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Y Combinator Traded Prestige for Growth

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Re: Y Combinator Traded Prestige for Growth

#191

Post by FactKnower69 »

pj_mukh wrote: post #122
a1371 wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the uninitiated like myself, PearAi just took the source code of continue.dev (not fork, they copy pasted) and did some clunky work on it. That was their entry to YC.

"did some clunky work on it. That was their entry to YC" For more context, YC doesn't judge your code, never has. It was never a code quality competition. Orthogonally, they do judge the results (user metrics).

>For more context, YC doesn't judge your code, never has. It was never a code quality competition.

it shows

Re: Y Combinator Traded Prestige for Growth

#192

Post by OGWhales »

FactKnower69 wrote: post #184
spamizbad wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like that "270K job" comment was some sort of cultural signal to Zoomer devs on the FAANG leetcode job grind. I'm in my 40s so it just seems both tacky and unimpressive but maybe for folks half my age it's a meaningful signal towards competency?

270k is on the low end and would indicate incompetency if anything if you're older than mid-20s, esp since it's not like he's taking a pay cut to work in a cool or interesting field (coinbase lmao)

270k is on the low end?

Re: Y Combinator Traded Prestige for Growth

#193

Post by moomin »

pj_mukh wrote: post #122
a1371 wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the uninitiated like myself, PearAi just took the source code of continue.dev (not fork, they copy pasted) and did some clunky work on it. That was their entry to YC.

"did some clunky work on it. That was their entry to YC" For more context, YC doesn't judge your code, never has. It was never a code quality competition. Orthogonally, they do judge the results (user metrics).

Yeah, but they used to care about your moat and “Did some easily replicable work on a product anyone can duplicate.” ain’t it.

Re: Y Combinator Traded Prestige for Growth

#194

Post by pj_mukh »

moomin wrote: post #193
pj_mukh wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"did some clunky work on it. That was their entry to YC" For more context, YC doesn't judge your code, never has. It was never a code quality competition. Orthogonally, they do judge the results (user metrics).

Yeah, but they used to care about your moat and “Did some easily replicable work on a product anyone can duplicate.” ain’t it.

Did they? YC regularly funded competitors. This was always true. Fundamentally, YC is betting on founders. They're optimizing for founders who can move fast enough to find a moat before they die, that's it.

They fund competitors because most YC companies usually pivot out anyway.

Re: Y Combinator Traded Prestige for Growth

#195

Post by pbiggar »

mschuster91 wrote: post #78
pbiggar wrote: post #52

One of the biggest shocks to me was that YC now invests in war and killing people. Before their closest connecting to killing people was investing in companies that had severe negative effects for society, like Doordash or AirBnb. Now they're helping people make missiles. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/ares-industries

[flagged]

There are 40,000 people killed in Gaza by US weapons, in what even Biden called "indiscriminate bombing". YC should not be making cheaper ways for our allies to commit genocide.

Re: Y Combinator Traded Prestige for Growth

#196

Post by stonethrowaway »

KerryJones wrote: post #190
qq66 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He won't be starting such a fund for awhile, because the two of us are building company to make technology to foster a creative and curious childhood. We would be a good fit for any investors trying to do (3) though :) https://cartwheelcomputer.com/ amal@cartwheelcomputer.com

This feels like a side tangent, but why have you focused on technology for creative and curious childhood? I'm curious if you have considered the following: I.e. Maria Montessori (founder of the Montessori methodology of teaching) did a pretty good job showing that's the natural state of kids, and there's quite a bit in her teachings about the importance of physical things, being outdoors, etc. There's some pretty st…

Because it turns out #1 is one hell of a drug.

Re: Y Combinator Traded Prestige for Growth

#197

Post by pj_mukh »

FactKnower69 wrote: post #191
pj_mukh wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"did some clunky work on it. That was their entry to YC" For more context, YC doesn't judge your code, never has. It was never a code quality competition. Orthogonally, they do judge the results (user metrics).

>For more context, YC doesn't judge your code, never has. It was never a code quality competition. it shows

Yea it does! [1].

[1]: https://jaredheyman.medium.com/on-the-176-annual-return-of-a...

Re: Y Combinator Traded Prestige for Growth

#199

Post by renewiltord »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #156
dgreensp wrote: post #106

Full disclosure, I'm a YC alum whose last start-up was acquired by Google, who applied to this batch and didn't get an interview. YC is not the stamp of quality it once was, to be sure, though it still works as social proof, because investors (especially VCs) want to invest in companies other investors like (or failing that, companies they imagine other investors would like). YC would say that they aren't trying to b…

> … yield a big company … I assume that this sort of says it all. Everyone wants “big.” The article talks about brand curation, really. That seems to be a lost art, these days. I worked for a corporation that had one of the most powerful brands in the world (but has taken some real hits). I watched them dilute that brand, and make lots of money, but really get clobbered. They are now regrouping, and, I hope, re-estab…

That doesn’t provide any information since an incubator like YC is hoping for Stripe/Reddit successes. That’s not changed.

But I know W20 guys who pivoted inside YC three times, and eventually raised money. Their company didn’t exist when they applied. So what OP (of Etherpad IIRC fame) posted about the rejection comes as a surprise to me.

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