YC: Questions

YC Guide to cofounder matching: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rXUOP-FcnIE8eNTkKlELkakZ-MLaIvEyIxUlBOLNZPw/edit#heading=h.bwvaj6au48s2

1. Why do you want to do this startup? What are your personal goals here, both financial and non-financial?

   • I'm looking for creative and financial independence. I want to work on interesting problems and build a financial future that allows me to be flexible in my personal and professional lives. I'd like to build a product that is used by 1M of users.

2. What will our roles and titles be? How will we divide responsibilities? Who will be CEO?

3. How will we split up equity?

4. Where will the company be based? Where will we each live? Will we work together in-person or remotely?

   • HQ: I live in SF, and I don't see myself leaving the Bay Area. I feel that everything you need to build a successful company—a founder network, investors, partners, talent pool, and ecosystem—is located in the SF Bay Area and Silicon Valley.
   • On remote teams: I've seen well-operated, fully remote teams and successful teams working onsite. I feel that if we are building a VC-funded company (hyper-growth), there is a benefit to meeting at the office a few times per week. Early in company life, it's helpful to be able to meet in person a few times per week.

5. What idea will we work on? If that idea doesn’t work out, are you willing to change the idea? Are you only interested in working on ideas in certain areas?

   Ideally, I'd love to:

   • [required] For us to work together on a project
   • [required] Build a working MVP/POC
   • Sign 1-5 customers/users
   • Raised seed

6. What needs to happen for each of us to go full-time (quit other jobs or school commitments)?

7. What is your personal financial situation? Are you willing to work for free and live on your savings? For how long? If you'll need a salary to work on this full-time (either now or at some point), how much do you need to feel comfortable?  Will either of us put money into the company?

8. What will our typical working schedule be (what days we work, what hours / day, etc)? How long do we want to keep that up? Are there any things outside of work that are important to you to make time for?

9. If we are successful enough to get to build a team of employees, are there things that are important to you about how we do that?  I.e., building an in-person vs remote company, having certain cultural values, having a particular approach to hiring or managing people?

10. What will we do if we’re having trouble agreeing on an important decision?  What will happen if we decide we don’t want to work together anymore?

Founding Team Questionnaire

Questions to align on values, project, and team

How to use this doc:

1. Read the intro below. For more background, read the First Round Review article about one founder’s journey from ideation & founder dating to narrowing in on a specific idea with a co-founder.
2. File -> Make a Copy to clone this doc | https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kYnuVjVYMNq1wVZCvMW4K2iPgfSTn2RbZi5g7559DP4
3. Fill out the questionnaire. Highlight the questions that are most important to you!
4. Discuss with a potential co-founder!

The purpose of using this tool:

• Makes sure you’re aligned on values: There are several different ways to build a company, but co-founders need to be as aligned as possible. These questions will surface the motivations and preferences that will factor in as you develop company values and try to scale culture when hiring. Surface philosophical disagreements before you’re in too deep.
• Helps you flex the vulnerability muscle: Opening up with someone you don’t know very well can be hard, but understanding motivations, fears, and working styles is critical to working together effectively and building trust quickly. These questions serve as a tool for easing into those conversations.