I shutdown my YC company

@sahanaintech

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Why it worked

The video provides high-value, actionable advice from a credible source (a YC alum), which builds trust and encourages saves and shares among the target audience of startup founders.

Summary

The creator shares four key lessons learned after shutting down her YC-backed startup. She emphasizes the importance of distribution, choosing the right investors, hiring early, and treating fundraising as a performance.

Structure

1Introduction to the topic
2Lesson 1: Distribution is key
3Lesson 2: YC suitability for B2B vs consumer
4Lesson 3: Hiring for gaps
5Lesson 4: Fundraising as a performance
6Outro and call to follow

Call to action

send this to the founder that needs to hear this. Follow for more!

On-screen text

I shutdown my YC company Here's what I would do differently next time #1 Distribution is everything. #2 Partner with the right strategic investors #3 Hire quickly for your gaps #4 Fundraising is a performance.

Original caption

Here are some hard truths from a YC alum… I waited too long to hire. I over-trusted my product and didn’t think enough about distribution. Fundraising was theater and I played it too safe. Next time: customer acquisition first, hiring earlier, vision louder. What advice would you add in? Let me know in the comments! Save and share this with a founder friend! #ycombinator #founderstories #startupadvice #fundraising #Tech

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Transcript

I shutdown my YC company. Here's what I would do differently next time. #1 Distribution is everything. Anyone can build a good product but few can get it in front of the right people. Especially with all these AI tools, product alone isn't enough of a moat. I've seen a lot of founders recently invest more in social media. I actually think it's a great strategy. Built in distribution. Second, YC is great for B2B, but not so much for consumer. One of the big benefits of YC, as a B2B company, is that you're selling to other YC companies so you have a built in customer base right there in your batch. I was building a consumer startup so I had a slightly different experience. If I were building another consumer startup I'd probably skip YC and find investors who really understood brand, storytelling, distribution, and community. Number 3, I'd probably hire faster. I honestly waited way too long to hire a salesperson. I'd heard that founders should be the primary salesperson. The truth is that's not my expertise. Hiring a great salesperson would have accelerated my learning and also built momentum in the business. Lastly, Fundraising is a performance. The founders that do the best job fundraising are selling the dream. If I were fundraising again I would spend way more time painting a picture of the inevitable future rather than getting caught up in the current metrics. If that was helpful send this to the founder that needs to hear this. My name is Sahana. I talk about tech, engineering and leadership in Silicon Valley. Follow for more!