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Ask HN: Dress for interview with an Incubator/VC firm?

9 points by ffumarola ↗ HN
This may seem like a silly question, but what is the expectation for dress?

In my mind, I'm not applying for a job, so it would be business casual... a suit would be silly. But I'm not sure if there are any expectations out there with these VCs/angels.

Thanks!

10 comments

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erik_p
I've wondered about this as well.

I'd guess it would depend on the investor and the type of perception you are trying to convey about yourself and your product. (I'm hip, I'm smart, I'm successful, I'm trustworthy for investment, etc).

Hopefully your funding doesn't depend on your fashion sense, but perhaps there's something to that first impression thing and other intangibles.

ffumarola
"Hopefully your funding doesn't depend on your fashion sense" -- If that were the case, a whole lot of us would be screwed!
curt
Dress how you want to present yourself and your company. Are you planning on being a casual, fun workplace, then dress like that. Are you targeting a financial area, then you need to show you can do the suit and tie.

Personally, I never wear a suit and tie or a white shirt. My standard is a pair of slacks and button down. A lot of that has to do with my extreme height and trying to break it up with color. Everyone's different, you need to find your own personal style. How you want to present yourself to the world.

ffumarola
Thanks for the response.

I never wear a suit or tie, either. I wear sneakers, jeans, and a polo to work everyday. I work for an ecommerce company, so it makes sense. But something about the image of people with money to invest just made me question my perception of what is "acceptable" or expected.

Good insight on just dressing based on how we foresee our company. A suit would definitely make sense if the idea were B2B in the payments industry.

pg
At YC there are certainly none. We tell people to dress like they do ordinarily. We do. Which in my case means shorts and Birkenstocks.
ffumarola
Exactly how I would envision it. Thanks for the response!
bdclimber14
I think the way an individual normally dresses is a reflection of their personality. You can infer quite a bit about what someone is like based on their pants, shoes, shirt, and even overall coordination. Some of these inferences are valuable, others are just interesting. This certainly doesn't mean that you are smarter or more motivated if you wear a suit.
ecuzzillo
Or you could just talk to them.
jasonlynes
i agree with the no suit sentiment. but i work in a place where plenty of people look like crap in a suit. it's all about how you take care of yourself. you can look put together in shorts and flip flops. ultimately you're asking someone to give you hundreds of thousands of dollars. your ability to get dressed in the morning will say a lot about your ability to build a company.
saifa
If i could come to YC or other VCs interview, i would wear a t-shirt with my startup/idea identity. Would it be silly?