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Paul Graham Shares Lessons Learned From 630+ YC Startups

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Re: Paul Graham Shares Lessons Learned From 630+ YC Startups

#4

Post by smrtinsert »

> Principally, he said, just because someone is intelligent, doesn’t mean they can actually run a business and go out and execute.

> “You can be surprisingly stupid if you’re sufficiently determined,” he concluded.

Oh that's nice.

Reminds me of the Simpsons episode when some kid accepts homecoming king with "Thank you for not choosing the popular jock and electing me, your intellectual superior, as homecoming king".

Re: Paul Graham Shares Lessons Learned From 630+ YC Startups

#5

Post by lazyjones »

> Graham said that, after thousands of founder presentations and pitches, he and the YC partners are now able to tell “within minutes” whether a startup will pass muster or not.

This I find slightly worrying. It's amazing if it still works (and I've been wondering how YC was still able to scale), but is the minimum amount of information that needs to be exchanged between startup and YC in order to get a good assessment really that small? Or is the quality of selection (due to scaling issues / less time per applicant) nowdays compensated by the effect of YC's reputation?

Re: Paul Graham Shares Lessons Learned From 630+ YC Startups

#6

Post by lifeisstillgood »

Err, Sam Altman is the only beta tester of a YC-company trying to develop a better email client?

Anyone got any more details on this? Is this just an inside joke that I don't get? (Yes I remember the build-better-email-client thing, but actually trying, and using one beta-tester?)

To be honest I no longer think an email client is the problem. Its the lack of contact book, integration with all my devices and just generally tying up my orgnaisation for me - frankly a better email client from now is an AI.

Re: Paul Graham Shares Lessons Learned From 630+ YC Startups

#7

Post by [deleted] »

lazyjones wrote: post #5

> Graham said that, after thousands of founder presentations and pitches, he and the YC partners are now able to tell “within minutes” whether a startup will pass muster or not. This I find slightly worrying. It's amazing if it still works (and I've been wondering how YC was still able to scale), but is the minimum amount of information that needs to be exchanged between startup and YC in order to get a good assessme…

[deleted]

Re: Paul Graham Shares Lessons Learned From 630+ YC Startups

#8

Post by syntern »

lazyjones wrote: post #5

> Graham said that, after thousands of founder presentations and pitches, he and the YC partners are now able to tell “within minutes” whether a startup will pass muster or not. This I find slightly worrying. It's amazing if it still works (and I've been wondering how YC was still able to scale), but is the minimum amount of information that needs to be exchanged between startup and YC in order to get a good assessme…

It is very likely that they are not focusing on the information being told, but instead they are picking up non-verbal communication clues.

Re: Paul Graham Shares Lessons Learned From 630+ YC Startups

#9

Post by feifan »

lazyjones wrote: post #5

> Graham said that, after thousands of founder presentations and pitches, he and the YC partners are now able to tell “within minutes” whether a startup will pass muster or not. This I find slightly worrying. It's amazing if it still works (and I've been wondering how YC was still able to scale), but is the minimum amount of information that needs to be exchanged between startup and YC in order to get a good assessme…

As a founder of a prospective startup, I know that so much can change in a matter of days or weeks — not just about the people/market/concept, but also with the founders themselves as we "grow up". I wonder how many founders came into their pitches throwing red flags, but who would have outgrown them during, or even before, the YC program began.
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