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Michael Seibel, CEO of YC, is doing an AMA

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Michael Seibel, CEO of YC, is doing an AMA

#181

Post by gingerbread-man »

mwseibel wrote: post #21
oculusthrift wrote: post #8

i know you've funded a handful of single founders but what is the current outlook on them? also, how developed must a startup be to apply. should the product already be developed?

While we prefer that a team have co-founders we regularly fund single founders. Also, we fund a wide range of companies from those who are just starting to those who are post-launch and have raised seed funding (and everything in between).

At what stage have solo founders generally hired their first employees? I imagine a solo-founder startup would probably require the same amount of manpower, but the leadership structure would just be a little less flat.

Re: Michael Seibel, CEO of YC, is doing an AMA

#182

Post by sandGorgon »

healthenclave wrote: post #122
mwseibel wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There isn't a higher bar for international founders or companies working on a non-US market. The number one reason why companies don't apply to YC is cause they don't think they can get in. I think this applies double for international founders and is why we have increased our international outreach. My best guess is that you are seeing more post launch international companies in YC cause they are more confident in a…

Thanks that makes a lot of sense.

we (RedCarpetUp) were accepted to YC with extremely minimal levels of early funding.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have India/YC questions.

Re: Michael Seibel, CEO of YC, is doing an AMA

#183

Post by wcchandler »

I want to be a farmer. I want to treat the farm like a startup. At which point in the application process can I try to convince you that you need a farmer in your portfolio? Also, when and where can I go into details to describe how it would be different from today's conventional operations?

Re: Michael Seibel, CEO of YC, is doing an AMA

#184

Post by gingerbread-man »

maram wrote: post #109
mwseibel wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While we prefer that a team have co-founders we regularly fund single founders. Also, we fund a wide range of companies from those who are just starting to those who are post-launch and have raised seed funding (and everything in between).

What do you look for when considering a solo-founder? Given that the bar is higher.

I'm also curious about this.

Re: Michael Seibel, CEO of YC, is doing an AMA

#185

Post by diminoten »

teknyk wrote: post #179

Hi Michael, As international founders (Egypt), our team is a bit worried about the whole visa situation. I heard the interviews are generally held 2 weeks after the invitation. Do you help with obtaining a visa for the interview and is 2 weeks enough time to go through the whole visa process? Thanks!

I'm (obviously) not Michael, but this blog post from about a week ago might be relevant to your question: https://blog.ycombinator.com/us-visas/

Re: Michael Seibel, CEO of YC, is doing an AMA

#186

Post by sandGorgon »

Ashu_14 wrote: post #114

It's midnight here in india and i just noticed this session. I really want to know if there's any quick tip regarding international founders such as from india. I've been in touch with other Indian YC alums and have been getting feedback and suggestions for my YC application. I really am in doubt about how should i go with the application, i mean what exactly YC partners look for in the application the very first tim…

you will never get an answer to "what do YC partners look for". And we as alums dont really know - we have some ideas, but I'm pretty sure they are not accurate.

Re: Michael Seibel, CEO of YC, is doing an AMA

#187

Post by mwseibel »

d--b wrote: post #128

Hi Michael. You've done YC twice, why? It sounds like if you do it once, you already get a solid network, and you probably don't need the cash. So I don't really understand what made you go back there.

That is a great question - I'm actually going to post a blog post about this early next week. Quick summary: 1) It is motivational to work around a bunch of other super hungry startups 2) YC is a great tool and the more experience you have the better you are at using it 3) While I did have a good network I didn't have a ton of relationships with current early stage founders

Re: Michael Seibel, CEO of YC, is doing an AMA

#189

Post by mwseibel »

teknyk wrote: post #179

Hi Michael, As international founders (Egypt), our team is a bit worried about the whole visa situation. I heard the interviews are generally held 2 weeks after the invitation. Do you help with obtaining a visa for the interview and is 2 weeks enough time to go through the whole visa process? Thanks!

We do help founders with visas. We prepare invitation documentation and work closely with an immigration law firm that we give founders direct access to. We also have late interviews for founders who need more time to get a visa and will even do interviews outside of the country or remotely if required (see here: https://blog.ycombinator.com/us-visas/).

Re: Michael Seibel, CEO of YC, is doing an AMA

#190

Post by johnhenry »

thejohnhenry wrote: post #146

you stole my name! bastard! ...also I have the same question edit: sort of forgot to abide by community norms here and keep my comments on-topic. apologies

Interestingly, I've been fighting for years over the username "johnhenry" within the tech space. If you're hoping to secure those username, more power to you -- I just hope your name is actually "John Henry".
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