If you really want to apply without an idea just do it. No one is forcing you to fill out every single field of the application. Don't fall victim to being constrained by the limits of the system!
Ask PG: Did the "apply to YC without an idea" experiment work?
11–20 of 63 posts
Re: Ask PG: Did the "apply to YC without an idea" experiment work?
#12I'm a sole founder with a non techincal background who is currently outsourcing the development of my site .I applied for the summer batch what do you guys think my chances are ???
Bad, but mostly because it's incredibly hard to get in regardless of whether you have a stellar application or not.
Re: Ask PG: Did the "apply to YC without an idea" experiment work?
#13since pg hasn't replied, my guess is it didn't work.
Re: Ask PG: Did the "apply to YC without an idea" experiment work?
#14I'm a sole founder with a non techincal background who is currently outsourcing the development of my site .I applied for the summer batch what do you guys think my chances are ???
But also, I find it pretty hard to imagine building a successful technical startup in this manner. Not saying there's no value to non-technical founders, but alone? How do you evaluate the quality of the outsourced work?
Re: Ask PG: Did the "apply to YC without an idea" experiment work?
#15I'm a sole founder with a non techincal background who is currently outsourcing the development of my site .I applied for the summer batch what do you guys think my chances are ???
But also, I find it pretty hard to imagine building a successful technical startup in this manner. Not saying there's no value to non-technical founders, but alone? How do you evaluate the quality of the outsourced work?
How do you evaluate the quality of the outsourced work?
I find that silly. I'm not a chef but I can taste food.
Increasingly I have the tendency to believe that all this technical/non-technical is a really unfortunate simplification. I think especially when it comes to a startup tackling really big problems whether you've programmed before might be a rounding error in the equation toward succeeding.
Re: Ask PG: Did the "apply to YC without an idea" experiment work?
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
But also, I find it pretty hard to imagine building a successful technical startup in this manner. Not saying there's no value to non-technical founders, but alone? How do you evaluate the quality of the outsourced work?
How do you evaluate the quality of the outsourced work? I find that silly. I'm not a chef but I can taste food. Increasingly I have the tendency to believe that all this technical/non-technical is a really unfortunate simplification. I think especially when it comes to a startup tackling really big problems whether you've programmed before might be a rounding error in the equation toward succeeding.
I'm not a chef but I can taste food.
That's an unfortunate simplification. Without a technical background, you wouldn't know how long it takes to make a basic CRUD app. "3 weeks? Ok I guess. Oh, 3 months actually? Ok I guess." And what about performance, scalability, costs, etc? You'd have no clue.
Re: Ask PG: Did the "apply to YC without an idea" experiment work?
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
But also, I find it pretty hard to imagine building a successful technical startup in this manner. Not saying there's no value to non-technical founders, but alone? How do you evaluate the quality of the outsourced work?
How do you evaluate the quality of the outsourced work? I find that silly. I'm not a chef but I can taste food. Increasingly I have the tendency to believe that all this technical/non-technical is a really unfortunate simplification. I think especially when it comes to a startup tackling really big problems whether you've programmed before might be a rounding error in the equation toward succeeding.
Quality of software is beyond what it does, it also means how easy is it to maintain and change.
Re: Ask PG: Did the "apply to YC without an idea" experiment work?
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
But also, I find it pretty hard to imagine building a successful technical startup in this manner. Not saying there's no value to non-technical founders, but alone? How do you evaluate the quality of the outsourced work?
How do you evaluate the quality of the outsourced work? I find that silly. I'm not a chef but I can taste food. Increasingly I have the tendency to believe that all this technical/non-technical is a really unfortunate simplification. I think especially when it comes to a startup tackling really big problems whether you've programmed before might be a rounding error in the equation toward succeeding.
Exactly my thinking I believe that the whole non techincal thing is kinda off a black cloud over my application . Im learning how to basics thru codeacademy but to answer the earlier question . There are tons of ways to assess the quality of the outsourced work...thank you
Re: Ask PG: Did the "apply to YC without an idea" experiment work?
#19Here's some previous times this has come up: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4512022 (answer from pg) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5262796
[deleted]
Re: Ask PG: Did the "apply to YC without an idea" experiment work?
#20It seems to me there would be no benefit to them in allowing it. If you want to get into YC and are smart, determined and all the other qualities they want-- you will come up with something . It may not be right, but PG et al can still decide they want the applicant without liking the idea. Like problem solving in job interviews, doing the exercise tells you a lot more than just if the applicant can get the right ans…
amen