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YC: Requests for Startups

ycombinator.com

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Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#381

Post by madeofpalk »

Ensorceled wrote: post #353
CalChris wrote: post #323

ELIMINATING MIDDLEMEN IN HEALTHCARE by creating another middleman in healthcare. This was first proposed by Jim Clark's Healtheon. "We want to empower the doctors and the patients and get all the other assholes out of the way." … "Except for us. One asshole in the middle." — The New New Thing , Michael Lewis. The reason we spend so much is that public healthcare is a public good and private companies aren't good at m…

Yeah, this one is weird, the middlemen are there because we allow rent-seeking behaviour whether by insurance companies, complex corporate structures that have taken over practices, PBMs, etc. etc. Those aren't going away if we make things "more efficient" with technology, there is too much money to be made in the inefficiencies.

There’s only one way to ‘eliminate the middle man’, and that’s universal health care

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#382

Post by fullspectrumdev »

MangoCoffee wrote: post #285
Animats wrote: post #221

Most of those take a lot more time and money than YC usually offers. There are some opportunities in "New Defense Technology". Something like a low-cost replacement for the Javelin anti-tank missile based on off the shelf phone camera parts ought to be possible. Of course, once that's out there, every insurgent group will have some. "Explainable AI" is really important. "Stablecoin finance" is mostly how to make sure…

Low cost swarm of drones for new defense technology. We have seen consumer grade DJI drone use in Ukraine-Russia war by both sides. AI to control a swarm of cheap drones to survey and kill?

The DJI drones are even too costly, the current gen of FPV drones used in the field capable of busting a BMP at 10km distance cost like 400 USD tops.

Longer range systems cost a bit more, but not a whole lot much more.

Improvements that are desirable are generally in terms of range, endurance, sensors and resistance to electronic warfare.

Copying the silent prop design from Zipline would also be neat to reduce the sound signature and give the enemy less time to react…

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#383

Post by neilv »

shrimpx wrote: post #281

To those who think this list will help them get into YC, or lament "why didn't I get into YC when my idea was squarely on this list": The YC application is a sales pitch, and you're not selling your idea, you're primarily selling your charisma and capacity to spin vision and sell. Second, you're selling your chemistry with your cofounders and stability of your relationship. Third, you're selling your capacity to buil…

> We've never been accepted, [...] they have continued to show interest in us applying

You're getting recurring meetings with them (which have significant opportunity cost for them), so it's not just the usual startup investor unwillingness to say "no" with finality?

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#384

Post by pests »

porphyra wrote: post #350
pests wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow and only 40 days from sentencing to execution

Say what you want about the death penalty, but it is hard to feel sympathy for a person who, by approving dangerous pharmaceuticals after accepting bribes, > caused the deaths of over 800 people in Panama from cough syrup that contained diethylene glycol in place of glycerin.

I agree, just was commented on the swiftness of the system

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#385

Post by ricardobeat »

Animats wrote: post #264
skrbjc wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Bring manufacturing back to America". Is it possible to build a cell phone in the US? I think we should start more basic and work our way up. For example, there isn't a real reason we can't produce all of our domestic iron and steel needs in the USA, but we end up importing a lot right now. Same with aluminum, etc. But this isn't something YC is really going to help with unless they are funding manufacturing and ind…

The US currently imports only 17% of its steel, mostly from Canada and Mexico. The US also exports steel, but imports are about 4x exports. So the US steel industry is doing OK. 60% of US steel consumption is now from recycled steel. Nucor became the largest US steel manufacturer by making that work.

Is the percentage of steel imports relevant, when most of the metal consumer products are coming from abroad?

Simple stuff like pots and pans, cutlery, potato mashers. Then industrial parts. Farm equipment. Eventually, cell phone frames and more sophisticated stuff. I think this is what the parent comment is alluding to.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#386

Post by skeeter2020 »

sirspacey wrote: post #370

This is the first YC request for startups I’ve seen in a long time that I’ve found inspiring I’m not sure the companies who actually have a shot at solving any of them can benefit from YCs approach or even network Most of the industries are won through long standing insiders partnering with exceptional engineering talent Not really YCs model

I wasn't sure if it was intentionally misleading, or just impossibly naive. ERP software loved by its customers for its flexibility and ease of use.... For decades, everyone has known that robots are the future... Eliminating middlemen in ... Apple Vision Pro is the key to unlocking "Spatial Computing"... For society to reap the full benefits of AI, more work needs to be done on explainable AI...

Some of these are "necessary but not sufficient", others just plain platitudes.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#387

Post by skeeter2020 »

briandear wrote: post #274
SteveNuts wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Step one is to make sure it's auditable. Every auditor on the planet is intimately familiar with how Oracle EBS and SAP do certain things. If you don't have that trust built up, a customer simply won't want to take the risk and additional headache and overhead passing an audit will take.

Sounds like there is the opportunity. An ERP that can eliminate the need for auditors. Then it won’t matter what the auditors think. Auditing isn’t some black magic. It’s a set of rules. Rules a machine can follow.

"Auditing isn’t some black magic. It’s a set of rules"

This is not true. Auditing is half assurance and half insurance. It has nothing to do with the actual results of a bunch of rules and checks.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#388

Post by ultrasaurus »

leetrout wrote: post #284
shrimpx wrote: post #281

To those who think this list will help them get into YC, or lament "why didn't I get into YC when my idea was squarely on this list": The YC application is a sales pitch, and you're not selling your idea, you're primarily selling your charisma and capacity to spin vision and sell. Second, you're selling your chemistry with your cofounders and stability of your relationship. Third, you're selling your capacity to buil…

Spot on. Add in an ivy league or similar pedigree as social proof for a better chance.

Having met a bunch of YC companies now, I wouldn't say the Ivies are exactly under-represented but it always seems like there's more Stanford than UPenn and more UWaterloo than Cornell. If school means anything it's the quality of their CS programs.

Don't let your school hold you back from applying :)

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#389

Post by MichaelZuo »

sirspacey wrote: post #370

This is the first YC request for startups I’ve seen in a long time that I’ve found inspiring I’m not sure the companies who actually have a shot at solving any of them can benefit from YCs approach or even network Most of the industries are won through long standing insiders partnering with exceptional engineering talent Not really YCs model

Of course YC can't compete with the latter hence why the vast vast majority will not succeed, but it's the select few that do succeed that covers the cost of the rest.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#390

Post by MichaelZuo »

logkeeper wrote: post #360
brettv2 wrote: post #51

> NEW ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SOFTWARE Very curious if anyone knows how to pull this off. There's so much value to be unlocked but it's just impossible to break through. I've personally met three very talented founders that tried and failed (one was accepted to YC as a mid-market ERP and successfully pivoted into an application tracking system) and failed very quickly. I'm guessing an important feature would be…

Hi. I'm working on Logkeeper which is an all in one business management platform. I don't think it will be possible to compete directly with the big players. However, having spoken to a few potential customers, it seems my software can help businesses that are small today but will scale up tomorrow. If I can prove that my software can indeed scale up with them, I will have a good opportunity to tackle the enterprise…

What is the current state as of time of writing? Are you willing to talk about it, warts and all?
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