YC is a cult

#1

Post by jamesgolick » Tue, Jul 29, 2008, 4:02 AM UTC

YC is a cult
danielharan.com

Re: YC is a cult

#2

Post by mattmaroon » Tue, Jul 29, 2008, 4:22 AM UTC

Hilarious. Blatant linkbait, but hilarious.

Clearly he does not know many actual participants. Working 18 hour days for two months is not the norm.

Re: YC is a cult

#3

Post by unalone » Tue, Jul 29, 2008, 4:24 AM UTC

mattmaroon wrote: post #2

Hilarious. Blatant linkbait, but hilarious. Clearly he does not know many actual participants. Working 18 hour days for two months is not the norm.

Yeah. I'm not a participant, but I'll be applying in the future, and from the descriptions I've heard from people that's really not what the program is all about.

Re: YC is a cult

#4

Post by dshah » Tue, Jul 29, 2008, 4:26 AM UTC

He got at least one thing wrong: YC folks don't work hard to make money. Many of them work really hard, but I don't think it's to make money.

Re: YC is a cult

#5

Post by mattmaroon » Tue, Jul 29, 2008, 4:27 AM UTC

unalone wrote: post #3

mattmaroon wrote: post #2

Hilarious. Blatant linkbait, but hilarious. Clearly he does not know many actual participants. Working 18 hour days for two months is not the norm.

Yeah. I'm not a participant, but I'll be applying in the future, and from the descriptions I've heard from people that's really not what the program is all about.

Will you be applying for the next batch?

Come on in and drink the Kool-Aid. Or, more accurately, the Goya.

Re: YC is a cult

#6

Post by unalone » Tue, Jul 29, 2008, 4:45 AM UTC

mattmaroon wrote: post #5

unalone wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. I'm not a participant, but I'll be applying in the future, and from the descriptions I've heard from people that's really not what the program is all about.

Will you be applying for the next batch? Come on in and drink the Kool-Aid. Or, more accurately, the Goya.

I'm a college student, so when I apply it will probably be for one of the summer rounds. While I'm fine with abandoning college for a bit to work on something if it picks up steam, I don't want to miss a semester actually beginning the project. Or does that not make sense with YC?

I already feel like a newbie, though. I haven't the faintest idea what Goya is.

Re: YC is a cult

#7

Post by YuriNiyazov » Tue, Jul 29, 2008, 4:45 AM UTC

First there was "All YC startups produce unoriginal second-rate stuff" (unfortunately, I don't have the link handy). Now there's this. It is impressive how YC-hate is evolving.

Re: YC is a cult

#8

Post by sutro » Tue, Jul 29, 2008, 4:45 AM UTC

Does YC require its participants to practice polygamy? I checked the FAQ but this wasn't covered.

Re: YC is a cult

#9

Post by SwellJoe » Tue, Jul 29, 2008, 4:48 AM UTC

dshah wrote: post #4

He got at least one thing wrong: YC folks don't work hard to make money. Many of them work really hard, but I don't think it's to make money.

Sometimes it's to make money.

Re: YC is a cult

#10

Post by whycombinator » Tue, Jul 29, 2008, 4:50 AM UTC

If you love what you do and are good at it, programming is only somewhat more mentally exhausting than playing computer games all day (and I do relatively complicated stuff: algorithms and numerical math in C++ and ML - don't ask about details, I like my relative anonymity).

The "burnout" happens when there is no reward in sight, or worse: you work hard for many months, produce good results, then your PHB shits on them for political reasons (so you wouldn't get too stuck up), or is just too stupid to appreciate your work.

I'm not a web programmer, and I tend to be very skeptical of much of what PG writes (especially the last few years), but I think independent enterprise is the way to go for the more gifted and hard-working people.