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YC interview questions
A YC interview is a 10-minute video call with 2 to 3 partners who have read your application. There is no time for a presentation: they ask questions and look at what you have built. These are the questions YC itself says it often asks, with what a good answer contains.
Sources: the official YC Interview Guide, Jessica Livingston’s interview tips (YC founding partner), and Michael Seibel’s 10 pieces of advice. Checked October 25, 2026. Placet is not affiliated with Y Combinator.
Opening
What is your company working on?
YC says this is typically the first question. Answer in a few simple, jargon-free sentences, the spoken version of your one-liner.
What’s new or surprising about it?
Partners say they like learning something. Interesting details, even ones only your field cares about, beat generalizations.
Users and metrics (if you have launched)
Where do new users come from?
Channels with numbers.
What is your growth like?
A rate over a clear period, e.g. week over week.
How much do users use the product, and do they stick around?
Usage frequency and retention.
What are your unit economics?
What a customer pays versus what it costs to win and serve them.
What makes new users try you, and why do reluctant ones hold back?
What you have learned from talking to both groups.
What are the top things users want? What has surprised you about user behavior?
Concrete requests and real surprises show you are close to users.
Market and competition
What is wrong with the existing products?
YC expects you to know the market intimately and explain specifically how you are better, not just “more powerful” or “easier to use”.
What obstacles are in your way?
Partners say candid discussion of difficulties is more convincing than dismissing them.
Product
Can you show us?
Have the working product loaded and ready to screen-share, or the hardware with you, or a demo video if it can’t be on the call. Livingston adds that you should be able to explain it in words without relying on the demo.
Follow-ups on your application
Anything you wrote
Partners have read your application and have it open, so expect follow-ups on any answer: team history, who builds the product, full-time commitment, revenue numbers, competitors. Numbers you state may be checked afterwards.
A question for each founder
YC prefers that every founder answers at least one question.
How YC says to prepare
- Don’t over-rehearse. YC wants a spontaneous conversation and warns that lots of practice, even with alumni, can backfire.
- Make progress instead. Launching, improving the product or growing revenue between applying and interviewing is the best edge, per the guide.
- Write your key metrics down where you can glance at them during the call.
- Speak plainly. No buzzwords, no prewritten pitch (Livingston).
- Be honest about challenges, and fine with “I don’t know” followed by a sincere attempt.
New to all of this? Start with how to get into YC. Then watch real pitch and interview-prep videos, re-read your application answers, and tighten them with the free reviewer so you can say each one out loud in a sentence or two.
Common questions
How long is the YC interview?
About 10 minutes, over Zoom, according to YC’s interview guide.
Who is on the call?
All founders should be present, and YC says to expect 2 to 3 partners, who will have read your application.
Should I rehearse answers?
YC advises against heavy rehearsal: beyond basic preparation it is often counter-productive. Its suggestion is to make progress on the startup between applying and interviewing.
What happens if we are not accepted after the interview?
YC says it sends feedback by email, and that it is common for teams to use it, re-apply for the next batch and get in.