HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, United States
AboutBest startup accelerator in the world
CollectionStartup School
Read0 / 25
No category
Should you start a startup?Harj Taggar shares his advice on the types of people best suited to be startup founders and how to prepare to start a company in the future.
How to get and evaluate startup ideasJared Friedman shares a framework for how to get and evaluate startup ideas. He shares many examples of YC companies and the inside stories of how they came up with the ideas that turned into billion dollar companies. Even if you have an existing idea, this talk helps founders confirm that their idea is good and/or provide framework for a future pivot.
How to build an MVPMichael Seibel explains how to build a minimum viable product (MVP) for your startup idea. Using examples from real YC companies, Michael walks through how to determine your MVP feature set, build prototypes and demos for user testing, and present your MVP to early customers or investors
How startup fundraising worksBrad has seen startup fundraising from every angle: as a founder, as one of the most prolific angel investors in Silicon Valley, and now as a YC Group Partner. Brad has coached hundreds of companies on fundraising. In this talk, he shares stories and advice on how modern startup fundraising works.
How to apply and succeed at YCDalton shares his strategies for how to think about applying to YC. This talk goes beyond the information on YC's website, and reflects Dalton's latest advice on the topic.
Keys to successful co-founder relationshipsCatheryn Li built the YC co-founder matching platform. This discussion with YC Visiting Partner Divya Bhat covers the importance of having a co-founder, how to get and vet one, and how to build a successful working relationship with your co-founder.
Startup business models and pricingAaron talks about different startup business models, how to monetize, and how to price your product. Pricing and monetization is one of the most common questions from founders, and this talk outlines 9 business models as well as highlighting business model lessons from the top YC companies.
How to get your first customersGustaf gives tactical advice to answer the question: how do I get my first customers? Gustaf will cover this topic for all kinds of companies - whether you're B2B or B2C.
How to talk to usersYC often says "talk to your users", but actually doing that is surprisingly tricky. Gustaf gives non-obvious advice on how to talk to both current and potential users, how to run a great user interview, and how to interpret the feedback in these conversations.
The Best Way To Launch Your StartupKat Mañalac advises early stage founders on their launches during the YC batch. She shares the multitude of ways to launch a product and how to get attention for them. Her talk provides tangible strategies and examples of startup launches and will change the way you think about launching.
Tips for technical startup foundersDiana shares her advice for being a technical founder at the earliest stages — including topics like how to ship an MVP fast, how to deal with technology choices and technical debt, and how and when to hire an engineering team.
Setting KPIs and GoalsDivya Bhat talks about how to set your KPIs (key metrics) and how to prioritize your time. This talk helps founders launch faster and set goals in order to make real progress.
B2B Startup MetricsTom Blomfield discusses one of the most important elements of running any startup: metrics! Tom shares what key metrics to track and how to use them to make the best decisions for your company.
Consumer Startup MetricsTom Blomfield dives deeper into the metrics that matter most for consumer startups. Tom discusses paid and organic user growth, unit economics, net promoter scores, and the "magic moment" in your product that is most important to track.
Enterprise SalesPete Koomen breaks down the enterprise sales funnel and shares his top tips on how a technical founder can start closing real deals for their startup.
How To Price For B2BIf you're a startup founder, how much should you charge for your product or service? It's a simple question that can make many lock up. What number should you pick? Tom Blomfield guides you on how to come up with a price and then justify that number to customers.
Co-Founder Equity Mistakes to AvoidIn order to get your startup off the ground it's critical to keep your co-founders motivated. One of the best ways to do that is to figure out a fair co-founder equity split. Michael Seibel explains the ins and outs of co-founder equity, why it's important to be generous with that equity, and how to avoid bad advice that can lead to co-founder breakups.
How To Keep Your UsersAt YC our motto is make something people want. But how do you actually know if you've accomplished that in the early days? One of the best ways to measure successful growth is a concept called cohort retention, which tracks the fraction of new users that come back time and time again to use your product. David Lieb explains how to define cohorts, track active users and determine the appropriate time frame for measuring successful retention rates.
How to convert customers with cold emailsWhether it's for sales, recruiting or making new connections, cold outreach is a necessary tool for helping build your startup. But as you probably know, most cold emails either are ignored or end up in the trash. So what can you do to make sure your emails break through the noise? Aaron Epstein shares expert advice on how to write cold emails that have all the right ingredients to get noticed and convert new customers
How to find a co-founderBuilding a startup and trying to break into an established market is very difficult, especially if you're trying to do it alone! That's why it's critical to find the right co-founder for the journey. Harj Taggar explains why you need a co-founder, when to bring them on, where you can find one and how to maintain the relationship
Starting A Company? The Key Terms You Should KnowBurn rate, MVP, TAM — if you're interested in tech and startups, you probably hear terms like these regularly. But what do they really mean? Dalton Caldwell breaks down some of the most common terminology that you'll come across in the startup world.
How To Start A Dev Tools CompanyAlgolia Nicolas Dessaigne explains the ins and outs of starting a dev tools company from the ground up. He'll explain how to find the right idea, who should be a part of your team, and whether or not you need a sales and marketing team when you're ready to go to market.
How To Get The Most Out Of Vibe CodingAI can't yet one-shot an entire product—but with the rise of vibe coding, it's getting close. Tom Blomfield has spent the last month building side projects with tools like Claude Code, Windsurf, and Aqua, seeing just how far you can push modern LLMs. From writing full-stack apps to debugging with a single paste of an error message, AI is becoming a legit collaborator in the dev process. This video is a playbook for anyone who wants to get the most out of vibe coding and build faster.
The Sales Playbook For FoundersNavigating B2B sales for the first time can feel slow and overwhelming. Drawing from his experience founding Monzo and GoCardless, Tom Blomfield shares his playbook for running a tight sales process that lands real, recurring revenue. He walks through each step—free and paid pilots, opt-out contracts, long-term deals—and shows how to prove value and close customers.
The Startup Playbook for Hiring Your First Engineers and AEsMost founders think hiring is about interviewing. But it's actually about selling. David Paffenholz joins Harj Taggar to share how early-stage founders can find, pitch, and close top engineering and sales talent — from crafting better outreach to winning great hires from Big Tech — even when you're an unknown startup.