91–100 of 105 posts
Whole article about Y Combinator and not a peep about us. I think the first two rules of YC are "you do not talk about HN."
There is a multi-thousand word article about HN in the New Yorker...so seems like covered territory: https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/th...
This thread is somewhat depressing. Depressing because the very nature of YC and HN at its best is optimism. A belief in the ability to build and not just a respect for those who do but a genuine desire to support those trying. Maybe not succeeding, but trying to create something in a world so set on making that difficult. It that always morally perfect: no. Does that always work: no. But, at its best, YC operates mo…
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Is there a way to enjoy the benefits of AirBnB without those pathologies? Governments, either locally or nationally, could issue AirBnB rental licenses, limit the supply to prevent gross gentrification, and tax the income and use it to subsidise housing costs elsewhere in the affected locations.
Y Combinator managed to convince startups that would have been founded anyway to give up expensive equity to them. I'm not sure they would have failed without YC. Put another way, if you take a piece of every startup on the planet, can you claim influence if some of those startups eventually succeed?
This is similar to the idea that it doesn't matter where you go to college - because the things that get you into top X schools are the same traits that correlate with success afterward. This paper is a study that makes that argument: https://www.nber.org/papers/w7322 (disclaimer - I only read the abstract) Also - in fairness to YC - there are a staggering number of companies that are started every year. I don't have…
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AirBnB is an interesting case. On its face it seems socially rational, given that many rooms are unused or heavily under-used, to match them with people who want rooms in that location. The problem is, of course, that it increases rental profiteering, and that it caters to rich international tourists, not residents. Is there a way to enjoy the benefits of AirBnB without those pathologies? Governments, either locally…
If I have a property, I can choose to let someone stay at my property for money. AirBnB facilitates this. This makes my property valuable as a result. The homeowners benefit as do people who need a place to stay. This is progress and occurs any time anyone creates a product or technology that creates value. What pathologies? Homes rightly appreciating in value due to a new revenue stream opened up for homeowners?
It's news to me that Livingston retired. Wikipedia doesn't seem to have gotten the memo which makes me feel better about not knowing. I no longer try to follow what she's up to but I used to be intensely curious about her career.
I was fortunate enough to be a fly on the wall the first couple of years of YC. A handful of incredible people, but honestly JL seemed to me to be the glue that held it all together.
The psychological aspects of young YC are the parts I want to hear more about.
IIRC, I read that Jessica is an excellent judge of character, and Paul has some kind of spidey sense about technical founders.
In addition to everything else, of course.
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Wait... how was the username "ford" never used on HN until now?
HN is a pretty small community. There are ample dictionary word usernames left. https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=generalmotors https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=usually https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=fucking https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=sucks https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=although https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=their https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=hummers https://news.ycombinat…
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HN is a pretty small community. There are ample dictionary word usernames left. https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=generalmotors https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=usually https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=fucking https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=sucks https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=although https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=their https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=hummers https://news.ycombinat…
Surprised more of these haven't been snatched up yet, some of them are really pretty. Although tough has been registered for five years.
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HN is a pretty small community. There are ample dictionary word usernames left. https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=generalmotors https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=usually https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=fucking https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=sucks https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=although https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=their https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=hummers https://news.ycombinat…
Surprised more of these haven't been snatched up yet, some of them are really pretty. Although tough has been registered for five years.
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Measuring simply by how well those who have it worst is a much better metric. A world where all people have it terrible is a bad world. A world where everyone has it at least okay is a much better world. There are downsides to inequality, but a metric that counts "everyone is miserable" as a success is an awful metric.
No, because 'well' is then relative to what the 'haves' think it should be for those who have it worst. Which will result in a very large underclass who are deemed to have it 'well' and a small upperclass who have it 'amazing'. The alternative is not a world where people have it terrible, it could also be a world where everybody has it good and to strive every day to make it better still. Note that you are likely in…
No, my metric is chosen over yours because mine is not relative. I don't care how well the worst off had it compared to other people. I care how well off they are. This means that in order to make the world better, the only option is to improve the lives of the worst off.
> Note that you are likely in the top 10% of wealth on this planet at the moment and we're talking about those 90% further down, a very large fraction of which doesn't even qualify for 'sufficient' under the current system.
Hence the focus solely on making them better off. Doesn't matter how well off Elon Musk is if it doesn't improve the lives of those in need.
> but your reading of my comment is incomplete.
Your comment was one sentence. I read the whole thing. If you meant something else, you gotta say it.
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I was fortunate enough to be a fly on the wall the first couple of years of YC. A handful of incredible people, but honestly JL seemed to me to be the glue that held it all together.
Ya. I would have loved being on that wall with you. The psychological aspects of young YC are the parts I want to hear more about. IIRC, I read that Jessica is an excellent judge of character, and Paul has some kind of spidey sense about technical founders. In addition to everything else, of course.
Disclaimer: Trevor was my boss at a robotics company he founded.