I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA • Hacker News Board

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

#251

Post by GFischer » Fri, Mar 18, 2016, 9:45 PM UTC

What would you value more for the application: a potentially huge, innovative idea plus a weekend-hack prototype/demo but no market validation yet, or a more mature, somewhat validated product but with existing startups on the space, some YC-backed?

I have a very clear vision of what we want to accomplish, but we're selling a much more down to earth service to our customers and prospects. I do think there's a path leading us to our vision (think Netflix going from CDs to streaming). Should we describe our vision in the application?

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

#252

Post by sama » Fri, Mar 18, 2016, 9:45 PM UTC

chasecache wrote: post #140

I don't live in the Bay Area, so I don't have many connections within the YC network. How big of a role do referrals play in the application process?

Most companies we fund don't have a referral.

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

#253

Post by hoodoof » Fri, Mar 18, 2016, 9:45 PM UTC

If relationship breakdown between cofounders is the reason for so many company failures, why does YC not proactively solve that by requiring all founders to attend weekly relationship counselling, for which YC pays?

Could such a thing prevent more breakups and therefore greatly increase chances of company success? And the cost is pretty small for YC to employ relationship counsellors.

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

#254

Post by neurotech1 » Fri, Mar 18, 2016, 9:45 PM UTC

I'd read from various sources that a team and their execution are more important than ideas, but wondered how would you handle a startup with a (hypothetically) brilliant idea, but with less than brilliant team performance?

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

#255

Post by sama » Fri, Mar 18, 2016, 9:46 PM UTC

joeblau wrote: post #166

You're always wearing running shoes... how often and far do you run each week?

I don't run that much. I do walk a lot, but mostly I just think running shoes are comfortable.

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

#256

Post by lomnakkus » Fri, Mar 18, 2016, 9:46 PM UTC

lomnakkus wrote: post #232

OK, so... what have you ever done for the world? (As per my usual disclaimer: I'm not being facetious.)

... and, btw, shouldn't you be out there making bajillions instead of answering questions?

EDIT: That was facetious.

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

#257

Post by jimrandomh » Fri, Mar 18, 2016, 9:46 PM UTC

sama wrote: post #125

jonmc12 wrote: post #122

What did you think was the most interesting feedback or update on OpenAI since announcing in Dec?

It will still be months at least until we've made research breakthroughs, but we've had incredible success on the recruiting side. I think we're building one of the strongest teams in the field.

Did you read http://slatestarcodex.com/2015/12/17/should-ai-be-open/ ?

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

#258

Post by henrymercer » Fri, Mar 18, 2016, 9:47 PM UTC

hoodoof wrote: post #239

henrymercer wrote: post #191

Last March, you mentioned on twitter that you are a customer of/financially support Shanley Kane's organization, Model View Culture. Since since then (and before then too), she has made a variety of racially and sexually charged statements, such as, "fire some fuckin white guys to get it done" ( https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KtAdEv... ). Do you or Y-Combinator still patronize or support Model…

Is this really the place/time to ask such questions? Or are you hoping for an answer because you feel Sam is trapped into answering here?

He titled the post AMA. If he doesn't care to answer here, I'll email him in private.

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

#259

Post by dang » Fri, Mar 18, 2016, 9:47 PM UTC

sbierwagen wrote: post #215

sama wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

• Determination • Unstoppability • Ambition • Clarity of vision/communication • Intelligence

Looks like HN doesn't support the * bullet point markdown syntax. EDIT: Ha, did you just directly edit the html there, or something?

Have some •s.

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

#260

Post by sbierwagen » Fri, Mar 18, 2016, 9:47 PM UTC

8piGTc2 wrote: post #164

Hi, Sam! Don't you think that AR/VR is overvalued by large companies? Microsoft has not created Google, Wal-Mart has not created Amazon, Ford has not created Tesla.

A startup is best suited for new product categories/new business models. (Nobody does a startup to directly compete in an established market)

VR is just "gaming, but more", and requires enormous piles of cash to spend on the hard technical challenges it poses. (1000dpi displays with kilohetez refresh rates) Big companies are fairly well suited to these "build me a faster horse" problems, I'd say.