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I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

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Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#181
post #169

Hi Sam. Will you consider a batch in other US locations? (For example in Atlanta). It can increase the applicant base due to lower cost of living and will allow a different flavor of founders to apply in my opinion. I think the next billion $ enterprise startup will be more likely to come from such a batch. People who face enterprise software problems are not always in a stage in life that allows them to move to SF f…

The YC Fellowship funds companies anywhere! Kevin does remote office hours. And yes, I think they're well-represented.

This is great news, I didn't know, thank you!

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#182
post #151
post #112

> I'm on a H1-b visa and I'm basically in prison I know this is an exaggeration, and I'm fully aware the current visa situation in the US could be better, but I really take issue with the sentiment of your statement. You're being afforded an enormous opportunity here, and should not compare it with being in a prison. Think about it -- you clearly decided your home country was not as conducive for building your future…

Think about it -- you clearly decided your home country was not as conducive for building your future as the US may be Hi, as a Canadian, I also take issue with your statement. Your ancestors came here for the same reason as him, and with far less scrutiny, same as mine, and were provided many benefits not recieved today, including land grants. Why does a person migrating today deserve to be treated as second class?

They have not become a citizen just because they have a work visa. If they become a citizen, of course they shouldn't be second class. They've been given a visa for a specific purpose, and in the eyes of the law are not "first class citizens".

If your argument is that we should grant citizenship to anyone that wants it: OK, vote for it.

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#183
post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think about it -- you clearly decided your home country was not as conducive for building your future as the US may be Hi, as a Canadian, I also take issue with your statement. Your ancestors came here for the same reason as him, and with far less scrutiny, same as mine, and were provided many benefits not recieved today, including land grants. Why does a person migrating today deserve to be treated as second class?

Call it second class is different than comparing it to being in prison. People in actual prison might take issue with your statement.

People in prison would likely take issue with a lot of things unreasonably, which is likely why they're in prison to begin with.

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#184

Any plans for YC to get into seed rounds e.g. both to support startups with high potential as well as to potentially offer some of the benefits of YC connections to those who might've gone through another incubator? (I know YC's policy on incubating startups which have already been through other incubators, which I believe if I recall correctly is a very data-driven "no." My question comes more from the standpoint of…

Not right now--there are many things that might be interesting for us to do that we have to say no to so that we stay focused. This is one of them.

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#187
post #184

Any plans for YC to get into seed rounds e.g. both to support startups with high potential as well as to potentially offer some of the benefits of YC connections to those who might've gone through another incubator? (I know YC's policy on incubating startups which have already been through other incubators, which I believe if I recall correctly is a very data-driven "no." My question comes more from the standpoint of…

Not right now--there are many things that might be interesting for us to do that we have to say no to so that we stay focused. This is one of them.

Thanks. There are plenty of others trying to apply the YC model in other more niche areas (Mach37 comes to mind here in DC), so it's neat seeing the direction you and the team will continue to take.

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#188

I'd love to apply, but I'm on a H1-b visa and I'm basically in prison. How did the other international founders you worked with get around the immigration mess to start a company?

Hi DilipKumar,

Some unsolicited advice. Starting company = solving lots of problems (product, market, tech, hiring etc etc.) See Immigration as just one of these.

Canada, with much easier immigration policies (Toronto/Vancouver) can be your base to build and validate your prototype and later move to valley.

In the age of Internet, geographical boundaries cannot prevent good ideas/products from happening.

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#189
post #116
post #114

In your last AMA you mentioned something about doing a YC batch in a foreign country. Is that something you are still considering?

Yes, we are considering doing something along these lines later this year, though we haven't made a final decision.

You should do it in Stockholm, we have produced more unicorns per capita than any other city in the world: http://techcrunch.com/2016/01/26/sweden-is-a-tech-superstar-...
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