Overall, I like the message, and I'm a big fan of people recounting their experiences to give everyone else a glimpse into the process. However, I do take issue with the following points of advice:
# Read as many essays as you can that PG has written. Watch any videos you can find as well. Get a sense of his style.
# Research previous YC companies. Take a look at the types of companies YC has funded and see where you could fit in.
I think it comes down to answering this question: Do I want to do my startup, or do I want to be a YC company? If it's the former, then don't spend time trying to study and cram on your YC/PG knowledge, unless that info will be useful to your company. It's not a trivia game, after all.
If the answer is the latter, then by all means read up and prepare for the application/interview process, as you'll need every shred of advantage you can get. Everything is riding on the application and interview. It's a risky bet, but at most you'll lose a couple weeks effort if you don't get accepted, and you can re-apply in a couple months time.
I suppose it doesn't hurt to do your research, but I think YC applicants who see YC as an avenue to do their startup, rather than the reverse, are better off just working on their idea and trying to get closer to a release.
Anyways, good luck with everything and thanks again for sharing your experiences.
(Note: I'm not singling listia out here, as I have no idea what their answer to the question would be. I'm just suggesting that all YC applicants ask themselves that question, be honest about the answer, and use that knowledge to help decide how much effort will be spent on the YC application.)
And yet this is the sort of advice I'd give to anyone talking to any investor: learn what that investor cares about, judging from what they've said and the companies they've funded. In fact giving founders this sort of information about later stage investors is a not insignificant part of what YC does.
It's another example of how distracting fundraising can be. Instead of working on new features or releases, you're trying to learn the likes and dislikes of a particular investor. If you're seeking funding, it's definitely something you need to do, but it really seems like a big gamble to me. You can spend a lot of time learning about a particular investor and still come up with nothing to show for it. I went down this route when I went to Techstars for a Day. Conversely, if you're working on new features or interacting with your customers, there's pretty much some sort of guaranteed return.
Still, if you've managed to line up a chance to pitch, it's probably not a bad idea to spend a little time doing your homework about who you're pitching to. Just don't go overboard and let it become a distraction (like I did...)
The really distracting part of traditional fundraising is the amount of time it takes investors to make up their minds. Spending a couple hours learning about the people you're going to talk to is rounding error by comparison. It's no more than you'd do for a job interview.
That's true. Once you're at the interview stage, chances are much higher, and consequently the effort you should invest should be changed to reflect that.
In my own case, I think I put to much emphasis on trying to put together a great application and it was a waste of time. I should have put together a decent application and waited to get a bite (ie. an interview), before investing more time.
The main idea I was trying to make behind those 2 points (as PG mentions below/above) is research your investor, not change your idea. Reading a few essays in between coding sessions doesn't take too long and it definitely doesn't hurt to know more about who you're going to talk to.
# Read as many essays as you can that PG has written. Watch any videos you can find as well. Get a sense of his style.
# Research previous YC companies. Take a look at the types of companies YC has funded and see where you could fit in.
I think it comes down to answering this question: Do I want to do my startup, or do I want to be a YC company? If it's the former, then don't spend time trying to study and cram on your YC/PG knowledge, unless that info will be useful to your company. It's not a trivia game, after all.
If the answer is the latter, then by all means read up and prepare for the application/interview process, as you'll need every shred of advantage you can get. Everything is riding on the application and interview. It's a risky bet, but at most you'll lose a couple weeks effort if you don't get accepted, and you can re-apply in a couple months time.
I suppose it doesn't hurt to do your research, but I think YC applicants who see YC as an avenue to do their startup, rather than the reverse, are better off just working on their idea and trying to get closer to a release.
Anyways, good luck with everything and thanks again for sharing your experiences.
(Note: I'm not singling listia out here, as I have no idea what their answer to the question would be. I'm just suggesting that all YC applicants ask themselves that question, be honest about the answer, and use that knowledge to help decide how much effort will be spent on the YC application.)