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Is Y Combinator worth it?

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Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#131
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget the case of black CEOs mistaken as subordinates. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23540162

That's very disturbing. I never thought I will consider myself lucky after what I went through.

My other response matches what the Bloomberg article in that post is saying: hire a white person for the American market.

The comments are saying similar things to what I experience in America, where there is a need to prove unnecessary things, and also no acceptance of mediocrity. Every black person has to be Obama. Whereas I see others are getting the benefit of the doubt.

This isn't really news in the black community, people who almost universally realize that their experience is going to be challenged and invalidated with an infinite series of excuses and sometimes plain gaslighting so they just stop talking about it as it falls on deaf ears. About the need to be better by a mythically high standard, JFK said the same thing 60 years ago, so I too am deeply skeptically about people that suddenly want to listen. For how long will they really want to have this conversation this time?

For me, the primary validation about America's quirks is my experience outside of America. In other markets, primarily my experience lies in Commonwealth and European markets, I've just been accepted as a competent person taking initiative. Ironically, it is because of my metadata of being American and additionally my existence in Tech / Silicon Valley that helps. But it is a glimpse of the refreshing experience that Ivy League white males seem to describe having the rest of their lives in America. The experience that makes them have an unfaltering marriage to the US infrastructure and stability, which is completely foreign to me, while I retain access to an America that can function as a tool for me to obtain access to capital.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#132
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I believe this was meant as a sarcasm, but in a chance that it wasn't here are some extreme cases (these are all different investors): - they asked me to pay for attendance in their seminar that will teach me how to raise money before they consider investing - I got stood up for a meeting with no word from the person. He followed up two weeks later that they are not interested. 3 years later we met at an event thrown…

[deleted]

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#133
post #68

Let's compare seed valuations & dilutions of : a YC company vs Non YC Company YC : takes 7% for 125K and then let's say you raise $1m at $12m post money. Total diluted 15%. Non YC : If you want to raise $1m for same 15% dilution - your post money would be $6.5m. So these are pure numbers[1] With YC, I guess Founders' gain a network, bay area connections etc [1] : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kxOBF0CPhcktmg…

Can you enlighten as to the assumption that the YC backed startup has a $12m post and non-yc has a $6.5m post?

:)

Angel list had a page where one could find out the valuation based on various filters. Unable to find that now. However, many YC companies fail to raise in demo day! And there are non-yc companies who 've gone to raise $3m-$5m in seed alone with just a deck. The latter had the advantage of proven track records etc. Also, the higer valuations at seed stage can come back to hurt in Series-A.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#134
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear you. I seen worse unfortunately. Especially when founders are not white men (like myself). The way that some of my female founders friends were treated was orders of magnitude worse (if that's even possible). One friend wrote about her experience [0]. [0] https://medium.com/sparking-conversation/how-raising-a-2-m-s...

Right, I personally don't pick that battle. I partner with the “local goyim” to get into the rooms I want in every country I’m in, in the United States that is a white man with an ivy league degree. I don't know if I got the idea from anti-semitic drivel or accurate Jewish business ideas, but I’ve had a lot of success with this approach. If you want to fight for inclusivity, do that with your non-profit or shelve the…

I understand this approach and I bet it works, but there is just something about giving to the zeitgeist is what makes me queasy.

I actually was told early on by one of the top VCs to find Stanford grad co-founder and they will invest with no problem. It's just not who I am, regardless how much harder it made it for us (and me of course).

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#135
post #125

Let’s use another analogy here: YC makes F1 race cars, some of the best in the world. Proven time and time again to be fast. You, the driver, need to be able to handle it in order to achieve optimal results. Accelerator X makes race cars too, but a different class - possibly even a different style all together. Again, as the driver, you need to be able to handle it for optimal results. Question is, what, as a driver,…

Tell me what this means: `I’ve tried a few times to start. Still looking for my pit chief.` Specifically what’s kept you from starting? There’s a whole community of people who can help you. Start by starting. In case it’s helpful; some resources: http://go.drod.io/startups

Clarification: I failed to secure enough funding to see my 1st project through. I failed to take an idea to market and scale the business on my 2nd. I struggle with the coder/founder paradigm shift. I'm working on it.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#136
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's very disturbing. I never thought I will consider myself lucky after what I went through.

My other response matches what the Bloomberg article in that post is saying: hire a white person for the American market. The comments are saying similar things to what I experience in America, where there is a need to prove unnecessary things, and also no acceptance of mediocrity. Every black person has to be Obama. Whereas I see others are getting the benefit of the doubt. This isn't really news in the black commun…

I heard this from other friends of color that describe strikingly different experience while visiting or living in Europe. I grew up in Slovakia which as non-diverse as it gets. The country is quite racist, but in a very different way than I seen in US. It's more like "everyone different is bad" than "people x are bad".

What I observed in US that the country really takes an advantage of "poor" people (This is not meant to be derogatory. It supposed to mean people without immediate means. I'm not trying to make a statement about how they got to where they are). And because minorities generally are at the bottom of wealth, this tend to fuel the racism even more.

I always thought that a strong safety net system would ease the situation and allow for the most vulnerable groups to gain some footing which would be better for everyone. But I found over the years that the system racism is so powerful and so deeply integrated in the society that there is no way they will let it happen.

I never figured out any solution to this problem which frustrates me immensely.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#137
post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My other response matches what the Bloomberg article in that post is saying: hire a white person for the American market. The comments are saying similar things to what I experience in America, where there is a need to prove unnecessary things, and also no acceptance of mediocrity. Every black person has to be Obama. Whereas I see others are getting the benefit of the doubt. This isn't really news in the black commun…

I heard this from other friends of color that describe strikingly different experience while visiting or living in Europe. I grew up in Slovakia which as non-diverse as it gets. The country is quite racist, but in a very different way than I seen in US. It's more like "everyone different is bad" than "people x are bad". What I observed in US that the country really takes an advantage of "poor" people (This is not mea…

Your observations about socioeconomic status echo deeper than you might think.

Towards black Americans, European xenophobia doesn't translate into microaggressions intertwined with poverty, like being suspected of stealing while in any shop or being mistaken as working there because that context doesn’t exist. Where that sentiment exists, it seems reserved for another group like Romanians or Romanian minorities.

Towards anybody, there is no possibility of the police being called on you while strolling through any random neighborhood and no possibility of that escalating into danger if they were. There is no need to rationalize perpetual danger with “but look at the violent crime stats, LE has to assume everyone that looks like that has a dangerous weapon”, and the lack of collective punishment absolves almost all of the strife. More likely you’ll wind up in a society where everyone ignores each other by default anyway and that’s great, leaving only the endearing things to experience.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#138
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, I personally don't pick that battle. I partner with the “local goyim” to get into the rooms I want in every country I’m in, in the United States that is a white man with an ivy league degree. I don't know if I got the idea from anti-semitic drivel or accurate Jewish business ideas, but I’ve had a lot of success with this approach. If you want to fight for inclusivity, do that with your non-profit or shelve the…

I understand this approach and I bet it works, but there is just something about giving to the zeitgeist is what makes me queasy. I actually was told early on by one of the top VCs to find Stanford grad co-founder and they will invest with no problem. It's just not who I am, regardless how much harder it made it for us (and me of course).

> but there is just something about giving to the zeitgeist is what makes me queasy.

I don’t feel like I have the privilege to care about that.

Or, I don’t feel like that is compatible with making money and focusing on the project’s mission.

Save the inclusivity for the non-profit or your own angel investing in the future.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#139
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand this approach and I bet it works, but there is just something about giving to the zeitgeist is what makes me queasy. I actually was told early on by one of the top VCs to find Stanford grad co-founder and they will invest with no problem. It's just not who I am, regardless how much harder it made it for us (and me of course).

> but there is just something about giving to the zeitgeist is what makes me queasy. I don’t feel like I have the privilege to care about that. Or, I don’t feel like that is compatible with making money and focusing on the project’s mission. Save the inclusivity for the non-profit or your own angel investing in the future.

I hear you. This is where my white ass gets the benefits. I hope that I will see a time where it is not considered a privilege for anyone but white folks like me.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#140
post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I heard this from other friends of color that describe strikingly different experience while visiting or living in Europe. I grew up in Slovakia which as non-diverse as it gets. The country is quite racist, but in a very different way than I seen in US. It's more like "everyone different is bad" than "people x are bad". What I observed in US that the country really takes an advantage of "poor" people (This is not mea…

Your observations about socioeconomic status echo deeper than you might think. Towards black Americans, European xenophobia doesn't translate into microaggressions intertwined with poverty, like being suspected of stealing while in any shop or being mistaken as working there because that context doesn’t exist. Where that sentiment exists, it seems reserved for another group like Romanians or Romanian minorities. Towa…

>Towards anybody, there is no possibility of the police being called on you while strolling through any random neighborhood and no possibility of that escalating into danger if they were

I attribute this to gun ownership. Police in most of Europe don't worry about anyone caring a gun, so their physical reactions are much less severe.

>“but look at the violent crime stats, LE has to assume everyone that looks like that has a dangerous weapon” After Hitler used very detailed census data to single out certain groups, Europe is very sensitive about collecting them. I remember a debate in Slovakia a decade or so ago, where they were talking about guessing a race and people were strongly against it (never passed).

>More likely you’ll wind up in a society where everyone ignores each other by default anyway and that’s great, leaving only the endearing things to experience. Interestingly enough, I never felt this way while living in Europe. People are still engaged and quite caring but also keep their distance.

Europe is far from perfect, but there are parts I miss greatly.

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