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Tell HN: Ever think of applying to YC? Do it this weekend for S24

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Re: Tell HN: Ever think of applying to YC? Do it this weekend for S24

#161

Post by dang »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #117
dang wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the highest probability of growing at 5% per week minimum I don't think this is a helpful frame, because you can't know this in advance, and I'd hate for anybody to read something like this, feel "I have no idea what could grow 5% per week minimum", and close the page on getting started. No one knows this in advance. What YC teaches is to start by making something a few people actually want, no matter how small it…

That’s a good point. Thank you. Happy one-decade anniversary, by the way. I just noticed https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/meet-the-people-taking-over... was almost exactly 10 years ago. The trouble with your frame is that you can’t know what people actually want until you try to get them to use what you’ve built. There’s a sort of chicken and egg problem here: you have to think of an idea first, before you build anyt…

I would work on what I was most passionate about. Which btw is also the advice that pg and Jessica (specifically Jessica in this case) gave at their last YC talk, and you can't get more YC than that.

Re: Tell HN: Ever think of applying to YC? Do it this weekend for S24

#162

Post by dang »

GMoromisato wrote: post #144

My co-founder and I have applied twice and been rejected twice, and we don't regret it. There is no real downside to applying. In fact, as others have said, applying helps you to refine how you pitch your startup. The only negative is that there's a 99% chance that you will be rejected, and rejections can hurt. But being able to deal with rejection is important in itself.

Rejection sucks, it's true. But one thing a lot of people don't know is that the chance of being accepted to YC goes up with repeated applications. I even think most founders who YC funds get rejected before they get accepted. (I may be wrong about most* but certainly it's a large chunk.)

The main thing is to demonstrate progress since your last application.

* Edit: I asked the team and got back: "most is true! for w24 companies, 58% had applied previously"

Re: Tell HN: Ever think of applying to YC? Do it this weekend for S24

#163

Post by alephnerd »

tempusalaria wrote: post #115
bdjsiqoocwk wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't they ask drop out from Harvard or something? It's a bit disingenuous to say that.

Steve Jobs went to an obscure private school called Reed which seems to be something he became obsessed with due to LSD. Zuck and Gates both dropped out of Harvard after founding their companies.

Reed is a great liberal arts college. Very intense and quirky academic culture, and being in Portland OR lends to an amazing college town vibe.

Sometimes I wish I went there instead of my Alma mater.

Re: Tell HN: Ever think of applying to YC? Do it this weekend for S24

#165

Post by dgfitz »

Rapzid wrote: post #63
dang wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm with you and wish that we were more careful with this sort of signaling risk. However, there are tons of college dropouts and uncredentialed software people who make it in to YC. What I'm basically trying to tell everyone, and hoping to convince a few, is: don't listen to any of this, just do it.

I'm also with you! Just wanted to share my experience in case it helps as a data point. Gates, Jobs, and Zuck all famously dropped out of college of course. It's an interesting and tricky social dynamic matching within and between these somewhat distinct groups.

So did Elizabeth Holmes.

Re: Tell HN: Ever think of applying to YC? Do it this weekend for S24

#166

Post by threeseed »

jacobwg wrote: post #126
bdjsiqoocwk wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I mean, I didn't even graduate college :P Yes, but did you go to one of those colleges where dropping out is even better than graduating? Because most of us didn't even get the chance to drop out of one of those.

Not that I'm aware of, no, just the local state school. My impression of the YC application process was that it was way more holistic than just educational background.

YC approval process is pretty much this:

- Do I even understand your idea.

- Have you talked to customers.

- Am I impressed in your use of time.

- Do I believe that your team is capable of delivering.

- Is it a good idea.

Most people can't get past the first two but obsess over the last two.

Re: Tell HN: Ever think of applying to YC? Do it this weekend for S24

#167

Post by sillysaurusx »

dang wrote: post #161
sillysaurusx wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a good point. Thank you. Happy one-decade anniversary, by the way. I just noticed https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/meet-the-people-taking-over... was almost exactly 10 years ago. The trouble with your frame is that you can’t know what people actually want until you try to get them to use what you’ve built. There’s a sort of chicken and egg problem here: you have to think of an idea first, before you build anyt…

I would work on what I was most passionate about. Which btw is also the advice that pg and Jessica (specifically Jessica in this case) gave at their last YC talk, and you can't get more YC than that.

Did they?

It’s surprising because your description can’t possibly be a recipe for generating startup ideas. pg was most passionate about lisp. There must be more to it than what you said.

I try not to dismiss ideas out of hand, but this seems like bad advice for someone explicitly trying to become wealthy. It’s great advice for YC to be giving, because it would maximize YC’s returns over decades: if everyone works on what they’re most passionate about, YC would get a flood of applications from exactly the type of people most likely to be effective founders. But for every passionate founder that chooses to build Stripe, there are dozens who would choose to work on programming languages, or game engines. “Passion project" is practically synonymous with an artist not intending to make money.

Even if today you were most passionate about spreadsheets, would you really choose to build skysheet again?

It’s impossible to imagine pg writing "If I wanted to start a startup, I would work on what I was most passionate about, since it’s the most likely way I’d succeed." The sentence seems mistaken, so pg must have said something more precise.

Re: Tell HN: Ever think of applying to YC? Do it this weekend for S24

#168

Post by dgfitz »

jasperstory wrote: post #95
Rapzid wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The LinkedIn page for a lot of these companies showing you "Where they studied" can be a bit intimidating. Chockablock with Stanford and Ivy League. I was filling out the Co-Founder matching service application and it has a required text area for education. The placeholder text examples? Standford MS in Comp Sci, NYU BS in Physics. As a college dropout with "some college" but a 14+ year career in systems/software eng…

Just finished W24 batch with no Ivy/FAANG background. Everyone I met in our batch was very friendly, curious, and razor-sharp. Many people have credentialed backgrounds, many people do not. I generally buy YC’s justification that many of the smartest people happen to go to Stanford/Ivy which is why they are over-represented.

I don’t think you can make that argument in good faith: “many of the smartest people happen to go to Stanford/Ivy”.

I think you _can_ say that many smart people go to Stanford/Ivy.

Re: Tell HN: Ever think of applying to YC? Do it this weekend for S24

#169

Post by ganeshkrishnan »

anilmr wrote: post #135

I am on a h1b visa and can't really work anywhere outside of my primary employment due to visa restrictions. Has anyone with the similar profile gotten into YC? and if so how did you make it work with all the legal blockades of h1b?

it's not their problem. If you have issues or any issues or they smell any issues, you will be rejected. Too many people take VC/YC personally but try to put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself if your startup would be worth it. Your answer will be their answer

Re: Tell HN: Ever think of applying to YC? Do it this weekend for S24

#170

Post by dang »

anilmr wrote: post #135

I am on a h1b visa and can't really work anywhere outside of my primary employment due to visa restrictions. Has anyone with the similar profile gotten into YC? and if so how did you make it work with all the legal blockades of h1b?

I'm no expert but I've been hanging around YC for a long time and have the consistent impression that when it comes to visa issues, something can nearly always be done. If I were you I'd just apply and mention in the form that you'll need help with this. If it's the kind of application YC would fund, they're not going to turn you down for this reason.
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