On The Rise is a student-led podcast, which aims to inspire the next generation of leaders. Today we spoke with Kat Mañalac. Kat is a partner at Y Combinator, a top startup accelerator (1-2% acceptance rate) that has backed companies like Airbnb, Instacart, and Stripe. Kat heads YC's outreach initiatives and has worked with thousands of top YC startups. Kat discusses how she got started, the secret to YC's success, the skills founders need to be successful, tips for startups looking to apply for YC, fundraising do's and don'ts, and her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.