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Some things to do (and not do) if you aren't invited to interview with YC

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Re: Some things to do (and not do) if you aren't invited to interview with YC

#11

Post by yarek »

pg wrote: post #8

Another thing I'd ask people not to do is write to us asking for the details of why they weren't invited. We explain in the YC FAQ that we won't, but every cycle people deluge us with emails anyway. It's not because we're being secretive that we don't answer these emails. The reason is that there generally are no details to give. Usually when we don't invite a group for interviews, it's not because there was some gla…

This reminds me of the application process to Yale. To get int you've got to be really good -- top of your class, top of the district. But, that's not enough - lots of people of that caliber apply. You've got to have something about your application that makes you stand out, that makes you special. You will simply stick in the recruiter's mind. And in this case, stickiness is good.

It's the same thing when you're creating a startup -- you got to stand out.

Re: Some things to do (and not do) if you aren't invited to interview with YC

#12

Post by Alex3917 »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #6
antirez wrote: post #5

> but you can still be very successful without YC Sure, but let's face it, to be "under YC" makes you much more able to hit success, all the other things being the same. This is not exactly fair, but it's how things work.

So does being Bill Gates' cousin, winning the SuperBowl, saving a kid from a burning building, having good parents, etc. Some of this stuff is random, some of this stuff you can make happen, and some is a combination. YC is a combination. They're doing their best to figure out who to pick and you're doing your best to make your company work. Golden rule of being self-employed: NEVER focus on one opportunity or plan.…

"How much can you really convey to somebody by bumping into them and chatting in the hall?"

You can listen to what the other person has to say.

Re: Some things to do (and not do) if you aren't invited to interview with YC

#14

Post by nostrademons »

yarek wrote: post #11
pg wrote: post #8

Another thing I'd ask people not to do is write to us asking for the details of why they weren't invited. We explain in the YC FAQ that we won't, but every cycle people deluge us with emails anyway. It's not because we're being secretive that we don't answer these emails. The reason is that there generally are no details to give. Usually when we don't invite a group for interviews, it's not because there was some gla…

This reminds me of the application process to Yale. To get int you've got to be really good -- top of your class, top of the district. But, that's not enough - lots of people of that caliber apply. You've got to have something about your application that makes you stand out, that makes you special. You will simply stick in the recruiter's mind. And in this case, stickiness is good. It's the same thing when you're cre…

Amherst does the same thing. However, Amherst's Dean of Admission then recites all the little factoids that stuck out at the regional receptions for admitted students. (This is always lampooned - hilariously - at the RC show, where upperclassmen put their own spin on it for incoming freshmen.)

One of the factoids taken from my application was "One student took 8 AP tests, scoring 5s on 5 of them, without ever having taken an AP class." And I remember thinking, "What a dumb thing to fixate upon! My school didn't offer APs, so I couldn't take the courses. And the test was only $75 and could let me place out of several thousand dollars of college credit, so I'm not going to let something silly like not having taken the course stop me." My application had plenty of other impressive things on it, like starting a dot-com run exclusively by teenagers and watching it fail or placing tops in a couple of national math competitions. Yet what stuck out for them was the test scores.

I guess the moral is to put down everything that might conceivably be impressive, because you never know what'll stick in the mind of the admissions person.

Re: Some things to do (and not do) if you aren't invited to interview with YC

#15

Post by dfranke »

nostrademons wrote: post #14
yarek wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This reminds me of the application process to Yale. To get int you've got to be really good -- top of your class, top of the district. But, that's not enough - lots of people of that caliber apply. You've got to have something about your application that makes you stand out, that makes you special. You will simply stick in the recruiter's mind. And in this case, stickiness is good. It's the same thing when you're cre…

Amherst does the same thing. However, Amherst's Dean of Admission then recites all the little factoids that stuck out at the regional receptions for admitted students. (This is always lampooned - hilariously - at the RC show, where upperclassmen put their own spin on it for incoming freshmen.) One of the factoids taken from my application was "One student took 8 AP tests, scoring 5s on 5 of them, without ever having…

> And I remember thinking, "What a dumb thing to fixate upon! My school didn't offer APs, so I couldn't take the courses. And the test was only $75 and could let me place out of several thousand dollars of college credit, so I'm not going to let something silly like not having taken the course stop me."

If I were an admissions officer, I'd be a lot more impressed by that line of reasoning than by the result. When I was in high school, AP exams had this impenetrable mystique about them, like they're the Weighing of the Heart in Duat or something. From the perspective of the school administrators it was even more ridiculous. My school didn't offer AP Comp Sci, but I wanted to the take the AP exam anyway. When I asked the principal about it, he almost went into conniptions, because if I failed the exam it would mean that the school would be on public record with a 0% pass rate. Eventually I got him to agree to let me take the introductory CS course at the local community college for high school credit, and then take the lower-level of the two Comp Sci exams offered. (This was a fantastic deal for me, because it meant I got to leave that hellhole two hours early every day, and then sit down in the computer lab at BCC, ssh into my home computer, and play Nethack while the instructor gave his sixth lecture on 'for' loops.)

The mystique is total bullshit, of course. AP exams test a very small body of knowledge that you can acquire by sitting down with a Barrons or Princeton Review book for a week or two. The Calculus and Physics exams are a partial exception, because they require some degree of understanding rather than just regurgitation, but that degree is minimal. The fact that you saw through this charade speaks a lot more highly of your character than your scores do.

Re: Some things to do (and not do) if you aren't invited to interview with YC

#17

Post by edw519 »

alaskamiller wrote: post #10

Well here's to my fourth attempt.

997 more and you'd be as persistent as Walt Disney.

I bet you have an interesting story, alaskamiller. I imagine others here would like to hear it. Regardless of outcome this time, you should tell it here.

I admire your tenacity. Good luck.

Re: Some things to do (and not do) if you aren't invited to interview with YC

#18

Post by andreyf »

As great as YC and Paul Graham's writings are, and as much as they are helping create a extraordinary startup community, there will always be many ways to success in a tech startup. Take 37signals, for example - they suggest that you get no outside funding, and make your startup on the side (while working or going to school). They also suggest that location and distance is completely irrelevant in the internet age. If I remember correctly, worked on their initial products from across the world.

Now, statistically speaking, YC companies probably has a higher success rate than the 37signals model, but your life is not a statistic. Focus on making something people want.

Re: Some things to do (and not do) if you aren't invited to interview with YC

#19

Post by andreyf »

zandorg wrote: post #13

When I was rejected in November 2006, I sent a sarcastic (but not rude) email complaining about not being given a reason. However, I doubt anyone was offended. Anyway, I won't be doing that again.

I felt a little disappointed also, but Paul's point above makes sense:

The reason is that there generally are no details to give. Usually when we don't invite a group for interviews, it's not because there was some glaring flaw in the application, but simply because nothing in it jumped out at us.

Re: Some things to do (and not do) if you aren't invited to interview with YC

#20

Post by gibsonf1 »

pg wrote: post #8

Another thing I'd ask people not to do is write to us asking for the details of why they weren't invited. We explain in the YC FAQ that we won't, but every cycle people deluge us with emails anyway. It's not because we're being secretive that we don't answer these emails. The reason is that there generally are no details to give. Usually when we don't invite a group for interviews, it's not because there was some gla…

PG: If you read through an application where nothing "jumped out", but the team had a fully functional web app to look at and the idea was interesting, would you ignore the web app?
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