48:06Advice for Students and Recent Graduates on Finding Jobs – Liz Wessel of WayUp
From Y Combinator · Published Jul 22, 2018 · Watch on YouTube
TL;DR
Liz Wessel details her journey from a college side project (the Penn Eats Card) to founding WayUp, emphasizing the value of operational experience (Google) over VC before starting a company. She provides a step-by-step cold-email framework (subject line with unique research, short ask, show homework) and interview preparation acronym REAF (Research, Enthusiasm, Ask questions, Follow up).
Key insights
- The founder's first business was a non-software loyalty card (plastic cards + Wix), which gave her the entrepreneurial "bug" and taught her problem-solving fundamentals.
- She deliberately engineered a two-year exit strategy from Google: told HR upfront she would leave to start a company, treating the job as a learning apprenticeship.
- Cold emailing requires a subject line that proves deep research (e.g. referencing a shared unusual hobby like water aerobics), not generic "pick your brain." Casey Neistat has a "pick your brain" Gmai
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