Aakash Shah

YC has quietly built a parallel tech ecosystem. Not just a network - an entire operating system for startups. Think about it: A YC founder can build their entire stack using only YC companies. Infrastructure, analytics, payment processing, marketing tools - it's all there. At friend-and-family prices. When you launch a product to the YC network, you get something priceless: A group of technical founders who actually understand what you're building. They become your first users, your debuggers, your evangelists. This is why PostHog is now used by 65% of new YC companies. This is why Brex dominated fintech... and why each YC batch makes the next one stronger. A true compounding advantage.

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Just spoke with 2 founders who were about to give up on their startup. My reaction: "CUT THE BULLSH*T!" They were selling HIPAA compliant scheduling forms to dentists. One of said: "I approached dentists, but it's a no-go." So I asked, "What exactly do you mean by approached?" "We send out 100 emails." "OK. How many got delivered?" "50 delivered. 1 person booked a demo." "You talked to ONE f*cking person? And based on that, you're saying the experiment failed? That's not good enough. That's straight up bullsh*t. You have to do more." You see, most startups fail simply because founders give up too f*cking early. I actually saw potential in their company. If you send out a stupid email to a dentist, and they got on a phone call with you, there's more to dig there. Design Real Experiments Before you start: - Define EXACTLY what success looks like (10% response rate? 5 paying customers?) - Determine your minimum viable sample size - Set concrete metrics to measure - Commit to completing the full experiment How These Founders Should Have Done It 👇 Their single demo request actually showed PROMISE. A 2% conversion from delivered emails to demos isn't terrible for cold outreach! But they needed to: - Talk to 30+ dentists before drawing conclusions - Test multiple messaging angles (GDPR compliance, time savings, patient experience) - Try different channels (direct calls, dental conferences, partnerships with equipment suppliers) - Get rejected for the RIGHT reasons (price, features, timing – not just poor outreach) Real-World Example A SaaS founder I know targeted law firms: - First 50 calls: 0 meetings but he learned what matters, doesn't matter - Next 50: 2 meetings, 0 sales - Refined pitch, next 100: 12 meetings, 3 sales - Today: $1M ARR Had he quit after those first 100 contacts, his company wouldn't exist. The Bottom Line Your startup deserves a real f*cking chance. Be methodical, be persistent, collect meaningful data. Most "failed" startups didn't actually fail – their founders just gave up too soon.

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Top 5 Raises of the Week 1/ Numeral raised $35m for their Series B led by Mayfield 2/ Factory raised $50m for their Series B led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) 3/ Howie raised $6m for their seed led by True Ventures 4/ Gigi raised $8m for their seed led by Khosla Ventures 5/ MoldCo raised $8m for their seed co-led by Cantos & Collaborative Fund #fundings

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One of the best parts of HLTH USA was seeing all the doctors, nurses and patient advocates who've become founders. Over the past decade we've seen the barriers to entry in software development diminish. From cloud-based platforms to no-code tools, and now the latest incarnations of vibe coding and AI agents. This flips the traditional model on its head. Instead of boardrooms who measure software in dollars and engineers who see solutions in zeros and ones, we're getting products that start with the clarity, frustrations and lived experiences of the end user. The cardiologist building the EHR she wishes she'd had. The nurse creating documentation tools that actually fit her workflow. The former patient designing the symptom tracker they needed during treatment. They understand the problems intimately because they've lived them. And now they can actually build the solutions. I'm incredibly optimistic about a rising tide of better UX in healthcare, led by the people who know the problems best.

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Before YC, we thought getting into Y Combinator was all about having a great product. Turns out we were wrong. It’s about the people behind it. Here's the pre - and post-YC: Pre-YC: Hustle mode ✅ Building non-stop but are unsure if we’re heading in the right direction. ✅ Overcomplicating the YC interview, thinking it’s the hardest test. (It’s just a 10-minute Zoom call) ✅ Thinking we need all the answers when what matters is talking to customers and building to solve their problems. ✅ Focusing too much on the product rather than the market and customers. Post-YC: Growth Mindset ✅ Speed + Execution > Just having an idea. ✅ Market-first approach learnt to iterate based on real feedback. ✅ Hiring was delayed intentionally as we are focused on customer acceptance before scaling. ✅ YC’s network and credibility open doors for Entvin (YC S22) One of the greatest lessons we learnt in YC was when we asked one of the YC partners, "With no apparent advantages - be it traction, customers, or revenue - why did you choose us?" His response was clear- “You were a good team, and you were listening to customers and executing." The takeaway from our own YC journey: 📌 Your team > Your idea. 📌 Listen to customers and execute relentlessly. 📌 For a YC interview, Basics clear = Good to go. YC doesn’t magically make you successful. But it gives you the right mindset, speed, and network to get there. What’s the biggest lesson you learnt from applying (or not applying) to YC? Let me know in the comments. #yc

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