiting customer pain?

[@williamschulz9018]

An accelerator or venture fund is like a record label. The software developers are the band. Musicians create great bands and a great musical vision that is amplified by the label. You gotta get a great band of software developers and a great software vision. If the VC has to do it for you then they don't need you.

[@worldofdaas]

Interesting metaphor. If the developers are the band, what are the go-to-market team?

[@50kT]

The band's agents that deal with the industry?

[@delamberty]

MVPs + Product-Market Fit The journey isn't always linear. Advice aren't like the laws of physics. Therefore, it's recommended to launch quickly, fail fast, learn, and iterate.

[@worldofdaas]

start walking and the path will appear! Thanks for watching :)

[@leafhappy]

5:15 "Spec-list" -- the list of things you want to build for that interval of time [usually per week or whatever] Good term! I have a notebook = blank paged nice paper art sketchbook that I use to draw UI and make lots of checkboxes. It is a spec-list. A weird, artsy one that I have honed for my purposes and workflow, but essentially the same thing! :D

[@RandomGuy4964]

Brilliant interview with only 15k views. I must have found the right place.

[@worldofdaas]

Thank you for your kind comment - Michael is amazing! Please share with anyone who might find it interesting and hopefully we can get some more views!

[@jordan5253]

Bruh what is Michaels skin care routine?! Buddy is GLOWING !

[@worldofdaas]

Shucks! Missed question on our part 😓

[@MarkCicero]

It's gotta be that zoom blur. Wonder where I can get me some of that...

[@LeonidKotelnikov-jg9fi]

Michael is a LEGEND! I’m preparing a video about his path

[@worldofdaas]

We'd love to see it! Please tag it here when you have it

[@evurohardware]

I can answer question in 21:39 To build an accelerator with an online Ai analysis where a pitch deck is analysed through an app and sent automatically to the right person in the right VC form will be an evolution of YC

[@worldofdaas]

Some funds are already sorting and qualifying pitch decks with AI so this is certainly on the horizon.

[@evurohardware]

@@worldofdaas what if it becomes the next Y C thing? Popular and high stacks, which can even include customer acquisition metrics based on product offerings, shown in real time to prove that product will do well when launch. Product hunt+ growth curve+ VC funds

[@worldofdaas]

@@evurohardware That will work well for later-stage funds but will be hard for YC (and even many seed funds) as companies often don't have a solid product offering at the point of application into the program.

[@RodrigueFouafou]

Interesting Insight!

[@worldofdaas]

Thanks for watching! We're a small channel so please share with anyone you think would also enjoy this video :)

[@breaktherules6035]

excellent insights by Michael Seibel, a bit dissappointed by the questions and coordination by Hoffmann...

[@apoorvam99]

What does DaaS mean?

[@worldofdaas]

Data as a Service 💫

[@gotoHuman]

So he says that building the solution is easy and it's all about understanding user needs. Then I don't know why engineers from big tech companies seem to be geeting so much easier into YC or receive funding (maybe wrong impression?). They might be better at building but have probably no edge identifying customer needs.

[@anibaldamiao]

what does he mean about universities getting 10% when the students die? I'm not american, that one went over my head :D

[@AkireMaru]

Basically he’s saying (on average) that many successful people give about 10% of their wealth to their Alma mater upon death, so essentially Universities are like accelerators that earn from their students but a universities payout is higher because they have a lot more students. Don’t know if you’ve noticed all the places on a typical university that are named after people who you’ve never heard before…

[@worldofdaas]

@@AkireMaru Stanford has a $36B endowment 🤯

[@Yusuf-ok5rk]

​@@AkireMaruthank you for explaining.

[@MarkCicero]

What does a 51:49% co-founder split change when it comes to decision making? Equity ownership doesn't change decision making power if both are on the board.

[@suza7383]

bad thumbnail • great content • dint click when I first saw bad packaging • great product • won't pick from shelf

[@BizLytInteractive]

[@worldofdaas]