Could it be that someone there just didn’t like or vibe with you?

FWIW, I’ve referred someone 3 times to the same position because I’m very sure he would be a good fit, and I’ve seen his work.

But for trivial reasons (“He doesn’t seem enthusiastic enough” and “the other candidates are better at promoting/selling themselves”) , a couple of managers that are above me in seniority (and directly in the hiring loop) just refuse to pass said person.

In the end he’s stopped applying, and I feel shitty for referring him.

the interview process was rewritten at coreweave by a bunch of hired google engineers to reflect the rest of the industry about a month before they went public. at the time they were prepping for IPO they started to hire from other fortune 500s aggressively, and the whole company went from startup to same shit as the valley over about 6 months. when i interviewed the process was shockingly simple, like literally tell me how to fetch json in go, and by the time i left it was 6 rounds targeted to take two months.

How is what you describe "YC-ish"?