Dalton Caldwell has worked with a LOT of first time founders and he sees this one mistake being made over and over again. Here is his advice on how to build sooner. Apply to Y Combintor: https://yc.link/shorts-apply Find a job: https://yc.link/shorts-jobs
In the first episode of Rookie Mistakes, Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel discuss co-founder mistakes. To create Rookies Mistakes we asked YC founders: Is there a simple fact you wish you knew when you started your company or a rookie mistake you wish you could take back? https://twitter.com/daltonc https://twitter.com/mwseibel Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 00:00 - Rookie Mistakes 00:15 - Note from YC founder 00:32 - Write it down 00:49 - Biggest error - Founders looking for someone with a skill match 01:57 - Note from YC founder 02:05 - Co founder disputes 02:05 - Arguments 02:33 - 1. Pause (Don't have to keep the fight going) 02:45 - 2. Stress (How your co-founder deals with it) 03:03 - Note from YC founder 03:20 - Avoidance 05:01 - How should the CEO set up a company? 05:49 - Tactical tips for folks looking for co-founders? 06:12 - 1. Team first 06:58 - 2. Co-founders are a superpower 08:10 - Recommendations recap
YC 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. Transcript and lecture slides here: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6p-all-about-pivoting This lecture is part of YC's Startup School, a free online program and global community of founders. Register and join the community at https://www.startupschool.org/ Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 0:00 Introduction 0:29 What is a "pivot"? 1:54 Why pivot? 3:09 Good and bad reasons to pivot 4:51 People wait too long to pivot 8:57 Product/market fit 10:09 Finding a better idea 14:27 The best time to pivot 16:41 Scoring ideas 18:41 Real-world examples 26:50 Conclusion
Startup Investor School is a free, 4-day course designed to educate early stage investors interested in investing in startups. We'll cover the fundamentals of investing, from investing instruments to legal and accounting basics to evaluating startups and managing deal flow. Our hope is that more people, from a wide range of backgrounds will consider investing in startups and that those who do will be better at it. Learn more at https://investor.startupschool.org/
Dalton answers questions submitted on Whale. You can download the app here: http://apple.co/2jV1WrB --- 0:03 - What product categories are you most interested in right now? Both as an investor and a founder. 0:50 - What's your advice to entrepreneurs building content businesses on the internet? 1:37 - What's the admissions process like at Y Combinator? 2:35 - You've been outspoken about being wary about starting startups in the music space. When and how will this change? How should startups in this space position themselves to succeed? 3:29 - For an app like Whale - what would you suggest their North Star, that one metric to improve 10% WoW be? Of course revenue is great, but could you optimize for revenue too early? If not revenue, DAUs? 4:34 - What drew you to YC and how has it changed the way you look at startups? What would you do differently as a first time founder now that you have the background of YC? 5:39 - What are your thoughts on spending time cold emailing investors in SF? Assuming you have a good business and team but you're from a small town with a limited investor network. What else would you do? 6:38 - Kanye for president? What do you think? 7:31 - For founders that move to Mountain View for YC, are you recommending they hire their founding team in the Bay Area or where they are originally from? 8:26 - How does a great YC application look like? 9:13 - We often hear about success stories out of YC, can you rather tell us about a big failure and what did you learn from it as a partner? 10:11 - How should young founders answer the question "why now?" in regards to them starting a startup while still in school? How can a young founder stand out and separate themselves from their age? 11:01 - We create 3D printed sculptures of real people. I got rejected twice by YC. Should I keep applying? 12:03 - I have a social network of food and I would like to know which specific figures in terms of growth, revenue, users & so on we need to have to get into YC - supposing a potential monopoly & big market 12:42 - Do you think new startups which have the same mission as that of Google i.e. of making knowledge more accessible but a different approach be successful? Also ideas? 13:47 - Should founders say "We found this problem really hard to solve, but we dealt with it by.."" or ""Our MVP works like this because the insight..."?
Dalton Caldwell, Y Combinator partner and founder of imeem and Mixed Media Labs, on how to convince someone to join your startup. https://twitter.com/daltonc Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year. Sign up for our free Startup School here: https://www.startupschool.org/ Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/ Looking for a co-founder? Try YC's new co-founder matching platform: https://www.ycombinator.com/cofounder-matching
YC Partner Dalton Caldwell gives insight into how YC admissions works and what makes for a successful YC experience. Transcript and lecture slides here: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6t-how-to-apply-and-succeed-at-y-combinator This lecture is part of YC's Startup School, a free online program and global community of founders. Register and join the community at https://www.startupschool.org/ Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 00:35 Why apply to YC? 2:53 Creating luck 4:38 Reasons not to apply 10:56 Properties of a good application 14:54 The importance of clarity 20:55 Great applications tell a story 22:01 Top tip for applicants 25:00 Your odds of an interview 27:10 No network needed 31:35 What happens in an interview? 38:48 Conclusion
YC Group Partner Dalton Caldwell shares his strategies for how to think about applying to YC. This talk goes beyond the information on YC's website, and reflects Dalton's latest advice on the topic. (Fun Fact: An earlier version of this talk is frequently mentioned by YC founders as instrumental in their decision to apply to YC and to getting in!) Apply to Y Combinator: https://yc.link/SUS-apply Work at a startup: https://yc.link/SUS-jobs Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 00:00 - Intro 00:17 - Why It's Worth Applying to YC 01:11 - Creating Luck 02:16 - Weird Reasons Not to Apply to YC 02:27 - I Am Too Early 03:36 - Being a YC founder is different than watching YC YouTube videos 04:42 - How to Stop Being Discouraged From Applying to YC 06:21 - Other Reasons Why People Don't Apply to YC 07:16 - Don't Overthink 09:05 - YC's Application Tips 10:37 - YC Application Reviewing: The Basics 15:59 - What Are Your Odds of Getting an Interview at YC? 18:12 - How to Prepare for Your YC Interview 22:22 - What Makes a Successful Interview at YC? 23:38 - Post Interview Feedback 24:38 - Outro
Dalton Caldwell, Y Combinator partner and founder of imeem and Mixed Media Labs, on how to create luck. https://twitter.com/daltonc Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year. Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
Dalton Caldwell is Managing Director and Group Partner at Y Combinator. Prior to YC, he was the co-founder and CEO of imeem (acquired by MySpace in 2009) and the co-founder and CEO of App.net. During his time at YC, he’s advised more than 35 YC unicorns, including DoorDash, Amplitude, Webflow, and Retool, and has worked across 21 different YC batches. He’s also racked up more than 6,500 office hours with founders. In our conversation, we discuss: • Why founders need to adopt the mindset “Just don’t die” • The most common reason startups fail • When to pivot, and characteristics of a good pivot • The concept of “tar pit ideas” and examples of bad startup ideas • Why investors say no to startups • The importance of market size in investment decisions • The pitfalls of founders over-delegating • Effective ways to talk to customers • 20 ideas Dalton is looking to fund — Brought to you by: • Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments: https://www.geteppo.com/ • Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny • Coda—The all-in-one collaborative workspace: https://coda.io/lenny Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-1000-yc-startups Where to find Dalton Caldwell: • X: https://twitter.com/daltonc • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daltoncaldwell/ Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Dalton’s background (04:41) The value of simple advice (07:04) Dalton’s advice: “Just don’t die” (08:39) Knowing when to stop (11:45) Deciding to pivot (14:26) Characteristics of a good pivot (17:53) Knowing when to pivot (19:03) Zip’s journey and finding a market (21:22) Why Dalton says to “Move towards the mountains and the desert” (23:45) Tar pit ideas (26:49) Understanding why investors say no (29:14) The importance of market size (32:16) Avoiding over-delegation and hiring senior people too early (36:43) Why startups fail (40:30) Effectively talking to customers (45:17) Examples of startups hustling to talk to customers (48:01) Patterns of successful startups (52:05) YC’s Request for Startups (55:37) Early days of Silicon Valley (01:05:33) Contrarian corner: growth hacking for early startups (01:09:28) Failure corner (01:11:15) Closing thoughts (01:12:22) Lightning round Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel discuss the best approaches to developing a healthy lifestyle that ultimately helps you run and grow a successful startup. Take care of yourselves out there. Apply to Y Combinator: https://yc.link/DandM-apply Work at a Startup: https://yc.link/DandM-jobs Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 00:00 - Introduction 00:35 - Plan for the punches 01:50 - Adulting harder 03:07 - Audit how you live 04:05 - Good & Bad Habits 07:23 - Information diet 09:22 - Salary bump 12:51 - Hard conversations 16:37 - Expectation setting 18:00 - Fight or flight 21:08 - Good R&R 24:59 - Healthcare 26:50 - Fatal punches
Dalton Caldwell, Y Combinator partner and founder of imeem and Mixed Media Labs, on pricing and how most startups undercharge. https://twitter.com/daltonc Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year. Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel talk about solutions in search of a problem, whether or not to follow your passion, how to figure out what to work on, and how to motivate yourself. To create Rookies Mistakes we asked YC founders: Is there a simple fact you wish you knew when you started your company or a rookie mistake you wish you could take back? https://twitter.com/daltonc https://twitter.com/mwseibel Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 00:00:00 - Rookie mistakes 00:00:30 - Note from YC founder 00:00:53 - SISP - Solution In Search of a Problem 00:01:33 - Have an opinion 00:01:56 - != School 00:03:09 - How are you supposed to figure out what work on? 00:03:15 - What to do 00:03:36 - Follow your passion? 00:07:22 - No approval 00:08:42 - Motivators 00:10:33 - Traction 00:13:36 - New Passions 00:13:59 - Setting up motivators 00:14:59 - Game yourself 00:16:51 - Intrinsic motivators
Within the world of startups, you'll find lots of discourse online about the experiences of founders bootstrapping their startup versus the founders who have raised venture capital to fund their company. Is one better than the other? Truth is, it may not be so black and white. Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel discuss the virtues and struggles of both paths. Apply to Y Combinator: https://yc.link/DandM-apply Work at a Startup: https://yc.link/DandM-jobs Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 00:00 - Coming Up 00:31 - Lopsided Issue 00:51 - Most Businesses 01:19 - It's Not Shark Tank 01:49 - VC is the Outlier 03:31 - Fake Argument 04:04 - A Bad Plan 04:26 - Many Paths 05:14 - Trillionaires 06:25 - Bootstrap Winners 07:46 - Stirring the Pot 08:37 - Why Seek VC? 10:06 - It's Not Personal 11:00 - What About ____ ? 12:36 - A Simple Game 13:40 - Outro
Burn rate, MVP, TAM — if you’re interested in tech and startups, you probably hear terms like these regularly. But what do they really mean? In this episode of Startup School, Managing Partner Dalton Caldwell breaks down some of the most common terminology that you’ll come across in the startup world. Apply to Y Combinator: https://ycombinator.com/apply Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 00:00 - Intro 00:30 - MVP 01:05 - VCs and Angels 03:20 - Profit and Burn 05:31 - Seed and Series A, B, C... 07:39 - PMF and Bootstrap 10:26 - Convertible Note and Equity 12:35 - TAM and Valuation 15:16 - IPO and ARR 17:40 - Outro
Startups need to innovate to succeed. But not all innovation is made equal and reinventing some common best practices could actually hinder your company. In this episode, Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel discuss the common innovation pitfalls founders should avoid so they can better focus on their product and their customers. Apply to Y Combinator: https://yc.link/DandM-apply Work at a Startup: https://yc.link/DandM-jobs Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 00:00 - Intro 00:13 - Innovation Economy 02:53 - Anti-Patterns 03:28 - Corporate Law 04:45 - Proving It Wrong 06:53 - Because It's Fun 08:30 - Business Models 09:52 - Being Unique 11:43 - Outro
Social media often promotes a doom and gloom outlook about our future society. But is that worldview accurate? In this episode, Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel discuss the best ways for founders and aspiring founders to think about weighing optimism and pessimism in their day to day lives. Apply to Y Combinator: https://yc.link/DandM-apply Work at a Startup: https://yc.link/DandM-jobs Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 00:00 - Coming Up 00:13 - Intro 00:27 - Failure Experts 01:02 - Perspective 02:32 - Information Access 03:39 - Communications 04:42 - Transportation 05:06 - Health Care 05:46 - Entertainment 06:26 - Seeing Progress 07:06 - Internet from Space 07:37 - Self-Driving Cars 09:14 - Renewable Energy 10:10 - 45 Minutes to Tokyo 10:56 - Moore's Rocket 11:42 - Why the Pessimism? 14:04 - Optimistic Future 15:55 - Outro
Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel talk about investor terms and incentives. To create Rookies Mistakes we asked YC founders: Is there a simple fact you wish you knew when you started your company or a rookie mistake you wish you could take back? https://twitter.com/daltonc https://twitter.com/mwseibel Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 00:00:00 - Rookie mistakes 00:00:18 - Note from YC founder 00:00:41 - Valuations 00:01:08 - Jargon 00:01:38 - Standard docs 00:01:59 - Goals 00:03:28 - Find a lead 00:06:18 - Investor incentives 00:07:25 - Community 00:07:51 - Alignment
Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel discuss the problems with zero sum games within tech culture. Is your startup making a positive impact on the world or are your business practices a net negative in society? Apply to Y Combinator: https://yc.link/DandM-apply Work at a Startup: https://yc.link/DandM-jobs Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 00:00 - Introduction 00:29 - Zero sum definition 02:09 - Gambling 04:08 - Fooling other people 05:12 - Extreme zero sum 07:53 - Positive sum game 08:48 - FOMO economy 10:00 - Losing lessons 11:03 - Build enduring value 14:22 - Your legacy 17:09 - Support positivity #startups #gametheory #tech
Dalton Caldwell, Y Combinator partner and founder of imeem and Mixed Media Labs, on what successful founders focus on. https://twitter.com/daltonc Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year. Sign up for our free Startup School here: https://www.startupschool.org/ Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel discuss the struggles of working at FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) and how to strategize leaving a big tech job to become a founder at a startup. Apply to Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/ Work at a startup: https://www.ycombinator.com/jobs Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 00:00 - When you should quit? 01:00 - What value can technical founders extract from a FAANG job? 03:21 - Assumptions - Why working at FAANG makes sense? 03:48 - Reality of the job 06:01 - Transferable Skills 08:35 - Path to get funded 10:55 - The retention trap - What's the company trying to do? 15:31 - When to get out? 17:31 - FAANG Optimization 18:56 - Plan at the start