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How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

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Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#81

Post by tetomb »

sjtgraham wrote: post #48
CaveTech wrote: post #9

Honestly I don't get it. While the story is cool, it really just seems like you're comfortable blowing several thousand dollars on what, lets be honest, is a very, very unlikely chance at securing a domain name. I know this story speaks of SV culture in some way; huge risk, huge rewards and the idea that no one can stop you. If the venture pays off, it makes you a hero. If it doesn't, well you get a cool story. But y…

Quite a lot of people seem fixated with the money aspect. Not that I feel the need to defend myself and how I spend my own money, but I used the trip as a holiday too. After reading some of these comments I wish I went to the beach instead!

I think the issue that people are picking up on is that if that is how you spend your own money, it is likely that you will spend company money in the same way making you a riskier investment.

I know my comments haven't been full of praise but I enjoyed your post and it seems you have the personality that is needed for success.

Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#83

Post by [deleted] »

nekopa wrote: post #65
snowwrestler wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would think a more impressive effort at hustling would be to find a (more readily) available domain name, then focus on building such a great product that it works anyway. IMO the story shows great hustle but poor prioritization. Domains don't matter that much. One of YC's most successful graduates is airbnb after all. That domain is basically nonsense, but the product is so good, now it's their own special nonsens…

I thought airbnb meant "air bed 'n breakfast" which makes complete sense for their product.

[deleted]

Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#84

Post by ldn_tech_exec1 »

wilfra wrote: post #29
Irregardless wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He flew from London to NY and showed up at their office uninvited only to find out the CEO was in Aspen. After spending countless hours stalking the guy and hundreds (or thousands) on a plane ticket, he missed by 2,000 miles... If that happened to me, I'd be too embarrassed to repeat that story even to a group of close friends, let alone tout it as my proudest "life hack".

Most people would agree you with you. But that doesn't make you, or them, correct. You should learn to embrace failure as a completely normal and natural part of success, instead of fearing it. This story, and the fact that he is proud of it, is evidence that he gets that. I have no idea who this guy is but if I could buy stock in his future right now, I would. I can't say the same for anybody who reads this and thin…

"I have no idea who this guy is but if I could buy stock in his future right now, I would. I can't say the same for anybody who reads this and thinks he's foolish."

- best comment in the thread so far

Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#85

Post by chollida1 »

paulsutter wrote: post #50
CaveTech wrote: post #9

Honestly I don't get it. While the story is cool, it really just seems like you're comfortable blowing several thousand dollars on what, lets be honest, is a very, very unlikely chance at securing a domain name. I know this story speaks of SV culture in some way; huge risk, huge rewards and the idea that no one can stop you. If the venture pays off, it makes you a hero. If it doesn't, well you get a cool story. But y…

Good domains are valuable, so a few thousand pounds is a small amount to risk. Zap.com is a really good domain. His approach was smart. A billionaire is too busy to discuss the sale of a domain, but if you do manage to catch his interest, he may well give it to you free/cheap because it isn't an asset he spends time worrying about. I love the conservative objections here. Stunts like this only work if most people are…

> A billionaire is too busy to discuss the sale of a domain, but if you do manage to catch his interest, he may well give it to you free/cheap because it isn't an asset he spends time worrying about.

From what I read, it was the hedge fund not the billionaire that had the domain.

if that's the case, then the problem is that the fund is carrying the domain on their books for some value, say $100,000.

If they give it away for "free/cheap" then they report a loss of $100,000 to not only their investors but also themselves, presumably they are invested in their own fund:)

no one is going to let someone else at the fund just give away $100,000 of gains.

Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#86

Post by ldn_tech_exec1 »

stephengillie wrote: post #27
Murkin wrote: post #23

tl;dr; 1. Spent lots of time and money(thousands of pounds) trying to meet with CEO of hedge fund just to get one of the domains in their portfolio. 2. Failed. 3. Explained that he is co-founder of twillio europe. 4. Used above story as some kind of self proof of ability 5. Decided that he failed YC interview because of a silly mistake 6. Drew lots of lessons and conclusions. yawn

I'm kind-of amazed at how much this person was willing to spend at the drop of a hat. I see someone carelessly jumping on planes, spending thousands of dollars without blinking, and I start to wonder if the person may be bipolar and experiencing a manic episode.

I'd really appreciate if the next person to reply thinks about what they're about to say before they say it.

Ask yourself, would you say this to Stevie's face? If the answer is no, move on. If the answer is yes, I'm sure he'd oblige.

For the record, Stevie is one of the most talented and well respected members of the UK tech community, so once again, think before you comment.

Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#89

Post by sjtgraham »

sturt wrote: post #18
CaveTech wrote: post #9

Honestly I don't get it. While the story is cool, it really just seems like you're comfortable blowing several thousand dollars on what, lets be honest, is a very, very unlikely chance at securing a domain name. I know this story speaks of SV culture in some way; huge risk, huge rewards and the idea that no one can stop you. If the venture pays off, it makes you a hero. If it doesn't, well you get a cool story. But y…

Spot on. Seem to have forgotten to address the 'to your advantage' bit in the question. It's a bit rash jumping on the first plane out before even sending out a speculative email to find out if they'll disclose a price tag for it, which can be budgeted for at a later date.

Obviously send an email to /dev/null, er I mean the proxy email address on the whois, but is me adding that worthy of your time? Also the post states I tried contacting people via LinkedIn and telephone before jumping on a bird. Did you read it?

Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#90

Post by steve120818 »

pplante wrote: post #15
brador wrote: post #12

Anyone got a TLDR on this? It looks interesting, but I don't have the minutes to read it to get the juice.

tl;dr: guy wanted domain zap.com, owned by a hedge fund. he tried emailing and calling people there with no luck. he decided to spend many thousands of dollars flying from london to NYC to meet with CEO. got shot down again, ended up getting email to CEO by blindly bccing different formats, CEO asked for business plan. domain is still owned by hedge fund.

I recall it from his comments to ' YC Rejection Emails Are Out "

'A lot of people do that, and unsurprisingly some people (maybe all) working at YC do not appreciate it. Personally I would advise against it and think of a different way to get to the partners, n.b. Instacart, rather than show up to YC when everyone is extremely busy and putting YC staff in difficult positions." Now just think what he did with hedge fund manager ?.

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