Earlier quoted context omitted.
I did it for the cheese. The Boston batch gets some pretty good stuff.
I would like to try podolico.
I've heard it's not worth the money.
YC is a cult
41–50 of 159 posts
Re: YC is a cult
#42This guy is presumptuous, ill informed and appears to have a thing for blanket statements. Hi, I'm currently in YC for the summer. Although I certainly don't speak for everyone in YC, I think I'm somewhat more qualified than the author who has never been in the program and who apparently receives his information from blog posts and hearsay. Most of his assertions apply to startups or any intense forms of collaboratio…
Fellow Ohioan (still there) here.
Want to work independently in some capacity or another on a programming project but I don't really seem to be brimming with ideas.
Any particular ways you utilize to be inspired for project ideas?
Re: YC is a cult
#43This guy is presumptuous, ill informed and appears to have a thing for blanket statements. Hi, I'm currently in YC for the summer. Although I certainly don't speak for everyone in YC, I think I'm somewhat more qualified than the author who has never been in the program and who apparently receives his information from blog posts and hearsay. Most of his assertions apply to startups or any intense forms of collaboratio…
> "They receive unconditional love, acceptance, and attention from a charismatic..." You should have been at my team's first meeting; it was like this, but the opposite. Informal founder feedback sessions have been similar. The carebear environment the author described wouldn't work anyway - the VCs would destroy us.
Actually most accounts of actual cult experiences describe a never-ending cycle of harsh criticism intended to break down the followers sense of self, followed by love from the charismatic leader.
So, to an extent you're validating what Daniel is saying.
Any elite group is going to have some cultlike qualities. The real hard part comes when you are attempting to determine if you are benefiting from the emotional programming you are receiving, and if not when you should leave.
I really doubt that YCombinator is a cult, if it were you'd see the leadership ordering founders to give up their own projects and work on projects the leadership favours and ratcheting up the share of equity demanded, and generally see people getting taken advantage of. And if it were seriously going wrong you'd see ostracism and megalomania.
Re: YC is a cult
#44This guy is presumptuous, ill informed and appears to have a thing for blanket statements. Hi, I'm currently in YC for the summer. Although I certainly don't speak for everyone in YC, I think I'm somewhat more qualified than the author who has never been in the program and who apparently receives his information from blog posts and hearsay. Most of his assertions apply to startups or any intense forms of collaboratio…
Fellow Ohioan (still there) here. Want to work independently in some capacity or another on a programming project but I don't really seem to be brimming with ideas. Any particular ways you utilize to be inspired for project ideas?
If you can't come up with any good ideas, lower your standards for what you consider "good". The #1 reason people can't come up with good ideas is that they're afraid to try.
Re: YC is a cult
#45This guy is presumptuous, ill informed and appears to have a thing for blanket statements. Hi, I'm currently in YC for the summer. Although I certainly don't speak for everyone in YC, I think I'm somewhat more qualified than the author who has never been in the program and who apparently receives his information from blog posts and hearsay. Most of his assertions apply to startups or any intense forms of collaboratio…
You know, one of the common characteristics of people who have been brainwashed (by a cult or otherwise) is that they absolutely do not believe that they have been brainwashed, and will fight that suggestion with all their strength, coming up with never-ending explanations for why they haven't been brainwashed at all!
Re: YC is a cult
#46He 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.
It's not just for the money, I agree. But the money is surely a part of it. Imagine if they gave you the same chance to "change the world", but said, we'll keep 90% of your equity.
Isn't that what VCs do?
Re: YC is a cult
#47This guy is presumptuous, ill informed and appears to have a thing for blanket statements. Hi, I'm currently in YC for the summer. Although I certainly don't speak for everyone in YC, I think I'm somewhat more qualified than the author who has never been in the program and who apparently receives his information from blog posts and hearsay. Most of his assertions apply to startups or any intense forms of collaboratio…
> "They receive unconditional love, acceptance, and attention from a charismatic..." You should have been at my team's first meeting; it was like this, but the opposite. Informal founder feedback sessions have been similar. The carebear environment the author described wouldn't work anyway - the VCs would destroy us. Actually most accounts of actual cult experiences describe a never-ending cycle of harsh criticism in…
Ha yeah I was just using hyperbole to prove a point. The truth of the matter is it's been somewhere in between.
Re: YC is a cult
#48- People are put in physically or emotionally distressing situations; - Their problems are reduced to one simple explanation, which is repeatedly emphasized; - They receive unconditional love, acceptance, and attention from a charismatic; [sic] - They get a new identity based on the group; - They are subject to entrapment (isolation from friends, relatives, and the mainstream culture) and their access to information…
Come on now, let's not go overboard here and compare YC to the Manhattan Project or Apollo missions. Doing a start-up is hard work, but we're talking about a slightly different scale here.
Why do you think starting a company is less demanding than being a member of the Manhattan Project or Apollo teams?
"Scale" is exactly the right word -- Apollo didn't happen because one person worked more insanely hard than anyone else had worked in the history of the universe. It was a large project with a lot of people (and a lot of science). Yes, a lot of them worked hard. But please, measure effort on a human scale. It doesn't matter whether you're starting a company or developing a new technology for space travel -- if you're pouring your whole life into it, the same psychological conditions can apply.
Re: YC is a cult
#49Four parts ridiculous, one part true.
1. Young and inexperienced? That's the point. This is how you gain experience. Impressionable? Another word for "quick learners".
2. Sacrificing happiness? Not if it feels good to work on something you believe in.
3. Sacrificing creativity? Since when is it not creative to create a new business?
4. "18 hour days for two straight months" -- from the point of view of "hard work," big deal. Good stress makes you stronger. You're alive all 18 hours anyway -- if you believe in what you are doing, and you take care of yourself along the way, then all that effort can actually add to your energy levels.
5. But the key line is "if you take care of yourself." The effects of sleep deprivation (and eating shit for food) are real. If think and act as though you're invincible, you really can burn out, and that is http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=69097">a hellish experience.
Re: YC is a cult
#50Linkbait, and not even original. People were calling pg a cult leader years ago.
I, for one, welcome our new YC overlords