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

Y Combinator Failed Startups

failory.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 197 posts

Re: Y Combinator Failed Startups

#101

Post by wtvanhest »

twmahna wrote: post #28

Worth noting that the proximate cause of death is often times largely uninformative as to why the startup actually failed. Most failed startups fit into the following timeline: was burning more money than it was making => failed at raising more money => did a round of layoffs / cost cuts to get economics under control => couldn't right the ship and shut down / did a fire sale or acquihire But, the above timeline does…

Probably be much more informative to talk to non-c-level employees who do not have an incentive to modify the story.

Re: Y Combinator Failed Startups

#102

Post by andi999 »

gibolt wrote: post #99
new_realist wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most startups fail. I don’t think most founders have the acumen to really know the full story of their own failure.

There is a difference between knowing the difference and admitting it. When you run a business from start to scale, you likely know the main failure point, and it is probably a few simple variables.

Well the answer is probably in 95% of the cases 'not enough sales', but it wont tell you anything. Also I believe even in hindsight you dont know what was really the problem (in the sense that you know what could have been done to make it succesful)

Re: Y Combinator Failed Startups

#105

Post by sillysaurusx »

mijamo wrote: post #88
sillysaurusx wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmmm. Thank you for finding that! This opens up a fascinating discussion about ethics. So, to start from a purely capitalistic viewpoint, it seems like you are free to use your property that you own however you wish, subject to the law. That raises questions like: in this situation, is it legal for the CC numbers to be stored in that way? From the customer’s POV, they authorized HomeJoy to store their CC info, not Fl…

Not everything is an asset. You do not legally own the credit card numbers. At most you own the right to use them to fulfill a contract. Just like if I share my screen with an IT support company that does not give them the right to suddenly transfer my screen to an advertising company, except if I have been explicitly told that would happen (and no, terms and conditions are not enough for that, because it is way out…

If card data isn’t property the way that customer data is, and isn’t transferable during an acquisition, then it’s hard to see how Fly Maid wasn’t in violation of the law here.

It seems like this should be readily answerable: in the event of an aquisition, does the acquirer have the legal right to use the card authorization token from the customers of the acquired startup? Note that Fly Maid did not charge them without their consent; they merely made the option available without them having to enter any CC info.

The reason I’m pressing this is because we’re talking about a YC alum + illegal behavior, which to my knowledge might even be a first.

Hopefully a lawyer might chime in with clarification. If Fly Maid was not authorized to utilize any of HomeJoy customers’ CC info during the course of business, regardless of acquisition, then this seems pretty clear cut.

Re: Y Combinator Failed Startups

#106

Post by ozten »

johncoogan wrote: post #48
ozten wrote: post #44

It looks like TheMelt is down to 7 grilled cheese stores. https://www.themelt.com/locations

TheMelt wasn't in Y Combinator, but it is an interesting story.

I'm sorry for linking the two. I have had this wrong idea stuck in my head since 2011. I should have validated that fact.

Re: Y Combinator Failed Startups

#107

Post by avip »

twmahna wrote: post #28

Worth noting that the proximate cause of death is often times largely uninformative as to why the startup actually failed. Most failed startups fit into the following timeline: was burning more money than it was making => failed at raising more money => did a round of layoffs / cost cuts to get economics under control => couldn't right the ship and shut down / did a fire sale or acquihire But, the above timeline does…

My experience (N=3) is startups "fail" mostly because the answers to "can this work" and "will people buy it" tend to be "yes", "maybe" and "no".

Re: Y Combinator Failed Startups

#108

Post by dustingetz »

twmahna wrote: post #28

Worth noting that the proximate cause of death is often times largely uninformative as to why the startup actually failed. Most failed startups fit into the following timeline: was burning more money than it was making => failed at raising more money => did a round of layoffs / cost cuts to get economics under control => couldn't right the ship and shut down / did a fire sale or acquihire But, the above timeline does…

no explanation is needed for joe founder failing to achieve a $1B outcome. Better to ask why the few succeed and the answer is usually one that could not have even been foreseen.

Re: Y Combinator Failed Startups

#110

Post by mathattack »

sjtindell wrote: post #87
twmahna wrote: post #28

Worth noting that the proximate cause of death is often times largely uninformative as to why the startup actually failed. Most failed startups fit into the following timeline: was burning more money than it was making => failed at raising more money => did a round of layoffs / cost cuts to get economics under control => couldn't right the ship and shut down / did a fire sale or acquihire But, the above timeline does…

As a relative outsider, I would hope being labeled as one of the biggest failures would be a mark of experience among a set that claims or claimed to uphold the “fail fast” mentality and treats failure like the learning experience it is.

In Walk Street if you have a $50 million blow-up your career is shot. If you have a $500 million blowup you get a second shot because you must have been somebody to be trusted with that much money.
Post reply on HN