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Y Combinator Unloads Massive New Batch of Start-Ups

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Re: Y Combinator Unloads Massive New Batch of Start-Ups

#41

Post by dbingham »

I'd be interested to see how much traction Science Exchange[1] is going to get. As someone who grew up in a family of scientists and who has been involved in the scientific community for a long time, I've got to say, my gut reaction is revulsion at the whole concept. Outsourcing experiments to the cheapest bidder? 99designs for science? I feel a really powerful revulsion.

I can't see any of the many scientists I know outsourcing their work. It beats the point! Maybe for the corporate science industry -- where they just need to perform certain tests as cheaply and quickly as possible, and with a preferred result if possible -- it could gain some traction. But I don't see this gaining anything in the universities. Or rather, perhaps I hope it doesn't.

[1] http://scienceexchange.com/

Re: Y Combinator Unloads Massive New Batch of Start-Ups

#42

Post by pg »

"The other distinction is that Y Combinator didn’t let investors snag any participants early, as it previously has."

We don't have any power to stop companies from taking investment. Nor would we want to, especially in these uncertain times. We usually encourage companies to take money before DDay if a legit investor makes them an offer that doesn't require a lot of negotiation.

What we did differently this time was that we didn't hold an event we have in the past called Angel Day, at which we introduced startups early to a select group of angels. We found this was turning into a de facto early Demo Day, and that was bad because it was causing the startups to be pushed into fundraising mode early.

Re: Y Combinator Unloads Massive New Batch of Start-Ups

#43

Post by [deleted] »

tejaswiy wrote: post #39
jessep wrote: post #15

Saw demo day yesterday and it was pretty awesome. Lots of interesting startups, and the way Paul & co. coach teams to present is fun to watch. They really make what they're doing seem exciting. It's also kinda like bingo to figure out what the the common phrases they're coached to use are. This batch it seemed common to have some really awesome accomplishment such as "8 bajillion users within 3 seconds of launch," be…

I think I'm most excited by Codeacademy and Parse. I'm hoping to try out Parse with my next project. Parse: Beta invites please!

[deleted]

Re: Y Combinator Unloads Massive New Batch of Start-Ups

#44

Post by jsun »

thesnider wrote: post #29

WTH? I just tried out DebtEye, and without warning or confirmation, they scheduled me for a call with some sort of debt consultant, which happened despite me immediately replying to their email (sent from support@debteye.com) requesting both that they not try to contact me by phone, and that they delete my account. They have failed on both counts thus far. Badly done, I say! Badly done indeed.

We don't see a call schedule for you or any calls from us in the past. The email was likely just an automated email from the system before we processed your email to support. Don't worry, we won't actually call you:)

Re: Y Combinator Unloads Massive New Batch of Start-Ups

#45

Post by jsun »

thesnider wrote: post #29

WTH? I just tried out DebtEye, and without warning or confirmation, they scheduled me for a call with some sort of debt consultant, which happened despite me immediately replying to their email (sent from support@debteye.com) requesting both that they not try to contact me by phone, and that they delete my account. They have failed on both counts thus far. Badly done, I say! Badly done indeed.

Oops, apologies for that, it looks like one of the reps picked up your account before seeing your email to support. Your account has been deleted.

Re: Y Combinator Unloads Massive New Batch of Start-Ups

#46

Post by thesnider »

jsun wrote: post #44
thesnider wrote: post #29

WTH? I just tried out DebtEye, and without warning or confirmation, they scheduled me for a call with some sort of debt consultant, which happened despite me immediately replying to their email (sent from support@debteye.com) requesting both that they not try to contact me by phone, and that they delete my account. They have failed on both counts thus far. Badly done, I say! Badly done indeed.

We don't see a call schedule for you or any calls from us in the past. The email was likely just an automated email from the system before we processed your email to support. Don't worry, we won't actually call you:)

Strange. I definitely got a call from someone claiming affiliation with y'all that referenced info about the plan DebtEye generated at 8:19PM Eastern today (8/23). The number was a chicago number that ended in 0969, and asked me to call back at (866) 771-3511. I hate talking to people on the phone, and had you not called me, I'd have considered using your service.

Re: Y Combinator Unloads Massive New Batch of Start-Ups

#47

Post by pg »

dbingham wrote: post #41

I'd be interested to see how much traction Science Exchange[1] is going to get. As someone who grew up in a family of scientists and who has been involved in the scientific community for a long time, I've got to say, my gut reaction is revulsion at the whole concept. Outsourcing experiments to the cheapest bidder? 99designs for science? I feel a really powerful revulsion. I can't see any of the many scientists I know…

Academic researchers already outsource about 2% of their experiments.

It's not driven by laziness, but by one institution having facilities or expertise that another doesn't. Often it's simply a way for universities to share machines so expensive that they can't all afford one of their own.

Re: Y Combinator Unloads Massive New Batch of Start-Ups

#48

Post by rorrr »

BadCookie wrote: post #33
thesnider wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry, I don't get it then -- is the plan to force me to enter one before visiting a site? Or are they just display ads with text fields?

You can't see whatever content it is that you are trying to access until you enter the code. The examples on their web site make it pretty clear: http://doublerecall.com/

I don't see how any sane site would block its content with an ad.

Re: Y Combinator Unloads Massive New Batch of Start-Ups

#49

Post by tanitall »

timcederman wrote: post #34
thisisfmu wrote: post #27

a few more were listed previously but for some reason no longer appear in the article: Hiptic: Stylish, single page websites for everyone. http://www.hiptic.com/ Pingm: Phone systems for sales teams. https://www.pingm.net/ Yardsale: Local mobile peer to peer commerce. http://getyardsale.com/ BentoBox: We bring CRM directly into your inbox. http://www.getbentobox.com/

Those companies are meant to be off the record.

once posted, it's kind of late to remove already

Re: Y Combinator Unloads Massive New Batch of Start-Ups

#50

Post by [deleted] »

pg wrote: post #47
dbingham wrote: post #41

I'd be interested to see how much traction Science Exchange[1] is going to get. As someone who grew up in a family of scientists and who has been involved in the scientific community for a long time, I've got to say, my gut reaction is revulsion at the whole concept. Outsourcing experiments to the cheapest bidder? 99designs for science? I feel a really powerful revulsion. I can't see any of the many scientists I know…

Academic researchers already outsource about 2% of their experiments. It's not driven by laziness, but by one institution having facilities or expertise that another doesn't. Often it's simply a way for universities to share machines so expensive that they can't all afford one of their own.

[deleted]
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