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Is Y Combinator worth it?

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Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#41

Post by zapita »

doh wrote: post #35

YC is a fantastic shortcut to the Bay Area market. They protect you from abusive investors, attract talent and entice new customers. Farther you are from the Bay Area, less helpful they are though. Even in the Bay you can do it all by yourself, but it's much more complicated route filled with negative experiences. At least that's my experience. The way we were treated by highly celebrated investors was hard to swallo…

Even if you operate far from the Bay Area, you might still want to raise money there. In which case YC is extremely valuable, especially for outsiders.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#42

Post by mlthoughts2018 »

s17n wrote: post #13

Y Combinator has one of the strongest brands of any investor, which matters a ton for recruiting. It's very hard for engineers considering working at an early stage company to determine whether it's legit or not, and Y Combinator is probably a better known name than any VC. Personally when I was looking for jobs I'd immediately disqualify any company that wasn't backed by a relatively small list of investors and YC w…

This can also go the other way too. YC repeatedly exhibited horrific treatment towards Michael O. Church. I know many, many software engineers who personally hold a severe grudge against YC for it, and the YC brand is an instant signal that they would reject that company.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#43

Post by marcinzm »

ausjke wrote: post #19

IMHO not worth it. Moving to CA kills it for me, if it has more small centers like other incubators I might give it a try locally. $125K for 7% is a lot, for companies think that's a good deal, normally means that company has limited chance to succeed in the first place. Still the location requirement is the one many can't afford,especially those who got married and/or have kids, had industrial experience and probabl…

>$125K for 7% is a lot, for companies think that's a good deal, normally means that company has limited chance to succeed in the first place.

Or they believe that the YC brand will raise their value more than 7% which is quiet possible.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#44

Post by doh »

zapita wrote: post #41
doh wrote: post #35

YC is a fantastic shortcut to the Bay Area market. They protect you from abusive investors, attract talent and entice new customers. Farther you are from the Bay Area, less helpful they are though. Even in the Bay you can do it all by yourself, but it's much more complicated route filled with negative experiences. At least that's my experience. The way we were treated by highly celebrated investors was hard to swallo…

Even if you operate far from the Bay Area, you might still want to raise money there. In which case YC is extremely valuable, especially for outsiders.

That's a good point.

Essentially YC is a guard dog for the Bay Area. If you want to get in, then there is no better organization to help you out, keep the deals clean and founder abuse low.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#47

Post by langitbiru »

doh wrote: post #35

YC is a fantastic shortcut to the Bay Area market. They protect you from abusive investors, attract talent and entice new customers. Farther you are from the Bay Area, less helpful they are though. Even in the Bay you can do it all by yourself, but it's much more complicated route filled with negative experiences. At least that's my experience. The way we were treated by highly celebrated investors was hard to swallo…

"abusive investors" -> Tell me more about them.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#48

Post by nanomonkey »

I'm curious how this question plays out for the non-profit and b-corp sector of Y Combinator participants. The hyper focus on profit, network effects and growth mindset often seems at conflict with a purpose driven group. Are there a different set of metrics and wisdom for the non-profit to focused on? Are they grouped with the investment driven companies, or treated separately?

As someone working on a platform co-op I've experienced a lot of blank stares and confusion when describing the open source aspects of my system's design and the benefits it gives to the users. Not having the normal latches in to capturing the user's revenue streams seems counter to what would be expected by the mentors in YC. Anyone know how this plays out?

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#49

Post by msoad »

drewrv wrote: post #36
mediaman wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you disqualify companies that had bootstrapped successfully, were profitable, and did not take any outside money? Not a judging question - I understand the value of a good investor's due diligence and backing in improving the odds of sane leadership. But it's interesting to think how that can impact a successful, self-funded copmany's access to talent.

As a founder, self funding makes a lot of sense, as you avoid dilution and aren’t beholden to a group of people expecting 10x growth every year. But as a candidate I’d be cautious about taking a job at a self funded startup. They’re probably cash constrained so the base salary might not be as much. And if there is equity, I would want management beholden to people expecting 10x growth.

As an engineer I would love to work for a company that makes money and pays me from that money.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#50

Post by langitbiru »

SpeckOfDust wrote: post #46

Slightly different question. Is Y Combinator still worth it in its fully remote format? Didn't they themselves said they couldn't deliver their value remotely a couple of years back?

Covid-19 changed many people's mind. I mean, big companies like FB / Google didn't believe remote works in the past. Then, they accommodate remote workers now.
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