20 VC 075: Y COMBINATOR WEEK: Kirsty Nathoo, CFO @ Y Combinator

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4.4 • 637 Ratings

🗓️ 28 September 2015

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kirsty Nathoo is the CFO of Y Combinator. As CFO, she holds the keys to the kingdom – literally. Not only does she control and manage Y Combinator’s internal finances, from paying bills to helping organize demo days to actually making sure Y Combinator’s money is wired to startups from the proper accounts; but she helps YC startups coordinate outside financings, tax issues, incorporation and other fiscal matters. She’s the financial brains behind the entire operation, with YC partner Harj Taggar stating that ‘YC would cease to operate if Kirsty was not around’.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How Kirsty made her move from PWC in Cambridge to CFO at the World’s Most Successful Accelerator?

2.) Joining YC permanently in 2010, how has Kirsty seen it develop to today’s current state? What has been the key drivers to the success and growth of YC?

3.) As CFO Kirsty has developed a certain pattern recognition with regards to what investors and VCs like to see in the terms of startups. What are they?

4.) Kirsty has seen the progression of many startups, what are the most common problems startups face in the fundraising cycle? What are the commonalities in those that are successful?

5.) How does YC address the issue of potentially inflated valuations for their alum?

6.) What are some financials that all founders should know all the time?

7.) What is the future for YC? Are we going to see another funding round? Is the YC model scalable? Could we have a YC Europe?

As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Y Combinator on Twitter here!

If you would like to see a more colourful side to Harry with many a mojito session, you can follow him on Instagram here!

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the 20 minute VC with your host, Harry Stebbings, and today marks an incredibly exciting week for the show as we feature the world's most famous accelerator. They were the home of Dropbox, Reddit, Airbnb, Stripe, Zeneffits, and many, many more. It is, of course, Y Combinator, and who better to have on the show than CFO at YC herself,
0:22.4	Kirstie Nathu.
0:23.9	As CFO of YC, Kirstie holds the keys to the kingdom, literally.
0:28.7	Not only does she control and manage Y Combinator's internal finances from paying bills
0:34.0	to helping organised demo days to actually making sure Y Combinator's money is wired to start-ups from the proper accounts.
0:41.2	But she helps YC startups coordinate outside financings, tax issues, incorporation, and other fiscal matters.
0:49.4	She's the financial brains behind the entire operation, with YC partner Haj Tagar stating that YC would
0:56.2	cease to operate if Kirstie was not around. However, before we delve into the wonderful world of YC,
1:02.4	if you're a startup founder in need of legal assistance, you must check out Vidal Law Group.
1:07.9	And what was great about them for me as a customer was they offered the
1:11.7	advantages of a corporate general council without the need or large expense for me to hire a full-time
1:17.9	legal council. So head on over to www.vidarlaw.com or drop my good friend and partner at Vidar Law
1:26.1	an email at C-W-E-R-N-E-R at Vidar-Law.com.
1:32.8	That's C-Virna at Vidar-Law.com.
1:36.0	Likewise, if you're loving the 20-minute VC, I would love to hear what you think of our sister show, Angel Insights,
1:41.8	which dives inside the world of Angel Investing. So check it out on iTunes by searching Angel Insights, which dives inside the world of Angel investing. So check it out on iTunes
1:46.4	by searching Angel Insights, but without further ado, it is time to welcome the wonderful Kirstie Nathu
1:53.3	CFO at Y Combinator. 3.2.1.0. You have now arrived at your destination.
2:04.2	Kirsty, welcome to the 20 minute VC.
2:06.2	It's an absolute pleasure to have you on the show for this very special episode of YC week.
2:11.3	Thank you for having me.
2:12.8	Now, can you kick us off today by telling us how you made your move from PWC in Cambridge, England to being
	...

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