Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Tell YC: Summer 08 decisions out

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 121 posts

Re: Tell YC: Summer 08 decisions out

#31

Post by fallentimes »

Readmore wrote: post #13

I also got a no. It's actually what I was expecting my app is nearly done already www.embought.com and I'm a single founder. Congrats to everyone that made it. Looking forward to reading the interview recap blogs.

Readmore I think your application is a good idea. Have you considered letting people choose their own charity instead of the preselected ones you have listed?

Or even better, people could choose their own cause (whether it's a charity, fundraising event, boyscouts, girlscouts etc etc) and could encourage friends, family and acquaintances to use the site to raise money for their cause.

Re: Tell YC: Summer 08 decisions out

#32

Post by kirubakaran »

pius wrote: post #30
dcurtis wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds kind of like you're disguising your YC-denial under a veil of "I've done this before, and I'm better than you" type of thinking. Are you sure that's productive? What was your successful execution?

I don't think there's anything wrong with positive self-talk. A founder being confident about his or her ability to execute shouldn't make anyone else feel insecure.

Agree with you 100%. We are nothing without confidence that at first seems baseless.

Re: Tell YC: Summer 08 decisions out

#33

Post by bfioca »

dcurtis wrote: post #8

Do the decision letters for accepted groups ask them not to post that they were accepted? It seems like, after every funding cycle, no one admits they were accepted in these after-threads.

I'm not sure, but there's a few reasons not to post if you got accepted:

  1) just getting picked to go to the interview really only gives you like a 1 in 3 or so chance of getting in to YC.

  2) the news of getting accepted into YC is pretty
     noteworthy and shouldn't be squandered - 
    it's useful for PR purposes when you launch your product.  
    If you blow the news too early, you miss out on a 
    potential PR-based influx of users from TechCrunch for
    example.
Congrats to those who were picked to go to the interview!

Re: Tell YC: Summer 08 decisions out

#35

Post by dood »

No for me too. I'm a little annoyed at myself for applying at the last minute. My plan was to solve some key technical issues before applying next cycle, but I changed my mind and applied without thinking it through. Maybe spending more time properly presentating my concept would have made all the difference... on the other hand maybe it wouldn't.

My idea is fairly wacky, and may need to be seen to be believed, so back to plan A: solving problems and building the alpha!

Re: Tell YC: Summer 08 decisions out

#36

Post by jfornear »

keating wrote: post #20
icey wrote: post #10

Some advice to people who got a no: I've never applied at YC, but I've got a couple of failed startups under my belt. If you got a no, think about why, and consider it free advice from someone whose opinion you trust. If you disagree, then use it as fuel to work hard - as hard as you can; and show everyone else that when you were down on your luck you put your nose to the grindstone and made it happen anyways. That b…

> If you got a no, think about why, and consider it free advice from someone whose opinion you trust. I honestly think they are just too pressed for time to do a thorough review. Applicants can check their web logs and see if YC even looked at their stuff. Submitting early is probably a major advantage if it means they (YC) actually have time to take a gander at what you did.

I only received 2 page views from them on April 2nd. I probably shouldn't have waited until the last minute to apply.

Re: Tell YC: Summer 08 decisions out

#37

Post by ericb »

dcurtis wrote: post #23
ericb wrote: post #18

Don't be discouraged. I'm 100% sure my idea is rock solid, I've executed successfully before AND I have a cofounder, but I was turned down. You don't have a good startup-tale without getting turned down a few times. I think of it like this: me: Would you like to make some money with me YC? YC: No thanks, we have plenty.

Sounds kind of like you're disguising your YC-denial under a veil of "I've done this before, and I'm better than you" type of thinking. Are you sure that's productive? What was your successful execution?

When you're rejected, you can interpret it as this "says something about me" and take it personally, or you can interpret it as an opportunity someone else missed out on for whatever reason, (not a good match, not web 2.0 enough, who knows!) and move on. If you believe in your idea and yourself strongly, there's usually only one clear interpretation you should take. And yes, self confidence is generally a productive strategy.

As for my success, I built a shareware business that made me significantly more than my salary, as a single founder, while still working full time. It enabled me to leave my job and work for myself.

Re: Tell YC: Summer 08 decisions out

#38

Post by xenoterracide »

keating wrote: post #20
icey wrote: post #10

Some advice to people who got a no: I've never applied at YC, but I've got a couple of failed startups under my belt. If you got a no, think about why, and consider it free advice from someone whose opinion you trust. If you disagree, then use it as fuel to work hard - as hard as you can; and show everyone else that when you were down on your luck you put your nose to the grindstone and made it happen anyways. That b…

> If you got a no, think about why, and consider it free advice from someone whose opinion you trust. I honestly think they are just too pressed for time to do a thorough review. Applicants can check their web logs and see if YC even looked at their stuff. Submitting early is probably a major advantage if it means they (YC) actually have time to take a gander at what you did.

May I ask where the web logs I should look at are? (I see comments and submit logs)

I agree with you otherwise though. I think submitting the day before was... not a mistake... but I found YC a week before the deadline and spend the time working up an application and looking for a co-founder.

Re: Tell YC: Summer 08 decisions out

#39

Post by pius »

xenoterracide wrote: post #38
keating wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you got a no, think about why, and consider it free advice from someone whose opinion you trust. I honestly think they are just too pressed for time to do a thorough review. Applicants can check their web logs and see if YC even looked at their stuff. Submitting early is probably a major advantage if it means they (YC) actually have time to take a gander at what you did.

May I ask where the web logs I should look at are? (I see comments and submit logs) I agree with you otherwise though. I think submitting the day before was... not a mistake... but I found YC a week before the deadline and spend the time working up an application and looking for a co-founder.

May I ask where the web logs I should look at are?

I think he's saying that you can check the logs of your own server.

Re: Tell YC: Summer 08 decisions out

#40

Post by JayNeely »

xenoterracide wrote: post #38
keating wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you got a no, think about why, and consider it free advice from someone whose opinion you trust. I honestly think they are just too pressed for time to do a thorough review. Applicants can check their web logs and see if YC even looked at their stuff. Submitting early is probably a major advantage if it means they (YC) actually have time to take a gander at what you did.

May I ask where the web logs I should look at are? (I see comments and submit logs) I agree with you otherwise though. I think submitting the day before was... not a mistake... but I found YC a week before the deadline and spend the time working up an application and looking for a co-founder.

He means, if you included an online demo, presumably on your own hosting space, check your web stats to see if/when/for how long they looked at it.
Post reply on HN