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Y Combinator and Power in Silicon Valley

commoncog.com

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Re: Y Combinator and Power in Silicon Valley

#51

Post by thierrydamiba »

worksonmymach wrote: post #17
cj wrote: post #6

If you’re wondering what to take away from this article: the simple take away is that YC has the power to get what it wants, for the companies it wants. If you happen to be in YC’s good graces, they will reward you in ways described in the article. If you’re not, they won’t take the time. I was in YC in 2012 (2 yrs after the founder writing this article, and one of the last years PG was directly involved). By that ti…

I'd love to know who "wins" in a scaled YC vs. the oceanic tide that is the SP500 and it's capital sucking and brain sucking ways. A Google can stop 10000 potential startups simply with RSUs and cap another 10000 by buying them out (which is kinda good for YC but not really... they'd rather own a chunk of a Google).

I think you’re vastly underestimating how hard it is to pick winners and stifle competition.

Using your logic, if it was so easy why didn’t Google stop OpenAI? Meta? Perplexity?

Re: Y Combinator and Power in Silicon Valley

#52

Post by Gud »

thierrydamiba wrote: post #51
worksonmymach wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love to know who "wins" in a scaled YC vs. the oceanic tide that is the SP500 and it's capital sucking and brain sucking ways. A Google can stop 10000 potential startups simply with RSUs and cap another 10000 by buying them out (which is kinda good for YC but not really... they'd rather own a chunk of a Google).

I think you’re vastly underestimating how hard it is to pick winners and stifle competition. Using your logic, if it was so easy why didn’t Google stop OpenAI? Meta? Perplexity?

Maybe they killed a hundred similar companies and those three slipped through?

Re: Y Combinator and Power in Silicon Valley

#53

Post by brudgers »

cj wrote: post #6

If you’re wondering what to take away from this article: the simple take away is that YC has the power to get what it wants, for the companies it wants. If you happen to be in YC’s good graces, they will reward you in ways described in the article. If you’re not, they won’t take the time. I was in YC in 2012 (2 yrs after the founder writing this article, and one of the last years PG was directly involved). By that ti…

for companies YC likes and believes in post-accelerator. YC definitely discriminates from that perspective- they choose which startups they think have the most promise during any given batch, and they give those founders preferential treatment.

Based on what I’ve read, this seems backwards, I think YC chooses founders with the most promise and gives their companies preferential treatment because promise is only the ability to do things.

But I could be wrong and probably am.

Re: Y Combinator and Power in Silicon Valley

#54

Post by brudgers »

michaelt wrote: post #16
cj wrote: post #6

If you’re wondering what to take away from this article: the simple take away is that YC has the power to get what it wants, for the companies it wants. If you happen to be in YC’s good graces, they will reward you in ways described in the article. If you’re not, they won’t take the time. I was in YC in 2012 (2 yrs after the founder writing this article, and one of the last years PG was directly involved). By that ti…

> How else can you scale an accelerator? I mean, you could delegate the scaling to the startups you're investing in. If I'm gambling at the horse races, should I bet $100 on every horse to make my gambling scalable and diversified, because I don't feel I can pick winners with any reliability?

Even on their best day a punter is still a punter. The money in horse racing is in breeding.

Re: Y Combinator and Power in Silicon Valley

#55

Post by pjmorris »

I recently read 'The Power Broker', Robert Caro, which describes how Robert Moses came to acquire power over park, road, bridge, and tunnel construction in New York City and State for over 40 years. There are strong parallels with the story here.

Re: Y Combinator and Power in Silicon Valley

#56

Post by lr4444lr »

ec109685 wrote: post #3

The way YC closed ranks was my favorite anecdote from Chaos Monkey’s. I always find it interesting though YC leaders are extremely against cancel culture, but when it comes to business, its okay to threaten that someone will never work in the valley again if they don’t accede to their demands.

A cartel protecting its interests is not cancel culture.

Re: Y Combinator and Power in Silicon Valley

#57

Post by 0xDEAFBEAD »

LittleTimothy wrote: post #33
0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Standing against cancel culture is not the same as standing against social sanctions in any way, shape, or form. The problem with cancel culture is not that it's a social sanction. The problem is it's a particularly dysfunctional sort. "They're against cancel culture... so why didn't they invite me to their house party? What hypocrites!"

I think the difference between cancel culture and just freedom of association is the difference between "I don't want to work with you because of X" and "I'm going to influence others not to work with you because of X". Whether that be anons on twitter calling up your employer to get you fired, or PG having a quiet work with his friends over at some VC firm, they're both the same strain of toxic.

I think there may be a few other differences. For example, are people ever given the opportunity to change their behavior before the sanction gets applied? Does the punishment fit the crime? Is there public shaming involved? Do we default to public shaming anyone who says a word in defense of the person who is being sanctioned? (I would say that's the single most pathological feature of cancel culture, actually.) Are the rules constantly shifting in line with social media fashions? Are our judgments carefully considered, or are they based on shallow pattern matching?

Cancel culture applies to discussions of policy in the public square. The idea is that certain views should be silenced. You can be a believer in free speech, and disagree that those views should be silenced. And then you can work to punish malicious actors in Silicon Valley who violate important investing norms. I just don't think there's a contradiction!

Re: Y Combinator and Power in Silicon Valley

#58

Post by worksonmymach »

fallingknife wrote: post #42
worksonmymach wrote: post #14

Commoncog hits a home run again. This is fascinating. It is more Suits than Suits. Showing how strategy > law when fighting a case. But also the interesting fraternity (not all boys of course) that YC is. Feels like the only other place you would see it is organized crime or corrupt politics where you then owe a favour. But that isn't what it is here. I guess it is about honour.

It's not particularly interesting. YC relies on people who leave their employers to found startups. Companies tend not to like employees leaving to start their own companies and often sue them over it, which is 99% of the time meritless and nothing more than bullying. It is in YC's interest to use its resources to prevent this bullying because it both sends the signal to other companies that they would be unwise to t…

That is what makes it very interesting! I think you have said not interesting when you may have meant explainable. If it is boring, who else does this?

Re: Y Combinator and Power in Silicon Valley

#59

Post by RGamma »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #48
kmmlng wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's important to distinguish between two directions here: 1) can someone figure out who I am based on my profile and 2) can someone find my profile if they know who I am. I care much more about the second, because the odds of someone attempting the second are much higher.

Well, back when I was looking for work, a couple of companies asked for my HN handle (actually, it's one of the reasons that I got an account, here). It was fairly obvious, that I would not be considered, if I didn't have one.

That explains a lot.

Re: Y Combinator and Power in Silicon Valley

#60

Post by rsp1984 »

> Adchemy named each of AdGrok’s co-founders personally in the suit, meaning that if they lost, the founders would be personally liable. The amounts involved in the suit effectively meant that all three co-founders would have been financially ruined.

I've been there too. Named personally. I think most people don't realize how stressful and damaging this is. In most cases it's because there's some kind of well-intentioned but vaguely formulated law or act that, if real events are twisted by just the right amounts, would apply and imply personal liability.

From that point on the game that the litigators play is to try and shoehorn each and every of your past statements or actions to fit the law in question and your job is to find as much evidence to the contrary, which might go many years back. In records that you almost certainly no longer have. While running a company.

This practice of putting founders personally in a lawsuit is an absolute disgrace and it needs to stop. The damage done by vague laws and litigators who ruthlessly exploit them are a very large multiple higher than any of the benefits that could possibly be derived from them. The only winners in this game are the law firms.

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