261–270 of 399 posts
Kat from YC here. Sam, Matt Krisiloff and I are happy to answer any questions about the Fellowship. You can also send questions to fellowship@ycombinator.com.
Hi! Matt here -- I'll be managing YC Fellowship. I'll be answering questions here throughout the day alongside Kat and Sam.
Take myself for example: I do have this thing that I am working on.. but I also have a wife and a daughter whom I adore, and I would hate to go away from them for any period of time. Having my wife close, playing with my daughter, these are the things that keep me going, not some dream of jets and fancy cars. I already have a job that I like, I am not running away from anything, I just want to do something better, because I know I can. I already work mostly remotely, and there is no going back to old ways for me. If I ever found anything, it will be remote and remote only.
Maybe there are fewer people who really get remote work, but in my personal experience, it is an absolute joy to work with them. And is it not repeated over and over again that you should not pursue something you do not believe in?
I have never considered applying because of the travel requirement, but now I am really tempted.
This is a good idea and a great opportunity for many people. And I think it's fantastic that YC is doing this. However, I can't help feeling it really is intended for young people recently out of school, who have no other immediate financial obligations. I would really love to see an option for people who are not in this group. Let's imagine someone who is married, with a couple of kids and a mortgage. Right away, YC…
I'm married with two kids and a mortgage and I am applying. I am in an industry that has tons of room for innovation but the established firms (banks) really struggle with it as I have seen throughout my career. Too much riding on the status quo. I read this a week or so ago and I think it is applicable to my (and many other) industries. http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/technology-small-fish-a... I've been thinki…
Also married and expecting twin girls, so also have the issue of giving up too much stability..
The application form was getting hit pretty hard -- it's temporarily offline while the Submittable team migrates it to its own server. Should just be a few minutes -- will update when it's back up! Edit: The application servers are back up! Look forward to reading your apps :)
This is a good idea and a great opportunity for many people. And I think it's fantastic that YC is doing this. However, I can't help feeling it really is intended for young people recently out of school, who have no other immediate financial obligations. I would really love to see an option for people who are not in this group. Let's imagine someone who is married, with a couple of kids and a mortgage. Right away, YC…
There's no question that having a low personal burn rate is an advantage when it comes to starting a startup. That said, there are a lot of alternatives. There are more seed funds now than ever before. One of the reasons we did this program is that we believe there is hole in this part of the market--it feels like there are more people willing to write a $100k check than a $12k check. Practically speaking, we also fe…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm married with two kids and a mortgage and I am applying. I am in an industry that has tons of room for innovation but the established firms (banks) really struggle with it as I have seen throughout my career. Too much riding on the status quo. I read this a week or so ago and I think it is applicable to my (and many other) industries. http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/technology-small-fish-a... I've been thinki…
Really curious about your idea. I've had a few startups myself in the e-commerce/fintech space (1 failed, 1 sold) and now working in the R&D department for one of the top 3 U.S. Banks. My goal was to use my time here to figure out the next good idea, but haven't come across anything yet that would fit my criteria for a good startup. Also married and expecting twin girls, so also have the issue of giving up too much s…
Anyway, my idea is in the 401(k) industry which I have worked in for 13 years. Every provider has websites from prior to when web 2.0 was a thing. Individual service is expensive for providers and companies. Many people question Social Security. Financial wellness is the buzzword of the day but I truly believe that getting people who are living paycheck to paycheck some solid knowledge and advice that a difference can be made. Getting their employers to pay for it via the 401(k) might be the way to go.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm assuming "the people and the atmosphere" you're referring to are the people and the atmosphere that has completely displaced the social life of this part of the world that existed before it became a colony of billionaires playing monopoly. Many of us moved here seeking a different 'people and atmosphere' which, having been displaced, now only exists as a memory.
And caveat emptor to anyone responding to this, "you have to embrace change!!!" is exactly equivalent to "I don't give a shit what happens to poor people."
This is a good idea and a great opportunity for many people. And I think it's fantastic that YC is doing this. However, I can't help feeling it really is intended for young people recently out of school, who have no other immediate financial obligations. I would really love to see an option for people who are not in this group. Let's imagine someone who is married, with a couple of kids and a mortgage. Right away, YC…
I'm sure many people would. Your proposal appears to be that YC do this exact program, but with a 200k+ grant instead of 12k. This is obviously not feasible, given that these grants are being awarded for little more than an idea.
Founding a startup is a huge risk, there's no way around that. If you're at a point in life where you can't afford risk and instability, it's going to be tough to start a startup.
Frankly I don't really get the "startups are only for young people with no obligations" problem. You have a wife, and kids, and a house, and hopefully these things bring you great joy - the prototypical obligation-free startup founders have none of them. Should we be looking for ways for young startup founders to do the family-building stuff they are missing out on? Maybe set up a fund to give them a down payment for when their startup fails and they could have been saving up with a paycheck for a few years? It just seems like...sometimes in life you have to choose one thing or the other.
This is a good idea and a great opportunity for many people. And I think it's fantastic that YC is doing this. However, I can't help feeling it really is intended for young people recently out of school, who have no other immediate financial obligations. I would really love to see an option for people who are not in this group. Let's imagine someone who is married, with a couple of kids and a mortgage. Right away, YC…
I would really love to see an option for people who are not in this group. I'm sure many people would. Your proposal appears to be that YC do this exact program, but with a 200k+ grant instead of 12k. This is obviously not feasible, given that these grants are being awarded for little more than an idea. Founding a startup is a huge risk, there's no way around that. If you're at a point in life where you can't afford…
The type of experienced professionals that GP is talking about aren't going to waste $200k.
They currently add value to whatever enterprise they are engaged in.
> sometimes in life you have to choose one thing or the other.
Sometimes in life, you don't know that you could take the widget industry by storm until you've consumed a thousand variations of widgets yourself.
...Gah, no wonder the "get off my lawn!" thing exists... :/