Without a doubt bu Surbhi Sarna
I had a chance to read the book "Without a Doubt," by my YC colleague Surbhi Sarna, and I was really blown away by the depth, vulnerability and authenticity in the book.
Why you need to burn bridges
May 2005, years before my dreams of entrepreneurship took off, I put in my notice at JFK airport. Two weeks later, I packed up my tools and walked out of the cockpit for the last time—after all this time, I was ready to officially break into Wall Street.
You should treat fundraising like a sport
During my tenure at our previous startup, we engaged with a whopping 144 investors prior to securing our series A funding. While I initially believed our journey was unique, I've since discovered that our experience aligns more closely with the norm.
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
The movie Air, the Nike story, is coming out next week. I just finished reading Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, the Nike founder, and it was an incredibly inspiring story.
YC Demo Day
The approaching YC Demo Day carries a sense of excitement and anticipation. Reflecting on August 2013, when I was fortunate to partake in this enchanting event for the first time, the bonds of camaraderie forged with fellow batch mates remain etched in my memory.
How to layoff people, the right way
Dealing with employee layoffs is a challenging task, especially within startups where teams often form close-knit communities. This was a hurdle I faced in my previous startup journey.
Always Dreaming Bigger with Elias Torres
In this guest post, Elias Torres—serial entrepreneur, community activist, and CTO and co-founder of Drift—shares one of the most important lessons he’s learned since immigrating to the United States: Be a curious learning machine.
Why I'm Joining Y-Combinator as a Visiting Partner
Growing, building, and selling a startup can be a tumultuous, traumatic odyssey. If you can help another fellow founder get through that journey, it’s worth it. Helping others brings a feeling of gratification that is very hard to match, which is why I’m joining Y-Combinator as a Visiting Partner!
Why Startup Founders Struggle with Mental Health
Being a startup founder is incredibly stressful. In fact, according to a study by Michael Freeman, entrepreneurs are 50% more likely to report having a mental health condition than people with traditional careers, and twice as likely to suffer from depression.
Why Hispanics Remain Underfunded: It's Time to Look in the Mirror
In a recent report, Crunchbase found that early-stage funding—arguably the most critical for startups—in US-based Latinx founders decreased from a mere 1.5% in 2020 to an even lower 1.2% in 2021. This is in stark contrast to the investment in Latin American startups, which rose 320% in 2021.
How to Build Your First Deck
I worked like hell to put together a deck and the first version was shit. But there were certain lessons I learned along the way.
Why Your Early Stage Startup Needs to Talk to Customers—Before It’s Too Late
How big of a leap of faith do your customers need to take for your early stage startup’s product thesis to be true?
Building Your MVP: How to Approach Early Adopters
Recruiting early adopters is different from selling to customers—and the mistake a lot of early founders make is confusing the two.
How To Build a Founding Team and—More Importantly—How Not To
The last thing you want for your founding team is a collection of skills and abilities that don't complement each other.