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Lessons From Doing YC Twice - Harj Taggar
23 segments available
Harj Taggar is the CEO and cofounder of Triplebyte (YC S15), a marketplace for connecting software engineers with companies that are hiring. https://triplebyte.com/ Before Triplebyte Harj was a Partner at YC and cofounded Auctomatic (YC W07). --- 00:15 - Harj's intro. 1:07 - What is Triplebyte? 2:07 - Where did the idea for Triplebyte come from? 3:40 - What type of engineer are companies looking for? 6:05 - Should people go to bootcamps? 8:20 - Why did Harj do YC twice? 9:58 - What was fundraising like the second time around? 11:14 - What was it like doing office hours for the second time? 12:58 - How should you take advantage of your time during YC? 14:08 - What learnings did Harj take from being a partner to being in the batch? 17:50 - Did Harj advise startups in the batch with him? 18:20 - What were Triplebyte's stats at the end of the batch 19:15 - What are good ways to find engineers? 21:05 - Any tips for vetting someone remotely? 21:55 - Was Harj worried that doing YC a second time would be seen as a sign of weakness to a VC? 22:55 - Did Harj's background help or hurt him in fundraising? 24:05 - How can people that have previously been successful check themselves when selecting new projects? 25:48 - How to choose a startup idea? 28:00 - How to find cofounders? 30:15 - Harj's thoughts on his sabbatical after being a YC Partner.
Segments Timeline
Harj Taggar's Journey Through YC
Harj Taggar shares his entrepreneurial journey, starting with his first startup, Auctomatic, which he co-founded in 2007. He discusses his transition from being a partner at Y Combinator to launching Triplebyte, emphasizing the evolution of his career and the growth of YC itself.
"Hey everyone. Uh today we have Harj Teagar. Uh he is the CEO and co-founder of Triple Bite and a multipletime YC alum. So if you could just give us some of your backstory and uh we can go from there. ..."
Understanding Triplebyte
Harj explains what Triplebyte is—a marketplace connecting software engineers with hiring companies. He details how the platform evaluates engineers based on skills rather than resumes, aiming to improve the hiring process for both candidates and companies.
"what is triple bite just to clarify? Yeah. So Trible Triple is um it's effectively a marketplace for connecting uh software engineers with companies that are hiring and specifically what we do is we p..."
The Genesis of Triplebyte's Idea
Harj discusses the origins of Triplebyte, highlighting the challenges of technical recruiting he and his co-founders faced in their previous startups. He emphasizes the need for a data-driven approach to match engineers with companies effectively.
"that idea come from? Um, a few different angles. So, my co-founder Armon had originally sort of had an idea around um recruiting and specifically technical recruiting being broken and just felt that u..."
Traits Companies Seek in Engineers
Harj outlines the key traits that companies look for in engineers today, focusing on the demand for 'product engineers' who can think about user impact and revenue growth. He also discusses the shift towards assessing coding productivity over theoretical knowledge in interviews.
"placed at this point? Uh we're not public with the numbers and stuff just yet. Um but we've had we've had about 15,000 go through our screening process at this point. Cool. And um I've seen you guys p..."
The Debate on Bootcamps
Harj shares his perspective on coding bootcamps, noting the mixed experiences companies have had with bootcamp graduates. He highlights that top-tier bootcamp grads can be as competent as traditional CS graduates, especially for those with prior engineering backgrounds.
"we we're finding that actually knowing your tools well and being able to like productively write code during a during an interview or just show examples of being productive as a engineer as opposed to..."
Bootcamp vs. Computer Science Degree
In this segment, Harj discusses the decision-making process for aspiring engineers regarding bootcamps versus traditional computer science degrees. He emphasizes the importance of personal goals and the evolving landscape of tech education.
"them and um they can actually show you what what their like strengths are under that. So, for sure. Cool. And so, um and if someone were to be looking at building that skill set, what would you recomm..."
Why Harj Did YC Twice
Harj explains his motivations for going through Y Combinator a second time with Triplebyte. He highlights the importance of the structured environment and the networking opportunities that come with being part of a YC batch.
"career. Fair enough. Um, so you are one of, uh, increasingly more people now that have done YC multiple times, and this is one of the reasons why I wanted to have you come in. Um, so you've done YC tw..."
Fundraising Insights from the Second Time
Reflecting on his fundraising experience, Harj contrasts the environment of YC in 2007 with that of 2015. He discusses how expectations and the fundraising landscape have evolved over the years, providing insights into the changing dynamics of startup funding.
"ton like I think there's a really strong case where if you're like a B2B company um being part of a YC batch can just help a ton with getting your first set of customers and feedback in a sort of lowr..."
Office Hours: A Transformative Experience
Harj shares his insights on the evolution of office hours at YC from his first experience to his second. He highlights the structured group office hours that provide valuable peer feedback and support, particularly for enterprise startups facing similar challenges in their growth journey.
"What was it like doing office hours for the second time? Um it was uh just I think the biggest difference from the first time going through YC and the second Y one the first time going through YC 2007..."
Building Relationships During YC
In this segment, Harj reflects on the importance of forming relationships during the YC batch. He discusses how the intense focus on work often overshadows the opportunity to connect with fellow entrepreneurs, and how these relationships often develop post-YC as they navigate similar challenges.
"grouped we were grouped into um like the other let's say like enterprisy startups and the good thing about that was all of us were going through kind of the same issues where enterprise startups tend ..."
Navigating Competition in a YC Batch
Harj addresses the competitive nature of YC batches and the emotional challenges it presents. He shares his perspective on how the loudest companies often do not correlate with long-term success, and emphasizes the importance of focusing on one's own startup rather than getting caught up in competition.
"you're all going through the same sort of issues, right? Like you're all trying to like hire your first person. and you're all trying to like figure out how do you manage like you're all trying to fig..."
Growth Metrics vs. Product Focus
Discussing the criticisms of YC's focus on growth, Harj argues that early-stage startups should prioritize the right metrics for their stage. He explains how growth should be measured by customer engagement rather than immediate revenue, and how YC encourages action and focus to drive progress.
"the criticisms that I've seen go around where it's like people are essentially saying that like YC focuses on growth growth growth during the summertime. Yeah. Um sometimes to the detriment of the pro..."
Revenue Insights from Triplebyte's Batch
Harj shares insights into Triplebyte's performance metrics at the end of the YC batch. He discusses the revenue generated from placements and how the enterprise model impacts the speed of revenue generation, highlighting the success achieved in just 12 weeks of focused effort.
"so did you find yourself like trying to advise the startups in your group like midback no actually that was um uh actually something I generally try to avoid doing um uh actually just didn't like agai..."
Effective Strategies for Finding Engineers
Harj Taggar outlines effective methods for sourcing engineers, including leveraging Triplebyte's platform and creating valuable content about technical interviews. He emphasizes the importance of providing a positive interviewing experience to generate word-of-mouth referrals in the engineering community.
"find engineers and then um that's one of the questions and then like obviously use triple bite if you're I mean okay so yeah sourcing engineers like just getting is sort of like the first battle. Um w..."
Remote Vetting Tips for Candidates
In this segment, Harj shares insights on vetting candidates remotely using Google Hangouts. He explains how allowing candidates to use their own environment during interviews can provide deeper insights into their problem-solving skills and comfort level, ultimately leading to a more effective evaluation process.
"companies should mostly focus on referrals and trying to find people that they've worked with in the past or they have some signal on what they'd be like to work with. So you would totally totally wan..."
Overcoming VC Perceptions in Second-Time Founders
Harj discusses his perspective on whether doing YC a second time might be perceived as a weakness by venture capitalists (VCs). He emphasizes that traction is the most critical factor in fundraising, and shares his belief that past successes can help but should not overshadow the current product's performance.
"Yeah. And then what about if um if you're vetting someone remotely? Do you have any particular tips? And we actually vet all of our candidates um remotely through Google Hangouts. So we this actually ..."
The Illusion of Success in Startups
In this segment, Harj reflects on the potential pitfalls of having a successful background when starting a new venture. He warns against the temptation to raise too much money too early and stresses the importance of focusing on real users and traction rather than superficial indicators of success.
"that's growing like VCs really don't care about all the other stuff. They just care about that. Yeah. So do you think that um actually your background didn't matter all that much at all? Um it helps l..."
Finding the Right Startup Idea
Harj shares advice for founders on how to choose a startup idea, emphasizing the importance of solving real problems. He discusses the challenges faced by successful founders in identifying viable projects and how YC can help maintain focus on growth and genuine market needs.
"really good Do you have any advice for someone who's like a founder who maybe who's done something successful in the past um to just kind of like check themselves and not go nuts? try and um so I I th..."
Criteria for Starting a Company
In this segment, Harj explains his approach to starting a company, advocating for a methodical evaluation of ideas based on personal experience and clear business models. He shares how he and his team filtered ideas against specific criteria to ensure they were working on something viable and impactful.
"second time, how do you go about choosing something? Cuz I Yeah, I know tons of people like exactly like you're talking about who just like vaguely are around at this point. There's so many different ..."
Building Domain Expertise
In this segment, Harj Taggar explains the value of developing deep domain expertise before launching a startup. He suggests that aspiring entrepreneurs should focus on understanding specific problems in their areas of interest, rather than rushing to create a startup. This approach can lead to better opportunities and partnerships in the future.
"is to not be explicitly trying to start a company is to like think about what are just like areas or problems in the world that I think are like interesting and build really deep domain expertise. So ..."
Finding Co-Founders Through Networking
Harj shares insights on how to find co-founders by building relationships rather than explicitly searching for them. He likens the process to dating, emphasizing the importance of developing friendships with potential collaborators over time. He also discusses the significance of working on projects together to gauge compatibility before committing to a startup.
"to do it. And so say you were to do that and like basically people around the valley at a certain point will know your name, right? So you have this interesting thing that happens like people just try..."
The Value of a Sabbatical
Harj Taggar reflects on his sabbatical between being a YC Partner and starting Triplebyte. He shares his motivations for taking time off, including a desire for travel and a break from the startup environment. Harj discusses the insights gained from stepping back and the realization that many startup ideas are not unique, highlighting the benefits of taking a break for personal growth.
"Yeah. Basically, I just think you do you run it as a process. Oh, yeah. No, absolutely. I find that that's by far the easiest way. Just simple projects start from there. Um, okay. Kind of a random que..."
Lessons from Travel and Reflection
In this concluding segment, Harj discusses whether his sabbatical led to any significant revelations. He acknowledges that while the experience was valuable, it did not result in profound insights about himself. Harj emphasizes the importance of personal experiences and how they contribute to one's journey as an entrepreneur.
"because when you realize one one thing that like being an investor maybe and being a YC partner in particular gives you is a realization into just how many people there are in the world working on sta..."