1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,450 [Miles] Today, 2 00:00:00,550 --> 00:00:01,900 [Miles] two founders, 3 00:00:02,250 --> 00:00:03,550 [Miles] same application window, 4 00:00:04,050 --> 00:00:04,750 [Miles] same deadline, 5 00:00:05,300 --> 00:00:06,050 [Miles] same dream. 6 00:00:06,516 --> 00:00:07,766 [Miles] One gets the email. 7 00:00:08,216 --> 00:00:09,016 [Miles] One doesn't. 8 00:00:09,166 --> 00:00:11,365 [Grant] That gap is what this episode is about. 9 00:00:11,615 --> 00:00:14,816 [Miles] We're in the YC S26 cycle right now. 10 00:00:15,216 --> 00:00:16,416 [Miles] The deadline was May 4. 11 00:00:17,015 --> 00:00:19,115 [Miles] According to Y Combinator's own site, 12 00:00:19,365 --> 00:00:20,615 [Miles] if you applied on time, 13 00:00:20,865 --> 00:00:22,665 [Miles] you get a decision by June 5. 14 00:00:23,115 --> 00:00:23,765 [Grant] Which is today. 15 00:00:24,315 --> 00:00:25,315 [Miles] Which is today. 16 00:00:25,515 --> 00:00:26,715 [Miles] And for a lot of founders, 17 00:00:27,015 --> 00:00:31,165 [Miles] that means the silence is either about to end or it just became official. 18 00:00:31,565 --> 00:00:34,965 [Grant] YC Roaster tracked the interview window as May 18 to May 26. 19 00:00:35,060 --> 00:00:35,160 [Grant] Thanks. 20 00:00:35,260 --> 00:00:38,359 [Grant] So if you haven't heard yet, you almost certainly didn't get one. 21 00:00:38,410 --> 00:00:39,010 [Miles] Right, 22 00:00:39,109 --> 00:00:42,160 [Miles] and we followed two founders through exactly that split. 23 00:00:42,660 --> 00:00:45,960 [Miles] One got the call, a ten-minute interview with YC partners, 24 00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:48,460 [Miles] that traction question she nearly fumbled, 25 00:00:48,859 --> 00:00:51,460 [Miles] four seconds of silence that felt like four years. 26 00:00:52,210 --> 00:00:54,760 [Miles] Grant walks me through where she almost lost the room. 27 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:57,310 [Grant] Because she had lost it. She just didn't know it yet. 28 00:00:57,410 --> 00:00:57,960 [Miles] Yeah. 29 00:00:58,548 --> 00:00:59,998 [Miles] Then there's the other side, 30 00:01:00,398 --> 00:01:04,248 [Miles] the founder who hit June two with twelve users and no paid revenue. 31 00:01:04,698 --> 00:01:10,548 [Miles] We dig into what he thinks went wrong and whether that diagnosis is honest or just self-protective. 32 00:01:10,847 --> 00:01:12,398 [Grant] That's the heart of conversation. 33 00:01:12,847 --> 00:01:14,948 [Grant] No feedback for pre-interview rejections. 34 00:01:15,248 --> 00:01:16,698 [Grant] That's the structure of reality. 35 00:01:17,198 --> 00:01:21,097 [Grant] CapWave puts the interview rate at roughly seven to ten percent of written applicants. 36 00:01:21,548 --> 00:01:24,147 [Miles] So most people never even get the ten minutes. 37 00:01:24,531 --> 00:01:25,031 [Grant] Right, 38 00:01:25,281 --> 00:01:29,281 [Grant] and we end with both founders the day after; one starting S26, 39 00:01:29,531 --> 00:01:32,182 [Grant] one starting the ninety day window to W27. 40 00:01:32,381 --> 00:01:35,381 [Miles] Here's the thing: the decision already happened, 41 00:01:35,682 --> 00:01:37,182 [Miles] we're just catching up to it. 42 00:01:37,381 --> 00:01:37,981 [Grant] Let's hear it. 43 00:01:38,931 --> 00:01:42,031 [Miles] And I'm just sitting there, phone face down on the table, 44 00:01:42,181 --> 00:01:43,381 [Miles] and my co-founder texts me, 45 00:01:43,431 --> 00:01:44,231 [Miles] check your email, 46 00:01:44,431 --> 00:01:44,881 [Miles] and I'm like, 47 00:01:45,331 --> 00:01:47,581 [Miles] I genuinely couldn't move for a second. 48 00:01:48,947 --> 00:01:50,447 [Miles] And the subtext line is just, 49 00:01:50,847 --> 00:01:52,097 [Miles] Your YC Interview. 50 00:01:52,497 --> 00:01:53,397 [Miles] No congratulations, 51 00:01:53,847 --> 00:01:54,097 [Miles] nothing. 52 00:01:54,547 --> 00:01:55,547 [Miles] Four words. 53 00:01:56,247 --> 00:01:57,298 [Miles] Four words. 54 00:01:57,947 --> 00:01:59,298 [Miles] I read it three times. 55 00:01:59,647 --> 00:02:01,847 [Miles] Then I walked into the bathroom and just stood there. 56 00:02:02,347 --> 00:02:04,247 [Grant] Now sit with that for a second, 57 00:02:04,597 --> 00:02:06,647 [Grant] because there's another version of this story. 58 00:02:07,048 --> 00:02:07,548 [Miles] Yeah, 59 00:02:07,597 --> 00:02:08,147 [Miles] there is. 60 00:02:08,497 --> 00:02:09,497 [Grant] Same night, 61 00:02:09,997 --> 00:02:10,698 [Grant] different inbox. 62 00:02:11,247 --> 00:02:14,098 [Grant] June 2 comes and goes, and there's just nothing. 63 00:02:14,611 --> 00:02:15,512 [Grant] No email, 64 00:02:15,811 --> 00:02:16,711 [Grant] no subject line, 65 00:02:17,412 --> 00:02:17,811 [Grant] silence. 66 00:02:18,611 --> 00:02:20,912 [Miles] And you have to figure out what that silence means. 67 00:02:21,861 --> 00:02:22,211 [Grant] Right, 68 00:02:22,662 --> 00:02:24,561 [Grant] because it's not ambiguous by that point. 69 00:02:25,061 --> 00:02:26,311 [Grant] According to Y Combinator, 70 00:02:26,461 --> 00:02:28,611 [Grant] if you applied before the May fourth deadline, 71 00:02:29,012 --> 00:02:30,762 [Grant] you get a decision by June fifth. 72 00:02:31,361 --> 00:02:33,062 [Grant] So June two with no email, 73 00:02:33,611 --> 00:02:34,461 [Grant] you pretty much know. 74 00:02:35,111 --> 00:02:36,461 [Miles] It's its own kind of answer. 75 00:02:37,312 --> 00:02:37,562 [Grant] Yeah, 76 00:02:38,111 --> 00:02:39,562 [Grant] and that's where we're starting today. 77 00:02:40,147 --> 00:02:44,097 [Miles] We wanted to hold both of those moments in the same episode-two founders, 78 00:02:44,397 --> 00:02:45,147 [Miles] same process, 79 00:02:45,497 --> 00:02:46,647 [Miles] same application window, 80 00:02:46,948 --> 00:02:47,847 [Miles] one email arrives, 81 00:02:48,097 --> 00:02:48,698 [Miles] One doesn't. 82 00:02:48,997 --> 00:02:52,097 [Grant] And what's interesting is how different the weight feels. 83 00:02:52,647 --> 00:02:54,048 [Grant] The founder who got the invite, 84 00:02:54,397 --> 00:02:55,147 [Grant] there's this rush, 85 00:02:55,247 --> 00:02:55,448 [Grant] right? 86 00:02:55,747 --> 00:02:57,647 [Grant] But also immediate dread. 87 00:02:57,847 --> 00:03:00,198 [Grant] Like, now I have to go do the thing. 88 00:03:01,139 --> 00:03:03,589 [Miles] The invite is terrifying in its own way. 89 00:03:03,939 --> 00:03:04,739 [Grant] Exactly. 90 00:03:05,239 --> 00:03:17,339 [Grant] YC Roaster published the Season 26 invite timeline and they put the window between May 18th and May 26th. Historically, the first big wave hits on a Tuesday or Wednesday late afternoon Pacific. 91 00:03:17,589 --> 00:03:20,739 [Grant] A second smaller wave follows within 72 hours. 92 00:03:21,189 --> 00:03:24,739 [Miles] So for two weeks you're just watching your inbox, 93 00:03:24,989 --> 00:03:25,389 [Miles] refreshing, 94 00:03:25,889 --> 00:03:26,139 [Miles] waiting. 95 00:03:26,707 --> 00:03:28,907 [Grant] Which is its own psychological event, 96 00:03:28,957 --> 00:03:29,608 [Grant] you know what I mean? 97 00:03:30,008 --> 00:03:31,358 [Grant] The waiting isn't passive, 98 00:03:31,657 --> 00:03:32,557 [Grant] it's active stress. 99 00:03:33,108 --> 00:03:35,057 [Miles] And then one of two things happens. 100 00:03:35,307 --> 00:03:41,508 [Miles] The email lands and you have between 5 and 14 days before a 10-minute interview that decides everything. 101 00:03:41,858 --> 00:03:45,858 [Miles] Or June 2 passes and you start doing a different kind of math. 102 00:03:46,257 --> 00:03:46,957 [Miles] Noted. 103 00:03:47,348 --> 00:04:00,148 [Grant] YC Roaster put it plainly you've got roughly 90 days to add the one number that moves a W27 application from interesting to interview users revenue shipped units and 104 00:04:00,148 --> 00:04:03,448 [Miles] The thing that kills me is both founders are still building. 105 00:04:03,698 --> 00:04:06,448 [Miles] One just got handed a deadline with a starting gun attached. 106 00:04:07,048 --> 00:04:09,898 [Grant] And one got handed a deadline with no clear end. 107 00:04:10,098 --> 00:04:13,698 [Miles] So the question we kept coming back to while putting this episode together. 108 00:04:13,876 --> 00:04:16,975 [Miles] And I think, Miles, you said this before we started recording, 109 00:04:17,125 --> 00:04:17,675 [Grant] Yeah. 110 00:04:18,026 --> 00:04:21,425 [Miles] what actually happens inside that 10-minute interview? 111 00:04:21,625 --> 00:04:23,526 [Miles] Because the invite is the beginning, 112 00:04:23,675 --> 00:04:24,425 [Miles] not the answer. 113 00:04:24,725 --> 00:04:26,076 [Miles] What goes on in that room? 114 00:04:26,867 --> 00:04:29,517 [Miles] So the accepted founder walked me through the whole thing. 115 00:04:29,918 --> 00:04:30,968 [Miles] Ten minutes on Zoom, 116 00:04:31,117 --> 00:04:31,718 [Miles] three partners, 117 00:04:31,968 --> 00:04:32,817 [Miles] no introductions. 118 00:04:32,867 --> 00:04:34,117 [Miles] They just start. 119 00:04:34,418 --> 00:04:36,267 [Grant] No pleasantries at all? 120 00:04:36,668 --> 00:04:37,067 [Miles] Nothing. 121 00:04:37,267 --> 00:04:38,567 [Miles] You're in the waiting room, 122 00:04:38,617 --> 00:04:39,218 [Miles] you join, 123 00:04:39,317 --> 00:04:42,267 [Miles] and the first question lands before you've even adjusted your camera. 124 00:04:42,567 --> 00:04:43,468 [Miles] That's the format, 125 00:04:43,617 --> 00:04:46,017 [Miles] and according to multiple founders who've been through it, 126 00:04:46,067 --> 00:04:46,918 [Miles] that's intentional. 127 00:04:47,168 --> 00:04:48,668 [Miles] So what was the first question? 128 00:04:48,918 --> 00:04:49,767 [Miles] What are you building? 129 00:04:50,218 --> 00:04:50,968 [Miles] 20 seconds, 130 00:04:51,218 --> 00:04:51,968 [Miles] no jargon. 131 00:04:52,017 --> 00:04:54,267 [Miles] And she said she almost blew it right there, 132 00:04:54,367 --> 00:04:55,767 [Miles] started explaining the technology. 133 00:04:55,572 --> 00:04:57,572 [Miles] Technology instead of the problem." 134 00:04:57,872 --> 00:04:58,372 [Grant] Classic. 135 00:04:58,672 --> 00:04:59,872 [Miles] She caught herself, 136 00:05:00,122 --> 00:05:00,521 [Miles] reset, 137 00:05:00,922 --> 00:05:04,422 [Miles] but she told me she could feel the room shift the moment she did that, 138 00:05:04,521 --> 00:05:05,672 [Miles] like there was this pause. 139 00:05:05,971 --> 00:05:07,322 [Grant] That pause matters. 140 00:05:07,771 --> 00:05:08,521 [Miles] A lot. 141 00:05:08,771 --> 00:05:10,372 [Miles] Then they went straight to numbers, 142 00:05:10,622 --> 00:05:10,971 [Miles] revenue, 143 00:05:11,221 --> 00:05:11,622 [Miles] retention, 144 00:05:11,922 --> 00:05:12,471 [Miles] growth rate. 145 00:05:12,872 --> 00:05:16,872 [Miles] She said one partner barely looked up the whole time just reading from the application, 146 00:05:17,271 --> 00:05:19,122 [Miles] and the other two were watching her face. 147 00:05:19,372 --> 00:05:20,221 [Grant] That's the tell, 148 00:05:20,271 --> 00:05:20,471 [Grant] right? 149 00:05:20,572 --> 00:05:22,021 [Grant] They already know your answers. 150 00:05:22,228 --> 00:05:24,328 [Grant] They want to see how you hold under pressure. 151 00:05:25,177 --> 00:05:25,528 [Miles] Exactly. 152 00:05:26,078 --> 00:05:30,278 [Miles] And here's where I pushed her on this because the version she told me initially was clean, 153 00:05:30,478 --> 00:05:31,228 [Miles] very polished, 154 00:05:31,627 --> 00:05:32,578 [Miles] the interview went well, 155 00:05:32,627 --> 00:05:33,478 [Miles] I felt confident. 156 00:05:34,627 --> 00:05:37,828 [Miles] So I asked, when did you think you'd lost it? 157 00:05:37,927 --> 00:05:39,427 [Miles] And she went quiet. 158 00:05:39,778 --> 00:05:40,578 [Grant] There it is. 159 00:05:41,028 --> 00:05:42,028 [Miles] Traction question. 160 00:05:42,377 --> 00:05:46,078 [Miles] A partner interrupted her mid-sentence, not aggressively but fast, 161 00:05:46,278 --> 00:05:48,328 [Miles] and asked why month-over-month growth had 162 00:05:48,244 --> 00:05:52,144 [Miles] It had dipped two months before; she hadn't prepared for that specific number. 163 00:05:52,594 --> 00:05:53,044 [Grant] Oof! 164 00:05:53,144 --> 00:05:53,844 [Grant] What does she say? 165 00:05:54,144 --> 00:05:54,994 [Miles] She stumbled, 166 00:05:55,294 --> 00:05:56,794 [Miles] she said she gave a real answer, 167 00:05:56,944 --> 00:05:58,044 [Miles] but it came out scattered, 168 00:05:58,344 --> 00:06:05,294 [Miles] and then-this is the part she'd left out of every version I'd heard before-she said there were four seconds of silence after that. 169 00:06:05,644 --> 00:06:08,644 [Grant] Four seconds in a ten minute interview is a lifetime. 170 00:06:09,194 --> 00:06:12,694 [Miles] Right?" she said it felt like someone had hit pause on everything, 171 00:06:13,394 --> 00:06:16,294 [Miles] and then a different partner asked a completely different question. 172 00:06:16,180 --> 00:06:18,530 [Miles] And she realized they'd just moved on. 173 00:06:18,879 --> 00:06:22,879 [Grant] Which could mean they bought the answer or decided it didn't matter. 174 00:06:23,379 --> 00:06:24,780 [Miles] She still doesn't know which, 175 00:06:25,129 --> 00:06:30,280 [Miles] but they called her that evening; per Ycroaster.com's breakdown of the S26 timeline, 176 00:06:30,530 --> 00:06:31,980 [Miles] acceptances come by phone, 177 00:06:32,329 --> 00:06:33,680 [Miles] rejections by email. 178 00:06:33,980 --> 00:06:34,730 [Miles] Her phone rang. 179 00:06:35,030 --> 00:06:36,530 [Grant] The call is everything. 180 00:06:36,980 --> 00:06:37,980 [Miles] Short short top! 181 00:06:38,629 --> 00:06:40,430 [Grant] Short short top! 182 00:06:41,172 --> 00:06:44,872 [Miles] And she said the first thing the partner said wasn't congratulations. 183 00:06:45,572 --> 00:06:45,972 [Miles] It was, 184 00:06:46,272 --> 00:06:47,672 [Miles] "We think you've got something. 185 00:06:48,022 --> 00:06:49,672 [Miles] Let's talk about what happens next. 186 00:06:50,172 --> 00:06:54,072 [Grant] That's a very different conversation than the one the other founder was waiting to have. 187 00:06:54,572 --> 00:06:56,172 [Miles] Which is exactly the question. 188 00:06:56,622 --> 00:06:58,972 [Miles] What does it sound like when that call never comes? 189 00:07:00,101 --> 00:07:01,401 [Miles] Now flip that around. 190 00:07:01,601 --> 00:07:02,451 [Miles] Same funnel, 191 00:07:02,701 --> 00:07:03,351 [Miles] same deadline, 192 00:07:03,651 --> 00:07:05,051 [Miles] same June 2nd date, 193 00:07:05,201 --> 00:07:06,751 [Miles] but the inbox stays empty. 194 00:07:07,001 --> 00:07:08,701 [Grant] And there's no call coming. 195 00:07:08,901 --> 00:07:09,501 [Miles] Right, 196 00:07:09,651 --> 00:07:15,051 [Miles] so we talk to the second founder this week and the first thing that struck me is how much he doesn't know yet. 197 00:07:15,401 --> 00:07:16,801 [Grant] Because there's nothing to know. 198 00:07:17,051 --> 00:07:18,151 [Grant] That's the part that gets me. 199 00:07:18,551 --> 00:07:20,851 [Grant] According to Y Combinator's own site, 200 00:07:21,251 --> 00:07:24,601 [Grant] on-time applicants get a decision by June 5th. That's it. 201 00:07:24,951 --> 00:07:25,651 [Grant] No explanation, 202 00:07:26,001 --> 00:07:26,501 [Grant] no breakdown. 203 00:07:26,905 --> 00:07:29,205 [Miles] And for founders who don't get an interview invite, 204 00:07:29,555 --> 00:07:30,855 [Miles] there's no feedback at all. 205 00:07:31,305 --> 00:07:33,005 [Miles] Y Combinator made this point clearly: 206 00:07:33,505 --> 00:07:35,205 [Miles] founders who interview but don't get in, 207 00:07:35,455 --> 00:07:37,405 [Miles] Y Combinator gives them a sentence or two. 208 00:07:37,705 --> 00:07:39,705 [Miles] But if you never got the call to interview, 209 00:07:40,005 --> 00:07:40,805 [Miles] you get silence. 210 00:07:41,305 --> 00:07:44,105 [Grant] So you're reverse engineering your own rejection. 211 00:07:44,825 --> 00:07:47,675 [Miles] Yeah—you're just sitting with it. 212 00:07:47,875 --> 00:07:48,975 [Grant] I pushed him on that. 213 00:07:49,275 --> 00:07:51,775 [Grant] I asked where he thought the application lost the room, 214 00:07:52,125 --> 00:07:53,075 [Grant] and he had a list ready, 215 00:07:53,325 --> 00:07:55,725 [Grant] which honestly is its own kind of signal. 216 00:07:56,175 --> 00:07:57,925 [Miles] That he'd already rehearsed the answer. 217 00:07:58,525 --> 00:07:59,125 [Grant] Exactly. 218 00:07:59,475 --> 00:08:01,475 [Grant] He said the traction section felt thin, 219 00:08:01,925 --> 00:08:03,675 [Grant] twelve users at the time of submission, 220 00:08:04,125 --> 00:08:06,075 [Grant] a demo that worked but nothing paid. 221 00:08:06,225 --> 00:08:06,925 [Grant] He knew it going in. 222 00:08:07,375 --> 00:08:08,525 [Miles] So why submit? 223 00:08:09,225 --> 00:08:11,425 [Grant] He said the idea was strong enough to carry it, 224 00:08:11,425 --> 00:08:11,625 [Miles] Hmm. 225 00:08:11,625 --> 00:08:12,575 [Grant] which is the wrong bet. 226 00:08:12,953 --> 00:08:14,953 [Miles] Capwave laid this out pretty clearly: 227 00:08:15,353 --> 00:08:17,953 [Miles] over 30,000 applications a batch, 228 00:08:18,353 --> 00:08:20,403 [Miles] around 7 to 10 percent get an interview. 229 00:08:20,853 --> 00:08:22,753 [Miles] The filter is the written application, 230 00:08:23,203 --> 00:08:26,753 [Miles] and the thing that clears it most reliably is a real traction signal, 231 00:08:27,153 --> 00:08:28,253 [Miles] not a strong idea. 232 00:08:28,853 --> 00:08:30,903 [Miles] Prove someone actually wants the thing. 233 00:08:31,303 --> 00:08:33,453 [Grant] And YC roaster put a sharper point on it, 234 00:08:33,903 --> 00:08:38,403 [Grant] 12 users on May 4th and 200 weekly users by W27, 235 00:08:38,503 --> 00:08:38,953 [Grant] that's 236 00:08:38,681 --> 00:08:39,881 [Grant] That's a different application. 237 00:08:39,881 --> 00:08:40,281 [Miles] So 238 00:08:40,281 --> 00:08:40,981 [Grant] Same idea, 239 00:08:41,381 --> 00:08:41,981 [Grant] different company. 240 00:08:42,481 --> 00:08:43,931 [Miles] what does he do now? 241 00:08:44,331 --> 00:08:45,381 [Grant] That's what I asked. 242 00:08:45,931 --> 00:08:49,281 [Grant] W27 applications open in summer 2026. 243 00:08:49,781 --> 00:08:57,531 [Grant] Why Ycroaster called it a roughly 90-day window to get the one number that would have moved the S26 app from interesting to interview. 244 00:08:57,945 --> 00:09:00,395 [Miles] User's Revenue or Shift Units. 245 00:09:00,595 --> 00:09:00,995 [Miles] Pick one. 246 00:09:01,345 --> 00:09:04,945 [Grant] He said revenue-first paid customer in the next sixty days. 247 00:09:05,395 --> 00:09:06,895 [Miles] Did he sound like he believed it? 248 00:09:07,345 --> 00:09:10,745 [Grant] He sounded like someone who needed to say a number out loud. 249 00:09:11,745 --> 00:09:12,095 [Miles] Yeah. 250 00:09:12,095 --> 00:09:16,495 [Grant] The hard thing is that the silence from YC isn't cruelty; it's just Valium. 251 00:09:16,845 --> 00:09:21,645 [Grant] Thirty-thousand-plus applications; you can't write a letter to everyone who didn't make the first cut. 252 00:09:21,845 --> 00:09:24,945 [Miles] But that means the founder is on their own to figure out why. 253 00:09:25,241 --> 00:09:31,741 [Miles] And most of them, I think, get it wrong; they land on the idea or the market or some wording they wish they'd changed, 254 00:09:32,041 --> 00:09:35,791 [Miles] when the real answer is usually just not enough proof yet. 255 00:09:36,341 --> 00:09:37,841 [Grant] And that's actually fixable, 256 00:09:38,191 --> 00:09:42,541 [Grant] which brings us to the question neither founder can answer from inside their own experience. 257 00:09:42,991 --> 00:09:46,141 [Grant] What does the room actually look like from the other side? 258 00:09:46,741 --> 00:09:48,241 [Grant] A YC partner is next, 259 00:09:48,591 --> 00:09:49,991 [Grant] and that's exactly where we're going. 260 00:09:50,809 --> 00:09:53,159 [Miles] So from the other side of the process, 261 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:55,309 [Miles] the picture looks completely different, 262 00:09:55,459 --> 00:09:55,559 [Miles] Which 263 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:56,159 [Grant] Yeah, 264 00:09:56,159 --> 00:09:56,259 [Miles] 265 00:09:56,259 --> 00:09:58,109 [Grant] a partner isn't reading one application, 266 00:09:58,559 --> 00:09:59,459 [Grant] they're reading thousands. 267 00:09:59,909 --> 00:10:02,059 [Grant] And the thing that shifts in your head when you do that, 268 00:10:02,359 --> 00:10:04,259 [Grant] everything becomes pattern recognition. 269 00:10:05,009 --> 00:10:13,059 [Miles] is actually useful for founders to understand because you walk in thinking you need to tell your story, but they're not really listening for the story. 270 00:10:13,309 --> 00:10:15,159 [Grant] They're checking signals fast. 271 00:10:15,509 --> 00:10:18,109 [Grant] YC's own interview guide is pretty explicit about that. 272 00:10:17,849 --> 00:10:24,699 [Grant] about this they only do two things ask questions and look at what you've built no presentations no narrative arcs and 273 00:10:24,699 --> 00:10:25,349 [Miles] Right, 274 00:10:25,449 --> 00:10:27,099 [Miles] and from everything we've seen, 275 00:10:27,249 --> 00:10:30,199 [Miles] the first 90 seconds is where a lot of it happens. 276 00:10:30,649 --> 00:10:33,449 [Miles] Can you say what you're building in one clear sentence, 277 00:10:33,699 --> 00:10:34,599 [Miles] without jargon, 278 00:10:34,749 --> 00:10:35,949 [Miles] without three qualifiers? 279 00:10:36,749 --> 00:10:41,699 [Grant] if you can't do that if you stumble on the very first question you've told them something 280 00:10:42,049 --> 00:10:43,299 [Miles] You've told them a lot. 281 00:10:43,609 --> 00:10:47,009 [Grant] The YC Roaster piece made a point I keep coming back to: 282 00:10:47,459 --> 00:10:51,159 [Grant] S26 applicants knew the W26 bar going in. 283 00:10:51,609 --> 00:11:00,059 [Grant] RubbleFund's algorithms scored 35% of W26 companies in the top 20% of all YC alumni ever evaluated. 284 00:11:00,259 --> 00:11:01,409 [Grant] That's a published number. 285 00:11:01,959 --> 00:11:04,359 [Grant] These founders applied knowing what they were up against. 286 00:11:04,659 --> 00:11:07,409 [Miles] And that changes the psychology of the room, 287 00:11:07,459 --> 00:11:07,659 [Miles] right? 288 00:11:07,759 --> 00:11:11,059 [Miles] Because a partner sitting across from an S26 candidate 289 00:11:11,129 --> 00:11:17,179 [Miles] But it isn't grading on a curve; they just saw what the strongest batch in YC history looked like. 290 00:11:17,753 --> 00:11:19,103 [Grant] So the floor moved. 291 00:11:19,303 --> 00:11:20,603 [Miles] The floor moved. 292 00:11:20,953 --> 00:11:24,203 [Miles] And here's what's interesting about the interview filters specifically. 293 00:11:24,803 --> 00:11:30,853 [Miles] Roughly 20-30% of founders who make it to an interview actually get accepted per the data out there, 294 00:11:31,153 --> 00:11:33,203 [Miles] which means if you cleared the application, 295 00:11:33,403 --> 00:11:34,753 [Miles] you're in real contention. 296 00:11:34,853 --> 00:11:36,653 [Miles] The interview isn't the hard part, 297 00:11:36,903 --> 00:11:38,103 [Miles] getting the invite is. 298 00:11:38,353 --> 00:11:43,453 [Grant] That's the thing most founders don't internalize. They spend weeks prepping interview answers. 299 00:11:43,737 --> 00:11:47,237 [Grant] The partner has already made a soft read before you open your mouth. 300 00:11:47,237 --> 00:11:47,487 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 301 00:11:47,487 --> 00:11:49,337 [Grant] The application is the real filter. 302 00:11:49,753 --> 00:11:52,703 [Miles] So what actually moves the needle in the room? 303 00:11:53,003 --> 00:11:55,603 [Miles] What makes someone stop taking notes and lean forward? 304 00:11:56,103 --> 00:12:01,303 [Grant] I think it's when a founder knows a number they didn't rehearse, not a memorized pitch line, 305 00:12:01,503 --> 00:12:03,403 [Grant] an actual operating fact, 306 00:12:03,753 --> 00:12:04,203 [Grant] users, 307 00:12:04,453 --> 00:12:04,853 [Grant] revenue, 308 00:12:05,053 --> 00:12:07,453 [Grant] growth rate that they can defend when pushed. 309 00:12:07,803 --> 00:12:12,803 [Miles] That's the thing most founders don't internalize. They spend weeks prepping interview answers. 310 00:12:13,103 --> 00:12:14,403 [Miles] The partner has already. 311 00:12:14,853 --> 00:12:15,453 [Grant] Exactly. 312 00:12:15,603 --> 00:12:17,853 [Grant] And our rejected founder had twelve users. 313 00:12:17,945 --> 00:12:21,845 [Grant] produce no revenue; he couldn't produce that number because it wasn't there yet. 314 00:12:22,145 --> 00:12:23,945 [Miles] which is honest and fixable. 315 00:12:23,945 --> 00:12:24,345 [Grant] Mm-hmm. 316 00:12:24,345 --> 00:12:24,895 [Miles] YC. 317 00:12:24,995 --> 00:12:26,395 [Miles] Roaster's framing for YC. 318 00:12:26,495 --> 00:12:28,245 [Miles] W27 is pretty direct: 319 00:12:28,645 --> 00:12:33,595 [Miles] use the next sixty days to get the one number that would have made S26 a yes. 320 00:12:33,995 --> 00:12:34,645 [Grant] One number. 321 00:12:34,845 --> 00:12:35,545 [Grant] Not a pivot. 322 00:12:35,845 --> 00:12:36,645 [Grant] Not a rebrand. 323 00:12:37,095 --> 00:12:39,145 [Grant] One number that didn't exist in May. 324 00:12:39,345 --> 00:12:40,395 [Miles] That's the whole assignment. 325 00:12:40,945 --> 00:12:43,395 [Grant] So we've got one founder who produced the number, 326 00:12:43,695 --> 00:12:45,345 [Grant] survived the four second silence, 327 00:12:45,345 --> 00:12:45,795 [Speaker 4] and then got the number. 328 00:12:45,465 --> 00:12:50,765 [Grant] Got the phone call and one who didn't and is sitting with ninety days in the blank spreadsheet. 329 00:12:51,315 --> 00:12:52,915 [Miles] Both of them are still moving. 330 00:12:53,215 --> 00:12:53,915 [Miles] We'll find out where. 331 00:12:55,009 --> 00:12:56,909 [Miles] So both founders got their answer. 332 00:12:57,209 --> 00:12:58,209 [Grant] Same process, 333 00:12:58,609 --> 00:12:59,309 [Grant] opposite outcomes. 334 00:12:59,859 --> 00:13:03,609 [Miles] The accepted founder told us the call came that evening; not an email, 335 00:13:03,859 --> 00:13:04,359 [Miles] a call, 336 00:13:04,759 --> 00:13:09,559 [Miles] and the first thing she said was she didn't believe it was real until the partner started talking about July. 337 00:13:10,159 --> 00:13:17,759 [Grant] July meaning the batch actually starts; S26 runs July through September in San Francisco-that's when it gets concrete. 338 00:13:18,209 --> 00:13:21,209 [Miles] And here's the thing about what happens immediately after acceptance: 339 00:13:20,985 --> 00:13:23,135 [Miles] Acceptance-the money moves fast. 340 00:13:23,635 --> 00:13:25,335 [Miles] According to Y Combinator directly, 341 00:13:25,585 --> 00:13:30,935 [Miles] they invest $500,000 in every accepted company before the batch even begins. 342 00:13:31,435 --> 00:13:42,485 [Grant] Two separate SAFEs—Capwave laid this out—one hundred and twenty five k on a post money SAFE for seven per cent equity and three hundred and seventy five k on an uncap SAFE with an MFN provision. 343 00:13:42,585 --> 00:13:42,835 [Speaker 5] Mm-hmm. 344 00:13:42,835 --> 00:13:44,385 [Grant] You're not waiting for Demo Day, 345 00:13:44,535 --> 00:13:46,935 [Grant] that capital hits before you set foot in the building. 346 00:13:47,193 --> 00:13:49,743 [Miles] Which changes the psychology immediately. 347 00:13:50,143 --> 00:13:52,693 [Miles] You go from pitching into a void to having a partner, 348 00:13:52,943 --> 00:13:53,443 [Miles] a group, 349 00:13:53,643 --> 00:13:59,243 [Miles] weekly dinners, founders of Airbnb and Stripe walking in to tell you it actually happened in year one. 350 00:13:59,693 --> 00:14:00,093 [Speaker 6] She said: 351 00:14:00,202 --> 00:14:02,852 [Miles] The first week felt disorienting—not bad, 352 00:14:03,102 --> 00:14:06,852 [Miles] just the scale of what she just walked into hadn't caught up yet. 353 00:14:07,302 --> 00:14:14,052 [Grant] Right; and Demo Day isn't until September tenth; she's got three months to become a different company before investors see her. 354 00:14:14,352 --> 00:14:16,002 [Miles] Meanwhile the other found her. 355 00:14:16,452 --> 00:14:19,152 [Grant] June second came and went—no email. 356 00:14:19,452 --> 00:14:22,852 [Grant] He knew; he told us he'd known about a week before it was official, 357 00:14:23,002 --> 00:14:24,202 [Grant] because he'd stopped checking. 358 00:14:24,702 --> 00:14:25,802 [Miles] That detail got me. 359 00:14:26,218 --> 00:14:28,668 [Miles] Stopping the refresh is its own kind of answer. 360 00:14:29,118 --> 00:14:32,218 [Grant] So what has he done in the thirty days since the window closed? 361 00:14:32,618 --> 00:14:34,368 [Miles] He shipped-that's the honest summary. 362 00:14:34,768 --> 00:14:39,618 [Miles] He went from twelve users and no paid revenue to-he wouldn't give us an exact number, 363 00:14:39,918 --> 00:14:41,668 [Miles] but he said he has paying customers now. 364 00:14:42,068 --> 00:14:44,518 [Grant] Which is the number he couldn't defend in the application. 365 00:14:45,118 --> 00:14:53,068 [Miles] Exactly-and YCroaster put this plainly-you have roughly ninety days between S26 closing and W27 opening. 366 00:14:53,068 --> 00:14:53,218 [Grant] Yeah. 367 00:14:53,150 --> 00:14:53,250 [Grant] Yeah! 368 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:56,600 [Miles] That window is the whole game for Founders in his position. 369 00:14:57,100 --> 00:15:02,050 [Grant] Is he rebuilding for W27 or is he reconsidering everything?" I asked him. 370 00:15:02,500 --> 00:15:02,800 [Miles] And? 371 00:15:03,230 --> 00:15:07,930 [Grant] He paused a long time; then said "Both," depending on the week. 372 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:08,980 [Miles] Quietly, 373 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:11,480 [Miles] that's the most honest answer he's given us. 374 00:15:11,830 --> 00:15:14,280 [Grant] That's the whole story of year one right there: 375 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:20,130 [Grant] the accepted founder is four weeks from the batch; the rejected founder is somewhere inside that pause, 376 00:15:20,430 --> 00:15:21,630 [Grant] neither story is finished. 377 00:15:22,030 --> 00:15:23,030 [Miles] Not even close. 378 00:15:24,030 --> 00:15:25,830 [Grant] Okay, so two founders, 379 00:15:26,030 --> 00:15:27,080 [Grant] one decision window, 380 00:15:27,380 --> 00:15:29,530 [Grant] two completely different June seconds. 381 00:15:29,730 --> 00:15:31,580 [Grant] That cold open still gets me. 382 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:32,480 [Miles] Yeah, 383 00:15:32,580 --> 00:15:33,630 [Miles] one phone call, 384 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:34,480 [Miles] one silence, 385 00:15:34,530 --> 00:15:35,180 [Miles] and honestly, 386 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:36,430 [Miles] the silence hit harder. 387 00:15:36,580 --> 00:15:37,180 [Grant] Right, 388 00:15:37,230 --> 00:15:38,630 [Grant] and then the interview reconstruction, 389 00:15:39,130 --> 00:15:41,630 [Grant] the four seconds after that traction question, 390 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:43,480 [Grant] that's the whole thing, right? 391 00:15:43,580 --> 00:15:45,730 [Grant] You don't lose YC in the answer, 392 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:47,180 [Grant] you lose it in the pause. 393 00:15:47,580 --> 00:15:49,080 [Miles] Total fooling out it, too. 394 00:15:49,430 --> 00:15:52,480 [Miles] They're not listening to your words. They're watching whether you hold. 395 00:15:52,446 --> 00:15:52,696 [Miles] Bold! 396 00:15:52,946 --> 00:15:56,196 [Grant] That's the one sentence I'd take out of this whole episode, 397 00:15:56,296 --> 00:15:56,596 [Grant] honestly. 398 00:15:57,196 --> 00:15:57,746 [Miles] Same. 399 00:15:58,146 --> 00:15:58,396 [Miles] Look, 400 00:15:58,446 --> 00:16:01,946 [Miles] if you know a YC founder in year one who tell their story honestly, 401 00:16:02,396 --> 00:16:04,896 [Miles] send them to Year One at heyMatto dot com. 402 00:16:05,246 --> 00:16:08,046 [Grant] And if this episode helped you think about startups differently, 403 00:16:08,446 --> 00:16:09,096 [Grant] leave a review. 404 00:16:09,296 --> 00:16:10,896 [Grant] It actually moves the needle for us. 405 00:16:11,296 --> 00:16:11,996 [Miles] Thanks for being here, 406 00:16:12,046 --> 00:16:12,346 [Miles] Maus. 407 00:16:12,546 --> 00:16:13,296 [Grant] Thanks everyone. 408 00:16:13,546 --> 00:16:14,496 [Grant] We'll see you next week.