The lessons you've heard from Y Combinator partners are quite general and relevant to investing in startups, whether inside or outside of Y Combinator.

Investor School is a four-day course teaching the basics of startup investing, held for the first time at Y Combinator in Mountain View.

Watching Y Combinator videos is not a substitute for the real experience of being a YC founder, which includes direct access to partners and exclusive insights not shared publicly.

Founders often mistakenly believe that Y Combinator is just a series of online lectures, not realizing they will be assigned a group partner and placed in small sections for personalized support.

The course is designed for angel investors who are investing their own money and enjoy working with founders, not for professional venture capitalists.

The goal of Investor School is to share knowledge from Y Combinator to help people become effective angel investors and avoid common pitfalls.

The primary reason we did Y Combinator was to connect with the tech ecosystem, not just for the capital.

The course will also explain the mechanics of startup investing, including how convertible notes work and the standards for interacting with founders.

We aim to create a new version of Startup School that better fits the diverse backgrounds of participants, focusing on helping them evaluate ideas like an investor would.