yc-advisor_skill

Overview

This skill provides research-backed startup advice by accessing Y Combinator’s curated library of 443 resources, including essays, founder interviews, and Startup School lectures. Use it when you need practical, evidence-based guidance on founding choices, fundraising, product decisions, hiring, growth, or pivoting. It’s designed to combine quick discovery with deep reading so answers are grounded in original YC material.

How this skill works

The skill first scans a lightweight quick-index to identify 3–5 high-relevance resources for the user’s question. It then loads the full text of the top resources, reads them completely, and synthesizes actionable advice, noting tradeoffs and citing authors and titles. For learning tracks or frameworks, it consults curated learning-paths and framework files to produce stepwise recommendations.

When to use it

• Deciding whether to start a company or join one
• Choosing or splitting equity with co-founders
• Preparing for fundraising or drafting a pitch
• Designing an MVP and validating product-market fit
• Hiring first employees and setting early culture
• Planning growth metrics and customer acquisition strategies

Best practices

• Provide your stage, business type, and role so recommendations are tailored
• Allow the skill to load full source documents before accepting final advice
• Request citations when you want to verify original passages or quotes
• Use learning-paths for structured study plans (e.g., Fundraising or AI startups)
• Ask follow-ups to surface tradeoffs and alternative perspectives

Example use cases

• "Should I co-found with a technical partner or hire one later?" — compares frameworks and founder essays
• "How do I structure a seed pitch and which YC resources to cite?" — pulls sample advice and checklist items
• "I’m building an AI product — what’s the recommended MVP and launch path?" — follows YC AI/vertical guidance
• "What hiring sequence should a 5-person startup follow?" — synthesizes hiring and equity guidance from multiple essays
• "Create a 6-week learning plan to prepare for YC-style interviews" — uses learning-paths and founder talks