Y Combinator Startup Podcast

Y Combinator

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.

Subscribe Listen in podnod RSS feed Show website

327 episodes
Updated Yesterday

Episodes327

Newest first

Apr 4, 2018 · 1 hr 2 min
#67 - 3D Home Printing for the Developing World - Alexandria Lafci and Brett Hagler of New Story Charity
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.
Mar 30, 2018 · 53 min
#66 - Breaking Down HackerRank's Survey of 40,000 Developers with Vivek Ravisankar
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.
Mar 21, 2018 · 50 min
#65 - Funding Is an Outcome of Building a Good Business - Porter Braswell of Jopwell
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.
Mar 15, 2018 · 53 min
#64 - Researching Psilocybin's Effects on Depression - Dr. Rosalind Watts
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.
Mar 2, 2018 · 47 min
#63 - The Number One Goal is Getting Started - Avni Patel Thompson of Poppy
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.
Feb 28, 2018 · 52 min
#62 - Dan Lewis, CEO of Convoy, on the Future of Freight
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.
Feb 22, 2018 · 58 min
#61 - Sam Altman on Masters of Scale
Reid Hoffman interviews Sam Altman on this uncut interview from the Masters of Scale podcast.
Feb 7, 2018 · 38 min
#60 - Startup Investor School Preview with Geoff Ralston
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.
Jan 31, 2018 · 33 min
#59 - Providing Fair Financial Products for the 56% of the US Without Access to Them - Jake Rosenberg of LendUp
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.
Jan 24, 2018 · 1 hr
#58 - It's Surprising How Much Small Teams Can Get Done - Sam Chaudhary of ClassDojo
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.
Jan 17, 2018 · 51 min
#57 - Alex Blumberg of Gimlet Media
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.
Jan 5, 2018 · 58 min
#56 - Leah Culver of Breaker and Tom Sparks of YC Answer Your Questions About Security and Podcasting
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 is hosted by Craig Cannon.
Jan 3, 2018 · 55 min
#55 - Tim Urban of Wait But Why
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.
Dec 15, 2017 · 1 hr
#54 - Growth Office Hours: Round 2
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.
Dec 13, 2017 · 1 hr 9 min
#53 - Be Wary of Solving a Small, Rare Problem - Des Traynor of Intercom
Des Traynor is the cofounder of Intercom. Here's his talk Product Strategy Means Saying No and the blog post.
Dec 8, 2017 · 42 min
#52 - Making Physical Retail as Easy as Opening an Online Store - Ali Kriegsman and Alana Branston of Bulletin
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.
Dec 6, 2017 · 1 hr 2 min
#51 - There's an Art to Getting Brilliant People to Surprise Themselves - Kevin Slavin of The Shed
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.
Dec 1, 2017 · 33 min
#50 - Growth Office Hours with Anu Hariharan and Gustaf Alstromer
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.
Nov 29, 2017 · 57 min
#49 - Microbes, Robots, and Ambition - Robin Sloan on His Novel Sourdough
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.
Nov 17, 2017 · 35 min
#48 - The Future of Bike Sharing with Ofo Cofounder Yanqi Zhang and Anu Hariharan
Yanqi Zhang is a cofounder and COO of Ofo. Anu Hariharan is a Partner at YC.