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Hi again Michael, another quick one for you: how important is charisma to be a succesful founder?

Do you think YC's application process is skewed towards accepting people who are great at talking?

I don't think it's important at all. PG has a saying that good founders become more formidable during their time at YC. Also, demo day prep and fundraising is pretty intense at YC so most founders get much better at talking about their startups after going through the program. That might explain the signal you are seeing.

I've been wondering this too. Many people I know are avoiding the YC/startup scene because it seems to be for the "cool" kids who know how to talk their way through something, and not those who are actually technically competent.

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