During YC, we had many customers sign on, and we ensured regular touchpoints to gather feedback that benefited both our sales and product teams.

The level of urgency was heightened during my first YC experience because we had direct competitors in the same batch.

During Y Combinator, we learned the importance of getting our product into the field for beta testing, which helped us iterate and improve.

If I could give one piece of advice to YC founders, it would be to engage with real users early on to gather valuable feedback, rather than perfecting the product in isolation. I think through what the world will look like if hundreds of thousands or millions of people were to use this product or service, which helps me imagine the future of the product.

YC advises founders to talk to customers, but being your own customer allows for more insightful conversations and quicker feedback.

Our first customer was a VC who ended up investing in us, and being part of Y Combinator helped us get meetings with many interested VCs.

You should do manual work for your early customers, as it's crucial to get those initial users, and the experience will provide valuable insights for your startup's development.

I learned that without customer feedback, I had no idea what to build, which was a critical lesson I missed in my previous startup.

It's crucial to engage with customers early on, as they can provide valuable feedback that helps you build a better product than if you just focus on perfecting the prototype first.