Company

YC interview questions: the full list and how the interview works

A Y Combinator interview is a 10-minute video call with two or three YC partners, and it usually opens with one question: what is your company working on? Most of what follows comes from the guide YC publishes for invited founders. Expect questions about your users and metrics, the competition, the obstacles ahead and what you have built so far, and expect to be asked for a demo. The questions below come from YC's own interview guide and from partner essays. None of them come from second-hand lists.

How the YC interview works

As of October 2026, YC's interview guide describes the format like this:

• Length: 10 minutes.
• Format: a Zoom call. The apply page says most interviews for the Winter 2027 batch will be held by video conference in November and December.
• Who attends: every founder on the team, plus two or three YC partners.
• Preparation on YC's side: the partners have read your application and keep it open during the call.
• Content: YC says it does only two things in an interview. It asks questions and it looks at what you have built. There is no time for small talk or slides.

Founding partner Jessica Livingston writes in her tips for YC interviews that there is no single set type of interview. If partners cut straight to questions, that is because the time is short. It says nothing about how the interview is going.

Winter 2027 timeline

For the Winter 2027 batch, the on-time deadline is November 2 at 8pm PT. Anyone who applies before then gets a decision by December 11. The batch runs from January to March in San Francisco. For the full calendar, see our guide to the YC Winter 2027 application deadline. Founders weighing other programs can compare dates in our list of startup accelerator application deadlines.

YC interview questions: the list, by topic

Each question in this section is either one YC's interview guide says partners ask, or one taken from the application questions discussed in Paul Graham's essay How to Apply to Y Combinator. Partners have your application in front of them, so any answer you gave there can come up again.

Product: what you are building

• What is your company working on? The guide calls this the usual first question and asks for an answer in a few simple sentences without jargon.
• Can you show us a demo? YC means a working version of the product. Software should already be loaded and ready to screenshare. Hardware should be physically with you, or you should have a video ready.
• What is new or non-obvious about the idea? This is not on YC's question list, but the guide says partners like learning something from an idea and would rather hear interesting details, even ones only people in your field care about, than generalizations.

Users and traction

If you have already launched, the guide lists questions YC asks often:

• Where do new users come from?
• What is your growth like?
• How much do users use the product, and do they keep using it?
• What makes new users try you?
• Why do reluctant users hold back?
• What are the top things users want?
• What has surprised you about how users behave?

Business model and unit economics

• What are your unit economics? This is on the guide's list of questions for launched companies.
• Any number you state in the interview may be checked. YC warns that it may ask you to verify figures afterwards.

Competition and insight

• What do existing products in your market get wrong, and how exactly will you do better? YC says "more powerful" or "easier to use" is not a sufficient answer. You need to explain how.
• What will make your solution distinctive? In How to Apply to Y Combinator, Paul Graham writes that claiming you will execute well is not an insight. Partners want the specific thing you will do differently.

Obstacles and market risk

• What stands in your way? The guide says partners often ask about obstacles. They are more convinced by an honest account of the difficulties than by an answer that waves them away.
• How will you get past them? Graham's essay says YC does not mind hard ideas, as long as founders show they know the obstacles and have at least a theory for getting past them.

Team, founders and equity

• What impressive thing has each founder built or achieved? In his essay Graham calls this the most important question on the application, so expect it to come up.
• How is the stock split between founders? Graham lists the stock allocation among the things he checks when he looks at an application more closely.
• What other ideas did you consider? He notes that YC often funds teams to work on an idea they listed as an alternative.
• When have you hacked a non-computer system to your advantage? Graham's essay describes this as the application's "wildcard" question.
• Every founder should be ready to speak. YC prefers that each founder answers at least one question.

How to prepare for a YC interview

YC tells founders not to rehearse heavily. Its guide says practice beyond the basics often backfires, and that founders who practice a lot often get well-meaning but counter-productive feedback from friends, including YC alumni. Partners want a spontaneous conversation. It suggests a few steps instead.

1. Make progress before the call. YC calls this the best way to improve your chances: launch, ship improvements or grow revenue between applying and interviewing.
2. Write a one-sentence description of what you do, in plain words. Graham suggests describing it as a variant of something people already know.
3. Write down your key metrics where you can see them during the call. YC does not expect you to memorize every figure.
4. Have a working demo open, tested and ready to screenshare, or have a demo video ready.
5. Know your competitors' products well, and be able to say exactly what is wrong with them.
6. List the obstacles you expect and how you plan to deal with them.
7. Agree who answers what, so every co-founder speaks at least once. Check your camera, audio and connection beforehand.

If you don't know an answer, say so and think it through out loud. YC says a sincere attempt at an unexpected question can lead to a good discussion. Livingston also advises skipping buzzwords and having a conversation rather than delivering a pitch.

After the interview: decisions and what a "no" means

YC's apply page says it typically makes decisions on the same day as the interview. Everyone who interviews gets detailed feedback on the decision. Teams that are not selected receive that feedback by email.

A rejection is often temporary. YC's FAQ says about half the companies in a typical batch applied more than once before being accepted. It says progress since your last application is a strong signal, and that recommendations carry over to new applications. The interview guide notes that teams often take the feedback, apply again for the next batch and get in. You can submit only one application per batch.

Founders who are accepted receive YC's standard $500,000 investment. YC invests once a company is accepted and does not wait for the batch to start. For more coverage of early-stage money, see our Funding section. Founder-focused guides are in Founders.

What about the YC interview acceptance rate?

As of October 2026, YC's FAQ and interview guide do not give an official acceptance rate for applications or for interviews. Figures in forum posts are estimates. Treat them with caution. Graham's essay suggests that the application stage is where many good teams lose out. He estimates that for every group YC invites to interview, one or two equally strong groups are passed over because their application was unclear.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the Y Combinator interview?

YC's interview guide says interviews are 10-minute conversations over Zoom. All founders join, along with two or three YC partners.

Are YC interviews in person?

Most are not. For the Winter 2027 batch, YC says most interviews will be held by video conference in November and December 2026.

When do you hear back after a YC interview?

YC says it typically makes decisions on the same day as the interview. For on-time Winter 2027 applicants, every decision will be out by December 11, 2026.

Should you rehearse for a YC interview?

YC advises against heavy rehearsal and says it is often counter-productive. It suggests making real progress on the startup, keeping your metrics written down and having a demo ready.

Can you reapply to YC after being rejected at the interview?

Yes. YC encourages it, says about half the companies in a typical batch applied more than once, and gives interviewed teams feedback that can help with the next application.