{"id":43098,"date":"2023-10-20T15:26:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/what-the-director-of-admissions-at-y-combinator-looks-for-in-a-startup-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:26:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:26:05","slug":"what-the-director-of-admissions-at-y-combinator-looks-for-in-a-startup-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/what-the-director-of-admissions-at-y-combinator-looks-for-in-a-startup-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"What the director of admissions at Y Combinator looks for in a startup – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

Australian entrepreneur Denis Mars has been founding startups since before he could get a driver\u2019s licence.<\/p>\n

The founder is currently living in Silicon Valley to work on his latest startup, Proxy, which recently raised $2.1 million<\/a>, and also works as the director of admissions at world-renowned accelerator Y Combinator.<\/p>\n

During an AMA session hosted by Blackbird Ventures, Mars says that through his job at YC he has seen “just about every idea under the sun”.<\/p>\n

“I’ve met some of the most impressive teams on the planet and I’ve learnt a lot about what it takes to build a world-class startup,” he says.<\/p>\n

He says that the most important thing he looks for in a startup is something outside of running a business.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomewhere in the founder\u2019s history I want to see evidence that the person has taken a chance on themselves that didn\u2019t include immediate or obvious returns,\u201d Mars says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tells me a lot about the true character of the founder. If you are not willing to take a chance on yourself to do things that don\u2019t seem like they have obvious returns, then you\u2019re probably not the type of person that is willing to do unconventional things, think outside the box, solve the hard problems and motivate others.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of which is every founders\u2019 day job.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Mars doesn\u2019t look for examples from a founders\u2019 previous companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now it\u2019s cool to do startups so I don\u2019t look for past startups as evidence of taking a chance on yourself,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look for really unconventional things that are subtle but say a lot about the courage and character of the founder.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why the question on the application that I think is the most important is: \u2018Please tell us about the time you most successfully hacked some (non-computer) system to your advantage\u2019. Some of the answers to this question have totally blown me away.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Q&A sessions included several other useful pieces of advice and takeaways for Aussie founders and entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

The fundamental skills all startup founders need<\/h3>\n

Mars says that the skill all founders need above all else is determination.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be determined to take an idea and turn it into something real, otherwise it will never happen,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith determination anything is possible, but without it you most certainly won\u2019t succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can be smart and have great ideas but if you\u2019re not determined and willing to walk through fire to make it happen then you\u2019re better off doing something else, no matter how good the idea is.\u201d<\/p>\n

When to release an MVP<\/h3>\n

Mars says that founders too often wait for too long before releasing the initial version of their product.<\/p>\n

\u201cA founder should launch the minimum thing that proves that people want the underlying value it is bringing them even if they\u2019re willing to put up with shitty design,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the ultimate proof that the product or service is of sufficient value to the end user. Then once you prove that, you do want to make it seamless and easy to use so that you can add more delight to your end user.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have both a product or a service that people want so bad that they\u2019ll put up with shitty UI and you then you give them a great UI then you have something that will probably stand the test of time and grow into something big.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaunch early, launch early, launch early. Only then will you get to the truth sooner to know if people actually want what you\u2019re giving them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The best piece of advice he\u2019s received<\/h3>\n

Mars says the most important piece of advice he has ever received came from Y Combinator founder Sam Altman, and was very simple: \u201cdon\u2019t give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s supposed to be hard, especially when you\u2019re creating something new,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSam\u2019s saying is, \u2018if it doesn\u2019t feel like a grind and you feel like everything\u2019s going great, then you\u2019re probably doing it wrong\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe also says to make sure you have fun, which is important. Every success will take at least 10 years and it never gets easier. So just run with it, try to have fun and power through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter, <\/em>LinkedIn.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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