We didn't get into YC this time, but I appreciate the opportunity to apply and fight. We will definitely be back and will see you guys in the ring soon! 🥊
Same here, we were rejected after interviews, and my co-founders were gone. Though, I will be back for sure, even if just with myself and with a better product. I said so to my interviewer too
I just got rejected at the same point in time as feeling this idea I set on has zero traction so basically problems all around 😂😂😂. Did you apply for this most recent batch? No shame if you didn't, I think most people give up and this is probably a good sign for them that this isn't the right path for them
I think YC channel is the only source of valid startup information out there on youtube. I've been doing startups for the last 7 years, and it's so hard to find people who really understand what startups are, least to say they can say something meaningful about it
I'm beginning to agree. I've been led astray so many times. But also, this YC channel and the essays sometimes can super lead you astray if you don't really really understand what these guys are saying. I'm learning to apply the 5 why's to what they are saying to understand it better. Up until recently I'd think I'd understand, go try to use this wisdom and apply it, to only find out I didn't really understand 😅
OMG, I had tears in my eyes laughing as I listened. Thanks for putting out content like this. Crappiness is so much easier to deal with when you know it's coming.
Thank you for sharing this Dalton & Michael. Just facing some setbacks and this video pop out. I thought at first I already immune with the setbacks but turn out setbacks is setbacks. Watching this such a mood booster!! Keep on fighting for all the founders out there!
Pertaining to the perception that "everyone is raising": During World War II, the Royal Air Force lost a lot of planes to German anti-aircraft fire. So they decided to armor them up. But where to put the armor? The obvious answer was to look at planes that returned from missions, count up the bullet holes in damaged places, and then bolster those areas with extra armor. Obvious, but wrong. The Hungarian-born mathematician Abraham Wald looked at that problem and then said to add armor to the places with the least amount of bullet holes. Why? Because the planes that got hit in those places never made it back. Likewise, you don't hear from founders who never raised, but they're more common than public perception might have you believe.
It be sooo cool if YC only accepted startups under the condition they aren't allowed to share this with anyone before demo day. No false sense of achievement, no media, no annoying VCs trying to get your attentions, no lists, no vendors trying to wipe your ... :) And once you get to demo day, you are humble enough to know it was just another step of many more to come
I think startup founders deal with the most number of setbacks in their lives in comparison to traditional entrepreneurs and least to say employees of big corporations, because the startups face so many challenges, because they are the ones who are against the crowrd and who everybody would resist because they would treat you as a unwelcomed newcomer. And only true athletes can persevere through this nightmare and win.
I've come and gone a few times. This time has been different. This time is also not believed by everyone mostly because they don't get the tech. It's all a learning experience. Learn the lesson and implement your lesson.
Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) - 00:00 - Introduction 00:26 - What types of punches land? 01:04 - The setback cycle 02:05 - Investors and Fundraising 04:27 - YC - No for now 05:42 - Survivorship bias 06:28 - Co-founders 08:02 - The magical deal 09:15 - After the deal, credits don't roll 11:21 - A bad launch 13:28 - Movie mess us up 15:27 - Legal - Getting sued 16:51 - Silver linings 18:44 - You are the example 20:00 - Inventory - Taking stock 20:50 - Worst case analysis 22:00 - Wrap up
you have to be a born fighter that wants to become a hero, it's like a medievil version of knights, to be a startup founder in the current generation I would say
my company just got turned down by Michael himself yesterday after an interview xD Hey Michael if you see this, can you make a video explaining why you thought "audiences of a specific type of content creator" wasn't a good user group even if they have clearer pain points + there's a specific way to market to them? I'm still confused by why you couldn't take that as a user group. Someone asked for more details, so here's the full story: Basically, my startup makes a robotic cooktop platform that connects recipe creators to their audience. In the first 3-4 minutes of the 10 minutes interview, which we're supposed to start with a short pitch, I got cut by Michael about 20s in when I talked about the creator's pain points. He questioned me why I even cared about the creators and asked me to get to the users, "who are the users?" I explained that the users are audiences of recipe creators. And I think somewhere here we kept cutting each other off because I didn't feel like he was letting me explain and he didn't feel like I was answering his question upfront. But finally, he basically rephrased the question to "no are they men/women, young/old, what do they do, etc?" And I was forced out an answer of "it would start with young tech workers in the bay area" that was pretty misleading because the product was never designed specifically for them, I just happened to talk to many of them around me but the product was designed specifically for the user group I stated: audiences of food recipe creators. I had to say that though because we already wasted 3-4 minutes cutting each other off and we would have been stuck here for the whole interview if I tried more. This whole situation felt worse because I specifically emailed YC beforehand, asking if I should expect the interviewer to have read my application, explaining that it really messes with my logic to not know this. They replied that I should expect that. But many questions made me feel like maybe they haven't read the application, which got me into a state of not knowing if I should answer something already included in the application. Anyways, in the night, we were rejected for the reason: "we (my interviewers) worried that the problem you’re trying to solve is not a big enough pain point for young tech workers in the bay area to sustain such a massive undertaking." I totally agree, but that was a forced answer which isn't really the user group we designed the product for. The pain point for the audience of cooking influencers is much bigger because influencers told me that 99%+ of the people that watch their cooking video or Instagram post don't finally get to eat what they saw. They most likely wanted to eat it but meal planning + shopping + cooking + cleaning was way too much for them, but we do all that for them! Another interesting fact? Cooking influencers have never been able to make money in the Food market! The cooking equipment market (hundreds of times smaller) is the closest they could get.
this was fun to watch. I feel totally identified. My daily emotional spike is refreshing mixpanel and getting excited about some activity before realizing it was actually me testing something!
This advise might just be for me - But I've realized when I'm in this stage I'm not talking to customers enough and I'm not watching them use my product in front of me
We are building an NFT exchange for video games called FiPME and I vividly remember how much excitement was around the launch. We thought it would be this massive deal and then you have like a couple 100 people testing your product. Which is cool and fun, and it's nice to read the feedback. But it's not like a Hollywood premiere. What's a launch for you, is kind of a normal day for your first users and it tends to be a rather stressful one, because there are always bugs to fix and stuff that doesn't work :O)
Covid took out about 90% of my business right before I was ready to sell, then I was sued twice for things outside of my control. I'll admit, I let that get to me. Maybe I'm a bit isolated, but it's nice to hear this kind of thing is normal. Thanks for the stoic wisdom - I need to apply it more in my life and my business.
Really good video, thanks for letting us know about how the real path looks like and helping us learn from that. The unreal and fantasy founder life can sometimes be overwhealming when is constantly compared with reality.
Hello, I am the CEO of Elexion, an information brokerage platform. We are engaging with people in Silicon Valley to learn about emerging issues in communicating this information to Latin American entrepreneurs! If you are a citizen We would like to know the problems that are occurring. Write us....
What an amazing video. Who ever the subject of this video must of really earned and deserved that much public shaming and ridicule. I’m rooting for you man, keep your head up, you got this!!
You know a good startup story? A business launch that ends with a boyz n the hood like story the death of something good starting up but remaining hopeful ready to move forward with the mission of business for his local community.
Im definitely on the spectrum of having a hard time dealing with setbacks 😂😂. I'm working on it! But also, those who are too optimistic in setbacks scare me a bit. Not those that recover quickly, but those who say everything IS fine and does nothing to fix it 😅
We didn't get into YC this time, but I appreciate the opportunity to apply and fight. We will definitely be back and will see you guys in the ring soon! 🥊
Keep working towards growing your business and apply again, I'm sure you can do it. Good luck from Pantore W22!
Same here, we were rejected after interviews, and my co-founders were gone. Though, I will be back for sure, even if just with myself and with a better product. I said so to my interviewer too
It took us 7 attempts to get into YC. You got this. Don't give up.
same for me, gonna again, third time
I just got rejected at the same point in time as feeling this idea I set on has zero traction so basically problems all around 😂😂😂.
Did you apply for this most recent batch? No shame if you didn't, I think most people give up and this is probably a good sign for them that this isn't the right path for them
I think YC channel is the only source of valid startup information out there on youtube. I've been doing startups for the last 7 years, and it's so hard to find people who really understand what startups are, least to say they can say something meaningful about it
I'm beginning to agree. I've been led astray so many times.
But also, this YC channel and the essays sometimes can super lead you astray if you don't really really understand what these guys are saying. I'm learning to apply the 5 why's to what they are saying to understand it better.
Up until recently I'd think I'd understand, go try to use this wisdom and apply it, to only find out I didn't really understand 😅
OMG, I had tears in my eyes laughing as I listened. Thanks for putting out content like this. Crappiness is so much easier to deal with when you know it's coming.
My goodness I love this videos. As a first time founder, you've taught me so much in the past 5 months. I'm always on the lookout for the next upload.
Same here. I also like Garry Tan.
The rollercoaster is more intense when you experience it. Thank you for sharing your wisdom
Thank you for sharing this Dalton & Michael. Just facing some setbacks and this video pop out. I thought at first I already immune with the setbacks but turn out setbacks is setbacks. Watching this such a mood booster!!
Keep on fighting for all the founders out there!
Pertaining to the perception that "everyone is raising":
During World War II, the Royal Air Force lost a lot of planes to German anti-aircraft fire. So they decided to armor them up. But where to put the armor? The obvious answer was to look at planes that returned from missions, count up the bullet holes in damaged places, and then bolster those areas with extra armor.
Obvious, but wrong.
The Hungarian-born mathematician Abraham Wald looked at that problem and then said to add armor to the places with the least amount of bullet holes.
Why?
Because the planes that got hit in those places never made it back.
Likewise, you don't hear from founders who never raised, but they're more common than public perception might have you believe.
It be sooo cool if YC only accepted startups under the condition they aren't allowed to share this with anyone before demo day. No false sense of achievement, no media, no annoying VCs trying to get your attentions, no lists, no vendors trying to wipe your ... :) And once you get to demo day, you are humble enough to know it was just another step of many more to come
I think startup founders deal with the most number of setbacks in their lives in comparison to traditional entrepreneurs and least to say employees of big corporations, because the startups face so many challenges, because they are the ones who are against the crowrd and who everybody would resist because they would treat you as a unwelcomed newcomer. And only true athletes can persevere through this nightmare and win.
I've come and gone a few times. This time has been different. This time is also not believed by everyone mostly because they don't get the tech.
It's all a learning experience. Learn the lesson and implement your lesson.
The content is so good but that's not what makes this series great. The dynamic and comedic humour between Michael and Dalton is amazing!
I love how much fun they have doing these talks. Laughing at all our mistakes because they know better. Stoked to continue learning and teaching!
Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) -
00:00 - Introduction
00:26 - What types of punches land?
01:04 - The setback cycle
02:05 - Investors and Fundraising
04:27 - YC - No for now
05:42 - Survivorship bias
06:28 - Co-founders
08:02 - The magical deal
09:15 - After the deal, credits don't roll
11:21 - A bad launch
13:28 - Movie mess us up
15:27 - Legal - Getting sued
16:51 - Silver linings
18:44 - You are the example
20:00 - Inventory - Taking stock
20:50 - Worst case analysis
22:00 - Wrap up
you have to be a born fighter that wants to become a hero, it's like a medievil version of knights, to be a startup founder in the current generation I would say
Pure stoicism at the end. Ryan Holiday would be proud of you guys - and I am too. Best advice: Control your reaction. Thx for the great video.
Any founder getting into YC should get a “I love getting punched in the face” t-shirt
Watching some of your videos lately. You guys are awesome. Thanks so much for your generosity.
thank you folks putting up such an enjoyable yet valuable talk
my company just got turned down by Michael himself yesterday after an interview xD
Hey Michael if you see this, can you make a video explaining why you thought "audiences of a specific type of content creator" wasn't a good user group even if they have clearer pain points + there's a specific way to market to them? I'm still confused by why you couldn't take that as a user group.
Someone asked for more details, so here's the full story:
Basically, my startup makes a robotic cooktop platform that connects recipe creators to their audience. In the first 3-4 minutes of the 10 minutes interview, which we're supposed to start with a short pitch, I got cut by Michael about 20s in when I talked about the creator's pain points. He questioned me why I even cared about the creators and asked me to get to the users, "who are the users?" I explained that the users are audiences of recipe creators. And I think somewhere here we kept cutting each other off because I didn't feel like he was letting me explain and he didn't feel like I was answering his question upfront. But finally, he basically rephrased the question to "no are they men/women, young/old, what do they do, etc?" And I was forced out an answer of "it would start with young tech workers in the bay area" that was pretty misleading because the product was never designed specifically for them, I just happened to talk to many of them around me but the product was designed specifically for the user group I stated: audiences of food recipe creators. I had to say that though because we already wasted 3-4 minutes cutting each other off and we would have been stuck here for the whole interview if I tried more.
This whole situation felt worse because I specifically emailed YC beforehand, asking if I should expect the interviewer to have read my application, explaining that it really messes with my logic to not know this. They replied that I should expect that. But many questions made me feel like maybe they haven't read the application, which got me into a state of not knowing if I should answer something already included in the application.
Anyways, in the night, we were rejected for the reason: "we (my interviewers) worried that the problem you’re trying to solve is not a big enough pain point for young tech workers in the bay area to sustain such a massive undertaking." I totally agree, but that was a forced answer which isn't really the user group we designed the product for. The pain point for the audience of cooking influencers is much bigger because influencers told me that 99%+ of the people that watch their cooking video or Instagram post don't finally get to eat what they saw. They most likely wanted to eat it but meal planning + shopping + cooking + cleaning was way too much for them, but we do all that for them! Another interesting fact? Cooking influencers have never been able to make money in the Food market! The cooking equipment market (hundreds of times smaller) is the closest they could get.
What's your Instagram 🙌?
Kpi
@@vlogmoinc5597 that's more like revenue right? how does it have to do with users?
Can you give us more details?
@@777Kiq I updated the post with more details :)
Good job Dalton and Michael. Great one YC
OMG, you guys kill me! Hahaha! Comic relief, as well as words of wisdom, for founders :)
Hey thanks for that, please keep the ESPN-style rundowns coming
Read the stoics! And practice it. You get better on it over time
sounds real, sounds tough, sounds inspiring
Such a good time gaining valuable insights
I love their chats
In summary of the summary, mental fitness is key
Does Michael reply to cold emails with questions??
He does! He did it for me. Real nice guy!
Hey, could you please tell me the email that you used
Love it, ty guys *takes a punch*
Both of you guys click really well... Keep it up
"Everyone has a plan, till they get punched in the face". Mike Tyson
Such an hilarious yet informative conversation 😭
I love their nervous giggles when they have flashbacks from their setback PTSD XD XD
Should be called "Stoic Combinator" :)
Absolute gold
Ha "getting punched is the sport." I think I'm starting to understand why, um, my "friend" is into this.
This is funny as heck and definitely true~!
Thank you for sharing. Now I know I´m not alone lol
This is fun!
I laughed so HARD.... that's a first for a video about startups
Agreed!
I am special🥺
This is hilarious 😂❤
I was arrested🥺
Seibel looks/sounds like he just woke up here😀...we don't love you any less tho Seibel ☺️
#Awesome
I wanna be the mayweather of startups 😮
which era? pretty boy floyd era - aggressive, disruptive, and explosive? or the money-may era - calculated, defense-oriented, and crafty
These guys make me depressed lol
lol
this was fun to watch. I feel totally identified. My daily emotional spike is refreshing mixpanel and getting excited about some activity before realizing it was actually me testing something!
Ahhhh this! But then it's so much more exciting when it wasn't you testing!
Hahaha that’s so sweet and relatable
Haha, so relatable. This is why we put it a isTester flag for all employees
This advise might just be for me -
But I've realized when I'm in this stage I'm not talking to customers enough and I'm not watching them use my product in front of me
Great video for every founder. Honest and motivating. So Much appreciated!
We are building an NFT exchange for video games called FiPME and I vividly remember how much excitement was around the launch. We thought it would be this massive deal and then you have like a couple 100 people testing your product. Which is cool and fun, and it's nice to read the feedback. But it's not like a Hollywood premiere. What's a launch for you, is kind of a normal day for your first users and it tends to be a rather stressful one, because there are always bugs to fix and stuff that doesn't work :O)
The thing about setback is - once it happened- how do you know you are not in the idea trap?
my favorite youtube show michael & dalton
I like the github approach . Bootstrap then have investors chase you
Bootstrapping is not as easy as it sounds… you need a good product, good cash flow and good team to do this.
Covid took out about 90% of my business right before I was ready to sell, then I was sued twice for things outside of my control. I'll admit, I let that get to me. Maybe I'm a bit isolated, but it's nice to hear this kind of thing is normal. Thanks for the stoic wisdom - I need to apply it more in my life and my business.
Really good video, thanks for letting us know about how the real path looks like and helping us learn from that. The unreal and fantasy founder life can sometimes be overwhealming when is constantly compared with reality.
This one is so good. Thanks guys!
Hello, I am the CEO of Elexion, an information brokerage platform. We are engaging with people in Silicon Valley to learn about emerging issues in communicating this information to Latin American entrepreneurs!
If you are a citizen We would like to know the problems that are occurring.
Write us....
When one door closes, another opens. I keep forgetting that. Thanks for the reminder.
This was hilarious and could not be more true 😂
Too many people spend money they earned..to buy things they don't want..to impress people that they don't like. --Will Rogers
Hi!
I am a first year college student from Bangalore,
Can I also join the startup school program??
Yeah free for anyone
@@mdh.4231 Thanks for replying
I swear Dalton wears the same shirt in every video 🤣🤣 👕
What an amazing video. Who ever the subject of this video must of really earned and deserved that much public shaming and ridicule.
I’m rooting for you man, keep your head up, you got this!!
You know a good startup story? A business launch that ends with a boyz n the hood like story the death of something good starting up but remaining hopeful ready to move forward with the mission of business for his local community.
What’s crazy is the worst people to tell about set backs are people who care about you.
Dalton is so funny. Great chemistry between these two as well
A bad launch is really fun!
Much much relatable 😅😅
Great video, thanks guys!
The launch and nobody cares is hard, even if you know its a posibility
Edit: The wrap up was really stoic
Love this video. Story of my life
Im definitely on the spectrum of having a hard time dealing with setbacks 😂😂. I'm working on it!
But also, those who are too optimistic in setbacks scare me a bit. Not those that recover quickly, but those who say everything IS fine and does nothing to fix it 😅
i feel like im the optimist who is in denial & does nothing to fix the problem 💀💀
i am learning a lot in this channel, it is a LOT
Michael Seibel has the best laugh lol
14:46 really killed me lmao
Thank you so much!