I always thought it was just a more serious version of Reddit, until I realised just how big the VC arm was.
Was Y Combinator worth it?
111–120 of 123 posts
Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
Funnily enough you can't actually implement the proper y-combinator in Haskell because the type system won't allow it. Which is a real shame because in most Lisps you can only implement the applicative order y-combinator due to a lack of lazy evaluation.
What is "improper" about this implementation in Haskel? fix :: (a -> a) -> a fix f = let x = f x in x
The y combinator is used to implement recursion in a language without recursion no?
That definition is dependent on recursion already being present.
Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
> why we can't bring together the brightest minds, irrespective of their backgrounds, race, location, or financial status We (as society) can. We simply choose not to.
This leads to loss of knowledge. We could live in the much better world that Tesla and Einstein dreamed of. Perhaps we would prolong life and prevent the loss of the great people I see every day. Human life and knowledge is the most important thing.
> This leads to loss of knowledge
Again, look around. Society (clearly on a global scale and on many smaller scales as well) doesn’t prioritize preventing this.
Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?
#114One thing that makes me sceptical about Y Combinator is their emphasis on in-person meetings and USA-centric approach in general. Firstly, unless you and your co-founders permanently relocate, you could start to burn through that $500k pretty quickly in travel costs. Is relocating to the USA legal for you? Will it cost you more money compared to your current cost of living? Do you have existing staff or facilities th…
If one could as easily locate to the US as to many European or Asian countries, then I don't think people would have an issue with it. The reality of US immigration being such a f up means most founders (especially us older ones) just can't be bothered.
“Can’t be bothered to do the legwork asked if you to get accelerated and funded by YC” is honestly a wonderful filtering function.
Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
This leads to loss of knowledge. We could live in the much better world that Tesla and Einstein dreamed of. Perhaps we would prolong life and prevent the loss of the great people I see every day. Human life and knowledge is the most important thing.
> This leads to loss of knowledge Again, look around. Society (clearly on a global scale and on many smaller scales as well) doesn’t prioritize preventing this.
Yeah, I understand. Thanks
Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
If one could as easily locate to the US as to many European or Asian countries, then I don't think people would have an issue with it. The reality of US immigration being such a f up means most founders (especially us older ones) just can't be bothered.
“Can’t be bothered to do the legwork asked if you to get accelerated and funded by YC” is honestly a wonderful filtering function.
Good. I have no problem with said filter. I'd much rather focus on the business not on bureaucracy that is working against me.
Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is simply not true. The optimum path for all startups is to either bootstrap entirely or bootstrap up until the Series A where your negotiation position is the strongest because you know your unit economics and can demonstrate clear product-market fit. Of course many startups may simply not be able to bootstrap. But equally there are many startups who could but choose the YC/VC track because of cargo culting, na…
I've spent most of my career bootstrapping and I don't think this is true. If you are going to be the kind of startup that raises outside funding, you're better off following the YC playbook than you are trying to build negotiating leverage by achieving PMF with a slow go-to-market. Three big things I think you're missing here: first, the relatively low cost of previous-to-priced-round funding, second, the outsized i…
My sense is that you data set is drawn primarily from 2010 to 2022, the current funding environment has different properties (closer to 2008-9 and 2001-3).
Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?
#118Good article. I believe YC provides a fantastic platform for startups, but I've noticed a stronger focus on complex regulations and financial aspects rather than genuine technological advancement. I applied twice, yet others with more effective strategies and personal investments, independent from the tech and knowledge, seemed to be in a better position when it came to applying to YC. Over a decade ago, I emerged fr…
I doesn't appear to me that YC's mission has anything to do with technological advancement (it's not mentioned here for example: https://www.ycombinator.com/principles).
Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've spent most of my career bootstrapping and I don't think this is true. If you are going to be the kind of startup that raises outside funding, you're better off following the YC playbook than you are trying to build negotiating leverage by achieving PMF with a slow go-to-market. Three big things I think you're missing here: first, the relatively low cost of previous-to-priced-round funding, second, the outsized i…
My sense is that you data set is drawn primarily from 2010 to 2022, the current funding environment has different properties (closer to 2008-9 and 2001-3).
You think it's gotten easier, since 2022, to get an A-round term sheet without first getting a seed round?
Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's a PG essay?
Paul Graham wrote a series of essays that are considered classics for startup thinking http://www.paulgraham.com/articles.html This discussion from earlier this year gives some interesting context: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34750727
That's my post lol