About this episode
We've cut down the eighth week of lectures to be even shorter and combined them into one podcast. First a lecture from Adora Cheung . Adora’s a partner at YC. Her lecture covers how to prioritize your time . Then a lecture from Kevin Hale . Kevin is also a partner at YC. His lecture is the second part of his talk on how to evaluate startup ideas . Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year. Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/ *** Topics 00:00 - Intro 00:32 - Adora Cheung - How to Prioritize Your Time 2:12 - Real vs fake progress 4:10 - How to determine if you're prioritizing the right tasks 4:42 - Keep a spreadsheet of ideas related to moving your primary KPI 7:32 - Grade the new and old ideas once a week based on potential impact 9:52 - Consider the complexity of each task 11:32 - Don't try to do everything at once 11:52 - How do I know I'm prioritizing my time well? 13:42 - What if I can't complete my tasks in time? 14:02 - Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule 15:32 - Moving fast 16:47 - Kevin Hale - How to Evaluate Startup Ideas Pt. 2 18:52 - How to apply to Y Combinator 20:17 - As a YC partner, you don't need to sell me 21:12 - Can I understand the idea? Am I excited by it? Do I like the team and want to work with them? 21:47 - How do I describe my company in a very efficient manner? 22:52 - Making your idea legible 25:12 - Things to avoid when describing your company 27:34 - Be conversational 28:02 - Avoid jargon, no preamble, and be reproducible 28:47 - Nouns: what are you making, what is the problem, and who is the customer 32:47 - Using the X for Y formula of explaining your startup 36:57 - Be concise without leaving out the key nouns 40:47 - How to adjust a description