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Applying to YC

blog.samaltman.com

11–20 of 116 posts

Re: Applying to YC

#11
post #9

Sam's comments are encouraging but in the notes [1] about the application process they also mention how they look at a user's comments. I signed up on HN after being a passive reader for a long time and so haven't accumulated a lot of karma. I suppose lack of comments shouldn't be a deterrent as Sam suggested but may be the messaging needs to change a bit? Just my humble opinion. [1] https://www.ycombinator.com/howto…

most partners don't look at this very much.

Re: Applying to YC

#13
post #9

Sam's comments are encouraging but in the notes [1] about the application process they also mention how they look at a user's comments. I signed up on HN after being a passive reader for a long time and so haven't accumulated a lot of karma. I suppose lack of comments shouldn't be a deterrent as Sam suggested but may be the messaging needs to change a bit? Just my humble opinion. [1] https://www.ycombinator.com/howto…

I have 12560 karma on HN and a very loose sense of ethics or morality, so feel free to make an offer on my account.

Disclaimer: You may also need to change your name to George McBay for plausibility.

Re: Applying to YC

#14
post #8

sama, I'm curious about how it works when YC invests in a company with "millions of dollars raised"; do you still take 7% and if so how do you avoid the appearance of a down round?

Someone looking at the investment history of a company isn't going to blindly look at the number and say "down round"; they're going to look at the name "Y Combinator".

Re: Applying to YC

#15
post #11
post #9

Sam's comments are encouraging but in the notes [1] about the application process they also mention how they look at a user's comments. I signed up on HN after being a passive reader for a long time and so haven't accumulated a lot of karma. I suppose lack of comments shouldn't be a deterrent as Sam suggested but may be the messaging needs to change a bit? Just my humble opinion. [1] https://www.ycombinator.com/howto…

most partners don't look at this very much.

I suspect it is also true that comments are more of a liability than an asset.

"He has no comments, he must have been busy doing something else interesting." vs "He has 500 comments, and shows he isn't interested in considering other approaches"

Re: Applying to YC

#16
post #8

sama, I'm curious about how it works when YC invests in a company with "millions of dollars raised"; do you still take 7% and if so how do you avoid the appearance of a down round?

Someone looking at the investment history of a company isn't going to blindly look at the number and say "down round"; they're going to look at the name "Y Combinator".

And, presumably, get cartoon-style dollar signs in their eyes seconds afterwards.

Re: Applying to YC

#19
Good post but I wish there was more transparency in what YC was looking for (though I understand this is difficult, otherwise people would game it).

There are companies that are accepted with just an idea and companies with six figure revenues that are rejected. There are founders with bad ideas that are "funded for the pivot," and founders like Drew Houston who are rejected because their initial idea was bad.

It just seems kind of random.

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