<aside>
💡 Tips for your interview: Check out our course coordinator's tips and YC's 12 tips for interviewing. Interviews are via Zoom after you submit your application. Good luck! 🍊
</aside>
<aside>
🍊 Berks tips for nailing your Orange DAO Interview:
</aside>
- We have a strict 10-minute limit and require you to come prepared to dive straight into your experience. There's no time for chitchat.
- Prepare for "Explain to me like I'm five, and what are you building?" as your initial questions. Ensure your response is clear and succinct; it should be easily comprehensible, even to your mom. Extra credit if your grandmother can understand it.
- If you're solving your own problem, we want to hear about it. "Dogfooding" is greatly appreciated, and organic problems often lead to the most compelling solutions. Show us you're not just selling the product, but also using it!
- Why is Web3 integral to your product? We want to see more than just a "decentralized version of X" response. Demonstrate how your product leads to compounding impacts in the Web3 ecosystem or outperforms Web2 competitors.
- As a founder myself, I know that pivots (soft or hard) on your idea, business model, or GTM are part of the game. So, what really shines is your passion, relentless building potential, and resilient iterations in the face of adversity and scarcity.
- In my experience with interviews with 100+ founders so far, two factors set apart the best founders. They teach me something new during the interview, sparking intriguing conversations. They also balance their knowledge with humility and don't oversell.
- Buzzwords and overselling are red flags. Be genuine, and back your claims with evidence. Words like 'revolutionizing', 'proprietary', 'next-gen' tend to raise eyebrows more than interest.
- Your unique insight is extremely important. Why is your approach different and superior? Do you have a unique insight that'll leave me pondering post-interview? That's a big win.
- Understand your business model and the corresponding north-star metrics (probably some revenue-related metrics unless you're building a social product or a wallet). I highly recommend this YC resource: https://ycombinator.com/library/8E-nine-business-models-and-the-metrics-investors-want-sus-2019.
- We're searching for founders who embody relentlessness and resourcefulness. These traits are key to navigating the unpredictable journey of your startup. Show us your tenacity, your drive, and your ability to turn challenges into opportunities.
<aside>
🟠 YC’s 12 tips for interviewing:
</aside>
1. Prepare for unexpected delays:
Before heading into your interview, be prepared for things to run not exactly according to the schedule. Our interview was scheduled for 4:00 pm ET on Zoom and we joined 10 minutes before, as instructed. The interview started slightly later than planned at around 4:15 pm ET, so we were waiting for around half an hour. The longer the clock ticks, the more you tend to get stressed and anxious. But just keep in mind that it’s normal for the interview to start a little late; just relax and be patient.
2. No icebreaking and a brief introduction if any
You only have 20 minutes to describe your startup and successfully answer plenty of very tough questions. Unlike what you might be used to in other meetings or job interviews, don’t expect to have proper introductions or any icebreakers at the beginning of your interview. One of the group partners will probably skip the formalities and jump straight into the questions.
3. Nail your tagline