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Is Y Combinator worth it?

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Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#31

Post by gabereiser »

Let’s use another analogy here: YC makes F1 race cars, some of the best in the world. Proven time and time again to be fast. You, the driver, need to be able to handle it in order to achieve optimal results. Accelerator X makes race cars too, but a different class - possibly even a different style all together. Again, as the driver, you need to be able to handle it for optimal results. Question is, what, as a driver, is your motivation? Is it to go as fast as you can? Or is it the thrill of the race? Or do you really just want a kit car you can work on yourself?

This is one of many analogies I use to describe Accelerators/Incubators/Startup Camps. YC is no different. What they have though is a long history of building successful (and not so successful) companies. You can do it elsewhere. You can go through a program locally or something and you may end up just fine. Business, like all things, is a risk. Your first test as a leader is mitigating the risk of “How do I start?” which is a big one.

I’ve tried a few times to start. Still looking for my pit chief.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#33

Post by langitbiru »

ausjke wrote: post #19

IMHO not worth it. Moving to CA kills it for me, if it has more small centers like other incubators I might give it a try locally. $125K for 7% is a lot, for companies think that's a good deal, normally means that company has limited chance to succeed in the first place. Still the location requirement is the one many can't afford,especially those who got married and/or have kids, had industrial experience and probabl…

YC is remote for the time being. Not sure in the future. https://blog.ycombinator.com/yc-w21-remote-batch/

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#34

Post by mathattack »

My inclination is that for most 1st Time founders, the 7% in dilution you give up is immediately gained back with a better valuation in the subsequent round. There are also other benefits to the Halo - recruiting, credibility with customers, peer network, etc. And.... You may learn something.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#35

Post by doh »

YC is a fantastic shortcut to the Bay Area market. They protect you from abusive investors, attract talent and entice new customers. Farther you are from the Bay Area, less helpful they are though.

Even in the Bay you can do it all by yourself, but it's much more complicated route filled with negative experiences. At least that's my experience. The way we were treated by highly celebrated investors was hard to swallow. Anytime I spoke to a YC alumni friend they have striking, opposite experience.

With companies mostly operating remotely, I think the value is now dropping, but is far from non-existent, especially for new founders. It's like a university degree. You can have equal or larger knowledge if you put the work into it.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#36

Post by drewrv »

mediaman wrote: post #20
s17n wrote: post #13

Y Combinator has one of the strongest brands of any investor, which matters a ton for recruiting. It's very hard for engineers considering working at an early stage company to determine whether it's legit or not, and Y Combinator is probably a better known name than any VC. Personally when I was looking for jobs I'd immediately disqualify any company that wasn't backed by a relatively small list of investors and YC w…

Would you disqualify companies that had bootstrapped successfully, were profitable, and did not take any outside money? Not a judging question - I understand the value of a good investor's due diligence and backing in improving the odds of sane leadership. But it's interesting to think how that can impact a successful, self-funded copmany's access to talent.

As a founder, self funding makes a lot of sense, as you avoid dilution and aren’t beholden to a group of people expecting 10x growth every year.

But as a candidate I’d be cautious about taking a job at a self funded startup. They’re probably cash constrained so the base salary might not be as much. And if there is equity, I would want management beholden to people expecting 10x growth.

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#37

Post by julianlam »

gabereiser wrote: post #31

Let’s use another analogy here: YC makes F1 race cars, some of the best in the world. Proven time and time again to be fast. You, the driver, need to be able to handle it in order to achieve optimal results. Accelerator X makes race cars too, but a different class - possibly even a different style all together. Again, as the driver, you need to be able to handle it for optimal results. Question is, what, as a driver,…

That's a very good analogy!

While reading the article, it struck me how fast-paced YC was, and how that is not at all like how I want to develop my software. I'm all about low pressure organic development of my business.

But man, what I'd give to be a fly on the wall at that YC dinner with the founder of Lithium...

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#38

Post by gabereiser »

julianlam wrote: post #37
gabereiser wrote: post #31

Let’s use another analogy here: YC makes F1 race cars, some of the best in the world. Proven time and time again to be fast. You, the driver, need to be able to handle it in order to achieve optimal results. Accelerator X makes race cars too, but a different class - possibly even a different style all together. Again, as the driver, you need to be able to handle it for optimal results. Question is, what, as a driver,…

That's a very good analogy! While reading the article, it struck me how fast-paced YC was, and how that is not at all like how I want to develop my software. I'm all about low pressure organic development of my business. But man, what I'd give to be a fly on the wall at that YC dinner with the founder of Lithium...

Totally. It depends on what you are building. Myself, I gravitated towards games and engine tech. Stuff that requires study, and thinking, and mathematical advancements. It’s not something that was “Oh, there’s a void in the market here, let’s fill it with an intensely focused product from our program.”

But, again, I like working on kit cars...

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#39

Post by halfmatthalfcat »

ricberw wrote: post #5

Yes. You have to keep an open mind coming in though — they may challenge your very understanding of your company’s existence. Focus, focus, focus on the right metric, and find PMF before you scale. S20 participant here, so fresh from the program.

How was the remote experience?

Re: Is Y Combinator worth it?

#40

Post by closeparen »

_adamb wrote: post #12
LiamHz wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has info (year, exit / dead, one line description) of 1281 YC companies [0] Out of the 49 companies in the S11 batch, 10 exited, 17 are "dead", and 22 have no status. Most of the companies from the W16 batch have no status listed. [0]: https://yclist.com/

My guess is that lots of the no-status ones there are chugging along just fine. No exit, no death. I'm part of Tovala (W16) and in our case, no-status means still in business. I can confirm that's the case for a handful of others too. In our case, YC was super valuable. We've never been more focused than when going through the program. They make available so many resources you're desperate to grow and try things so y…

At some point “chugging along” rounds down to “failure” for employees with equity compensation. Particularly at 10 years when it expires.
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