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Is Y Combinator worth the money?

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#231

Post by rco8786 »

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…

> Sometimes their advice is right, and sometimes it's wrong? That doesn't sound particularly valuable.

That’s how all advice works.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#232

Post by JohnFen »

aflag wrote: post #211
JohnFen wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The way I read your post, saying you "can get" very valuable advice immediately followed by saying some advice was wrong undermines that "can" pretty solidly. I disagree. Getting advice from subject matter experts is almost always of great value. The chances of that advice being on-target for you are never 100%, but that doesn't mean the advice is without value. It just means that it's not infallible. In the end, a…

100% right is likely impossible, but the way it was written it made it sound as if it was right 50% of the time, which is essentially the worst you can do. Anything below or above that is valuable. Obviously, the closer to 0% or 100% the better.

> the way it was written it made it sound as if it was right 50% of the time

Ah, I see. I didn't interpret it that way at all!

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#233

Post by digging »

dang wrote: post #170
walleeee wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> All of them are solid, kind, high-quality people, the likes of which you are unlikely to meet in the regular world. This attitude may have something to do with the skepticism we low-quality people out in the regular world may harbor for the Silicon Valley startup sphere

> we low-quality people out in the regular world I understand how easily this feeling can arise. It may not be obvious but we spend a lot of energy on HN trying to mitigate it. I don't want a high-status-insider vs. low-status-outsider dynamic on HN. One thing I'd like to tell you is that as someone who came from little class privilege and a geographically provincial place, and had zero connection to the "Silicon Val…

maybe my brain is sleed-deprived but this doesn't feel great to me either. can we not be high quality people without those connections, regardless of how those connections might be made easier for the rare individuals who participate in YC?

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#234

Post by mritchie712 »

rsp1984 wrote: post #182
dang wrote: post #144

It's true that YC will tell you over and over to (1) work on your product and (2) talk to users. Those are the "make" and "people" in "make something people want". If you want to focus on marketing tricks / media hype / "content" / that kind of thing, you're going to hear the above repeatedly, since those are neither (1) nor (2). For my part this reflects well on YC. In fact it's a little reassuring to hear that this…

Appreciate the chime-in and honesty. > If building a valuable product, talking to users, and focusing on facts sounds good to you, you should consider applying to YC. Also being perfectly honest, it does sound very appealing, but I'm afraid it unfortunately just isn't what makes startups successful in 2023. Speaking from personal experience and carrying the battle scars.

building a valuable product doesn't make you successful in 2023? Please, elaborate.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#235

Post by testmasterflex »

dang wrote: post #154
ethbr0 wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think parent's (and OP's) point was that YC was more valuable for investing and strategy, but less valuable for finding customers. And since customers are the most difficult part now (because 10-15 players), it adjusts the relative value of something that doesn't help you acquire customers. IOW, the differences between a "build it and they will come" historic era and a "make me care about you" modern one.

YC has never taught "build it and they will come" – they give plenty of advice and encouragement to find customers and will add, er, kinetic energy if you're not actively on that. That's a huge focus. This, however, not so much: > "You basically need 1-2 full time staff doing nothing but content creation and social media outreach marketing" If that's the way you're thinking, YC's going to try to change your mind, and…

What’s your startup Dang? :)

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#236

Post by madmask »

dtagames wrote: post #3

Interesting quote: Even when it came to fundraising, all the YC’s advice came down not to how to raise smarter and more, but to the fact that everyone needs to follow their simple framework, not try to shine too much, not try to choose the right words, wash off all the makeup, put on a gray uniform, and present dry facts—how much money customers already paid you, what the size of the market, if you count all the unit…

A “beautiful wrapper” of bs. I think the makeup would smell fishy to investors, and that they would appreciate clear hard facts PLUS the vision.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#237

Post by acecreamu »

alexashka wrote: post #162
rvnx wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to the contract, in exchange of 375K USD (+/- salary for 1.5 developer) you agree to this when you sign the MFN: == If the Company issues any Subsequent Convertible Securities with terms more favorable than those of this Safe (including, without limitation, a valuation cap and/or discount) prior to termination of this Safe, the Company will promptly provide YCombinator with written notice thereof, together…

Can someone explain this like I'm 5? What does this mean in practice?

It means that MFN will likely convert very fast, and these 375k will cost you more dilution than you might want otherwise. Or you have to play very fancy sheningans convincing other investors who wanted to be early to wait, just to postpone it and decrease its dilution.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#238

Post by jschveibinz »

hdivider wrote: post #186
rsp1984 wrote: post #90

Their logic can be understood: make a good product, and the rest will catch up. But in real life marketing and hype really matters, and when everyone does these things while you naively sit and code, they get an advantage in the market, and you get your cool product. I sometimes get the feeling, also by watching their public content on YT, that a lot of YC advice, especially w.r.t. what to prioritize, is from an era…

I think we are definitely in a new era. My view: entrepreneurs should take on a little more technology risk. Not just market risk. License IP from federal labs and government agencies -- there is SO much advanced tech sitting on shelves. Do government contracting to fund R&D. Go beyond just software, especially the SaaS kind, because ultimately, software can only make so much difference in society. Investors don't li…

You are describing a moat, and it is indeed important. I’ll step up on the soapbox for a moment…

A moat can be unique technology, an exclusive licensing agreement, an exclusive IP (patent or otherwise), very unique experience or insight, an exclusive geographic location, a very unique business model, a very unique skill and/or reputation, etc.

Follow the leader seems like a plan, but it’s probably not a good plan unless you have tons of money to spend on marketing and sales.

In my previous home city, someone opened a bake shop with coffee that was targeted at the growing Korean population. It was unique: Korean pastries, Korean friendly faces, great coffee, etc. They probably invested $100k in opening this shop. It became very popular. Then, in about nine months, five more copycat shops opened up within a mile or two of this store. Result: business went way down for all of them. They all lost revenue, and they all invested a lot of money.

Software is prone to this kind of copycat behavior. The thinking goes like one of these two sequences:

1. People like software—>I write software—->People like [note apps, for example]—>I can write a note app in a week—->I’ll start a SaaS business

2. I write software—->I think [fill in the blank] is cool—>I will write an app for [that] in a week—->I’ll start a SaaS business

Writing software is not a differentiator. It’s not a shortcut to big bucks. It’s not a solution in itself. It’s just a tool. Anything you can write in a week (or 3 months) can be done by 100,000 other people—-in a week (or 3 months).

You have to start with a problem, defined by a large group of people, that you have the experience and expertise to solve in a unique and valuable way. Software may be part of that solution, but it’s just a fraction of the whole pie. You need to think about the whole solution—-and the moat. It may take 5 to 10 years to develop your moat. Be patient and be observant.

Good luck.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#239

Post by wanderingmind »

testmasterflex wrote: post #225
hdivider wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we are definitely in a new era. My view: entrepreneurs should take on a little more technology risk. Not just market risk. License IP from federal labs and government agencies -- there is SO much advanced tech sitting on shelves. Do government contracting to fund R&D. Go beyond just software, especially the SaaS kind, because ultimately, software can only make so much difference in society. Investors don't li…

Can you give any example of such “advanced technology”?

For example, there is significant IP around additive manufacturing beyond plastics that are sitting as a squatting duck with national labs and universities that can be leveraged

Re: Is Y Combinator worth the money?

#240

Post by tptacek »

testmasterflex wrote: post #235
dang wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

YC has never taught "build it and they will come" – they give plenty of advice and encouragement to find customers and will add, er, kinetic energy if you're not actively on that. That's a huge focus. This, however, not so much: > "You basically need 1-2 full time staff doing nothing but content creation and social media outreach marketing" If that's the way you're thinking, YC's going to try to change your mind, and…

What’s your startup Dang? :)

Dan and Scott Bell did Skysheet.
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