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This is honestly infuriating. Why wouldn't you realize that all of the characteristics of Jessica are why women are pushed out of the start-up world from the very first day they start? Why wouldn't you realize from this experience that women are the ones providing all the reasons and ideas for why a startup might be successful, but then are swept under the rug as a wife/family member/outside consultant/etc?
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This is honestly infuriating. Why wouldn't you realize that all of the characteristics of Jessica are why women are pushed out of the start-up world from the very first day they start? Why wouldn't you realize from this experience that women are the ones providing all the reasons and ideas for why a startup might be successful, but then are swept under the rug as a wife/family member/outside consultant/etc?
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Because they're there, but they seem few and far between.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've read before -- though right now I can't think of the source -- that if a group of interviewers are weakly against a candidate but one is strongly for them, you should trust the instincts of the person who's "strongly for." When hiring, I'd probably have that than a room of people who are weakly for a candidate on the basis that you'd rather have a person who's great at one thing than someone who's okay at everyt…
Are there any books on this topic that anyone would recommend? As a manager, this is where I struggled the most - naturally i am someone who strives to be a consensus builder, but it's hard to know when to put your thumb on the scale vs not.
While we're on the topic, she's also the author of this wonderful book of founder interviews, which is illuminating even 15ish years after publication. I highly recommend it if you haven't come across it yet: https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Work-Stories-Startups-Early/...
I was interviewed for that book! Good stuff.
Funny note: I went to jail for 10 years. One of only about three sites (out of thousands I had accounts on) that I could log into when I was released was delicious. Sadly 99% of my bookmarks now pointed to dead wood.
One of the things she's best at is judging people. She's one of those rare individuals with x-ray vision for character. She can see through any kind of faker almost immediately. Her nickname within YC was the Social Radar, and this special power of hers was critical in making YC what it is A manager at a past job also had a similar "x-ray vision". During interviews, she would always sit in with another interviewer an…
I am extremely skeptical of someone who claims this ability in themselves or others. What this tells me is that someone is misjudging a lot of circumstances very confidently. You just can't understand people on a snap judgment, there are too many outliers. Imagine if we applied this kind of thinking in courts. We would convict a lot of innocent people. We wouldn't feel that we need to wait for all the facts and evide…
Have you never heard of someone being a good judge of character?
> No one understands female founders better than Jessica. But it's unlikely anyone will ever hear her speak candidly about the topic. She ventured a toe in that water a while ago, and the reaction was so violent that she decided "never again." I wonder how much wisdom has been lost bc of this effect. I feel like society needs to create a much larger incentive for thoughtful people to share their wisdom. Today, you st…
Here’s a more recent, gossipy take: https://news.yahoo.com/y-combinator-entrepreneurs-were-kicke...
I don't doubt Jessica is good at reading people, but I found out during hiring people is that it is the easiest/cheapest skill to hire. I am honestly curious about why pg skipped the most frequently asked question: Would Jessica be close to this level of successful if she was not his wife? Also I would be very curious to know about female founders that Jessica selected. According to [1], companies with at least 1 fem…
Combined Valuation (all companies): $600B Combined Valuation (Companies with women founders): $45B
Still unbalanced, but closer to 15:1 as opposed to 49:1.
That's also a comparisons that is totally useless without the base rate. If half the companies had female founders, it might be valid to say "why are the companies with women raising at a lower rate" but I'd be willing to bet that the application pool is heavily skewed male, and thus that the accepted pools are also heavily skewed male. It wouldn't shock me if that skew were on the order of 50:1. It also wouldn't shock me if it were trending in a more balanced direction; that would lead to a fundraising bias towards older companies that have raised more money over time and are more likely to have only men as founders.
One of the things she's best at is judging people. She's one of those rare individuals with x-ray vision for character. She can see through any kind of faker almost immediately. Her nickname within YC was the Social Radar, and this special power of hers was critical in making YC what it is A manager at a past job also had a similar "x-ray vision". During interviews, she would always sit in with another interviewer an…
> e.g. there were times where 7 out of 8 interviewers said "pass", she said "hire" and she was always right. Just noting: that situation around that assessment can affect the outcome. For example, hired person appreciates the opportunity/faith extended to them, or otherwise picks up on the need to rise to the occasion. Or a manager or other staff sees/treats the person differently because of the circumstances (e.g.,…
I don't think it would make sense to tell a hired person "you barely got in here, everybody hated you except for one interviewer".
One of the things she's best at is judging people. She's one of those rare individuals with x-ray vision for character. She can see through any kind of faker almost immediately. Her nickname within YC was the Social Radar, and this special power of hers was critical in making YC what it is A manager at a past job also had a similar "x-ray vision". During interviews, she would always sit in with another interviewer an…
Basically anyone who can do this kind of thing falls into INFP or INFJ in Myers-Briggs. They're just incredible at reading people. Based on the article I'd be shocked if Jessica wasn't an INFP.