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Leap Spins out of YC

blog.ycombinator.com

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Re: Leap Spins out of YC

#41

Post by tzs »

ForrestN wrote: post #26
cbcowans wrote: post #2

Hi! Leap is spinning out of YC today as an independent company called Elpha. I'm the CEO and Co-Founder of Elpha and am here to answer questions. Thanks!!

Congratulations! Do you have a policy regarding non-binary or genderqueer people? And are there any steps you're planning to take to keep your community free of TERF transphobia? I'm curious about building a gender-based community in 2019.

> Do you have a policy regarding non-binary or genderqueer people?

According to the sign-up pitch that appears shortly after you start reading an AMA there: "Elpha is for anyone who identifies as a woman and/or non-binary."

Re: Leap Spins out of YC

#42

Post by androidgirl »

kl2931 wrote: post #36
telesilla wrote: post #25

This looks wonderful but it requires a LinkedIn profile - I'm not on any social media so it means, I don't get to join?

You can definitely join - you can put in your website, or anything other link that we can verify your identity. Let us know if you run into any trouble hi@elpha.com

Was just wondering this! That is great news and thank you for posting this here.

Maybe it can get mentioned in the FAQ too?

Re: Leap Spins out of YC

#43

Post by gammateam »

sctb wrote: post #29
ForrestN wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Woah! Even after so long on HN, I'm surprised by multiple downvotes for even a question that merely implies an interest in inclusivity for non-cis people.

There is little that can be gleaned from voting, especially early on. It's just plain noisy and you don't know what someone is objecting to. > Please don't comment about the voting on comments. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

> It's just plain noisy and you don't know what someone is objecting to.

Then why does it rate limit the poster who might have spurred a discussion and wants to find out? They can't even post anymore until hours after the discussion died down even though little can be gleaned from the reason anyone downvoted them? There is some conflicting logic going around

Re: Leap Spins out of YC

#44

Post by kl2931 »

androidgirl wrote: post #42
kl2931 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can definitely join - you can put in your website, or anything other link that we can verify your identity. Let us know if you run into any trouble hi@elpha.com

Was just wondering this! That is great news and thank you for posting this here. Maybe it can get mentioned in the FAQ too?

Sure, that's a great idea. We will fix it in our sign-up form as well.

Re: Leap Spins out of YC

#45

Post by kl2931 »

jedberg wrote: post #30
cbcowans wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you, Marie! We landed on Elpha by riffing on the word alpha and the notion that we want to create a place where women come first. We combined alpha with the French word for she (“Elle”) to create ellepha and then shortened it to elpha from there.

Did you have any concerns over brand confusion with Elfa, the shelving system owned by the Container Store, which markets itself heavily to women (and yes, I see the rich irony in that :) ).

Ha, we chose the name Elpha by riffing on the word alpha and the idea that we wanted to create a place where women come first. We combined alpha with the French word for she (“Elle”) to create ellepha. We shortened it to elpha from there. Plus, the .com was available. :)

Re: Leap Spins out of YC

#46

Post by ForrestN »

tzs wrote: post #41
ForrestN wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Congratulations! Do you have a policy regarding non-binary or genderqueer people? And are there any steps you're planning to take to keep your community free of TERF transphobia? I'm curious about building a gender-based community in 2019.

> Do you have a policy regarding non-binary or genderqueer people? According to the sign-up pitch that appears shortly after you start reading an AMA there: "Elpha is for anyone who identifies as a woman and/or non-binary."

Thank you for the answer!

Re: Leap Spins out of YC

#47

Post by mharroun »

Its always good to see more communities like this spin up. I am actually the CTO of https://fairygodboss.com a company that is also a community, content resource, and job search platform but targeted at all professional women. I am a guy (the founders are female) but join this company because I saw the lack of women in this space...especially in the leadership/management level and wanted to help in this mission. If you're ever interested in speaking with me or one of our founders we always try to keep in close contact with those in this space.

Re: Leap Spins out of YC

#48

Post by hopler »

sudosteph wrote: post #40
ForrestN wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Congratulations! Do you have a policy regarding non-binary or genderqueer people? And are there any steps you're planning to take to keep your community free of TERF transphobia? I'm curious about building a gender-based community in 2019.

I've used leap for a while and have seen multiple posts from people wanting to learn how to be more inclusive towards trans people, but absolutely nothing that appears to push any sort of transphobia. Remember this is a forum for professionals. Every professional knows that preaching homophobia, racism, transphobia or whatever is wildly inappropriate and uncivil behavior. I suppose it's something that would get addre…

It's not transphobic to question whether a women-only organization should include transwomen. It's a legitimately hard question with no 100% correct answer. You have to deal with the possibility of people who identify as female according to their own standards, which you might consider dishonest or confused.

Re: Leap Spins out of YC

#49

Post by exodust »

On the elpha.com FAQ I see the reason for enforcing real-identities: "Real identities allow us to build lasting, trustworthy connections".

Reminds me of corporate mission statement fluff. A more honest reason would be "we need to verify your gender". Just say that. We all know that's the reason.

Also note the irony of the "Diversity & Inclusion Strategist" on front page of a community where men are not welcome. I'm all for supporting women in tech, but feel creating communities where you must be a woman 'else break' is not progressive or modern. The alternative? Make communities where women are at the top and stay there, but all are welcome to contribute.

Re: Leap Spins out of YC

#50

Post by alliecat »

hopler wrote: post #48
sudosteph wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've used leap for a while and have seen multiple posts from people wanting to learn how to be more inclusive towards trans people, but absolutely nothing that appears to push any sort of transphobia. Remember this is a forum for professionals. Every professional knows that preaching homophobia, racism, transphobia or whatever is wildly inappropriate and uncivil behavior. I suppose it's something that would get addre…

It's not transphobic to question whether a women-only organization should include transwomen. It's a legitimately hard question with no 100% correct answer. You have to deal with the possibility of people who identify as female according to their own standards, which you might consider dishonest or confused.

Step off it, mate.

There is a correct answer: People who call themselves women are women. Simple as that.

You're not the arbiter of Gender.

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