YC Demo Day Session 1

#1

Post by TheMakeA » Tue, Aug 19, 2014, 6:23 PM UTC

Re: YC Demo Day Session 1

#2

Post by napoleoncomplex » Tue, Aug 19, 2014, 7:15 PM UTC

I loved it when they started including non-profits, and I'm loving that they're including biotech/medical now. They (Gingko/Glowing Plant/Bikanta) sound insane and very risky, which is exactly the ideas the best incubator in the world should be funding.

Casual observation, none of the above describe themselves as "X for Y".

Re: YC Demo Day Session 1

#3

Post by pptr1 » Tue, Aug 19, 2014, 7:25 PM UTC

I can't figure out the reason why some of these companies got selected into YC. I can see why Bikanta, Helion Energy, Ginkgo Bioworks, BitAccess, and ProductHunt might get in. However, some other companies look like run of the mill startup.

I use non-YC companies on https://news.ycombinator.com/show, ProductHunt, and AngelList for comparison. In comparison the quality signal of recent YC companies (the ones not mentioned above and some others) is not that high* compared to Non YC companies. I looked at the profile of the founders, their twitter and github pages and most importantly the product; nothing stands out so much.

*I am not saying the YC companies are bad, I am just saying they seem to be of the same quality as what is out there. I would expect recent YC companies to have a higher quality signal than what is out there.

Re: YC Demo Day Session 1

#4

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Aug 19, 2014, 7:26 PM UTC

napoleoncomplex wrote: post #2

I loved it when they started including non-profits, and I'm loving that they're including biotech/medical now. They (Gingko/Glowing Plant/Bikanta) sound insane and very risky, which is exactly the ideas the best incubator in the world should be funding. Casual observation, none of the above describe themselves as "X for Y".

[deleted]

Re: YC Demo Day Session 1

#5

Post by napoleoncomplex » Tue, Aug 19, 2014, 7:28 PM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #4

napoleoncomplex wrote: post #2

I loved it when they started including non-profits, and I'm loving that they're including biotech/medical now. They (Gingko/Glowing Plant/Bikanta) sound insane and very risky, which is exactly the ideas the best incubator in the world should be funding. Casual observation, none of the above describe themselves as "X for Y".

[deleted]

Sorry for the confusion, I meant from the 3 biotechs I mentioned. There's plenty of X for Y among the others, you're right.

Re: YC Demo Day Session 1

#6

Post by alexchamberlain » Tue, Aug 19, 2014, 7:31 PM UTC

>> Backpack is a company that arbitrages the cost of goods in different countries by using international travelers as a distribution network

I don't understand this one - with a world focused on security and import taxes, how does this work out?

Re: YC Demo Day Session 1

#7

Post by vishalzone2002 » Tue, Aug 19, 2014, 7:31 PM UTC

isnt theorem and greentoe very similar?

Re: YC Demo Day Session 1

#8

Post by TheMakeA » Tue, Aug 19, 2014, 7:34 PM UTC

napoleoncomplex wrote: post #2

I loved it when they started including non-profits, and I'm loving that they're including biotech/medical now. They (Gingko/Glowing Plant/Bikanta) sound insane and very risky, which is exactly the ideas the best incubator in the world should be funding. Casual observation, none of the above describe themselves as "X for Y".

Honest question: Is $120k really that big of a risk when you're already giving away money for free to non-profits?

Re: YC Demo Day Session 1

#9

Post by benologist » Tue, Aug 19, 2014, 7:38 PM UTC

alexchamberlain wrote: post #6

>> Backpack is a company that arbitrages the cost of goods in different countries by using international travelers as a distribution network I don't understand this one - with a world focused on security and import taxes, how does this work out?

Many airports only do spot checks on bags and they're specifically looking for their own citizens smuggling locally-expensive luxuries in by the suitcase.

This will be a short-lived company because if you have a significant volume of stuff you don't declare you will either be taxed on the spot or arrested. If you have a discrete amount of stuff then you'd need eg, 5 or 6 people to fulfill an order for 10 iphones, and if 1 of them eats a $1000 customs bill the entire order approaches worthless.

Re: YC Demo Day Session 1

#10

Post by yid » Tue, Aug 19, 2014, 7:39 PM UTC

alexchamberlain wrote: post #6

>> Backpack is a company that arbitrages the cost of goods in different countries by using international travelers as a distribution network I don't understand this one - with a world focused on security and import taxes, how does this work out?

> with a world focused on security and import taxes, how does this work out?

Pretty much like Airbnb -- do it till someone notices and hope that you're big enough by then to fight back.