I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA • Hacker News Board

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#51

Post by sama » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:14 PM UTC

noahlt wrote: post #27

Your recent stats blog post told us that 32 YC companies are worth more than $100 million. How many YC companies, including those acquired, are worth more than $10 million?

Counting companies that have raised with SAFEs but not equity rounds, probably about 250-300.

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#52

Post by glenchao » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:14 PM UTC

How often does YC fund early stage companies that don't even have a functional prototype?

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#53

Post by mattkrisiloff » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:14 PM UTC

If you had applied now with Loopt, do you think you would have been accepted into YC? Or Alexis Ohanian / Steve Huffman with Reddit in its primordial phase? It seems like YC has become so competitive that it cuts out some of those promising (risky) founders that don't have as much to show.

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#54

Post by suyash » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:14 PM UTC

Hi Sama,

You have a CS degree from Stanford and you're now running YC. Do you wish you had a MBA or management degree or some sort? How did you learn about management even at your previous startup? In general how do founders specially who come right out of college without business degree learn to manage team as a leader? Just wondering as I'm a programmer myself and would like to be in management role someday but don't plan to get degree like an MBA.

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#55

Post by Backlash85 » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:14 PM UTC

Does YC fund stealth startups?

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#56

Post by atroyn » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:14 PM UTC

Given your recent comments about the potential danger of A.I, would you fund a startup which seemed dangerously close to making superintelligent A.I a reality?

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#57

Post by annelutz » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:15 PM UTC

If we get an interview but aren't accepted, will you still reimburse the traveling expenses for us poor people?

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#58

Post by suyash » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:15 PM UTC

Btw Kudos on doing AMA on HN vs Reddit. We should do more AMA's here.

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#59

Post by Backlash85 » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:15 PM UTC

sama wrote: post #46

billions wrote: post #34

Any interest in a Y Combinator IPO?

No. That got a quick involuntary shudder out of me.

I'm dying... lol

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#60

Post by sama » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:15 PM UTC

atroyn wrote: post #49

Do you think if Zuck applied to YC today with Facebook as it was in 2005 he'd make it in? (Assuming the 'social network' landscape still looked like it had in 2005).

Yes. There are certain people that you cannot sit across from and let yourself not invest. He is one of them, for sure. He also had great growth.

(Zuck comes to speak to the YC batch every year or so. PG used to say that when he talked to Zuck he'd find himself saying "whoa, we should really fund this guy". I had the same experience last time he came to YC.)