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What I Learned Going Through YC as a 17 Year Old

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Re: What I Learned Going Through YC as a 17 Year Old

#121

Post by sailfast »

> In the East Coast experience and status are highly valued. Bill Gates created class scheduling software in high school, and I wanted to replicate that. I approached our school admin about doing the same when I was 16 and was promptly shut down because I was too young and "entire companies are required to create scheduling software." I wasn't even given the chance to fail.

I mean, when Bill Gates was in High School computers weren't really in general use, so they probably were still doing it on paper. Why say no? They wouldn't have to use it if he failed. Also, did he build it first, or ask for the business first?

Whereas it sounds like this person asked his school if they would convert to his scheduling tool before he had built it to try out? I can imagine a school administrator saying "we'll probably stick with our enterprise contract, thanks" in the 2010s, and it would be a reasonable answer.

I wouldn't personally recommend that one experience be the basis for your East Coast / West Coast judgments.

Re: What I Learned Going Through YC as a 17 Year Old

#122

Post by troquerre »

ian-g wrote: post #116
troquerre wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This seems like sheer dumb luck. For every one of him (or you, if you're reading this) there's a lot of people who thrash and struggle. I went through 80+ job applications before I got one offer last search, and that's less than I thought I would need Author here. There was definitely luck involved (the luckiest part imo was that Teespring was an incredible company to work at and I had no idea when I reached out),…

That's totally fair, and congrats on that working! I don't want to take away at all from what you've accomplished! It's very interesting looking at how you - a successful newcomer - view silicon valley compared to the way I see it - as somebody who grew up there and left. The other interesting bit is how you got here. It looks like you've been coding and elbows deep in computers forever. I'd hazard a guess that also…

You’re right that’s an interesting contrast. Can you share why you ended up leaving? I’m curious about your perspective.

I started coding when I was 13 and started wanting to build companies around the same time so I think that focus of desire definitely benefited me. I strongly believe finding what you want to focus on is more valuable than how early you start. Greg Brockman (founder of OpenAI) didn’t start coding until he went to college, and there are numerous examples of people in tech, art, and other fields discovering their focus later in life and succeeding.

Re: What I Learned Going Through YC as a 17 Year Old

#123

Post by troquerre »

strikelaserclaw wrote: post #119
troquerre wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This seems like sheer dumb luck. For every one of him (or you, if you're reading this) there's a lot of people who thrash and struggle. I went through 80+ job applications before I got one offer last search, and that's less than I thought I would need Author here. There was definitely luck involved (the luckiest part imo was that Teespring was an incredible company to work at and I had no idea when I reached out),…

i read some disparaging comments below that just say "privilege." I hope you aren't discouraged, even with privilege, not many could have done what you have done at a young age, kudos to you and keep going.

Not at all! I expected disparaging comments and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how encouraging many of the comments are. Thank you for your kind words as well :)

Re: What I Learned Going Through YC as a 17 Year Old

#124

Post by ian-g »

seizethecheese wrote: post #117
ian-g wrote: post #88

I have a lot of thoughts about this. I'm glad he's seen some success! That's great for him! I just don't know that all or even much of what he's learned is transferable > I was able to get a job in SF with a single cold email and zero connections This seems like sheer dumb luck. For every one of him (or you, if you're reading this) there's a lot of people who thrash and struggle. I went through 80+ job applications b…

> Silicon Valley doesn't care about your background This is both true and false at the same time. We were able to go through YC without much background (Bottomless.com YC W19), however the post-YC fundraise was a bit more of a slog. It turns out analysts for major VCs will look up the founders on LinkedIn before bringing you in for a conversation. Regardless, it's only been a minor headwind. We still raised post YC b…

Feels like the other thing people do is conflate Silicon Valley the place (in my mind, the Valley of the Heart's Delight) with Silicon Valley the idea, the tech center

There are many tech-y people who move there because it's more open, and it almost feels self-perpetuating. But the rest of the people aren't always that way. My dad grew up around there, he remembers highway 85 as the orchards behind his backyard. I remember the Netflix HQ as a gardening nursery. There are still little farms dotted around, hidden in places people don't normally notice as they zoom by.

It feels like tech transplants sometimes forget that or aren't even aware of it. Tech permeates the whole area, you can't escape it. But there's a lot more to be experienced around if you're willing to search it out. It might be helpful to tone the shop talk down a bit too

Re: What I Learned Going Through YC as a 17 Year Old

#125

Post by anonAndOn »

mola wrote: post #36
alehul wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I should’ve only quoted the first part of the sentence as relevant to me, but: Better for whom? I agree it could result in better average returns for the firm, but it likely isn’t better for moving society forward as a whole.

How did you get the notion that moonshots move forward the society? Heck large parts the US is 3rd world level I'm infrastructure and education. But US is really good with VC and such. Sorry, this assumption is just a pipe dream.

Re-usable rockets? Affordable & enjoyable electric cars?

Or, perhaps an oldie, but goodie, “A computer on every desk, and in every home, running Microsoft software.” And believe it or not, there was a time when Bill G. was well on his way to realizing that vision.

Re: What I Learned Going Through YC as a 17 Year Old

#126

Post by Mathnerd314 »

saagarjha wrote: post #71

> In school, the experts — teachers — always knew the right answer Now I'm wondering what school they went to where they went to, since all the ones I have attended this hasn't been even close to being true…

The teachers present themselves as knowing the answer. They also get really mad if you point out mistakes they make, at least in middle school / high school.

Re: What I Learned Going Through YC as a 17 Year Old

#127

Post by ian-g »

troquerre wrote: post #122
ian-g wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's totally fair, and congrats on that working! I don't want to take away at all from what you've accomplished! It's very interesting looking at how you - a successful newcomer - view silicon valley compared to the way I see it - as somebody who grew up there and left. The other interesting bit is how you got here. It looks like you've been coding and elbows deep in computers forever. I'd hazard a guess that also…

You’re right that’s an interesting contrast. Can you share why you ended up leaving? I’m curious about your perspective. I started coding when I was 13 and started wanting to build companies around the same time so I think that focus of desire definitely benefited me. I strongly believe finding what you want to focus on is more valuable than how early you start. Greg Brockman (founder of OpenAI) didn’t start coding u…

I left twice, both times personal. Once for college, once a bit over a year ago.

Tech permeates the area, and the expectations surrounding it can be harsh. The expectations put on kids can be too much, and I hated it. And honestly, I really didn't like the people I went to high school with or the people in my hometown much. I needed something new and different, an entirely different sort of culture to grow out of this tech and real estate focused town. So I went to Minnesota.

After college, I came back since I couldn't find work, and I got to know a lot of the better parts a bit outside my hometown. First Fridays in San Jose and Del Valle park in Livermore are two. I got a tech support job I didn't like and a bike mechanic gig on the side that I loved. What really got me to leave was getting a job in Seattle. I was prepared to stay a few more years because of the sheer number of jobs, but the area just wasn't one I could settle in long-term. There were too many bad associations for me personally.

I'm not going to say Seattle is better for everybody, but it's new to me. And I'm better equipped to find people I enjoy hanging out with, to put myself in situations that work well for me.

Re: What I Learned Going Through YC as a 17 Year Old

#128

Post by disown »

austenallred wrote: post #47
blocked_again wrote: post #18

> Silicon Valley doesn't care about your background This is BS. You have a much higher chance of rasing money for the same idea if you worked in FAANG than if you worked in Accenture. Same goes to someone who went to Harvard vs someone who went to University of Colorado.

It may be easier if you have credentials, but it’s certainly possible without them. I’d argue how your business is running is 10x as important as credentials. (I dropped out of a non-prestigious school and had work experience at one company, have raised $120m+ in <4 yrs).

> (I dropped out of a non-prestigious school and had work experience at one company, have raised $120m+ in In other words, you had connections? I'm guessing you weren't a poor single mother who dropped out of school to raise her kid.

How do you drop out, have 1 job experience and raise $120m? Either you are extremely privilege and/or extraordinarily lucky.

Stop making it sound so easy like everyone can do what you did. Most people, who didn't even drop out, wouldn't know where to start.

Re: What I Learned Going Through YC as a 17 Year Old

#129

Post by dang »

jheriko wrote: post #37

Privilege... love it.

Can you please not be a jerk in HN comments? Maybe you don't owe better to people you feel are privileged, but you owe better to this community if you're commenting here.

If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and sticking to the rules when posting here, we'd be grateful. Note that they include:

"Be kind. Don't be snarky."

"Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: What I Learned Going Through YC as a 17 Year Old

#130

Post by dang »

Schwan wrote: post #40

Puh you can read the unexperiennce in this blog post in every sentence. And the most weird thing is, that it feels that he sees himself now as an entrepreneur. He just might not realize that those snowflakes like Uber or Microsoft are what they are snowflakes. He will learn that either he becomes very quick and disruptive to an specific industry with a lot of luck and a lot of hard work and then he might have a chanc…

This crosses into personal attack, and we ban accounts that do that on HN, regardless of who you're attacking.

If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the spirit of this site more to heart when posting here, we'd be grateful.

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