Y Combinator

Y Combinator Startup Podcast

Technology EN ↓ 319 episodes

We help founders make something people want. The Y Combinator Podcast is where builders talk about building. From the earliest days of an idea to scaling a company that changes the world, YC partners and founders share real stories, lessons, and tactics from the frontlines.

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Y Combinator

Episodes

#69 - Anne Wojcicki of 23andMe and Sam Altman 13.04.2018 28:57

Anne Wojcicki is the cofounder and CEO of 23andMe , which provides direct-to-consumer genetic testing. Sam Altman is the president of YC Group. He interviewed Anne for a series called How To Build The Future, which you can check out on our YouTube channel .

#68 - Cost vs Quality in Edtech - Keith Schacht, Avichal Garg, and Geoff Ralston 06.04.2018 55:08

Keith Schacht is the cofounder of Mystery Science , which makes lessons that inspire kids to love science. They were part of the Summer 2017 YC batch. Avichal Garg is an Expert at YC and prior to that he was the Director of Product Management at Facebook. Geoff Ralston is a Partner at YC and before that he cofounded Imagine K12 , an edtech accelerator that’s now makes up YC’s edtech vertical.

#67 - 3D Home Printing for the Developing World - Alexandria Lafci and Brett Hagler of New Story Charity 04.04.2018 1:02:44

Alexandria Lafci and Brett Hagler are cofounders of New Story Charity . New Story Charity builds homes and communities in the developing world. They were part of the Summer 2015 YC batch. They just 3d printed their first home in Austin, Texas. You can check it out at 3DHome.org . The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon .

#66 - Breaking Down HackerRank's Survey of 40,000 Developers with Vivek Ravisankar 30.03.2018 53:51

Vivek Ravisankar is the CEO and cofounder of HackerRank , which was in the Summer 2011 batch. They surveyed 40,000 developers on things including their favorite frameworks, what they want in a job, and how they learned to code. You can read the report here . The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon .

#65 - Funding Is an Outcome of Building a Good Business - Porter Braswell of Jopwell 21.03.2018 50:14

Porter Braswell is the CEO and cofounder of Jopwell (YC S15). Jopwell is a career advancement platform for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals. The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon .

#64 - Researching Psilocybin's Effects on Depression - Dr. Rosalind Watts 15.03.2018 53:45

Dr. Rosalind Watts is a clinical psychologist at the Psychedelic Research Group at Imperial College London. The Psychedelic Research Group focuses on two main areas: first, the action of psychedelic drugs in the brain and second, their clinical utility, e.g. as aides to psychotherapy, with a particular focus on depression. The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon .

#63 - The Number One Goal is Getting Started - Avni Patel Thompson of Poppy 02.03.2018 47:56

Avni Patel Thompson is the founder and CEO of Poppy (YC W16). Poppy lets parents book the best caregivers with just a text. We recorded this episode at our Female Founders Conference in Seattle. We’re also hosting female founder events in New York and SF this year. You can sign up to our newsletter to get updates about those events. The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon .

#62 - Dan Lewis, CEO of Convoy, on the Future of Freight 28.02.2018 52:09

Dan Lewis is the CEO and Cofounder of Convoy . Convoy matches shippers with freight carriers, which helps the trucking industry run more efficiently because currently, over 40% of the trucks on the road are empty. Anu Hariharan is a Partner at YC Continuity. Read the transcript here .

#61 - Sam Altman on Masters of Scale 22.02.2018 58:30

Reid Hoffman interviews Sam Altman on this uncut interview from the Masters of Scale podcast.

#60 - Startup Investor School Preview with Geoff Ralston 07.02.2018 38:43

Geoff Ralston is a Partner at YC and before that he cofounded Imagine K12 . This episode covers Startup Investor School . Startup Investor School is a free, 4-day course designed to educate early stage investors interested in investing in startups. You can sign up at investor.startupschool.org . The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon .

#59 - Providing Fair Financial Products for the 56% of the US Without Access to Them - Jake Rosenberg of LendUp 31.01.2018 33:54

Jake Rosenberg is the cofounder and CTO of LendUp  (W12). They provide access to quality credit cards and loans without hidden fees or debt traps. Their customers are the 56% of Americans that have what is described as a “subprime” credit score, meaning they can’t be approved for credit by most banks. Ali Rowghani is the CEO of YC Continuity . Read the transcript on our blog.

#58 - It's Surprising How Much Small Teams Can Get Done - Sam Chaudhary of ClassDojo 24.01.2018 1:00:17

Sam Chaudhary is the cofounder and CEO of ClassDojo . They've raised $30M and have 30 employees. Karen Lien is an Edtech Principal here at YC. The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon .

#57 - Alex Blumberg of Gimlet Media 17.01.2018 51:32

Alex Blumberg is the cofounder of Gimlet Media . Gimlet makes several podcasts you’ve probably heard of– StartUp , The Pitch , and Reply All  are a few. Before Gimlet Alex worked on This American Life and Planet Money . The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon .

#56 - Leah Culver of Breaker and Tom Sparks of YC Answer Your Questions About Security and Podcasting 05.01.2018 58:24

Leah Culver is cofounder and CTO of Breaker , which is a social podcast listening and discovery app. They went through YC in the Winter 2017 batch. Leah’s also an author of both the OAuth and oEmbed API specifications. Tom Sparks is an engineer on the YC Software team. He also cofounded Cryptoseal which went through YC in the Summer 2011 batch and was acquired by CloudFlare in 2014. The YC podcast...

#55 - Tim Urban of Wait But Why 03.01.2018 55:24

Tim Urban cofounded the blog Wait But Why with Andrew Finn in 2013. His posts about Artificial Intelligence , Elon Musk , and the Fermi Paradox have been read millions of times. We discussed Tim's research strategy, the purpose of Wait But Why, and his thoughts on technologies including cryptocurrencies, A.I., and AR/VR.

#54 - Growth Office Hours: Round 2 15.12.2017 1:00:22

Anu Hariharan and Gustaf Alstromer are partners at YC. This episode is a follow-up to Anu's Growth Guide and the first Growth Office Hours . The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon .

#53 - Be Wary of Solving a Small, Rare Problem - Des Traynor of Intercom 13.12.2017 1:09:54

Des Traynor is the cofounder of Intercom . Here's his talk Product Strategy Means Saying No and the blog post .

#52 - Making Physical Retail as Easy as Opening an Online Store - Ali Kriegsman and Alana Branston of Bulletin 08.12.2017 42:38

Ali Kriegsman and Alana Branston  are the founders of Bulletin . Bulletin is a platform that allows brands to share the cost of a physical store. They currently have two locations, one in SoHo and one in Williamsburg and there are more to come. Ali and Alana went through YC Fellowship and then the winter 2017 batch. The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon .

#51 - There's an Art to Getting Brilliant People to Surprise Themselves - Kevin Slavin of The Shed 06.12.2017 1:02:45

Kevin Slavin is the Chief Science and Technology Officer of  The Shed , which is an art center in New York that’s opening in 2019. Before The Shed, Kevin founded the Playful Systems group at MIT's Media Lab . He also gave a TED talk in 2011 called How Algorithms Shape Our World . The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon .

#50 - Growth Office Hours with Anu Hariharan and Gustaf Alstromer 01.12.2017 33:15

Anu Hariharan and Gustaf Alstromer are Partners at YC. This episode is a follow-up to Anu's Growth Guide . The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon .

#49 - Microbes, Robots, and Ambition - Robin Sloan on His Novel Sourdough 29.11.2017 57:28

Robin Sloan is a writer and media inventor based in Oakland. He just released his second novel, Sourdough . Kat Manalac is a Partner at YC. The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon .

#48 - The Future of Bike Sharing with Ofo Cofounder Yanqi Zhang and Anu Hariharan 17.11.2017 35:52

Yanqi Zhang is a cofounder and COO of Ofo . Anu Hariharan is a Partner at YC.

#47 - Baidu's COO, Qi Lu Discusses AI with Daniel Gross 15.11.2017 1:02:07

Qi Lu is the COO of Baidu . Daniel Gross is a Partner at YC.

#46 - Tencent's Chief eXploration Officer, David Wallerstein on WeChat, QQ, and Gaming 10.11.2017 58:38

David Wallerstein is Tencent's Chief eXploration Officer. Anu Hariharan is a Partner at YC.

#45 - Building Dota Bots That Beat Pros - OpenAI's Greg Brockman, Szymon Sidor, and Sam Altman 08.11.2017 1:00:37

Greg Brockman is the CTO and cofounder of OpenAI . Szymon Sidor is a Research Scientist at OpenAI. Sam Altman is the President of Y Combinator and Co-Chairman of OpenAI. Watch their bot compete at The International .