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How to get into Y Combinator

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Re: How to get into Y Combinator

#21

Post by brlewis »

jonpaul wrote: post #19
pg wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish I could say it means a lot if you don't make it to the interview stage, because that would imply we're really good judges. But unfortunately we know we miss a lot of good applications. We have thousands of applications to read, and not much time to do it in. It's difficult for us to distinguish between applications that are genuinely weak, and those where the founders just don't present themselves very well.

Couldn't the point be made that those founders who don't present themselves well, might have a bit more trouble presenting their startup to customers? i.e. They can't sell themselves well, so it could be argued that they might have trouble selling the benefits of their startup to customers? Thoughts?

Good point, but there are still two ways YC could miss good applicants: (1) they present themselves better in some other medium that customers care about, or (2) they don't know how to sell yet, but have an aptitude for learning to sell.

That said, I don't know how the YC application process could be changed to catch either of those situations.

Re: How to get into Y Combinator

#22

Post by huangm »

abstractbill wrote: post #16

We want to fund founders that are going to be successful. I love Y Combinator, and I'm proud to be a part of it, but I've been thinking a lot about this recently... Many many organizations exist, whose purpose is to filter people who want to do something down to the few percent who are most likely to succeed at that thing, and then to help those people get even more likely to succeed at it. But that seems like it's a…

It depends on your view of what makes the world a better place.

For tech startups, the distribution of world-changing impact probably closely follows the distribution of investment returns. If it's extremely bimodal, then it makes sense to concentrate on generating big wins.

Re: How to get into Y Combinator

#23

Post by larrys »

alexhaefner wrote: post #7

My friend (and co-founder) and I have applied for winter 2012. Even if we don't get in, I don't think it will change much of who we are, or what we're driven by. But I guess my biggest question has been this: In the event that we (any anyone else going through this process) don't get in, how hard should we spend thinking about that? And what I mean is, every time I've done something I spend some amount of time evalua…

One thing you should do is update your HN profile to include links and other info. I'm sure I'm not the only one who reads HN who is looking to fund people regardless of yc application. I did check out alexhaefner.com but not much is there. If you have something to say make it easy to find. Also if your domain is alexhaefner.com get rid of bluehost as the registrant and put it in your name.

Re: How to get into Y Combinator

#24

Post by nhangen »

My partner and I are applying, but like others have said, we're not betting the farm on it. If we get accepted, great, if not...well, we keep doing what we're doing, which is make software.

We just want to have an opportunity to work on our idea full-time.

Re: How to get into Y Combinator

#25

Post by sskates »

jonpaul wrote: post #19
pg wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish I could say it means a lot if you don't make it to the interview stage, because that would imply we're really good judges. But unfortunately we know we miss a lot of good applications. We have thousands of applications to read, and not much time to do it in. It's difficult for us to distinguish between applications that are genuinely weak, and those where the founders just don't present themselves very well.

Couldn't the point be made that those founders who don't present themselves well, might have a bit more trouble presenting their startup to customers? i.e. They can't sell themselves well, so it could be argued that they might have trouble selling the benefits of their startup to customers? Thoughts?

Yes, those two things are correlated, although they are not the same. I imagine based on what pg said that there are startups that are great in every respect except how they present themselves to YC.

Re: How to get into Y Combinator

#26

Post by larrys »

I think part of the issue with focusing on applying to YC is the filter. It is much easier to get a job or get funded if you are not competing with others and are only evaluated on your own merits. (Or to get a date for that matter. Would you rather be in a room competing with other guys/gals or just on your own making a pitch?)

To many people decide to line themselves up and be compared. It can make more sense to separate from the pack and be creative and pitch other likely sources.

It's not about getting into YC. It's about getting your idea off the ground and getting funded. If all you have is the wherewithal or creativity to apply to YC or Techstars etc you aren't an entrepreneur.

I got a job in tech years ago at a valley company that I was in no way qualified for by getting in an airplane and flying to a trade show in CA to walk the floor and meet with sales managers. I had no competition. Even though I was only marginally qualified for any position at this company I got a job.

Re: How to get into Y Combinator

#27

Post by pg »

abstractbill wrote: post #16

We want to fund founders that are going to be successful. I love Y Combinator, and I'm proud to be a part of it, but I've been thinking a lot about this recently... Many many organizations exist, whose purpose is to filter people who want to do something down to the few percent who are most likely to succeed at that thing, and then to help those people get even more likely to succeed at it. But that seems like it's a…

It depends how hard the problem is. In an introductory writing class, you get maximum utility by letting anyone in. Whereas a graduate math class will usually have pretty stiff prerequisites; the median undergraduate would get zero benefit from such a class.

Startups are more like a graduate math class. Most people aren't suited to it.

Also, I think your numbers are off. We're not funding people whose chance of succeeding is 90%. I doubt anyone starting a startup has a 90% chance of succeeding. We'd be delighted if our success rate was as high as 50%. Maybe we're bumping people's chances up from 30% to 40%.

Re: How to get into Y Combinator

#28

Post by OpenAmazing »

abstractbill wrote: post #16

We want to fund founders that are going to be successful. I love Y Combinator, and I'm proud to be a part of it, but I've been thinking a lot about this recently... Many many organizations exist, whose purpose is to filter people who want to do something down to the few percent who are most likely to succeed at that thing, and then to help those people get even more likely to succeed at it. But that seems like it's a…

Accept that it's more like taking someone that has a 10% chance of success and moving them to 20%.

Most of the applicants to YC have a near zero percent chance of success. With or without help.

Re: How to get into Y Combinator

#29

Post by sskates »

abstractbill wrote: post #16

We want to fund founders that are going to be successful. I love Y Combinator, and I'm proud to be a part of it, but I've been thinking a lot about this recently... Many many organizations exist, whose purpose is to filter people who want to do something down to the few percent who are most likely to succeed at that thing, and then to help those people get even more likely to succeed at it. But that seems like it's a…

Success isn't binary. YCombinator is more like a multiplier on your success than anything else. It's like if you were going to be a 50 million dollar company, YCombinator can make you a 100 or 200 million dollar company. If you weren't going to succeed in the first place, YCombinator isn't likely to make a difference.

Re: How to get into Y Combinator

#30

Post by [deleted] »

abstractbill wrote: post #16

We want to fund founders that are going to be successful. I love Y Combinator, and I'm proud to be a part of it, but I've been thinking a lot about this recently... Many many organizations exist, whose purpose is to filter people who want to do something down to the few percent who are most likely to succeed at that thing, and then to help those people get even more likely to succeed at it. But that seems like it's a…

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