YC Partner Thinking Game - Test Your Startup Skills

Introducing YC Arena: A Simulator of Venture Capital Decision-Making

YC Arena presents a series of engaging games designed to offer insights into the role of a Y Combinator partner, though it is not a clandestine gathering for YC founders.

The YC Partner Simulator Game

Developed by a student based in Berlin, the core of YC Arena is the YC Partner Simulator. This game presents users with publicly accessible pitch videos from companies that previously applied to Y Combinator, alongside the year of their application.

Participants are tasked with deciding whether to “accept” or “reject” each applicant, subsequently learning if their judgment aligned with YC’s actual decision.

The Challenge of Selection

The game proves surprisingly difficult. Given that Y Combinator accepts approximately 1% of all applicants, a degree of chance inevitably influences a partner’s assessment.

Factors such as the timing of a pitch within a partner’s review schedule – whether it’s the first after a break or the last before fatigue sets in – can play a role.

A disclaimer at the game’s outset acknowledges that “Many rejected founders went on to build incredibly successful companies afterwards.” It emphasizes that “Rejection means nothing – even the most successful founders got rejected multiple times.”

Beyond the Simulator: Additional Games

YC Arena also features other challenges, including matching company names to their logos and identifying the year a company participated in YC based on its description.

However, the YC Partner Simulator stands out as the most compelling, as it compels players to examine their own decision-making processes.

A Journalist's Perspective

As a technology journalist, I initially anticipated a degree of proficiency in the YC Partner Simulator.

While not an investor, I am accustomed to evaluating numerous startup pitches and selecting those that warrant further investigation, having previously identified companies for interviews at events like TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield 200 Expo.

Nevertheless, the game presented a significant challenge. The criteria for newsworthiness differ from those for potential profitability.

(To illustrate: Currently, I am evaluating an AI companion device. While I wouldn’t wager on Casio achieving substantial returns from a $430 “glorified Furby,” I believe an article detailing my experience with this AI pet will resonate with readers.)

Subjectivity and the Importance of Clarity

The game underscores the inherent subjectivity involved in these evaluations.

However, my accuracy improved after reviewing YC co-founder Paul Graham’s application guide.

Graham stresses the need for “exceptionally clear and concise” communication, advising applicants to “give it to us right in the first sentence, in the simplest possible terms.” (This guidance is equally applicable to communications with journalists.)

I replayed the game, prioritizing the speed with which companies conveyed their core business rather than the specifics of their pitches.

While I wouldn’t advocate this approach in real-world startup assessment, it yielded more accurate results within the game’s framework.

Rapid Evaluation at Y Combinator

This outcome is likely not coincidental. Sam Altman, former president of YC and current CEO of OpenAI, revealed in a 2016 interview that the incubator allocates only 10 minutes to review each application.

“It turns out that in 10 minutes, if the only question you’re trying to answer is, ‘Does this person have the potential to be the next Mark Zuckerberg?’… You can answer that question in 10 minutes,” Altman stated.

He acknowledged that this method isn’t foolproof, but sufficient for the incubator’s business model.