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Can India be next Y Combinator destination?

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Can India be next Y Combinator destination?

#41

Post by budu3 »

rsdighe wrote: post #7
jey wrote: post #5

Probably not, but YCombinator could be an Indian's next destination. I don't think India has the startup culture nor tech culture etc that is enjoyed by America. (neither does Europe, apparently) sabhishek - You should apply to a YC funding cycle. Deal with the visa issues later! (but not too late)

i asked the same question to google's chris sacca -- i was wondering what could be done to have a Y combinator sort of a thing in India. he shared a similar opinion to what ur saying, in india the entrepreneurial culture is a little missing + in addition he thought indians were very good at backend stuff and not necessary in aesthetics. it might be debatable you don't need the whole of indian IT engineers god in aest…

"Entrepreneurial culture" missing in India? I beg to differ. Indians have an entrepreneurial culture that has been cultivated for years due to their unique set of circumstances. Must Indians are self-employed and have a very self reliant attitude. I think what you meant was "Tech-startup culture".

Re: Can India be next Y Combinator destination?

#42

Post by budu3 »

The US might be the most favorable environment for tech startups but it is not the only breeding ground for great tech startups. South Africa (Ubuntu Linux), India (Hotmail), Brazil (Orkut), Sweden/Denmark (Skype), China (Maxtheon browser) and the list goes on.

Re: Can India be next Y Combinator destination?

#43

Post by ralph »

The advantage of the US seems to be a large pool of candidates can move freely between states. The other place I can think of like that is the EU where a resident is allowed to work in another country without requiring a visa, etc. The differing cultures of the EU's countries is an extra benefit.

Re: Can India be next Y Combinator destination?

#44

Post by rsdighe »

plinkplonk wrote: post #32
rsdighe wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i do believe that something Y combinator could be the early initiators of change, of course the startups are flaky but I wonder why google can hire top talent in bangalore and something like guruji cannot build a better search engine?? it can't be lack of talent ? zoho is based in pleasanton if i am not wrong its just owned by indian that hardly makes it a Indian startup. anyways it doesn't have to be Y Combinator i…

"I wonder why google can hire top talent in bangalore and something like Guruji cannot build a better search engine?" Ha but that was my point. The really good guys prefer to work for companies (and mostly emigrate to America) rather than start their own companies in India . Guruji can't build a better search engine because they aren't as good as the folks who work on Google's Search Engine. hint: that (kind of core…

what i meant was that if google can get good people, a incubator with a strong backer like sabeer bhatia who is known in india should attract lot of good talent.

in any instance, I find your arguments to be all true in the present but not necessarily forward looking - we all know that india in good in certain things and not in another. i have heard similar arguments when i moved to UK that people are not entrepreneurial but look deep enough and you find enough evidence that there is change happening they aren't just out their thumping that we have done this or that.

- the question to be answered is what has to change to make it a reality !.

Re: Can India be next Y Combinator destination?

#45

Post by plinkplonk »

jey wrote: post #40
plinkplonk wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

an average Indian programmer gets significantly more. the average salary for someone just out of school is about 1200 $ /month (in Bangalore, as of today). Companies like Google pay much more.

Yes, but I think he's asking about lower-bounds on money needed to survive while starting a startup. When you're starting a startup, you can't afford an opulent lifestyle. In the US, a programmer would make a lot more than $6000 per 3 months, but YC only gives you about $6k to $7.5k per person, and this money is expected to sustain you past the 3 month YC program until you get external funding. A programmer in the US…

very good point! I missed that totally! I should know better than to type when sleepy!

Re: Can India be next Y Combinator destination?

#46

Post by pg »

sabhishek wrote: post #16
pg wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly what I was thinking...

Can you consider persons who could telecommute ? Thanks a lot for responding.

What YC does, we have to do in person. Kind of like a university. So founders have to at least be able to get here for the 3 months. They could return to their home country after that, but they'd be more likely to succeed if they stayed in the US-- partly because it's a better environment for startups, and partly because it would be easier for us to help them.

Re: Can India be next Y Combinator destination?

#47

Post by falsestprophet »

pageman wrote: post #30

I don't think there's enough visas at the moment (even without YCombinator getting into the fray)

I bet you could get creative enough with the law to allow foreigners to work without a proper visa.

I am not a lawyer but I imagine if the team can get a tourist visa for three months, their new company was incorporated off-shore, in Ireland or the British Virgin Islands, and paid them in their home countries in advance for three months work that they could live in the Bay Area and participate fully with the added bonus of lower corporate taxes.

Or everyone could go to jail.

Re: Can India be next Y Combinator destination?

#48

Post by nrohan »

I guess IIT Powai had started KRSIT course for this sort thing. Although, it seems thats not very much successful.

Anyway, the main reason as already stated is that such people land in US rather than in India to become rich!

And even if someone builds such product in India, US is the main market to sell it. Selling the product remotely is not that easy!

Re: Can India be next Y Combinator destination?

#49

Post by sabhishek »

pg wrote: post #46
sabhishek wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you consider persons who could telecommute ? Thanks a lot for responding.

What YC does, we have to do in person. Kind of like a university. So founders have to at least be able to get here for the 3 months. They could return to their home country after that, but they'd be more likely to succeed if they stayed in the US-- partly because it's a better environment for startups, and partly because it would be easier for us to help them.

Thanks for the comment pg. I will apply for the next YC funding cycle,and will bother about the Visa and all after getting called :-).

Re: Can India be next Y Combinator destination?

#50

Post by bluishgreen »

akkartik wrote: post #15
jsjenkins168 wrote: post #2

This is answered in the YC FAQ: http://ycombinator.org/faq.html

Do you mean the question about YC in your town? If so, not quite. Moving to a different town to start a startup is just a test of commitment. Moving to a different country, though, dilutes the test with a bunch of bureaucratic stuff.

Kartik, Right on the mark! You haven't seen ugly until you have seen buracrazy, but you've got to do what you've got to do! :)
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