# interviewing at a startup be like... (ft. Steven He)

> Satirical tech comedy sketch parodying brutal startup software engineering interviews.

A viral YouTube comedy sketch by Joma Tech featuring creator Steven He that satirizes the extreme pressure and absurdity of tech startup hiring. The video parodies high-stress interview stages, company culture checks, and demanding LeetCode Hard technical problems like finding the median from a data stream. It is a widely recognized piece of tech humor capturing startup culture tropes.

Website: https://youtube.com/watch?v=314OLE6mKOo

## How it works

Interview Problem Featured:

- Problem: 'Create a class to find the median in a data stream' (LeetCode 295: Find Median from Data Stream).
- Standard Optimal Solution: Maintain two heaps (a max-heap for the smaller half of numbers and a min-heap for the larger half). Balancing their sizes upon insertion allows O(log n) insertions and O(1) retrieval of the median.

## What it is for

- Watch comedic satire about tech startup culture and technical coding interviews
- Relieve stress while preparing for difficult algorithmic software interviews
- Share relatable tech interview humor with developer colleagues

## Features

- Parodies a multi-stage startup interview including brain teasers and technical coding
- Features Steven He playing an intensely strict interviewer
- References classic technical interview challenges like LeetCode 295 (Find Median from Data Stream)
- Highlights common tropes around startup company values and founder behavior

## Pricing

Free to watch on YouTube

## Details

- Type: other
- Category: [Other](https://xiry.app/topics/other.md)
- Open source: no
- Platforms: Web
- For: Software engineers, tech job applicants, and fans of tech satire.
- Tags: joma tech, steven he, comedy, coding interview, leetcode, startup

## Why it was saved

- [@activeprogrammer, 20 July 2023](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cu7hwvFMFFk/): Entertaining tech humor depicting the classic LeetCode Hard interview problem 'Find Median from Data Stream' and common interview tropes.

Updated 3 October 2026. Page: https://xiry.app/resources/interviewing-at-a-startup-be-like-ft-steven-he

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