New RFS – Breakthrough Technologies
blog.samaltman.com
New RFS – Breakthrough Technologies
1–10 of 219 posts
Re: New RFS – Breakthrough Technologies
#2SpaceX and Tesla were really possible because of the large amounts of money that Elon put into the companies, it is estimated that Elon invested $100MM into SpaceX. his extremely impressive resume was not enough to receive the level of funding to get the company off the ground (get it?)
how can a first time entrepreneur actually receive substantial investment without putting in such a large personal investment?
Re: New RFS – Breakthrough Technologies
#3SpaceX and Tesla were really possible because of the large amounts of money that Elon put into the companies, it is estimated that Elon invested $100MM into SpaceX. his extremely impressive resume was not enough to receive the level of funding to get the company off the ground (get it?) how can a first time entrepreneur actually receive substantial investment without putting in such a large personal investment?
It would clearly be a different path than Elon's startups. But it's impressive that YC is willing to do the funding legwork for such an ambitious company, if they believe in it.
Re: New RFS – Breakthrough Technologies
#4This list seems like YC is (publicly, at least) expanding their vision. Previous RFS lists seemed mostly like software ideas, while this list seems more focused on problems and markets, regardless of technology.
Re: New RFS – Breakthrough Technologies
#5Any chance we can form an Ideas list please folks:
My starter for ten:
"The Internet lets people around the world coordinate action" HelpYourNeighbour.com Given certain amounts of basic training and oversight, social services could outsource small amounts of care to anyone willing to help - elderly person in need of trip to doctors, local park needs trees planting. All this is kind of sort of done on adhoc basis by charities - seems very inefficient and probably lacks the network effect lift that a single government approved point has.
Re: New RFS – Breakthrough Technologies
#6I like the ambition but a lot of Startups like this will have their roots in basic research (read: University labs). That leads to interesting dynamics (and issues) with the founding teams. e.g. Profs who have been critical in developing tech but are not jumping ship into the startup lifestyle (although continued involvement is key). I've seen this play out with some ugly stories (people got screwed) and some enlightened ones (balance was struck). Does YC have any views/experience with this?
Fwiw, I'm working on internet infrastructure (see profile)
Re: New RFS – Breakthrough Technologies
#7I feel like this is a big shift in focus for YC and for the industry if others follow suit. This will do a lot of good in changing the image of the typical startup, from who starts them to what their ambitions are, signaling to those in other industries that the valley isn't just about young code-slingers and iOS apps. I hope this encourages people in STEM with years of specialized domain experience to look at starting a company as a seriously viable option.
Re: New RFS – Breakthrough Technologies
#8SpaceX and Tesla were really possible because of the large amounts of money that Elon put into the companies, it is estimated that Elon invested $100MM into SpaceX. his extremely impressive resume was not enough to receive the level of funding to get the company off the ground (get it?) how can a first time entrepreneur actually receive substantial investment without putting in such a large personal investment?
Many first-time entrepreneurs have raised more than $100M. They started with small amounts and showed great results at each stage.
Re: New RFS – Breakthrough Technologies
#9SpaceX and Tesla were really possible because of the large amounts of money that Elon put into the companies, it is estimated that Elon invested $100MM into SpaceX. his extremely impressive resume was not enough to receive the level of funding to get the company off the ground (get it?) how can a first time entrepreneur actually receive substantial investment without putting in such a large personal investment?
Many first-time entrepreneurs have raised more than $100M. They started with small amounts and showed great results at each stage.
I think that doesn't apply to very long time horizon projects. You might not have anything to show investors as progress until 10 years down the road. You either need enough money upfront or personal money to put in along the way.
Re: New RFS – Breakthrough Technologies
#10This is great news. Many colleges and universities have been focusing on these types of startups for the past 5-10 years for their own VC type competitions, and now YC is seeing the value in them too. Hopefully many others will follow suit. Rock Health has been doing this for a while and has been pretty successful in the biotech/healthcare scene.