SPECIAL GUEST GUIDE
About the get-together
The YCombinator Alumni Group ($400B in valuations) meets every two weeks and invites very special guests.
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This is a completely off-the-record conversation.
They are a place where we exchange best-practices. In order to ensure an intimate conversation the maximum number of attendees is 50 and it is designed as a Zoom call, not a webinar.
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It’s carried out as a fireside chat for 30 minutes plus a 15 minute Q&A.
Sample questions for the fireside chat.
Attendees
The typical attendee is a venture-backed early stage YC founder ($1M - $400M raised).
25% of the attendees are women founders.
Sample Questions
1. Could you take us back to your early upbringing, and what initially attracted you to the tech/VC world?
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2. If you were to break down your success into a couple of important moments/milestones, what would those be?
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3. I’m sure you have a big notebook of “lessons learned & pitfalls to avoid”. What are some of your biggest lessons?
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4. What keeps you at night now vs. when you first started?
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5. Which one of your portfolio investments was the hardest to make or required the most convincing? Why?
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6. What has been one of the biggest challenges that one of your portfolio companies has gone through and how did you guide them?
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7. Of all the successful companies that you have seen, are there one or two traits or attributes that the founders have in common?
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8. Given COVID did your investment criteria change? What are your thoughts on the startup investment landscape post COVID?