Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career
The social radar: Y Combinator’s secret weapon | Jessica Livingston (co-founder of Y Combinator, author, podcast host)
Episode guests
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Evaluating founders requires keen social radar for red flags and commitment.
- Founder attributes like passion, domain expertise, and charisma signal startup success.
- The Social Radars podcast aims to share authentic founder stories and insights.
Deep dives
Key Point 1: Evaluating Founders Based on Social Radar
Evaluating early-stage startup founders relies heavily on developing a keen sense of evaluating people's behaviors and social cues. The ability to read individuals well, detect red flags, and assess factors like commitment, co-founder dynamics, and authenticity plays a crucial role in making informed investment decisions.
Key Point 2: Importance of Founder Characteristics
Founder attributes such as being hustlers, showing passion, having domain expertise, earnestness, and confidence are significant indicators of potential startup success. Understanding the commitment level of founders, their ability to work effectively together, and their charisma are key factors to consider during evaluation.
Key Point 3: Uncovering Hidden Aspects in Evaluation Process
The evaluation process requires a combination of application scrutiny, observation during short interviews, and post-investment analysis to identify any inconsistencies, hidden agendas, or undisclosed issues. The operationalization of evaluation criteria in applications assists in flagging concerning elements that demand further attention and assessment.
Inspiration for Podcast Creation
The decision to start The Social Radars podcast stemmed from a desire to reconnect with the tech community and share authentic stories of startup founders. Inspired by a podcast called Smartless featuring casual, unscripted conversations, the host sought to offer a similar format with startup founders, creating a conversational and genuine atmosphere. Partnering up with a colleague, the podcast began with the intention of capturing the personal sides of successful individuals and sharing their insights in an engaging manner.
Lessons Learned on Interviewing and Trust Building
Through the podcasting journey, the host discovered the importance of concise dialogue and allowing guests to share extensively while maintaining engagement. Learning to balance her own speaking time with that of the guests, she found that fostering trust with interviewees led to more open and insightful conversations. Drawing from experiences in Y Combinator and startup interactions, the host emphasized building rapport and providing a platform for genuine stories and valuable lessons to emerge.
Jessica Livingston is a co-founder of Y Combinator, the first and most successful startup accelerator. Y Combinator has funded over 5,000 companies, 200 of which are now unicorns, including Airbnb, Dropbox, DoorDash, Stripe, Coinbase, and Reddit. Jessica played a crucial role in YC’s early success, when she was nicknamed the “social radar” because of her uncanny ability to quickly evaluate people—an essential skill when investing in early-stage startups. She’s also the host of the popular podcast The Social Radars, where she interviews billion-dollar-startup founders, and the author of the acclaimed book Founders at Work, which captures the origin stories of some of today’s most interesting companies. In our conversation, we discuss:
• How Jessica gained the affectionate title of the “social radar”
• Why defensive founders are a red flag
• How to develop your social radar
• What she looks for in founders during YC interviews
• How YC’s early inexperience in angel investing led to the batch model
• Her favorite stories from interviews with Airbnb, Rippling, and more
• Lessons learned from hosting her own podcast
• Much more
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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-social-radar-jessica-livingston
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Where to find Jessica Livingston:
• X: https://x.com/jesslivingston
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicalivingston1/
• Podcast: https://www.thesocialradars.com/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Jessica’s background
(02:42) Thoughts on being under-recognized
(07:52) Jessica’s superpower: the social radar
(15:11) Evaluating founders: key traits and red flags
(21:00) The Airbnb story: a lesson in hustle and determination
(25:57) A YC success story
(28:26) The importance of earnestness
(32:45) Confidence vs. defensiveness
(34:43) Commitment and co-founder disputes
(37:46) Relentless resourcefulness
(40:00) Jessica’s social radar: origins and insights
(43:24) Honing her social radar skills
(45:44) Conviction and scams: a Y Combinator story
(46:50) The interview process: challenges and insights
(48:20) Operationalizing founder evaluation
(49:38) Advice for building social radar skills
(52:08) The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” quiz
(55:19) Jessica’s podcast: The Social Radars
(01:00:34) Lessons from podcasting and interviewing
(01:09:58) Lightning round
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Referenced:
• Paul Graham’s post about Jessica: https://paulgraham.com/jessica.html
• Paul Graham on X: https://x.com/paulg
• Robert Tappan Morris: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Tappan_Morris
• Trevor Blackwell on X: https://x.com/tlbtlbtlb
• Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/
• “The Founders” examines the rise and legend of PayPal: https://www.economist.com/culture/2022/02/19/the-founders-examines-the-rise-and-legend-of-paypal
• Patrick Collison on X: https://x.com/patrickc
• John Collison on X: https://x.com/collision
• Brian Chesky on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianchesky/
• Nate Blecharczyk on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blecharczyk/
• Joe Gebbia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgebbia/
• Airbnb’s CEO says a $40 cereal box changed the course of the multibillion-dollar company: https://fortune.com/2023/04/19/airbnb-ceo-cereal-box-investors-changed-everything-billion-dollar-company/
• Parker Conrad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parkerconrad/
• Zenefits: https://connect.trinet.com/hr-platform
• Goat: https://www.goat.com/
• Eddy Lu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddylu/
• Drew Houston on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewhouston/
• Arash Ferdowsi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arashferdowsi/
• Lessons from 1,000+ YC startups: Resilience, tar pit ideas, pivoting, more | Dalton Caldwell (Y Combinator, Managing Director): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-1000-yc-startups
•Bitcoin launderer pleads guilty, admits to massive Bitfinex hack: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/03/new-york-man-admits-being-original-bitfinex-hacker-during-guilty-plea-in-dc-to-bitcoin-money-laundering.html
• Paul Graham’s tweet with the facial recognition test: https://x.com/paulg/status/1782875262855663691
• SmartLess podcast: https://www.smartless.com
• Jason Bateman on X: https://x.com/batemanjason
• Will Arnett on X: https://x.com/arnettwill
• Sean Hayes on X: https://x.com/seanhayes
• The Social Radars with Tony Xu, Co-Founder & CEO of DoorDash: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/Ja-tony-xu-co-founder-ceo-of-doordash
• The Social Radars with Brian Chesky: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/JW-brian-chesky-co-founder-ceo-of-airbnb
• The Social Radars with Patrick and John Collison: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/Kx-patrick-john-collison-co-founders-of-stripe
• The Social Radars with Brian Armstrong: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/K3-brian-armstrong-co-founder-and-ceo-of-coinbase
• The Social Radars with Emmett Shear: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/KM-emmett-shear-co-founder-of-twitch
• The Social Radars with Paul Graham: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/JV-paul-graham-co-founder-of-y-combinator-and-viaweb
• The Social Radars with Adora Cheung: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/L0-adora-cheung-co-founder-of-homejoy-instalab
• Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days: https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Work-Stories-Startups-Early/dp/1430210788
• Startup School: https://www.startupschool.org/
• The Social Radars with Parker Conrad: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/Ky-parker-conrad-founder-of-zenefits-rippling
• Rippling: https://www.rippling.com/
• Carry on, Jeeves: https://www.amazon.com/Carry-Jeeves-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486848957
• Very Good, Jeeves: https://www.amazon.com/Very-Good-Jeeves-Wooster-Book-ebook/dp/B0051GST06
• Right Ho, Jeeves: https://www.amazon.com/Right-Ho-Jeeves-P-Wodehouse-ebook/dp/B083FFDNHN/
• Life: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Keith-Richards-ebook/dp/B003UBTX72/
• My Name Is Barbra: https://www.amazon.com/My-Name-Barbra-Streisand/dp/0525429522
• Clarkson’s Farm on Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Clarksons-Farm-Season-1/dp/B095RHJ52R
• Schitt’s Creek on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/schitts-creek-a2e7a946-9652-48a8-884b-3ea7ea4de273
• Yellowstone on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/yellowstone
• Sam Altman on X: https://x.com/sama
• Justin Kan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinkan/
• Alexis Ohanian on X: https://x.com/alexisohanian
• Steve Huffman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shuffman56/
• Breaking News: Condé Nast/Wired Acquires Reddit: https://techcrunch.com/2006/10/31/breaking-news-conde-nastwired-acquires-reddit/
• Charles River Venture: https://www.crv.com/
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
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