Ask PG: YC Founders over 30 yrs old

Post by menloparkbum » Wed, Jun 03, 2009, 12:17 AM UTC

SamAtt wrote: post #15

pg wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds like you were reading a lot into what we said. Jessica's remark was obviously a joke. And all I meant was that when you're trying to judge someone's achievements, you need to know how long they've had to achieve them. Would you hold a 20 year old to the same standard as a 30 year old?

I'd think there would be more of a drop off with opportunities like Y Combinator than there would be with other Angel investors. I'm surprised there are any at all. I guess it's still an excellent opportunity to meet people so I mean no offense to those over 30 who did sign up but I'm a 25 year old and I wouldn't pick up and move for $5,000 bucks. I always thought part of the lure of Y Combinator was that young folks…

Post by wheels » Wed, Jun 03, 2009, 12:32 AM UTC

SamAtt wrote: post #15

pg wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds like you were reading a lot into what we said. Jessica's remark was obviously a joke. And all I meant was that when you're trying to judge someone's achievements, you need to know how long they've had to achieve them. Would you hold a 20 year old to the same standard as a 30 year old?

I'd think there would be more of a drop off with opportunities like Y Combinator than there would be with other Angel investors. I'm surprised there are any at all. I guess it's still an excellent opportunity to meet people so I mean no offense to those over 30 who did sign up but I'm a 25 year old and I wouldn't pick up and move for $5,000 bucks. I always thought part of the lure of Y Combinator was that young folks…

Post by rdouble » Wed, Jun 03, 2009, 12:52 AM UTC

SwellJoe wrote: post #34

rdouble wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody, at any age, is applying to YC for $5000. Actually, money was a large part of the reason I applied to YC. I had a huge medical bill while uninsured last year and it wiped out a large chunk of my cash.

Fixed.

Post by philwelch » Wed, Jun 03, 2009, 1:27 AM UTC

illumen wrote: post #20

pg wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds like you were reading a lot into what we said. Jessica's remark was obviously a joke. And all I meant was that when you're trying to judge someone's achievements, you need to know how long they've had to achieve them. Would you hold a 20 year old to the same standard as a 30 year old?

It get's me thinking back to university, where there were a number of mature age students, most of whom were putting in much more than students on average. These people were obviously passionate, and had experiences in other industries. Not sure who to believe here. Also not sure if it's illegal where pg is to discriminate based on age. However it does seem that there's been a lot said about how people right out of c…

Post by ekanes » Wed, Jun 03, 2009, 2:42 AM UTC

newsio wrote: post #16

This thread (and the link to the Gladwell essay that someone submitted to it earlier) are interesting. I'm 39 years old, and want to start my own company and change my career from journalist to news technologist/entrepreneur. Some readers might chuckle at that, but I am very serious. In my mind, the question of the age of YC founders has much to do with the threshold for risk. Age definitely plays a part. But age doe…