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Is Y Combinator worth the money?

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#41

Post by chimineycricket »

itsoktocry wrote: post #36
hassy wrote: post #25

Did YC S21 which was an all remote batch. my 2c. YC is 100% what you make of it. It's not a lean back experience. I did not meet most of the companies in my batch but I've gotten to know many founders through YC that I would not have otherwise. Founders that have been source of advice and support. Network of clients - yep don't go into YC expecting to sell to other YC cos. It is easier to get warm intros through the…

> Some of the advice I did not take and did the opposite and it was the right decision. And some advice that I did not take was exactly right, but I only saw it in retrospect months later. Sometimes their advice is right, and sometimes it's wrong? That doesn't sound particularly valuable. > Fundraising - being a YC company definitely opens doors, and also helps protects you from bad actors who have to think twice bef…

You can't expect them to be oracles though, right? Even the most experienced can give not-good-enough business advice, they don't do it on purpose I imagine.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#42

Post by yaseer »

We did W21, and whilst the point that 'remote Most of the YC network effects occur after demo day. Likewise, most of the socialising occurs after demo day, as during the batch companies have little time to socialise. You get out of the network what you put in.

Similarly, with YC partner advice - it depends on how you utilise it. To be honest, we probably under-utilise the partners (we made most of our stupid startup mistakes pre-YC). But looking at batch-mates I've seen companies attribute pivotal decisions to YC advice, particularly during funding rounds.

I'd liken it a college experience - you won't be spoon-fed like you were in preschool. You must be self-directed to be successful, and there's always someone smarter and more successful than you to learn from.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#43

Post by mikekij »

I have minimal contact with YC these days, and have no particular motivation to artificially inflate the value of the program.

YC was transformational for my company (MedCrypt). I have almost zero negative things to say about it, and would do it again immediately with my next company (despite probably not needing help raising the first $500k for a company).

I can't think of a situation where I would recommend a company not accept a spot in YC.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#44

Post by strangattractor »

hassy wrote: post #25

Did YC S21 which was an all remote batch. my 2c. YC is 100% what you make of it. It's not a lean back experience. I did not meet most of the companies in my batch but I've gotten to know many founders through YC that I would not have otherwise. Founders that have been source of advice and support. Network of clients - yep don't go into YC expecting to sell to other YC cos. It is easier to get warm intros through the…

VC's have pitched their "value added" other than funding forever. I suspect it is no different with YC. From my own limited experience as a startup founder VC's can be detrimental as well as helpful. Ultimately if they provide a stable source of funding and lend credibility to your venture consider yourself lucky. The valuations are just a reflection of the mood of the day.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#45

Post by moremetadata »

chimineycricket wrote: post #41
itsoktocry wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Some of the advice I did not take and did the opposite and it was the right decision. And some advice that I did not take was exactly right, but I only saw it in retrospect months later. Sometimes their advice is right, and sometimes it's wrong? That doesn't sound particularly valuable. > Fundraising - being a YC company definitely opens doors, and also helps protects you from bad actors who have to think twice bef…

You can't expect them to be oracles though, right? Even the most experienced can give not-good-enough business advice, they don't do it on purpose I imagine.

[dead]

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#46

Post by rhtgrg »

YC used to be for people who investors wouldn’t normally take a chance on…and imo, it still is. If you have a FAANG attached to your name with multiple years of experience, you can probably find better deals elsewhere. YC has done a relatively good job of scaling themselves, but it has never been a “one size fits all” funding solution, and if you are a founder you’d be wise to consider your options carefully.

That being said, removing the relocation requirement was a big mistake — it was partially a forced move, but it’s not at all surprising that you get a significantly degraded founder experience if you are not in SF.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#47

Post by dtagames »

danenania wrote: post #31
aatd86 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or maybe they have learnt that investors due-diligence is about the hard facts and not sentiment? Not everyone is a good story-teller either so to avoid the confounding charm factor, just be as boring and straight to the point as possible? Which should also keep every startup of their batches on equal footing and hopefully mitigate the hype factor? Not defending them, just me brainstorming about what could be plausib…

I think the rationale here is "be so good they can't ignore you". While advanced fundraising skills could potentially help someone to raise without first making a great product that people demonstrably want, nailing product and early growth sufficiently well makes fundraising achievable even for founders who are notably lacking in the charm and storytelling departments.

Here again, I think the complaint is the opposite. He's saying that if you have traction already, you don't need YC. You're further along than what they offer. They are there to help people who have no traction and no metrics and no money.

The sad thing is that the hype cycle is more important than the product delivery. Many huge investments are made on products that have nothing delivered. It's more BS than we'd like to admit. My own product failed in the market because I focused on the MVP and making it real and not on getting hype out and using that to get money.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#48

Post by [deleted] »

itsoktocry wrote: post #40
ahstilde wrote: post #17

I did YC in W21 in NYC. I was not allowed to meet people in large groups until April (after the batch). I disagree with each and every one of these ratings and conclusions. Firstly, the comparison should be "Is the alternative to YC worth it?" For many companies, the alternative is raising nothing and bootstrapping, or raising at significantly lower valuations. Additionally, I believe founders approach YC the wrong w…

> They are there to give you access to hundreds of exceptional founders Define "exceptional"? Is that major exits above a certain valuation? YC has hundreds of these?

[deleted]

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#49

Post by rhtgrg »

ahstilde wrote: post #17

I did YC in W21 in NYC. I was not allowed to meet people in large groups until April (after the batch). I disagree with each and every one of these ratings and conclusions. Firstly, the comparison should be "Is the alternative to YC worth it?" For many companies, the alternative is raising nothing and bootstrapping, or raising at significantly lower valuations. Additionally, I believe founders approach YC the wrong w…

YC will absolutely coddle you if you manage to become one of their “darling” startups, just like any other incubator or VC firm.

That’s the type of thing that you have to earn, and if you earn it you don’t need it.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#50

Post by pbhjpbhj »

itsoktocry wrote: post #36
hassy wrote: post #25

Did YC S21 which was an all remote batch. my 2c. YC is 100% what you make of it. It's not a lean back experience. I did not meet most of the companies in my batch but I've gotten to know many founders through YC that I would not have otherwise. Founders that have been source of advice and support. Network of clients - yep don't go into YC expecting to sell to other YC cos. It is easier to get warm intros through the…

> Some of the advice I did not take and did the opposite and it was the right decision. And some advice that I did not take was exactly right, but I only saw it in retrospect months later. Sometimes their advice is right, and sometimes it's wrong? That doesn't sound particularly valuable. > Fundraising - being a YC company definitely opens doors, and also helps protects you from bad actors who have to think twice bef…

>>Some of the advice I did not take and did the opposite and it was the right decision. //

FWIW that does not mean the advice was wrong. Trivial example: "head East, there's a great bakery there", "I went West and found a place for a lovely lunch".

Unless the parent elucidates (and maybe even then) you can't tell if the advice was right or wrong.

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