Marques Brownlee is a YouTuber. He has over 8 million subscribers to his channel MKBHD where he reviews electronics, drives electric vehicles, and interviews people such as Kobe Bryant and Bill Gates.You can find Marques on YouTube and on Twitter at @MKBHD.The YC Podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.***Topics00:00 - Intro00:26 - What does Marques attribute his channel's success to?2:41 - The early days5:11 - How does he go about evaluating a product?7:31 - Features that Marques thought were great that didn't catch on8:41 - Peak smartphone?10:31 - Folding phones and new trends11:26 - Tesla and the EV market15:46 - Getting older and staying relevant17:06 - New kinds of videos and podcasting22:26 - Does Marques feel limited by gear?26:11 - Storytelling techniques28:16 - Tech vs Marques as the star of the show29:56 - Marco Castro asks - What advice do you have for new creators on YouTube?30:56 - When did Marques find his voice as a creator?33:56 - Overcoming perfectionism 34:56 - Gut instinct vs data37:26 - YouTube comments39:31 - Austin Ryder asks - In the early years of his channel, Marques took a several month hiatus from YouTube, but then came back with a new video format and seemingly renewed drive. What happened during those months off that led to the channel becoming what it is today?40:41 - Winston asks - What’s your daily schedule?43:06 - Ultimate frisbee injuries43:26 - Amad Khan asks - Are there any problems that you see or face that you really wish engineers/developers would solve?44:51 - Christian Giordano asks - Any tips on how to engage/work with influencers when you are a very early stage startup with little or no money?46:41 - The future of creators supporting themselves financially49:31 - His biggest challenge as a creator50:31 - Long-term goals

Craig Cannon is the Director of Marketing at Y Combinator. He usually hosts the YC podcast but is the guest on this episode about podcasting.Adora Cheung is a Partner at YC.You can find Adora on Twitter at @nolimits and Craig at @craigcannon.***Topics00:21 - Adora's intro1:26 - Craig's intro4:06 - Starting the YC podcast5:21 - Podcast metrics6:21 - Tips on creating a podcast8:31 - Picking episode topics9:21 - Order of operations for finding guests10:51 - Preparing for interviews14:11 - How to keep an episode engaging16:26 - Analytics18:51 - Gear23:21 - Software24:16 - Listening to your own voice25:41 - Favorite interviews26:41 - Most surprising things Craig's learned about startups on the podcast29:21 - What has Craig learned from guests that he's put into practice?32:01 - Non-consensus things about building startups 34:21 - If Craig had to start a podcast from scratch, how would he structure it?37:01 - Clipping the show42:21 - Monetizing podcasts45:51 - Will podcasts become saturated?46:21 - What's missing in the podcast world?48:21 - Influential podcasters52:11 - Adora's podcast picks53:11 - Patrick Benders asks - What idea do you believe in that your social group would think is crazy?58:11 - Zachary Canann asks - Please tell us about the time you most successfully hacked some (non-computer) system to your advantage.1:00:11 - Being at YC, do Craig and Adora feel pressured to go start a company?1:06:21 - When is an opportunity good enough to quit your current job?

Domonique Fines is the Director of Events at YC.Cadran Cowansage is the cofounder and CEO of Elpha. Elpha is a private online community for women in tech.Join Elpha to read Dom's AMA.You can find Dom on Twitter at @domoniquefines and Cadran at @cadran_c.***Topics00:30 - Dom’s intro00:50 - How Dom started in events and her background2:25 - Deciding to not go to law school3:55 - Choosing to work on tech events6:00 - Outreach to underrepresented founders 9:15 - Common misconceptions about getting into tech10:35 - University outreach11:55 - Identifying problems to fix and not being blocked14:35 - Reflecting on accomplishments15:40 - Dom’s career plans17:10 - Will Dom do a startup?17:35 - Avoiding burnout20:55 - The importance of just getting started

Mike Knoop is cofounder and Chief Product Officer at Zapier, which was in the YC Summer 2012 batch. Zapier moves information between your web apps automatically.Kevin Hale is a Visiting Partner at YC. Before YC Kevin was the cofounder of Wufoo, which was funded by YC in 2006 and acquired by SurveyMonkey in 2011.You can find Mike on Twitter at @mikeknoop and Kevin at @ilikevests.The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.***Topics00:43 - Kevin's intro01:03 - Mike's intro2:03 - How Mike and Kevin met4:03 - Market sizing for consumer software5:13 - Zapier's growth strategy today vs 20126:28 - Jumpstarting a platform like Zapier9:03 - Building an app directory before building a product11:03 - Applying to YC twice13:23 - Zapier after Demo Day14:48 - Zapier's first remote hire16:48 - Remote companies not being perceived as legitimate18:48 - Noticing remote was working then committing21:28 - Qualities to look for when hiring remote employees24:28 - Nina Mehta asks - What’s the best way to share work and knowledge across designers working on different parts of product without distracting from focused working time?25:58 - Remote mistakes in the early days27:33 - When to change modes of communication to allow for deep work29:28 - When to ask for someone's full attention31:33 - Product and design practices at Zapier34:38 - OKRs for teams vs individuals39:48 - Tools for remote teams43:48 - No internal email at Zapier46:53 - Keeping morale high in a remote team49:28 - What happens at a Zapier retreat51:43 - Remote design critiques56:43 - Serendipity and over optimizing for it58:33 - Setting up a remote company for success

Karn Saroya is the CEO and cofounder of Cover, which was in the YC Winter 2016 batch.Cover is a nationally licensed insurance brokerage. You can use their app to take a picture of property you want to insure and they’ll connect you with their insurance partners so that you can get the best price and coverage.You can find Karn on Twitter at @karnsaroya.The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.***Topics00:36 - Karn’s intro01:01 - Using computer vision to identify and catalogue property2:28 - How Karn ended up starting Cover3:48 - Being a maker vs. an advisor5:58 - Stylekick, Karn’s previous startup9:28 - Joining Shopify10:08 - How the idea for Cover happened11:58 - The capital-light way to start an insurance business16:28 - Underwriting17:58 - Lead generation20:18 - Product development21:28 - Buying Cover.com for $750k24:53 - Being engaged to a cofounder28:43 - Managing two offices and cultures30:58 - Being an international founder in YC31:58 - Advice to people in the current batch of YC

Caterina Fake hosts the podcast Should This Exist? which is about how technology is impacting our humanity. It launches today on iTunes. She also cofounded Flickr, Hunch, and Findery and is an investor at Yes VC.Kat Manalac is a partner at YC.You can find Caterina on Twitter at @Caterina and Kat at @KatManalac.The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.***Topics00:32 - Caterina's new podcast, Should This Exist?2:32 - Is there a process for considering if something should exist?4:02 - Who should be part of these conversations?5:17 - Wait But Why and the Human Colossus7:22 - Episode 1 of Should This Exist?10:17 - Having conversations before things exist11:42 - How might employees think about their role in whether or not something should exist?14:32 - Caterina reflecting on her creations and if they should exist19:02 - Considering whether things should exist as investors23:32 - Cofounder charter - What you will and won't do26:03 - Questioning the VC model27:22 - Working on Wall St, feeling herself change, and quitting31:22 - Caterina as a student34:02 - Peculiarity and entrepreneurship35:22 - "Don't fight to win prizes that aren't worth winning"38:32 - What was once fringe is now mainstream40:52 - Kat looking up to Lea Salonga42:42 - Evgeny asks - How did she get her first 100 paying users?49:27 - How does she advise founders to find investors?54:47 - What questions should founders ask themselves while making something?

Ryan Hoover is the founder of Product Hunt which was in the Summer 2014 YC batch and was acquired by AngelList. He also invests in startups through his Weekend Fund.Dalton Caldwell is a Partner at YC where he runs admissions.Ryan is on Twitter at @rrhoover and Dalton is at @daltonc.The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.***Topics00:27 - Ryan's intro00:52 - Dalton's intro1:27 - Forming Product Hunt and applying to YC5:17 - Product Hunt's growth rate when they applied to YC6:27 - Raising money for the right reasons9:42 - Maker communities11:27 - Why raise money for Product Hunt?13:12 - Having buzz during the batch18:12 - Brex changing their idea during YC20:17 - Pivoting into something you know well21:32 - In retrospect, how would Ryan have advised himself around monetization?28:27 - Trying to build out other verticals34:27 - Don't act like you have infinite runway35:57 - Creating urgency and developing products within AngelList40:17 - Tips to launch on Product Hunt45:07 - What Dalton looks for in applications46:57 - Giving people the opportunity to start48:47- What motivated Ryan to leave his job before Product Hunt

Jake Klamka founded Insight. Insight provides intensive 7 week professional training fellowships in fields such as data science and data engineering. Insight was in the YC Winter 2011 batch.Kevin Hale is a Visiting Partner at YC. Before YC Kevin was the cofounder of Wufoo, which was funded by YC in 2006 and acquired by SurveyMonkey in 2011.You can find Jake on Twitter at @jakeklamka and Kevin at @ilikevests.The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.***Topics00:37 - Kevin's intro01:07 - Jake's intro1:42 - Applying to YC with one product then changing it4:07 - How Insight started4:57 - Jake's first students and initial coursework8:37 - Finding out what companies want from data scientists10:37 - Picking the first class of students12:07 - Common pitfalls for people transitioning into data science15:07 - Types of data science roles17:22 - What data scientists should look out for in companies18:17 - Chuck Grimmett asks - When do you know you need to bring in seasoned data scientists?20:37 - How Insight has scaled and changed22:37 - What happens in the program23:57 - Examples of a good project for a data science resume26:27 - Will more data scientists be founders in the future?28:37 - Teaching product29:37 - Cleaning data32:07 - Tools for tracking data32:57 - Track what are you trying to optimize35:57 - Churn and conversion39:37 - Is there an ideal background for a data scientist?41:37 - Which startups recruit well at Insight?43:37 - Contracting46:17 - Fields Jake is excited about

Avni Patel Thompson founded Poppy, which helped parents book the best caregivers. They went through the YC Winter 2016 batch and recently shut down. Avni asked to come on the podcast to talk about what the process of shutting down was like.Kat Manalac is a partner at YC.You can find Avni on Twitter at @APatelThompson and Kat at @KatManalac.The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon - @CraigCannon.***Topics00:35 - Kat’s intro01:15 - Avni’s intro2:15 - When did it become clear that scaling Poppy wasn’t working?5:50 - Experiments Avni tried with Poppy9:55 - The last six months of runway13:25 - Choosing to shut Poppy down17:25 - Pivot or shut down?20:10 - Who did Avni have these hard conversations with?24:35 - Communicating with investors during the process of shutting down31:20 - How does Avni feel since shutting down Poppy?38:30 - Tying self-worth to your accomplishments and how it feels after shutting down39:30 - “This is what trying looks like.”44:00 - The effects of having raised money46:00 - Starting to think about what’s next49:00 - Struggling with unstructured nothing49:45 - Kindness

Samantha Bradshaw is a researcher at the Computational Propaganda Project and a doctoral candidate at the Oxford Internet Institute. She’s been tracking the phenomenon of political manipulation through social media.You can find Samantha on Twitter at @sbradshaww.The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.***Topics:53 - What is a bot?2:53 - When computational propaganda began3:53 - Changes in bot tactics since 20165:53 - Using bots for content creation7:28 - WhatsApp and the upcoming Indian election9:23 - Trends in computational propaganda10:53 - How bots integrate into platforms13:23 - Responsibilities of platforms to remove fake accounts14:53 - The role of governments in media manipulation18:18 - Fake news and selecting news that aligns with your beliefs19:53 - Are platforms getting better or worse?21:33 - Samantha's personal internet habits23:03 - Sentiment around tracking in the UK vs the US24:23 - The Mueller report and US midterms29:18 - Canadian elections30:18 - 2020 US elections30:53 - Deepfakes31:48 - Optimistic thoughts for the future33:08 - How to help against computational propaganda