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Startup School Advisor Track: You Are In

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Startup School Advisor Track: You Are In

#151

Post by snowmaker »

depressedfounda wrote: post #67

From believing we got the first break we’ve had in years of struggle to being crushed. Will it stop us from keeping going? It shouldn’t but it might be enough of a blow to slow us down and depress our chances. I already told people. I scheduled PTO at work to focus. I was on cloud nine and now in the deep dumps.

I'm so sorry for the completely unnecessary emotional rollercoaster we sent you on. There's really no excuse.

Having said that, there's no reason why this should keep you from working on your company. I hope you'll decide to give it a shot anyway.

Re: Startup School Advisor Track: You Are In

#153

Post by dang »

depressedfounda wrote: post #87
torartc wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "do not reply" was particularly upsetting.

And the “accepted to audit” stings super hard. We were accepted and then rejected. I’m a stoic person but this really hurts. We were on a pathway to earning success with help and now we’re off again on our own in the wilderness.

You're right. That phrase is lame and in this context is salt in the wound.

People at YC are trying to come up with ways to make this at least partly better. If you have an idea, or anyone else has, this thread would be a good place to post it. Or email the team at startupschool@ycombinator.com.

Re: Startup School Advisor Track: You Are In

#154

Post by DoreenMichele »

snowmaker wrote: post #146
yesimeanno wrote: post #91

Whelp, what a mess. Every time I tell my self not to apply to these things but then it's like Godfather 3. But wait, this time it was different!! Oh, wait. Nope. Same result. Only this time it feels much much worse. FUBAR.

Yes, FUBAR is an apt description....

As long as it isn't SNAFU (situation normal -- all fouled up), you should be okay.

Eventually.

Re: Startup School Advisor Track: You Are In

#155

Post by samstave »

zilongli wrote: post #71
jaysonelliot wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mistakes happen. Waiting two hours to tell people, then doing so from a do-not-reply address, however, is a poor way to handle them. If we make a mistake like this as a company, we at least try to make up for it in some way, and make our users feel valued.

The 'apologies' email was another bulk no-reply message. Maybe they misapologised, too.

/r/oopsdidntmeantodidntmeantooops

Re: Startup School Advisor Track: You Are In

#156

Post by callen6 »

My cofounder and I were cheers-ing about our acceptance an hour ago and now we're texting about this y-combinator screw-up--we're not accepted after all!

For all the other founders and teams who had that momentary confidence of outside reenforcement -- remember how unstoppable and brave you felt in that moment! That glow doesn't have to go away with a retraction email. Hold onto the feeling. Go make great things, go make a difference.

I became a developer after spending odd hours trolling Hnews and finding learn to code tutorials; I watched all of the previous Startup School videos on my own time; and despite the discord that can sometimes occur on this platform, I really looked up to Ycombinator.

While this is a feelings setback, I'd like to just say -- I wouldn't be where I am in my career without the Hacker News community that got my started on my way. So I think what I'd like to focus on tonight (while I nurse my hurt pride) is thanking everyone here who comments and submits links and reaches out and spreads the openness and community that drew me to software in the first place.

People who run things will make lots of mistakes; communities will make lots of mistakes, too; but if we just keep talking, we'll stay moving in the right direction.

Thanks to all the Ycombinator commenters here responding to the very justified hurt and embarrassment being shared here. Cheers to a tomorrow full of possibilities.

Re: Startup School Advisor Track: You Are In

#157

Post by snowmaker »

chriselles wrote: post #93

Accepted. Told my team. We celebrated. Then received apology/rejection. Honestly, while it would be a low probability of us getting into the YC Batch, we thought we were high probability of getting into online startup school. We have an active MVP for 2 months, a Fortune 500 enterprise customer, and a solid market opportunity using previously validated use cases. We thought we were a really good fit for this program.…

I'm very sorry to say that the second email was correct. But you can email us at startupschool@ycombinator.com to confirm.

Re: Startup School Advisor Track: You Are In

#158

Post by chrisherd »

snowmaker wrote: post #132
chrisherd wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. We’re building a massively ambitious banking alternative. Principal engineer ex JP Morgan Chase Senior Dev. Angel investment from the founder of a hugely disruptive British Unicorn. Support from a number of other important sources. Not to criticize the decision making process, historical precedent speaks for itself. We thought we fit the mould but apparently not. Back to implementing.

That seems promising ... hope you keep working on it.

First product will launch in October (Nexves dot com) would appreciate any comments Jared.

Got ~1,000 users desperate to test the beta and a very compelling reason 100k will migrate in the first 12 months.

Startup School would of been external gratification of what we know is an awesome idea.

We’ll deliver.

Re: Startup School Advisor Track: You Are In

#159

Post by jeanlucas »

nancyp wrote: post #148

How about we start our own accelerator by auditing their course? Nothing stops if we are motivated.

I'm not actually into building an accelerator, YC does a great job, but I sure think we could teach each other something and get to know our own projects.

I put up a Discord Server, if anyone wants to talk and support each other: https://discord.gg/36jp8H

Re: Startup School Advisor Track: You Are In

#160

Post by AniketP1 »

callen6 wrote: post #156

My cofounder and I were cheers-ing about our acceptance an hour ago and now we're texting about this y-combinator screw-up--we're not accepted after all! For all the other founders and teams who had that momentary confidence of outside reenforcement -- remember how unstoppable and brave you felt in that moment! That glow doesn't have to go away with a retraction email. Hold onto the feeling. Go make great things, go…

I felt really downbeat for a while after getting that redaction email.

This comment picked me right back up. Thank you.

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