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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

#541

Post by argonaut »

newjersey wrote: post #532
beachstartup wrote: post #522

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EDIT: i should emphasize this is only my experience as a startup hiring manager. maybe YC attracts nothing but geniuses, i dunno. i'm just a guy on the internet. since yc is obviously not going to talk shit on their own applicants, i'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that it's just like every other job application process when six figures (or more) of money is on the line. big paychecks attract plenty of, sh…

Oh wow. I wish they said that the bar was so low. I would like to apply as well if that's the case. Edit: I still think the idea of Dropbox is pretty stupid and I wouldn't have given Drew Houston a penny if I was an investor. But I never thought the average application would be so far worse if Dropbox got funded and succeeded.

You're making the mistake of judging the idea too much and forgetting that Drew Houston went to MIT, and had worked as a tech lead at a company. That already puts him in the top 10% of applicants, regardless of his idea.

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

#542

Post by kleer001 »

vonklaus wrote: post #506
nikkwong wrote: post #495

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can second this. I worked for a similar unnamed incubator company in the Bay Area and a vast majority of the ideas sent to us were from good-hearted people, but absolutely ludicrous and—at least from our opinion—would never be able to become successful businesses. Some people just really seem to have problems understanding product-market fit. My guess would be that applicants to Y-Combinator are probably along the…

If possible to ethically disclose this, what was the craziest thing you think could have worked, amd the outright craziest.

If they don't answer just watch a few seasons of Shark Tank or Dragon's Den (any country). I highly doubt there's much different in business nut-bar factors. Some people just have no grasp (yet) of what it takes to get good.

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

#543

Post by argonaut »

mej10 wrote: post #507
dfabulich wrote: post #483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can anybody name a few successful high-growth startups that were started by people with these kinds of family obligations? If it has happened before, that's evidence that it can happen again, but if it's never happened before, that's evidence that it may be harder or impossible to form a high-growth startup under obligations like those. (Disclaimer: high-growth startups are not the only kind of business worth forming…

SpaceX and Tesla? But more seriously, some examples: http://priceonomics.com/founders-with-kids/

Elon Musk has divorced twice. Not making a value judgment, just pointing out that he has clearly chosen entrepreneurial success over marital success.

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

#545

Post by [deleted] »

throwaway33912 wrote: post #281
sama wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tech needs to run a candidate in the next election. I still am hopeful Trump will not win the general.

Thanks, Sam! I'm hopeful too, but prediction markets still, distressingly, give Trump a 20% chance of winning it all. I'm sure there are a lot of people in CA who have skills that are in short supply (familiarity with stats, social networks, programming, etc. -- think Nate Silver), and who would want to volunteer on a part-time basis. It's not clear at the moment how they could put these skills to good use, other tha…

[deleted]

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

#547

Post by newjersey »

argonaut wrote: post #541
newjersey wrote: post #532

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh wow. I wish they said that the bar was so low. I would like to apply as well if that's the case. Edit: I still think the idea of Dropbox is pretty stupid and I wouldn't have given Drew Houston a penny if I was an investor. But I never thought the average application would be so far worse if Dropbox got funded and succeeded.

You're making the mistake of judging the idea too much and forgetting that Drew Houston went to MIT, and had worked as a tech lead at a company. That already puts him in the top 10% of applicants, regardless of his idea.

I guess so. I, on the other hand went to a state school and my work experience is working on fairly straightforward line of business applications. I am not so much criticizing Dropbox as much as I'm making fun of my own lack of vision.

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

#548

Post by eldavido »

sama wrote: post #120
throwaway33912 wrote: post #110

What should we (smart, technical people) be doing to stop Trump if he makes it to the general election? While it might not be the best fit for YC, have you thought about adding this to your RFS page?

Tech needs to run a candidate in the next election. I still am hopeful Trump will not win the general.

Couldn't agree more. I can't believe how little support there is for ideas like free trade, where academics of every political stripe agree it's good, but the candidates don't.

As a SF tech person, I feel pretty homeless in today's political climate. Tech indeed does need to run a candidate, and not just in the national election, but locally as well, so we can get some housing built and no-nonsense public school reform.

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

#549

Post by eldavido »

dang wrote: post #246
Alupis wrote: 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…

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11314923 and marked it off-topic.

dang, the variety of behaviors you witness each day would make for a great book in itself. Sign me up, I'll buy the first copy!

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

#550

Post by argonaut »

petra wrote: post #349
fooshint wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any examples?

Build a simulation(in some multiphysics simulation tool) that shows your concept may work and can be validated by a 3rd party.

That not a great example. A better one is to build a v0.00000001 that actually works but is obviously not the final product nor even an MVP. E.g. a technical demonstration of some component.
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