- Conformists are now entering the startup world
- Investors are seen as the highest status job in the startup world
- Many conformists want to do startups but have different motivations
- Some conformists make investors their main focus and want to please them
- They seek advice on how to get investors to like them

These conformists are also now invading the startup world.

The highest status job in the early stage startup world is investor, right?

Everyone's talked to everyone seeks approval to.

But we also see a lot of these folks who are conformists, who want to do startups.

It feels like their motivation or starting point is very different than what we would expect.

You know, 1 of the things that we say sometimes at YC is that don't make the investor your customer.

But a lot of these conformists who are getting into startups, that's what they do.

Like they want an idea an investor is going to like, they want to act the way an investor is going to like, they want to have the resume investors going to like.

And their questions are usually something along the lines of, they want us to tell them the secret to get investors to like them.

They hope that we will tell them the secret words to whisper to an investor to get approval.


Speaker 0: These conformists are also now invading the startup world. And I agree with you, right? The highest status job in the early stage startup world is investor, right? It's the 1 everyone wants to meet. Everyone's talked to everyone seeks approval to.

And so for sure it makes sense, right? That, that, you know, the logic follows. But we also see a lot of these folks who are conformists, who want to do startups. It feels like their motivation or starting point is very different than what we would expect. You know, 1 of the things that we say sometimes at YC is that don't make the investor your customer.

But a lot of these conformists who are getting into startups, that's what they do. Like they want an idea an investor is going to like, they want to act the way an investor is going to like, they want to have the resume investors going to like.

Speaker 1: And their questions are usually something along the lines of, they want us to tell them the secret to get investors to like them. They hope that we will tell them the secret words to whisper to an investor to get approval.

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Don't make the investor your customer.