Three rounds of interviews and a take home assignment: Head of HR, Chief of Staff, and Group Partners. Very nice team and kind company culture. Good communication throughout the application process. While I didn't get the role I'd apply again.

I applied on their website and heard back within a day or two. I first spoke with a Sr leader on their People team (who remained my Point of Contact) to discuss the process, which she initially said was: 1) call with another EA, 2) onsite with the two execs the role would support, then 3) 30 minute zoom with the CEO. I spoke with the EA and had the onsite with the two execs. Everyone seemed great and I was genuinely excited by the opportunity. After the onsite with the two execs, I was sent an assignment and asked to send it back within a week. They did not ask whether that timing worked for me, which was a little frustrating since I didn't know the assignment was coming and I had a few other obligations that week. However, I was very excited by the role so I managed to complete it. The assignment was one of the more challenging EA assignments I've completed and I spent about 5+ hours on it, as I wanted to make a good impression. Once I submitted the assignment, I was asked to return onsite to go over it with the team the next day in the afternoon. My current employer did not know I was interviewing elsewhere, but I wanted to be as accommodating as possible to the YC team so I left work in the middle of the day to make it happen. I was then told on an informal call that they'd likely extend me an offer at the top of the pay band if the CEO enjoyed the call and the references went well. I explained that many of my references were associated with my current employer and given I was confidentially looking for a new role, I wouldn't want to jeopardize my current position by potentially alerting them before an offer was in hand. She said they'd be able to provide a contingent offer so that the final few references could be done after signing the offer and giving notice. About a week later, they spoke with my first reference and I had a 30 min Zoom with the CEO of YC. From the first call to the final call with the CEO, it took about one month. After speaking with the CEO, I was told that a written offer would be coming in the next 24 hours or so. She reiterated that we could do a contingent offer based on positive references from two execs/managers I specified at my current company. However, the next day I received an email stating that they would not be able to move forward with any sort of offer without speaking with the two founders at my current company. These were not the references I had offered. It's not that I thought they would say anything negative, it's just that I thought it was in bad taste to ask the founders of my current company while I was working there (and they didn't know I was seeking other opportunities) to provide a reference for me. They might feel blindsided by my departure and it might add insult to injury to be asked to provide a reference while I had one foot out the door. Plus, I can’t imagine risking my current job security without having any guarantees of future employment.. no matter how “good” the new opportunity sounded. I withdrew from the process as I felt it was no longer a good culture fit. I've never seen a recruiting process run so poorly in my professional life and it made me incredibly concerned about how the people functions were managed at the company. I suppose I dodged a bullet in the long run.