[that_guy_iain]

Wasn't there a YC newsletter email where they told companies to tighten their belts so to speak? I feel like them not being able to hire due to money issues could be down to YC telling people to calm down with their spending.

[ryankicks]

In May 2022 [updated], YC did tell their startups to better control their spend. It wasn't intended for public consumption, but it did get on TC:

https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/19/yc-advises-founders-to-pla...

We did see a lot of our YC startups stop/slow down hiring at that time and throughout the summer. It has picked up since, as a function of 1.) a new batch of YC startups graduating, 2.) raising a healthy seed round and 3.) hiring a few early employees.

OP told me his experience was more recent, and that's a big time gap between the memo and now. I can't speak to any specifics, but I do think all startups (and definitely YC ones) are continually re-evaluating their business position: revenue, projected growth and corresponding headcount. And with a pull-back in industry spending during a downturn (and more expected going into 2023), vendors/sellers/startups will all have to re-adjust their 2023 plans pretty quickly.

Poor fiscal planning isn't an excuse for what happened to OP. It does shed light on how some companies (including YC startups) are continually trying to adapt during this downturn.

Note: The above comments about industry spend isn't from anything in particular I'm seeing from our YC startups, but rather from having worked at B2B startups twice previously during downturns -- and personally being on both sides of the equation (as seller and buyer of SaaS software).

[that_guy_iain]

This May. It was 2022.

[kevin_nisbet]

Yea, I'm pretty sure a bunch of investors changed their guidance on managing runway this summer to extend the runways as future rounds may be harder. Something like where guidance for many would be 2 years, now to target 4. Although at least one company I talked to earlier in the year didn't have this memo.

I think lots of companies are seeing a longer/harder sales cycle as well, so they're still growing, but at a reduced rate, which when combined with that investor advice can lead to reqs the company thought they had, not really being available when it comes to deciding on making an offer.

What I don't know about, is if there's a bit more slack in the job market, where a year ago if you completed the interview you would get an offer, instead companies now have the ability to select among multiple good candidates.