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I've been rejected from Y Combinator 3 times. Here's why

jon.surfscore.com

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Re: I've been rejected from Y Combinator 3 times. Here's why

#21

Post by itafroma »

dvt wrote: post #16

Most of the comments have (thus far) had quite a snotty attitude regarding the OP's very directed attempt to try and get into YC. I have a different opinion. I don't buy the "do whatever your passion is" bullshit. I just don't. I think that people that win are people that WANT to win. Of course, some times you see some guy who's passion was building boats all his life (or something) and he happens to get on CNN and g…

The question I have is "Win what?" There's no doubt getting into YC is a feather in one's cap. But for what purpose? What's the plan here? That's what struck me as surprising in this story. "I want to be a YC startup to say I was a YC startup and I'll do anything to get it" doesn't make a lot of sense. If you aren't, to use your terminology, leveraging that for something bigger that you already had your heart set on, why go through all the effort?

Re: I've been rejected from Y Combinator 3 times. Here's why

#22

Post by sherm8n »

One way to look at getting into YC is like a marketing channel. They help you shape your startup into something that looks fundable. The press will get you eyeballs. But it's still up to you to successfully convert those eyeballs into paying customers. Your startup won't just magically become successful.

Re: I've been rejected from Y Combinator 3 times. Here's why

#23

Post by dvt »

itafroma wrote: post #21
dvt wrote: post #16

Most of the comments have (thus far) had quite a snotty attitude regarding the OP's very directed attempt to try and get into YC. I have a different opinion. I don't buy the "do whatever your passion is" bullshit. I just don't. I think that people that win are people that WANT to win. Of course, some times you see some guy who's passion was building boats all his life (or something) and he happens to get on CNN and g…

The question I have is "Win what ?" There's no doubt getting into YC is a feather in one's cap. But for what purpose? What's the plan here? That's what struck me as surprising in this story. "I want to be a YC startup to say I was a YC startup and I'll do anything to get it" doesn't make a lot of sense. If you aren't, to use your terminology, leveraging that for something bigger that you already had your heart set on…

> The question I have is "Win what?"

I was fairly explicit: VC and media coverage. YC is much (much) more than a feather in one's cap. Most astute start-uppers understand that exceedingly well. That's why YC is so competitive.

Re: I've been rejected from Y Combinator 3 times. Here's why

#24

Post by geekymartian »

itafroma wrote: post #5
SurfScore wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to clarify, we initially decided to work together because she's an excellent designer and I can't design for shit. I just thought it might help our case.

Ah, thanks for clarifying: I read the last sentence in paragraph 3 as you had brought her on to improve your YC application.

"I thought having a female co-founder might help, but alas, YC isn’t like college admissions, and demographics don’t help your application" <-- that doesn't came out very good actually. I don't see any explanation about the skills of your co-founder. Seems like an strategic addition, which doesn't look good either.

Re: I've been rejected from Y Combinator 3 times. Here's why

#25

Post by sfrechtling »

tteerraann wrote: post #15
ldh wrote: post #6

This highlights part of the HN/YC culture that just doesn't resonate with me at all. I like coming up with creative ideas and working on fun stuff, but it seems totally backwards to me to repeatedly try to conjure a startup out of thin air in the hopes of getting funded. One of the parts that gave me pause was the idea of somebody furiously learning programming to facilitate building an app to teach others to program…

I have always been a bit confused by this also. I think I am most likely missing something here, but I've thought about this a lot and can't figure it out. Overall, I think YC and friends provide a net gain to society, encouraging entrepreneurial ideals and bringing a few really great ideas to fruition. But for the rest... I don't know. This is certainly not universal, but it seems like a bunch of YC funded startups…

My impression of the focus on exiting is that it represents the highest profile "winning" that a startup can achieve - it gets media time, [edit: possibly] large amounts of cash and validation from others that the idea and business is "good". Growth is unique while an exit is even more unique.

Re: I've been rejected from Y Combinator 3 times. Here's why

#26

Post by pg »

I wish people wouldn't treat us like an oracle that can predict startups' success. If only. The fact is we read applications fast and make plenty of mistakes.

One thing YC has taught me is that this must be true of practically every application process. For some reason, both the people who are accepted and rejected in any application process tend to read too much into it. (Is there a name for this phenomenon?)

Re: I've been rejected from Y Combinator 3 times. Here's why

#27

Post by bherms »

wallflower wrote: post #20
bherms wrote: post #7

This all seems so misguided. "I'm going to come up with something so I can get into this club and I'm going to sit in protest until they let me in! And if that doesn't work, I'll just keep trying." Reminds me of Rudy... Instead of working on an idea in hopes of getting into YC, focus on an idea/market you care about and don't give a shit whether you get into a special "cool kids" club. That will get you a hell of a l…

> Reminds me of Rudy... In case you did not get the reference, the story of Rudy is a famous, sensationalized true story of the power of perseverance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_Ruettiger

I often take for granted that most other people in the world didn't grow up in Indiana

Re: I've been rejected from Y Combinator 3 times. Here's why

#28

Post by tunesmith »

itafroma wrote: post #21
dvt wrote: post #16

Most of the comments have (thus far) had quite a snotty attitude regarding the OP's very directed attempt to try and get into YC. I have a different opinion. I don't buy the "do whatever your passion is" bullshit. I just don't. I think that people that win are people that WANT to win. Of course, some times you see some guy who's passion was building boats all his life (or something) and he happens to get on CNN and g…

The question I have is "Win what ?" There's no doubt getting into YC is a feather in one's cap. But for what purpose? What's the plan here? That's what struck me as surprising in this story. "I want to be a YC startup to say I was a YC startup and I'll do anything to get it" doesn't make a lot of sense. If you aren't, to use your terminology, leveraging that for something bigger that you already had your heart set on…

There's something to be said for having a clear goal, but there's also something to be said for establishing the conditions such that when you do identify your goal, you're in a better position to be able to meet it. Years ago, people weren't doing MBAs at Harvard because they already had a business plan. It was because it made it more likely they'd succeed later one when they had their plan.

Re: I've been rejected from Y Combinator 3 times. Here's why

#29

Post by [deleted] »

pg wrote: post #26

I wish people wouldn't treat us like an oracle that can predict startups' success. If only. The fact is we read applications fast and make plenty of mistakes. One thing YC has taught me is that this must be true of practically every application process. For some reason, both the people who are accepted and rejected in any application process tend to read too much into it. (Is there a name for this phenomenon?)

[deleted]

Re: I've been rejected from Y Combinator 3 times. Here's why

#30

Post by RKoutnik »

pg wrote: post #26

I wish people wouldn't treat us like an oracle that can predict startups' success. If only. The fact is we read applications fast and make plenty of mistakes. One thing YC has taught me is that this must be true of practically every application process. For some reason, both the people who are accepted and rejected in any application process tend to read too much into it. (Is there a name for this phenomenon?)

Yes, it's known as the "Spotlight Effect."

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlight_effect

- http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-big-questions/201111...

We humans tend to assume that everyone sees something about us, when a much smaller amount actually notice (and an even smaller amount actually care). This has rejected startups thinking "What did I do" when it really has nothing to do with them at all (just that someone else was better).

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