#149 - Startup School Week 8 Recap - Adora Cheung on Prioritizing Your Time and Kevin Hale on Evaluating Startup Ideas

Share:

Listens: 0

ycombinator

Technology


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/***Topics00:00 - Intro00:32 - Adora Cheung - How to Prioritize Your Time2:12 - Real vs fake progress4:10 - How to determine if you're prioritizing the right tasks4:42 - Keep a spreadsheet of ideas related to moving your primary KPI7:32 - Grade the new and old ideas once a week based on potential impact9:52 - Consider the complexity of each task11:32 - Don't try to do everything at once11:52 - 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 fast16:47 - Kevin Hale - How to Evaluate Startup Ideas Pt. 218:52 - How to apply to Y Combinator20:17 - As a YC partner, you don't need to sell me21:12 - 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 legible25:12 - Things to avoid when describing your company27:34 - Be conversational28:02 - Avoid jargon, no preamble, and be reproducible28:47 - Nouns: what are you making, what is the problem, and who is the customer32:47 - Using the X for Y formula of explaining your startup36:57 - Be concise without leaving out the key nouns40:47 - How to adjust a description