yc-advisor

Files (200)

• .gitignore
• CLAUDE.md
• SKILL.md
• 1k-benchmarks.md · references/
• 1z-the-importance-of-trends.md · references/
• 2s-advice-for-new-managers.md · references/
• 2u-how-to-build-your-seed-round-pitch-deck.md · references/
• 2z-pinduoduo-and-the-rise-of-social-e-commerce.md · references/
• 3O-why-big-deals-are-bad-for-startups.md · references/
• 3S-when-to-shut-down-a-startup.md · references/
• 3Z-advice-for-companies-with-less-than-1-year-of-runway.md · references/
• 3e-thoughts-on-insurance.md · references/
• 3h-series-a-diligence-checklist.md · references/
• 3i-how-to-find-a-technical-co-founder.md · references/
• 3j-how-to-measure-leadership.md · references/
• 3k-the-second-job-of-a-startup-ceo.md · references/
• 3t-how-wechat-grew-to-be-the-1-app-in-the-world.md · references/
• 3w-how-to-create-and-manage-a-board.md · references/
• 3x-the-hidden-forces-behind-china-s-content-king-toutiao.md · references/
• 47-product-advice-for-hardware-founders.md · references/
• 4A-a-guide-to-seed-fundraising.md · references/
• 4D-yc-s-essential-startup-advice.md · references/
• 4G-convincing-engineers-to-join-your-team.md · references/
• 4H-how-to-hire-your-first-engineer.md · references/
• 4I-advice-for-gaming-startups.md · references/
• 4L-how-biotech-startup-funding-will-change-in-the-next-10-years.md · references/
• 4P-a-standard-and-clean-series-a-term-sheet.md · references/
• 4T-how-to-design-a-better-pitch-deck.md · references/
• 4b-how-to-pitch-your-company.md · references/
• 4c-getting-press-for-your-startup.md · references/
• 4d-a-letter-to-college-students.md · references/
• 4e-guide-to-product-development.md · references/
• 4g-the-scientific-method-for-startups.md · references/
• 4h-three-paths-in-the-tech-industry-founder-executive-or-employee.md · references/
• 4i-the-yc-effect.md · references/
• 4j-startup-hr-what-s-important.md · references/
• 4l-advice-for-job-seekers-on-resumes-and-reaching-out.md · references/
• 4m-enterprise-sales-for-hackers.md · references/
• 4p-before-growing-your-startup.md · references/
• 4q-later-stage-advice-for-startups.md · references/
• 4r-yc-and-hard-tech-startups.md · references/
• 4s-navigating-success-for-your-startup.md · references/
• 4v-best-practices-for-managing-a-remote-team.md · references/
• 4x-on-starting-a-company-from-a-hackathon-project.md · references/
• 4y-founder-stories-detroit-water-project-s-tiffani-ashley-bell.md · references/
• 59-how-to-set-up-hire-and-scale-a-growth-strategy-and-team.md · references/
• 5G-on-raising-seed-and-series-a-as-a-woman-founder.md · references/
• 5I-on-starting-and-scaling-healthcare-startup-23andme.md · references/
• 5J-how-to-create-and-manage-a-board-part-2.md · references/
• 5N-on-starting-and-scaling-bloom-institute-of-technology.md · references/
• 5O-building-a-startup-is-about-solving-a-problem.md · references/
• 5Q-on-starting-and-scaling-aerospace-company-boom.md · references/
• 5R-on-starting-and-scaling-hubspot.md · references/
• 5a-consume-information-that-encourages-you-to-do-more.md · references/
• 5b-how-do-you-convince-someone-to-join-your-startup.md · references/
• 5f-on-starting-and-scaling-one-of-the-biggest-ios-apps.md · references/
• 5j-jeff-dean-on-building-intelligent-systems-with-large-scale-deep-learning.md · references/
• 5l-how-not-to-fail.md · references/
• 5n-why-you-should-or-should-not-work-at-a-startup.md · references/
• 5p-creating-good-company-culture-and-sticking-to-it.md · references/
• …and 140 more

SKILL.md (first lines)

# YC Advisor

## Overview

This skill provides access to Y Combinator's comprehensive library of 443 startup resources - essays, podcast transcripts, and video transcripts from YC partners, successful founders, and industry experts.

## How to Use This Skill (Tiered Retrieval)

**Key Principle:** Use quick-index for discovery, but ALWAYS load full source content before answering.

### Step 1: Understand Context (for broad questions)

For broad questions, clarify the user's context:
- **Stage:** Pre-idea | Idea | Building MVP | Launched | Scaling
- **Type:** B2B | Consumer | Hardware | AI/ML | Marketplace
- **Role:** Technical founder | Non-technical | Solo | With co-founder(s)

### Step 2: Discovery

1. Load `references/quick-index.md` to scan available resources (~500 lines, grouped by topic)
2. Identify 3-5 most relevant resources based on the question (line counts help estimate size)
3. Check `references/learning-paths.md` if user is on a founder journey
4. Check `references/frameworks/` for decision questions - use glob `references/frameworks/*.md` to list files, then read specific ones
5. For deeper search, use grep on `references/summaries.md` (too large to load fully)

### Step 3: Deep Dive

1. **Find files using the code** - use glob pattern `references/{CODE}-*.md`
   - Example: For code `DZ`, use glob `references/DZ-*.md` to find the file
   - **WARNING:** NEVER read `index.yaml` - it exceeds token limits (64K tokens)
2. Load the FULL content of top 2-3 resources
3. Read completely - do not skim
4. Extract key insights, quotes, and actionable advice

### Step 4: Synthesize Answer

1. Combine insights from multiple sources
2. Quote directly from source material when valuable
3. **Always cite author and title** for each point
4. Acknowledge tradeoffs and contradictions between sources
5. **Never answer from summaries alone** - always load full source content

## Topic Categories

The library covers these main areas (use for initial filtering):

- **Getting Started:** Should you start? Startup ideas, order of operations, student founders
- **Co-founders:** Finding, relationships, equity splitting, technical vs non-technical
- **Product:** MVP, product-market fit, design, building for users
- **Fundraising:** Seed, Series A, investor pitching, SAFEs, term sheets
- **Growth & Metrics:** Growth strategies, KPIs, conversion, retention
- **Customers & Sales:** Talking to users, first customers, pricing, enterprise sales
- **Hiring & Team:** First hires, engineering teams, equity, management
- **Culture & Leadership:** Building culture, CEO evolution, board management
- **Common Mistakes:** Startup killers, financial health, when to quit
- **Pivoting & Launching:** Pivot strategies, launch timing, press
- **Scaling:** Later stage advice, unicorn characteristics
- **Mindset:** Resourcefulness, handling rejection, goal setting
- **AI Startups:** AI opportunity, moats, vertical agents, vibe coding
- **Founder Interviews:** Airbnb, Stripe, Coinbase, Reddit, Twitch, DoorDash
- **Specialized:** Hardware, biotech, dev tools, crypto, location
- **Joining Startups:** Choosing a startup, stages, equity
- **YC Application:** Application tips, process, YC effect
- **Legal:** Startup mechanics, terms, agreements

## Usage Guidelines

### For Complex Decisions

Questions like "Should I start my own startup or co-found with someone?":

1. Load quick-index.md to identify relevant resources
2. Read 3-5 full source files covering different perspectives
3. Synthesize across sources - look for consensus and contradictions
4. Present balanced view acknowledging tradeoffs
5. Cite specific authors and titles
6. Ask clarifying questions about user's specific situation

### For Factual Questions

Questions like "What are the most common mistakes that kill startups?":

1. Use quick-index.md to find the most authoritative source
2. Load and read the full source file
3. Present comprehensively - don't over-summarize
4. Cite the source

### For Learning Journeys

When users want to learn systematically:

1. Check `references/learning-paths.md` for curated sequences
2. Guide them through resources in order
3. Summarize key takeaways at each step

## Resources

### references/quick-index.md (Primary Discovery)
Lightweight index (~500 lines) grouped by topic. Each entry shows:
- Code, title, author, type, line count, founder stage
- **Use this first** - small enough to load fully
- Use glob pattern `references/{CODE}-*.md` to find files by code

### references/summaries.md (Deep Search)
Detailed summaries with content previews (~4300 lines). Too large to load fully.
- Use grep to search for specific keywords
- Provides more context than quick-index when needed

### references/index.yaml (Maintenance Only - DO NOT READ)
Structured metadata for all resources. **Too large for runtime use (64K tokens).**
Used only by maintenance scripts. For filename lookups, use quick-index.md instead.

### references/learning-paths.md
Curated resource sequences for common founder journeys:
- First-time founder path
- AI startup path
- Fundraising path
- And more...

From agent37-platform/agent37-skills-collection, MIT.

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