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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

#191

Post by _akhe »

loceng wrote: post #44
_akhe wrote: post #23

Re: "won't get in" How do I balance this encouraging advice with everything I've heard online about YC basically being a post-Ivy League thing? Seems like there's basically a 0% chance a random person would get into YC. And often those who did get in went to Stanford, Harvard, etc. and don't even have a product - sometimes they don't even know what they're going to build yet. I wrote the idea of VC stuff off long ago…

Also understand the VC industry is inherent with learning from the ideas submitted to them as part of curating deal flow; and it's common for them to justify it with a mantra that ideas are supposedly not worth anything, and it's all about execution. When and who to share ideas with - and any market traction you may have as proof points there's an opportunity - is possibly the most important part of executing, and wh…

> VC industry

Well said, and you reminded me to be more careful about what I share haha

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

#192

Post by dang »

dimmke wrote: post #134
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.

Just curious, I was filling out my profile and it says Education History required. Normally that means college experience. I only did one year at a local community college. Should I just put that? My cofounder is attending a well respected school though.

Sure why not? If I were you I'd try not to worry too much about what will/won't seem good—what YC is pattern-matching for is usually quite different than what people assume.

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

#193

Post by andrewstuart »

After applying last time without success, I tried again this time but this time just did it super quick without investing too much time and effort.

I figure if it’s a good idea they’ll be interested and if not we’ll then I won’t have invested too much time in it.

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

#194

Post by dang »

ganeshkrishnan wrote: post #151
_akhe wrote: post #23

Re: "won't get in" How do I balance this encouraging advice with everything I've heard online about YC basically being a post-Ivy League thing? Seems like there's basically a 0% chance a random person would get into YC. And often those who did get in went to Stanford, Harvard, etc. and don't even have a product - sometimes they don't even know what they're going to build yet. I wrote the idea of VC stuff off long ago…

>how it becomes the next $100M household name Unfortunately this is too low for a VC/YC. The min valuation they are looking for is around $1B

That's not so. At the last YC talk I attended, founders of $100M startups were cited as successes (anything else would be pretty weird, no?) That's incredibly successful, even though startup investing is a power-law game.

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

#195

Post by anilmr »

dang wrote: post #170
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.

thank you, I will take your advice and apply!

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

#196

Post by jasperstory »

_akhe wrote: post #174
jasperstory wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> the smartest people happen to go to Stanford There's no way this is even possible, let alone true. This might be a hot take but if you're under the age of 25, it's likely that you know very few things total. And the things you do know, you're just not going to have a master level of understanding of in your 20s yet nor the drive to focus on it the way it needs, especially with other social pressures at play. What i…

Ah sorry for clarity I didn't mean "currently attend", and agree "smartest" here was probably excessively casual.

I think there's different benefits at different ages, and agree on importance of determination and obsession. A good market is the only thing that might be more useful.

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

#197

Post by dang »

rapfaria wrote: post #88

I wonder if there is any rules now for funded folks coming to one's linkedin saying "Hey, thank you so much for starring {{insert here YC-AI repo}} on github, that means a lot" when one's never even heard about them before.

I don't know but that sounds bad.

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

#198

Post by dang »

radix7 wrote: post #136
dang wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need a marketable idea. YC cares about founders and that's it. Everything else can be taught. But you're absolutely right that that is on the short list of bogus reasons not to apply.

>You don't need a marketable idea Seems like most of the application is describing your idea.

Many of them turn out not to be marketable, though, and that doesn't necessarily count against you. It's not the high-order bit—the high order bit is the founders. Ideas can and do change.

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

#199

Post by dang »

wizcaps wrote: post #113

Re the “won’t get in” point.. We applied a few years ago. I won’t lie, I was sad and disappointed we didn’t get in, but even more so because our application was just ignored. Left a very bad taste in our mouths. I won’t again spend days on an application to have it be ignored. Since then, we have been grinding away at the same business and it’s now making 7 figures, giving us the perfect life of a 20% YoY growth busi…

> our application was just ignored

The only way that would happen is a bug. YC always responds to applicants. Rejections usually aren't personalized because that can't scale—but not hearing back at all should never happen. If you want me to look into what might have happened there, I'd be willing to try if you email hn@ycombinator.com.

Congratulations on your success in any case!

(I'm breaking the rules by copying https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40092169 here, sorry but I want to make sure this is clear.)

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

#200

Post by dang »

sovnwnt wrote: post #150
dang wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally get it as video is anathema to me too, but I think you're drawing exactly the wrong conclusion. YC doesn't care about any social commonplaces (personality, dress, etc.). They just want a sense of who you are as a potential founder. A lot of what might be considered 'negatives' in more conventional contexts aren't negative at all in the YC context, and might actually help an application. p.s. YC is definitel…

You make a compelling argument as usual. Even with all the questions, it's not a lot of effort, you're right. I apply for the diversity visa every year and that's more work for maybe, oh about the same chance of success? > I don't know where you got that idea Admittedly I haven't seen a large percentage, but of the founders I've seen speak, all of them had a certain charm. Granted, there's a bias where people with th…

> but of the founders I've seen speak, all of them had a certain charm. Granted, there's a bias where people with these personalities put themselves out to be seen.

Correct, and also, people change over time as they learn and become more comfortable in a role. The difference in some founders' confidence even between the start and end of a YC batch (only 3 months) can be striking. That isn't true of everyone, of course, and it's fine if it's not.

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