Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's fine, and for those who don't feel so gushy, there's a different thing you can do: simply re-read your comments and edit out anything that isn't nice. You can always set 'delay' in your profile to between 1 and 10 minutes to give yourself some editing time. Mine is 3.
FYI - https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html does not have any reference to the 'delay' variable. I still have no great idea what it does.
Ask HN: Pick startups for YC to fund
211–220 of 300 posts
Re: Ask HN: Pick startups for YC to fund
#212Re: Ask HN: Pick startups for YC to fund
#213Hey everyone! I manage and run the Fellowship program at YC. I just want to build on top of what Dan wrote about being nice. We’re not asking you to do this because we think it’s good manners. We actually believe it’s the right way to think and act like the best investors. It’s easy to form some really bad habits when you sit in a position of power to judge the potential of a person, a team, an idea and their executi…
As much as I'd love to hold power over other mortals, I'll have to recuse myself here. I publicly made fun of Drew Houston and gang when they started and again when they reportedly rejected Apple's advances. Without a crystal ball, it just feels like we're just betting here. Are we betting on the viability of a product or idea? Are we betting on the founders? Are we betting on the team's ability to deliver? So many q…
Re: Ask HN: Pick startups for YC to fund
#214Hey everyone! I manage and run the Fellowship program at YC. I just want to build on top of what Dan wrote about being nice. We’re not asking you to do this because we think it’s good manners. We actually believe it’s the right way to think and act like the best investors. It’s easy to form some really bad habits when you sit in a position of power to judge the potential of a person, a team, an idea and their executi…
As much as I'd love to hold power over other mortals, I'll have to recuse myself here. I publicly made fun of Drew Houston and gang when they started and again when they reportedly rejected Apple's advances. Without a crystal ball, it just feels like we're just betting here. Are we betting on the viability of a product or idea? Are we betting on the founders? Are we betting on the team's ability to deliver? So many q…
Re: Ask HN: Pick startups for YC to fund
#215Earlier quoted context omitted.
As much as I'd love to hold power over other mortals, I'll have to recuse myself here. I publicly made fun of Drew Houston and gang when they started and again when they reportedly rejected Apple's advances. Without a crystal ball, it just feels like we're just betting here. Are we betting on the viability of a product or idea? Are we betting on the founders? Are we betting on the team's ability to deliver? So many q…
Always betting on the founders. Ideas sometimes change. Markets sometimes change. What gets people tripped up is that you sometimes judge a founder indirectly by seeing how they communicate an idea, looking at their ability to deliver, and hearing about how they think about the market. The answers to those questions are important, but we put it in the context of what does it say about the founder.
Re: Ask HN: Pick startups for YC to fund
#216Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Hey, this looks really cool, but I notice you guys don't support TLS (i.e., if I change the 'http' to 'https', I can't connect). I know you have a million things on your todo list, but this one is extraordinarily important; your target users will simply close their browser windows once they see 'http'. Also, fixing this is easy! Just check out this tutorial [link] .. or let me know if you have any questions and I'll…
I'd be curious how you'd approach it with something far more accusatory? Take Airbnb for example: I am very bothered by airbnb's approach to laws. I think they deliberately ignore laws in the name of making a profit. It's probably not "nice" to question why they look the other way in major markets where they know their listings are breaking the law, but it certainly isn't nice that they choose what laws apply to them…
I think the confusion is in whether conflict-avoidance is the same as nice-ness. I certainly was brought up to mostly think that way, but now that I've spent a lot of time arguing about math I have let go of some of that training.
Re: Ask HN: Pick startups for YC to fund
#217I actually already wrote this as a reply to another comment, but I think it merits a comment of its own. The best way to do the scoring for the applications is to actually make it into somewhat of a game. Each application should be given a starting elo of 1200. Every time a user wants to go and review applications they will be presented with two separate applications with a similar elo and then will be asked to vote…
Re: Ask HN: Pick startups for YC to fund
#218Re: Ask HN: Pick startups for YC to fund
#219Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Hey, this looks really cool, but I notice you guys don't support TLS (i.e., if I change the 'http' to 'https', I can't connect). I know you have a million things on your todo list, but this one is extraordinarily important; your target users will simply close their browser windows once they see 'http'. Also, fixing this is easy! Just check out this tutorial [link] .. or let me know if you have any questions and I'll…
That's fine, and for those who don't feel so gushy, there's a different thing you can do: simply re-read your comments and edit out anything that isn't nice. You can always set 'delay' in your profile to between 1 and 10 minutes to give yourself some editing time. Mine is 3.
Re: Ask HN: Pick startups for YC to fund
#220Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm living out of a van right now in Palo Alto, after having sold everything I own to build projects that work. My worldly possessions can fit inside a single backpack. My co-founder and I are generating revenue and grinding on making sure the community loves what we're building. My burn rate is close to 300-400/mo, less if I eat less per day. #grit Beyond that what else is there?
You know a bowl of rice is less than $1 and the return on investment is probably higher... because you know, you can think clearer.