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How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

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Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#31

Post by sjtgraham »

Murkin wrote: post #23

tl;dr; 1. Spent lots of time and money(thousands of pounds) trying to meet with CEO of hedge fund just to get one of the domains in their portfolio. 2. Failed. 3. Explained that he is co-founder of twillio europe. 4. Used above story as some kind of self proof of ability 5. Decided that he failed YC interview because of a silly mistake 6. Drew lots of lessons and conclusions. yawn

I said I was international employee #1. The "co-founder" thing was a joke in reference to the camaraderie James and I shared. Are you really insinuating that I passed myself off as anything other than that?

Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#33

Post by Peroni »

tetomb wrote: post #26
Peroni wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...you're comfortable blowing several thousand dollars on what, lets be honest, is a very, very unlikely chance at securing a domain name. Considering the context I have to vehemently disagree. Steve's really well known in the UK tech scene. He's a regular attendee & speaker at the Hacker News London meet-ups. Acceptance into the YC program would have vindicated his ambitions. YC is seen as almost mythical in this pa…

I do not understand your comment at all. To what do you vehemently disagree? That it is a slim chance of securing the domain name? If so, why does the rest of your comment discuss how important YC is to UK programmers?

I disagree with CaveTech's summation that the process was all about securing a domain. It was about the author doing everything he could to bring his intentions for his product to fruition and the original article was about the significant effort the author made to get accepted into YC only to blow it on a single question. I believe a lot of folk aren't quite grasping how or why one guy would go to such extremes with such ridiculously low odds of succeeding.

Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#34

Post by Tyrant505 »

Irregardless wrote: post #24
wilfra wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because he was not successful (yet) does not mean it was a foolish effort. It's attitudes like yours that make hustling work, simply because so few people are willing to even send an email to somebody because they think it's unlikely they'll get an affirmative response. Getting rejected is like ketchup on french fries.

He flew from London to NY and showed up at their office uninvited only to find out the CEO was in Aspen. After spending countless hours stalking the guy and hundreds (or thousands) on a plane ticket, he missed by 2,000 miles... If that happened to me, I'd be too embarrassed to repeat that story even to a group of close friends, let alone tout it as my proudest "life hack".

Hindsight is 20 20. You would sing a different tune if he was there and let him in!

Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#35

Post by TangoMango »

CaveTech wrote: post #9

Honestly I don't get it. While the story is cool, it really just seems like you're comfortable blowing several thousand dollars on what, lets be honest, is a very, very unlikely chance at securing a domain name. I know this story speaks of SV culture in some way; huge risk, huge rewards and the idea that no one can stop you. If the venture pays off, it makes you a hero. If it doesn't, well you get a cool story. But y…

He did it because it is fun.

Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#36

Post by acangiano »

Murkin wrote: post #23

tl;dr; 1. Spent lots of time and money(thousands of pounds) trying to meet with CEO of hedge fund just to get one of the domains in their portfolio. 2. Failed. 3. Explained that he is co-founder of twillio europe. 4. Used above story as some kind of self proof of ability 5. Decided that he failed YC interview because of a silly mistake 6. Drew lots of lessons and conclusions. yawn

Mistaken has he might be, your 'yawn' bugged me. It comes across as dismissive and disrespectful of someone who tried to share his experience with us.

Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#38

Post by sjtgraham »

hack_edu wrote: post #7
nicholassmith wrote: post #5

After the story of you flying over to doorstep a hedge fund manager, navigating the many layers to get there and ultimately solving the problem, I don't see YC saying no to be a problem. Learning experiences and such, grind it out and keep going.

Yes, though the problem they likely saw was he virtually has no product, business plan, nor seems interested in selling it as much as himself. Its a trope you see here in the post mortem after every YC season selection. "I hacked the process and all I got was this stinking blog post." Edit: This front-paging HN will more than likely land him a job somewhere, for better of for worse, and was likely his real goal in wr…

I'm not looking for a job.

Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#39

Post by wilfra »

_hgt1 wrote: post #30

> "PG knew exactly what I wanted to do, it was the quickest anyone has grokked my idea. I could almost see this divide conquer algorithm working in his brain as he traversed the idea space, it was spectacular to behold." These PG hagiographies are getting good.

hag·i·og·ra·phy/ˌhagēˈägrəfē/ Noun: The writing of the lives of saints.

:)

Re: How I got a YC interview as a single founder and blew it at the final hurdle

#40

Post by mindcrime »

Irregardless wrote: post #24
wilfra wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because he was not successful (yet) does not mean it was a foolish effort. It's attitudes like yours that make hustling work, simply because so few people are willing to even send an email to somebody because they think it's unlikely they'll get an affirmative response. Getting rejected is like ketchup on french fries.

He flew from London to NY and showed up at their office uninvited only to find out the CEO was in Aspen. After spending countless hours stalking the guy and hundreds (or thousands) on a plane ticket, he missed by 2,000 miles... If that happened to me, I'd be too embarrassed to repeat that story even to a group of close friends, let alone tout it as my proudest "life hack".

If that happened to me, I'd be too embarrassed to repeat that story even to a group of close friends, let alone tout it as my proudest "life hack".

I wouldn't. I think it shows exactly what he is trying to show: a tremendous amount of "hustle", indomitable fortitude, drive and passion... sometimes if you really want to make something happen, you have to take some chances and go a little over the top. And more importantly, it shows that this is a guy who doesn't just sit around and wait for things to come to him; he takes action and makes (or at least attempts to make) things happen.

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