YC Founder Stories

Neil Thanedar (Labdoor, YCW15) - When to take VC, the newest types of businesses, and 0 to 1 accelerators


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Aug 23 2023 45 mins  
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Today’s guest is Neil Thanedar from Labdoor (YC W15), a marketplace where consumers research, find, and buy the best supplements.

Neil’s previous companies include Avomeen (acq. 2016) and Air to All (501(c)3 nonprofit). He is currently the founder and solo GP at Utopic Ventures (pre-seed VC fund backing biotech startups led by scientist CEOs)

Labdoor is a marketplace where consumers research, find, and buy the best supplements.

To verify the purity and potency of these products, Labdoor first buys and tests actual dietary supplement samples:
• We send each product to an FDA-registered laboratory for a detailed chemical analysis.
• Our scientists then collect the laboratory results and use internal algorithms to translate this data into simple grades and rankings for consumers.
• Find a product you love? Click "buy it now" to activate in-app purchases.

Listen on to learn more about Neil Thanedar’s YC application and journey!

Prefer to curl up and read the transcript? Read our newsletter at https://ycfounderstories.substack.com/

Episode Timestamps:

  • 1:35: What is your startup idea?
  • 4:45: When did you get into YC?
  • 5:01: What are the key elements to focus on when applying to YC?
  • 5:48: Share your YC interview experience in 1-2 sentences.
  • 6:57: Did you pivot your idea during or after YC?
  • 8:49: How did YC help you go from 0 to 1 to N?
  • 10:24: Share a “do things that don’t scale” story in your startup journey.
  • 12:52: How did you get your first 1000 users?
  • 14:57: Share 3 tips for founders who are trying to get into YC.
  • 17:31: In the last 8 years since you left YC, what are your observations on how YC picks founders?
  • 19:08: How are you building a 0 to 1 incubator at Utopic?
  • 22:45: You mentioned that YC dinners are very special. What makes them so unique?
  • 26:02: What was the hardest experience you had while building Labdoor?
  • 28:06: Who was your support system during this time?
  • 30:18: I know you have some exciting news at Labdoor. Mind sharing it with us?
  • 32:47: Do you think founders need to go through venture capital or is indie hacking or bootstrapping a better way to go?
  • 37:35: For founders who are just getting started, does VC or bootstrapping help you scale better?
  • 39:28: How did you make sure Labdoor was scalable as a company and how did you pitch it to investors?
  • 42:05: What are the signals that a founder should pivot?
  • 44:21: Any last few thoughts that you wanna share before we wrap up?

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 21,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and hosts another podcast called The Undefeated Underdogs.

👉🏼 Where to find Neil Thanedar:

  • Book: http://worldsbiggestproblems.com/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/NeilThanedar
  • Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/thanedar

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:


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