YC Open Office Hours for Black and Hispanic Founders

#1

Post by pyb » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 5:32 PM UTC

YC Open Office Hours for Black and Hispanic Founders
blog.ycombinator.com

Re: YC Open Office Hours for Black and Hispanic Founders

#2

Post by mwseibel » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 6:03 PM UTC

Really happy to be launching this - if anyone has any questions I'm happy to hang for the next 10-20 minutes to answer them

Re: YC Open Office Hours for Black and Hispanic Founders

#3

Post by nana_gb » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 6:35 PM UTC

mwseibel wrote: post #2

Really happy to be launching this - if anyone has any questions I'm happy to hang for the next 10-20 minutes to answer them

Really happy to see this being launched too. Just applied.

Re: YC Open Office Hours for Black and Hispanic Founders

#4

Post by staunch » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 6:35 PM UTC

> Black, Hispanic, Women, Veterans, and International founders.

I think it's great that YC is concerned about helping non-elite people. What about just focusing on helping poor people compete in Silicon Valley in general? Does anyone think wealthy founders of any kind need more help than poor founders of any kind?

Re: YC Open Office Hours for Black and Hispanic Founders

#5

Post by sethbannon » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 6:36 PM UTC

mwseibel wrote: post #2

Really happy to be launching this - if anyone has any questions I'm happy to hang for the next 10-20 minutes to answer them

Hey Micael, exciting to see YC continuing to battle the inequality that exists in the startup world.

I'm curious -- why did you chose to craft the program along racial lines, as opposed to along socioeconomic lines, which seems to be the recent trend in higher ed affirmative action?

Re: YC Open Office Hours for Black and Hispanic Founders

#6

Post by santaclaus » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 6:38 PM UTC

This is very exciting! Is the program open to those of Brazilian descent?

Re: YC Open Office Hours for Black and Hispanic Founders

#7

Post by davidw » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 6:38 PM UTC

sethbannon wrote: post #5

mwseibel wrote: post #2

Really happy to be launching this - if anyone has any questions I'm happy to hang for the next 10-20 minutes to answer them

Hey Micael, exciting to see YC continuing to battle the inequality that exists in the startup world. I'm curious -- why did you chose to craft the program along racial lines, as opposed to along socioeconomic lines, which seems to be the recent trend in higher ed affirmative action?

I could see it working out with an application 'why are you underrepresented?' rather than trying to guess at categories. As above, someone growing up dirt poor, but white, in rural Alabama might qualify. Or, say, Ahmed the clock guy when he founds a company.

But I have no experience with these things, so applaud the effort. The YC guys seem good at changing/improving things as they go.

Re: YC Open Office Hours for Black and Hispanic Founders

#8

Post by OmarIsmail » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 6:46 PM UTC

sethbannon wrote: post #5

mwseibel wrote: post #2

Really happy to be launching this - if anyone has any questions I'm happy to hang for the next 10-20 minutes to answer them

Hey Micael, exciting to see YC continuing to battle the inequality that exists in the startup world. I'm curious -- why did you chose to craft the program along racial lines, as opposed to along socioeconomic lines, which seems to be the recent trend in higher ed affirmative action?

Because racism still exists:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/10/the-blac... "For her research, Pager pulled together four testers to pose as men looking for low-wage work. One white man and one black man would pose as job seekers without a criminal record, and another black man and white man would pose as job seekers with a criminal record. The negative credential of prison impaired the employment efforts of both the black man and the white man, but it impaired those of the black man more. Startlingly, the effect was not limited to the black man with a criminal record. The black man without a criminal record fared worse than the white man with one."

Re: YC Open Office Hours for Black and Hispanic Founders

#9

Post by arturventura » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 6:47 PM UTC

I'm not trying to be a troll, I'm just trying to find a justification. Having something that says you can only can come in if you are "Black, Hispanic, Women, Veterans, and International founders" kinda racist as fuck? It sounds exactly like segregation to me.

Again, not trying to be a troll. Not American, just trying to understand.

Re: YC Open Office Hours for Black and Hispanic Founders

#10

Post by justizin » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 6:50 PM UTC

arturventura wrote: post #9

I'm not trying to be a troll, I'm just trying to find a justification. Having something that says you can only can come in if you are "Black, Hispanic, Women, Veterans, and International founders" kinda racist as fuck? It sounds exactly like segregation to me. Again, not trying to be a troll. Not American, just trying to understand.

Because, at least in America, all of the time is 'white male time', and people of color and women often feel intimidated in spaces that are dominated in this way, so efforts are made to encourage a focus on marginalized people.