Jessica Livingston on acing an interview, Jocko's tips on leadership, and Tom Brady's high school resume

Welcome back to the Z Fellows newsletter! Every Monday we share 3 ideas - to help you build companies, ship products, and create your life's work.

1: Jessica Livingston on Acing a YC Interview

Jessica Livingston is a co-founder of Y Combinator. Her insights are valuable for entrepreneurs looking to succeed in startup interviews, particularly those conducted by YC.

"1. Don’t use buzzwords. Speak in plain language.
2. Have a conversation with us. Don’t deliver a prewritten “pitch.”
3. Being able to explain something in words shows you really understand it.
4. Relax (I know this is easier said than done). We want you to do well! And we are very expert by now at overlooking the little things that go wrong in interviews.
5. We love learning new things. And a good startup idea usually teaches you something when you encounter it.
6. We don’t have lots of time for pleasantries, unfortunately. We have a fixed amount of time and we want to spend it learning about you and your idea.
7. There’s no one specific set type of interview. They can go in many different directions."

Source: Tips for YC Interviews | Y Combinator

2: Jocko Willink on Leadership

Jocko Willink, a retired US Navy SEAL officer, is famously known for ideas around discipline, leadership and ownership.

"Leadership is the capacity to get that group of people that you’re trying to get… to execute a mission, an intervention, or an activity, in the best way possible. You build trust with people by giving them trust.

Ownership is another very important principle. When you don’t take ownership of problems, and those problems don’t get solved, you blame others, they get defensive and blame you, and you have a team where nobody takes ownership of anything."

Source: A Conversation with Jocko Willink, Ret. U.S. Navy Seal Officer

3: Tom Brady’s Resume

Here’s Tom Brady’s resume, from when he didn’t believe he could make the NFL:

Best of The Week

See you next Monday,

- The Z Fellows Team

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