The mantra at Y Combinator is to 'make something people want,' which is essential for solving most startup problems.

Y Combinator's motto is to 'make something people want.' It's crucial to identify the most important problem right now and determine how you will solve it.

The goal of Y Combinator is to create thousands of startups that solve real problems and create jobs, rather than have people join big tech companies.

I encourage applicants to Y Combinator to focus on solving real needs, regardless of their academic credentials, as long as they are passionate about their solutions.

Y Combinator is a great starting point for companies looking to successfully launch, providing expertise and resources for incorporating and achieving product-market fit.

I advise aspiring entrepreneurs to start with the problem they want to solve rather than focusing on building a company.

I co-founded Y Combinator, the first startup accelerator, which began with a hypothesis about what people wanted, and it turned out they did want it, leading us to fund over 1,800 startups valued at over a hundred billion dollars.

At Y Combinator, we invest in founders at the idea stage, understanding that it may take over a decade to see if their concepts are viable, so short-term valuations are less critical.

Many hard tech founders mistakenly believe they need large amounts of funding upfront, but Y Combinator encourages them to think like software companies and find ways to progress with less money.