Startup School by Y Combinator
51 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 92 ratingsLearn how to start a startup with YC’s free 10-week course. A series of lectures and conversations with YC Partners, startup founders, and experts on how to start a successful company.
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Episodes
Parting Advice by Geoff Ralston
September 25, 2019 12:35 - 15 minutes - 21.1 MBYC President Geoff Ralston concludes Startup School this year with some parting advice, as founders continue on their journey to make something people want.
Startup School 2019 by the Numbers by Kevin Hale and Adora Cheung
September 25, 2019 12:35 - 24 minutes - 33.7 MBYC Partners Adora Cheung and Kevin Hale reflect on Startup School 2019 and share some of our learnings from this year's program.
How to Lead by Ali Rowghani
September 25, 2019 12:22 - 17 minutes - 23.9 MBTo succeed in building a big company in the long-term, founders must become good at leading, motivating, and retaining great people. Ali Rowghani, YC Partner and CEO of the YC Continuity Fund, takes from his experience working with great leaders to share his three observations on leadership.
Advice for Hard-tech and Biotech Founders by Jared Friedman
September 20, 2019 00:25 - 24 minutes - 33.7 MBYC Partner Jared Friedman covers hard-tech companies and why founders should consider starting one. He also covers a couple of the most common problems hard-tech companies face and how to solve them, with examples from seven YC companies.
Modern Startup Financing by Carolynn Levy
September 20, 2019 00:22 - 28 minutes - 39.5 MBYC Partner and GC Carolynn Levy details the basics of startup financing and how modern early stage rounds of financing are done using convertible securities, like the SAFE.
Evaluating Startup Ideas Pt. 2 by Kevin Hale
September 12, 2019 21:44 - 41 minutes - 56.7 MBIn this lecture, YC Partner Kevin Hale goes over how to package up your idea and communicate it to an investor. He shares his tips on how to craft your pitch in a clear and concise way that effectively grabs your audience's attention.
How to Prioritize Your Time by Adora Cheung
September 12, 2019 02:15 - 27 minutes - 37.6 MBYC Partner Adora Cheung shares her framework for how founders can efficiently make use of their time. She covers ways to identify and prioritize tasks, in addition to how you can measure their impact on your company.
Startup Pricing 101 by Kevin Hale
September 06, 2019 15:18 - 19 minutes - 26.8 MBYC Partner Kevin Hale goes over the fundamentals of pricing and monetization, how it affects your customer acquisition strategy, and how to optimize it through a few rules of thumb.
How to Improve Conversion Rates by Kevin Hale
September 04, 2019 23:03 - 18 minutes - 25.7 MBYC Partner Kevin Hale covers the first principles of conversion, one of the main drivers of growth for your startup, and how you can improve it starting with your landing page.
All About Pivoting by Dalton Caldwell
August 29, 2019 02:28 - 38 minutes - 53 MBYC Partner and Head of Admissions Dalton Caldwell talks about pivoting for startups and shares his advice on when and how founders should consider it for their companies.
Building Culture by Tim Brady
August 29, 2019 02:27 - 18 minutes - 24.8 MBYC Partner Tim Brady covers the importance of building a strong and coherent culture early and shares six things that you can do now to help you create a solid foundation for your startup.
How to Work Together by Kevin Hale
August 22, 2019 14:34 - 47 minutes - 64.8 MBYC Partner Kevin Hale talks about the importance of building a successful working relationship with your cofounders, and setting up processes to optimize for the strengths of your team.
Startup Finance Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them by Kirsty Nathoo
August 22, 2019 14:31 - 28 minutes - 39.8 MBYC Partner and CFO Kirsty Nathoo shares the most common mistakes startups make with their finances and how they can prevent them.
Growth for Startups by Gustaf Alstromer
August 14, 2019 16:41 - 49 minutes - 68.5 MBYC Partner and growth expert Gustaf Alstromer talks about how to measure product market fit, how to decide on a growth channel, metrics that lie about PMF and other mechanics of growth for startups.
How to Launch (Again and Again) by Kat Manalac
August 14, 2019 16:40 - 26 minutes - 35.8 MBYC Partner Kat Manalac presents on how startups should think about launching and why you should do it repeatedly.
How Investors Measure Startups Q&A by Anu Hariharan and Adora Cheung
August 07, 2019 21:08 - 38 minutes - 52.3 MBYC Partners Anu Hariharan and Adora Cheung answer questions from Startup School founders on how investors measure startups.
Nine Business Models and the Metrics Investors Want by Anu Hariharan
August 07, 2019 21:06 - 34 minutes - 46.9 MBYC Continuity Partner Anu Hariharan breaks down the important metrics we look for when we’re evaluating a startup’s business model and common mistakes to avoid when measuring them.
Analytics for Startups by Ilya Volodarsky
August 01, 2019 03:00 - 20 minutes - 28.8 MBIlya Volodarsky, co-founder of Segment, presents his tactics for setting up analytics to build your MVP and measure your metrics.
How to Set KPIs and Goals by Adora Cheung
August 01, 2019 02:59 - 28 minutes - 39.9 MBYC Partner Adora Cheung covers the importance of defining and tracking KPIs to understand how effectively your startup is reaching your goals.
How to Plan an MVP by Michael Seibel
August 01, 2019 02:59 - 25 minutes - 34.9 MBYC CEO and Partner Michael Seibel shares his approach to building an MVP and getting your first users as a pre-launch startup.
How to Talk to Users by Eric Migicovsky
July 25, 2019 15:53 - 31 minutes - 43.4 MBYC Partner Eric Migicovsky outlines a framework for asking questions and collecting feedback from your users.
How to Evaluate Startup Ideas Pt. 1 by Kevin Hale
July 25, 2019 15:49 - 26 minutes - 36.6 MBYC Partner Kevin Hale walks us through the process of evaluating ideas and how founders should think about their startups.
A Conversation with Werner Vogels
November 11, 2018 16:35 - 56 minutes - 25.8 MBWerner Vogels, CTO of Amazon, joins YC Software Engineer Kyle Corbitt to share his experience and insights on technology and startups. Video Link Video Transcript
How to Win by Daniel Gross
October 24, 2018 01:57 - 47 minutes - 21.9 MBDaniel Gross, former YC Partner and founder shares his wisdom of how to survive and thrive as a startup founder. Lecture Slides Lecture Transcript Video Link
After PMF: People, Customers, Sales by Mathilde Collin
October 24, 2018 01:56 - 54 minutes - 25.2 MBMathilde Collin, founder of YC alumnus Front, describes what she learned as she scaled Front to 1000s of paying customers. Video Link Transcript
The Path to $100B by Paul Buchheit
October 24, 2018 01:55 - 54 minutes - 25 MBYC Partner and the creator of Gmail, Paul Buchheit in conversation with Geoff describes how he thinks about companies that manage to scale to the ultimate level. Transcript Video Link
A Conversation with Elad Gil
October 18, 2018 09:33 - 53 minutes - 24.5 MBSerial entrepreneur and angel investor Elad Gil sits down with YC Partner Geoff Ralston to discuss startups. Transcript Video Link
How to Get Meetings with Investors and Raise Money by Aaron Harris
October 17, 2018 06:27 - 47 minutes - 21.9 MBYC Partner Aaron Harris gives invaluable advice for how to most effectively and strategically meet with investors. Lecture Slides Lecture Transcript Video Link
Understanding Safes and Priced Equity Rounds by Kirsty Nathoo
October 17, 2018 06:26 - 50 minutes - 22.9 MBYC CFO and Partner Kirsty Nathoo gives the lowdown on several different ways to capitalize your company and how those impact founder equity and cap tables overall. Lecture Slides Lecture Transcript Video Link
A Conversation on Hard Tech with Eric Migicovsky
October 12, 2018 15:17 - 1 hour - 27.9 MBYC Partner Adora Cheung talks to YC Partner Eric Migicovsky, previously founder and CEO of Pebble, about his experience as a hard tech startup founder. Video Link Transcript
Fundraising Fundamentals by Geoff Ralston
October 10, 2018 15:35 - 52 minutes - 24.1 MBYC Partner Geoff Ralston gives an introduction to the key concepts to keep in mind once you enter a fundraising process. Lecture Slides Lecture Transcript Video Link
Startup Technology - Technical Founder Advice
October 10, 2018 15:30 - 59 minutes - 27.4 MBYC Partner Jared Friedman joins founders Lillian Chou (COO, Second Measure), Diana Hu (CTO, Escher Reality), Calvin French-Owen (CTO, Segment) and Ralph Gootee (CTO, PlanGrid), to talk about what can go right and wrong building technology. Video Link
A Conversation with Elizabeth Iorns - Advice for Biotech Founders
October 03, 2018 18:19 - 55 minutes - 25.3 MBYC Partner Adora Cheung talks to Science Exchange Co-Founder and CEO Elizabeth Iorns about her experience as a biotech startup founder. Transcript Video Link
Running Your Startup by Patrick Collison
October 03, 2018 18:14 - 57 minutes - 26.2 MBYC Partner Adora Cheung, along with Patrick Collison, the founder of well known YC alumnus Stripe, discuss how to most effectively run a startup company towards success. Transcript Video Link
How to Apply and Succeed at Y Combinator by Dalton Caldwell
September 28, 2018 01:28 - 44 minutes - 20.2 MBYC Partner Dalton Caldwell gives insight into how YC admissions works and what makes for a successful YC experience. Clarification on the Application video: Founders can splice together a video if they're not all in the same place; you do not need to be in same place to do the video. Lecture Slides Lecture Transcript Video Link
Building an Engineering Team - by Ammon Bartram and Harj Taggar
September 26, 2018 02:59 - 1 hour - 32.8 MBFormer YC Partner and founder of TripleByte Harj Taggar, along with his cofounder Ammon Bartram discuss a topic startups often struggle with most: finding and hiring the key engineers who will build your product. Lecture Slides Lecture Transcript Video Link
How to Sell by Tyler Bosmeny
September 26, 2018 02:58 - 52 minutes - 24.1 MBTyler Bosmeny from YC alumnus Clever shares his expertise on how an early stage company should think about sales and about building an enterprise sales team. Lecture Slides Lecture Transcript Video Link
A Conversation with Aileen Lee
September 21, 2018 08:34 - 1 hour - 27.7 MBYC Partner Geoff Ralston talks to Cowboy Ventures Founder Aileen Lee. Transcript Video Link
PR + Content for Growth by Kat Mañalac and Craig Cannon
September 19, 2018 15:36 - 52 minutes - 24.2 MBYC Partner Kat Mañalac and Director of Marketing Craig Cannon describe the most effective ways to use PR and content to help your companies brand and to find more users. Lecture Slides Lecture Transcript Video Link
Design for Startups (Part 2) by Garry Tan
September 19, 2018 15:35 - 19 minutes - 8.95 MBFormer YC partner Garry Tan, the founder of Initialized Capital and a design expert describes how to effectively integrate design into a product development process. Lecture Slides Lecture Transcript Video Link
Design for Startups (Part 1) by Garry Tan
September 19, 2018 15:30 - 1 hour - 30.6 MBFormer YC partner Garry Tan, the cofounder of Initialized Capital and a design expert describes how to effectively integrate design into a product development process. Lecture Slides Lecture Transcript Video Link
A Conversation About Crypto-currencies and ICOs with Andy Bromberg
September 14, 2018 15:52 - 1 hour - 30.9 MBYC Partner Geoff Ralston talks to CoinList Co-Founder and President Andy Bromberg. Transcript Video Link
How to Measure Your Product by Suhail Doshi
September 12, 2018 19:54 - 59 minutes - 27 MBSuhail Doshi, founder of YC alumnus Mixpanel and a world-class expert on measurement details how startups should think about discovering the important facts about how their product is used. Lecture Slides Lecture Transcript Video Link
How to Get Users and Grow by Gustaf Alströmer
September 12, 2018 19:52 - 1 hour - 29.4 MBYC Partner Gustaf Alströmer, who was most recently a growth expert at AirBnb describes strategies for scaling your user base. Lecture Slides Lecture Transcript Video Link
How to Succeed with a Startup by Sam Altman
September 12, 2018 19:43 - 16 minutes - 7.43 MBSam Altman, President of Y Combinator, shares his thoughts on how you can succeed as a startup. Transcript Lecture Slides Video Link
A Conversation with Ooshma Garg
September 12, 2018 19:41 - 56 minutes - 25.7 MBYC Partner Adora Cheung talks to Gobble founder and CEO Ooshma Garg. Transcript Video Link
How to Find Product Market Fit by David Rusenko
September 12, 2018 19:38 - 58 minutes - 26.8 MBDavid Rusenko from YC alumus Weebly details the story of how Weebly developed one of the most popular website creation and hosting sites on the web today. Transcript Lecture Slides Video Link
Building Product by Michael Seibel
September 12, 2018 19:35 - 59 minutes - 27.1 MBYC CEO Michael Seibel outlines how successful startups think about building something people want. What problem are you solving? Who is your Customer? How to set up metrics Product Development Pivot vs. Iterate? Transcript Lecture Slides Video Link
A Conversation with Paul Graham
September 12, 2018 19:24 - 1 hour - 28.9 MBYC Partner Geoff Ralston talks with Paul Graham, one of the founders of YC, and tries to draw out as much startup wisdom as possible in 1/2 hour of conversation. Transcript Video Link
Startup Legal Mechanics by Carolynn Levy
September 12, 2018 19:22 - 57 minutes - 26.4 MBYC Partners Carolynn Levy, Jon Levy, and YC General Counsel Jason Kwon recap on legal mechanics for startups, in addition to common mistakes and problems. Transcript Lecture Slides Video Link