factual

The skill of blowing up ideas bigger

There is a genuine skill to taking someone's idea and making it bigger — asking 'how could this be bigger?' — and in YC interviews this is done so effectively that founders, despite the interview being functionally a negotiation where one would expect the other party to talk down value, walk out thinking their idea is far better than they realized.

factualpending

Speaker

Paul Graham

Evidence Quote

There is a skill to it, to take an idea and say, “Okay, so here’s an idea. How could this be bigger?”

Source

Paul GrahamConversations with Tyler
Created: 6/12/2026, 4:55:44 PM

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