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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

#341

Post by skeeter2020 »

tdfirth wrote: post #336
_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…

This was not my experience. I have no degree, I'm not American, and I applied back in October 2021 about 3 hours before the dead line and filmed my application video from a coffee shop. I didn't have a good network. I didn't have a product yet. I was accepted first time. As you say, a lot of YC founders don't have a real business yet, but they're not there because they're well connected. They're there because YC thin…

>> They're wrong most of the time but it's a numbers game.

I'm not sure you meant to communicate this VERY important point, this is a huge reason NOT to do YC.

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

#342

Post by d4704 »

_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…

Congrats! These are great stories to hear.

Our team has build a business without venture capital in a space where it’s commonly sought after.

Instead we did find a strategic partner in the industry who invested earlier on but then later we established a venture banking relationship and credit facility.

I had almost no idea the options that existed so wanted to post some ideas here for anyone reading.

Venture Capital is one source of funding. So is Growth Equity or even private equity —- but different from “venture”. It sounds like you’re past the “venture” stage anyway.

We’re paying about ~9% interest on a multi-million credit facility now from a bank (several other banks will do this type of lending - not just SVB I also learned along the way recently). There is also minimal warrant coverage provided of 1-1.5% equity which we are happy with.

Some names of banks who are lending - just a few names but wanted to share some ideas as alternatives to venture capital, especially if you have revenue:

* Texas Capital Bank * Cambridge Trust * East West Bank * Bridge Bank

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

#343

Post by ant6n »

threeseed wrote: post #53
datascienced wrote: post #8

Another (is this bogus?) reason for not applying is I am not in the US and would prefer not to migrate there due to family. Can a founder do YC with minimal time in USA or even do it remotely.

You don't need to migrate to the US. But I believe you do need to be there with your co-founders for 3 months. And if you can't manage that then running a VC backed startup isn't what you should do. Because you will need to visit customers and it's often not feasible to just fly to/from constantly.

What if all my customers are in Europe?

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

#344

Post by rfrey »

itsoktocry wrote: post #339
_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…

This inclination to "raise funds" is so foreign to me. VCs may tell you all the magic they can do for you, but at the end of the day you're trading ownership in your company for money (that you can't get elsewhere). You are running a profitable business, why play that game?

To go faster. You trade part of your company (and your freedom) for time. Maybe as a profitable startup in one part of the US, for example, you could use reinvested earnings to spread into the rest of the US in 5 years, then Europe in another 5 years. Perhaps with VC funding you could do the same in 3 years rather than 10.

Not my first choice, but neither is it irrational.

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

#345

Post by skeeter2020 »

apsurd wrote: post #45
999900000999 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had ambitions of cranking out an MVP and pitching it to VCs in my late 20s. After a year of solid rejection ( including YC not even responding), I gave up. You end up spending alot of time trying to pitch your work. I've had a few idea guys expect me to build MVPs for free with an offer of like 1% or something silly like that. Never any pay, poorly thought out concepts. I've accepted I'm never going to be rich, it'…

The filters are self-fulfilling. For twenty-somethings ideas are easy and all opportunity is in front. Might as well swing for the fences and yes people do hit home runs. At this stage, debating the actual statistics is misguided use of energy. Because justifying a reason not to play still means you're not playing. And the older you get the more gray this calculus is. There's more reasons not to do something. We put…

I turned 50 this year and have one moderately successful startup experience as a co-founder about 8-10 years ago, but if I do another (which I'm considering) it will either be bootstrapped or I'll look for funding out of my personal network vs. the VC path. This is probably aligned with YC as well; far more than the education expectations in their signalling is (generous interpretation) that they'll trade experience for youthful ambition.

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

#346

Post by kang »

skeeter2020 wrote: post #341
tdfirth wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was not my experience. I have no degree, I'm not American, and I applied back in October 2021 about 3 hours before the dead line and filmed my application video from a coffee shop. I didn't have a good network. I didn't have a product yet. I was accepted first time. As you say, a lot of YC founders don't have a real business yet, but they're not there because they're well connected. They're there because YC thin…

>> They're wrong most of the time but it's a numbers game. I'm not sure you meant to communicate this VERY important point, this is a huge reason NOT to do YC.

This is not a reason not to do Yc, but to not take the if rejection seriously

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

#347

Post by smabie »

_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…

Sounds like cope. The downside of applying is like.. close to zero? It's obviously +EV

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

#348

Post by algorias »

skeeter2020 wrote: post #341
tdfirth wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was not my experience. I have no degree, I'm not American, and I applied back in October 2021 about 3 hours before the dead line and filmed my application video from a coffee shop. I didn't have a good network. I didn't have a product yet. I was accepted first time. As you say, a lot of YC founders don't have a real business yet, but they're not there because they're well connected. They're there because YC thin…

>> They're wrong most of the time but it's a numbers game. I'm not sure you meant to communicate this VERY important point, this is a huge reason NOT to do YC.

or still do it, but know that YC's incentives and yours are pointing in different directions. Sometimes taking their advice is good for both of you, sometimes it is only good for them.

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

#349

Post by lelanthran »

dang wrote: post #39
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…

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.

Does it have to be US citizens, living in the US?

How about a native South African, born in SA?

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