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I am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator – AMA

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Re: I am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator – AMA

#381

Post by cryoshon »

zcdziura wrote: post #150
mindcrime wrote: post #121

1. Would / will you ever consider opening an East Coast branch? I understand all the "stuff" about why SV is great for startups, but there will always be people who can't /won't get up and travel completely to the other side of the country for an extended period of time. And while the EC might not be the startup hotbed that SV area is, it's quite clear that there is a LOT of startup activity and some great startups b…

Especially in Boston. Boston has a TON of startups in the area.

True, but from what I know, it's much more of an old-boys network rather than any kind of stranger to stranger demo based conversion. People trying to make it that way tend to flop here, as there aren't many venues.

Re: I am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator – AMA

#382

Post by trekforever »

FlyingLawnmower wrote: post #162

Hi Sam, I'm a graduating college senior, and I've accepted a job at a very big company in the tech industry. Right now, it makes the most financial sense for me to join a big company and pay off my debt quickly, but at some point in the future I'd love to scratch that entrepreneurial itch and apply to YC. How do I maximize my time at a big company to gain relevant skills to keep the possibility of a startup open in t…

I think the most important thing is to keep learning. Expand your skills, try/work on a lot of different projects (because bigger companies usually have dozens or hundreds of different products, teams, and roles), which means you can probably find an interesting problem and learn new things. Pick the brains of the more experienced engineers. Be curious. Don't really know how something works? Ask and learn! Meeting people and network. Who knows, maybe they'll be a cofounder with you or be apart of your team at your startup in the future. Work on side projects and expand your interests! You usually have the time to work on side projects or explore interesting problems. I think it's important to do them, experiment with different ideas. Don't have ideas? Keep a notepad with the problems you face everyday. Discuss your side projects and ideas with your peers/coworkers. Most startups usually come from a side project

Re: I am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator – AMA

#383

Post by berpasan »

talles wrote: post #235
berpasan wrote: post #7

Hi @sama, I'm From Brazil and CEO of an EdTech startup. We're profitable, with 60 employees and a lot consumer traction/revenue, but didn't raise a Series A yet. Questions: 1) What advice would you give to applicants from Brazil and other large countries (India, China, Russia), whose products initially target their local markets? 2) What advice would you give to post-Seed and pre-Series A applicants? When (if at all)…

Hey there. Do you mind if ask what's your startup? Just out of curiosity; I'm Brazilian too :)

Our product is here: http://querobolsa.com.br

What's yours?

Re: I am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator – AMA

#385

Post by cryoshon »

sama wrote: post #346
tmalsburg2 wrote: post #298

I think you mentioned somewhere that you are aiming for early-career researchers, not so much for established group leaders. Being an early-career researcher myself (postdoc), my first thought was that your program could easily turn out to be a trap. At first, it looks like a fantastic opportunity because freedom and independence, etc. However, I'm sure that you are looking for high risk / high reward projects. So th…

Well, that's fucked up about academia. All the more reason to create alternatives. Do you really want to be part of a system that does not allow for failure? At a minimum, I expect YCR researchers to be turning down job offers from YC companies all the time.

A single alternative (your program) doesn't do much to follow up for the "fail once, fail forever" system. You'd need a healthy ecosystem of competitors to your program to accomplish that. I guess someone who failed at a project in your research program could ostensibly transition to the industry side of their field, but there's still no going back to academia once you've left.

Re: I am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator – AMA

#386

Post by markkat »

sama wrote: post #346
tmalsburg2 wrote: post #298

I think you mentioned somewhere that you are aiming for early-career researchers, not so much for established group leaders. Being an early-career researcher myself (postdoc), my first thought was that your program could easily turn out to be a trap. At first, it looks like a fantastic opportunity because freedom and independence, etc. However, I'm sure that you are looking for high risk / high reward projects. So th…

Well, that's fucked up about academia. All the more reason to create alternatives. Do you really want to be part of a system that does not allow for failure? At a minimum, I expect YCR researchers to be turning down job offers from YC companies all the time.

Speaking as a researcher, IMO you might be belittling the OP's concern. While the YC initiative is noble, it has yet to be tested. I have worked in research and tech startups, and in very many ways the two couldn't be more different. Some of the best biotech research comes from incremental and ponderous study of minutiae, not 'ends driven' processes.

From the perspective of a biotech researcher in the US, the funding model here is broken. As a result of funding levels falling for more than a decade, and universities being less willing to invest in individuals without consistent major funding, getting grants has become a very political process.

I applaud YC's efforts. We need alternatives, but I am not sure that YC is interested in the same kinds of research that the legacy funding system used to support. Science is not sexy. The results can be incredibly sexy, but you never go in looking for those sexy results.

EDIT: In addition, it's worth considering the difference in the peak talent age of a researcher as compared to a programmer. You can code in your bedroom as a preteen, but it's very difficult to get unfettered access to a molecular research laboratory before the age of 22. The best researchers are older, and that changes the equation in important ways.

Re: I am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator – AMA

#387

Post by eljimmy »

cperciva wrote: post #288
michaelmurray wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canada perhaps (specifically Kitchener-Waterloo)?

Vancouver might be better. It has less of a tech sector, but frankly nowhere in Canada has enough of a tech sector to matter much; however Vancouver has the important advantages of being much closer to the bay area (2.5 hours flying time to SFO, 7 flights/day each way), being large enough to have a tech boom without completely unbalancing its economy, and actually being somewhere people want to live.

What about the ole Silicon Valley North? :) Although not much has happened in Ottawa since the bubble with the exception of Shopify.

Re: I am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator – AMA

#389

Post by berpasan »

cfontes wrote: post #293
berpasan wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, that would be great! Please, let us know if we can help in any way during your visit. Lots of interesting things for you to see in the Brazilian startup ecosystem. We are close to São Paulo (where Embraer, the 3rd largest airplane manufacturer in the world is located). Regards

That is my home town! What do you guys do? I currently live in Campinas but would love to know Startups in SJC!

Plz, come visit us: http://redealumni.com

My email is bernardo ARROBA redealumni PONTO com

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