How a Y Combinator startup interview feels like
On February 25, 2026 By tolstoy Topic: Startup, Venture capital
An entrepreneur writes about his YCombinator 2009 interview headed by Paul Graham. I have highlighted two important questions:
Paul opened proceedings and cut to the chase: our market is already very crowded, although most of the players suck; how are we different from the many established competitors? Suddenly, finally, our show was on the road. This was a pleasing, if slightly unexpected opening; we didn’t even need to explain what we were doing or why, just how we’re better than the current offerings. I opened up with a response and was going quite well until things hit a snag. Mid-explanation, Paul pulled me up with his first challenge, saying “surely your competitors can do that”.
