Female Founder Stories: Elise Polezel, Founder of LivBlends (YC S14)

by Y Combinator2/8/2015

LivBlends delivers healthy freshly-blended smoothies directly to customers in the Bay Area and makes a “Keurig machine for smoothies”.

Q: Tell us about your experience at Y Combinator.
It’s like having a final exam every day. Pit in the stomach. No sleep. No distractions. Looking back, it’s amazing how much we were able to accomplish in just 12 weeks. So many breakthroughs in growth and product development.

The weekly dinners and frequent office hours with YC partners were critical to our success. We really lived by the YC mantras: “Write code and talk to customers,” and “Make something users love.” It was a ton of fun.

Q: What is the atmosphere like at YC during those 3 months with Demo Day approaching?
I was euphoric and terrified all the time. I still am– but it was great to have 70+ companies and 150+ friends to share that feeling.

Q: What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned so far?
Growth solves everything.

Q: Was being female either an advantage or disadvantage in working on your startup?
I did not feel like gender was a factor either way.

Q: What do you wish someone had told you when you were 15?
Do something you’re afraid of each single day.

Author

  • Y Combinator

    Y Combinator created a new model for funding early stage startups. Twice a year we invest a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200). The startups move to Silicon