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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

#401

Post by gogopuppygogo »

sama wrote: post #348
_ll5a wrote: post #304

Has YC ever considered having a control group by randomly pre-accepting certain applicants into the program automatically? I'd be curious to see the stats on how successful that group would be versus the group that's actually picked by the committee.

We do talk about that every once in awhile, but the average company that applies to YC is not very good and thus the experiment would hurt the network (and be painful for us to work with). What we've more seriously considered is randomly funding some companies just below the threshold. Also, we do look at our ranking to see how companies at the top vs companies near the cutoff do. It's rare (but not unheard of) for a…

Can you elaborate on what makes a company "not very good"?

Would you ever consider releasing anonymized data on companies that apply and are accepted along with those who apply but aren't accepted into a batch? That'd give future applicants much more insight into the process.

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

#403

Post by sama »

smaili wrote: post #136

I've submitted my application as a single founder - not because I want it that way but because none of my friends have the freedom for a venture. Does YC do match making (if they see a good fit) or this something you need to specifically request on the application?

We don't. We think it's much better if cofounders have some sort of shared history together.

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

#404

Post by craigzingerline »

Clectasteve wrote: post #380
BinaryIdiot wrote: post #221

Hey Sam, Any comment regarding Jason Calacanis being banned from YC's upcoming demo day? Jason tweeted[1] his side but didn't know what the YC side of it was and was curious. [1] https://twitter.com/Jason/status/710176806184349696

Nothing but positives about Jason, I was in the last Launch class. I was away from my family for 4 months. Jason invited me to thanksgiving and when my family did arrive we had play dates with his family. Post Launch he could easily cut us loose and focus on the top 1% of his portfolio. He doesn't do that, he is incredibly loyal and helpful. Some people just don't like that he likes to win but he doesn't do it at the…

Nothing but positives from me as well. I've been involved in 2 incubator classes now (1st and 3rd) and you always know where you stand with Jason. He is a relentless champion of the companies he's involved with, and will always give feedback. He's an amazing investor, mentor and someone whom I've learned a lot from.

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

#405

Post by lnkmails »

arcticfox wrote: post #182
DKnoll wrote: 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?

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.

Well, as a H1B visa holder paying same taxes as citizens, I either need the country to provide me a path to citizenship or stop taxing me like citizens. I can go either ways. Your ancestors fought for taxation without representation. I come from a democracy too and yes my country is not as conducive as United States for starting businesses but I just won't be made feel inferior to citizens because I was born elsewhere. That is against the promise of the constitution especially when I live in continental United States. Also, seriously, if I can work indefinitely on a visa without citizenship, I am 100% happy to do that. There is a 6 year cap unless you express willingness to migrate or stay in home country for a year before getting another six years. So your government is disrupting my life in many ways that they don't to the citizens. It seems unfair.

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

#406

Post by joshmanders »

galistoca wrote: post #391
joshmanders wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Leaving your area for three months isn't taking on risks. I'm sure YC would be foaming at the mouth to take basecamp and if they could start over with the ability to apply to YC I'm sure DHH and Jason would still turn it down if they were required to go to SF.

If you think you have enough knowledge and insight to criticize me, criticize my main point instead of trying to take things out of context to make your point. My main point was "There are tons of other qualified people who are as old as you and has as many children and wives as you, who are also tied with as many obligations as you. AND they ALL are willing to spend that 3 months in the bay area. Why would an invest…

I was criticizing your beliefs that moving to the bay area for 3 months is "taking risks".

Taking risks is building a COMPANY while having obligations such as a family, and mortgage.

I could be building the next most profitable company in the world for all you know. The bay area isn't the be all end all for internet based companies. It's foolish to require that they be there. That's like requiring your staff to be in-house when you run a software company.

I will tell you this right now, my obligations mean I can't leave my small town in Iowa. I don't care if you write a check for $10M on the spot for me to move to the bay area. My family is worth more than anybody can ever offer me.

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

#407

Post by LifeAfterCubes »

adamdill wrote: post #382
carlisle_ wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jason is a bully. I've heard plenty of horror stories of people who have worked for him. I'm not surprised in the least and I'm extremely glad to see people standing up to him.

I worked directly for Jason for about 3 years, as a direct report. I never once saw him bully anyone. He expects and pushes people to be their best. Additionally he doesn't allow people to waste his time, or the time of others in his organizations. Both of these are admirable qualities. Additionally after I left his employ, he was our first investor in a new venture, and relentlessly supported us along the way. Jason…

I also worked directly for Jason for nearly 3 years and have nearly an identical story as Adam. The entire Launch organization was built around Jason giving back to founders. All of his actions during my time working for him reflected this mission.

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

#408

Post by shifte »

sama wrote: post #379
shifte wrote: post #293

Hi Sam, You've mentioned many times, more so recently, that YC is committed to investing in hard tech problems. When considering companies solving these problems for the next batch, knowing that often times even getting a prototype ready is a massive undertaking, how much chance does one have applying with nothing more than an idea and some research? And the possibility that it won't generate revenue for 5+ years?

A common failure mode for companies like these is to talk a lot about how hard their problems are and never get anything at all done. Even a huge project starts with a first step. We look for founders that get that one done, and then the second, and ... Good founders get stuff done. Bad founders talk about why they aren't getting stuff done. This is true for web apps and nuclear reactors.

Being that this is true of getting anything done in the real world I was hoping to frame the question without needing to preface it with that, or listing any qualifications of my own or my team on a pseudonymous account, but needless to say we get things done.

Thanks for replying nonetheless :)

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

#409

Post by 15155 »

falsestprophet wrote: post #308

Does this statement risk a tortious interference with business relationship suit? You have published a statement that could reasonably interpreted as Jason Calacanis mistreats founders by bullying them, changing offers, sharing their confidential info and other things. That intentionally obstructs Mr. Calcanis from entering into valuable business relationships with startup company founders. It seems very risky unless…

The applicable tort would be libel, not tortious interference. No reasonable person, however, would believe that this correspondence is libelous.

Tortious interference requires:

- Prior knowledge of a specific business relationship

- Intent to damage that specific business relationship

- Actual damage of the known, specific business relationship

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