Would Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator? • Hacker News Board

Re: Would Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator?

#41

Post by brudgers » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:45 PM UTC

kalininalex wrote: post #28

wissler wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But Jobs had to be lucky enough for Apple to nearly go bankrupt so they would entertain having him return and turn them around. This cosmically lucky event is not very reproducible.

After Apple, Jobs didn't sit on his hands, but went on to found two companies - Pixar and NEXT. Pixar alone would have made him famous, again. And, NEXT assured his return to Apple, because of Apple's failure to innovate in early 90s and the need of something, anything to restart its OS line. NEXT and Jobs were their best bets. Even without Apple Jobs would have accomplished many things. That's just the kind of perso…

Luck has everything to do with it.

If Jobs and Woz had been born in Jackson, Mississippi, they would not have known much about phreaking, attended Home Brew Computer club meetings, or known HP employees with disposable income to spend on the Apple I.

Re: Would Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator?

#42

Post by startupfounder » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:54 PM UTC

larrys wrote: post #34

hi wrote: post #19

You mean would Steve Wozniak & Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator? (Oh yeah, that other Steve...) No! They were too busy hacking phones and building things people wanted to waste time to go through the application process of YC. Money was chasing them. This is true for most runaway successes, they were all true hackers that broke things: Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, etc. Not the "hackers" who are asking for $125k…

"They didn't care about the money" While your statement is true about Wozniak from what I know it's not true about Jobs. He was a business person and he knew how to make a buck in addition to wanting to "change the world". Same with Gates for that matter.

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me” - Jobs “Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful . . . that’s what matters to me.” - Jobs

Re: Would Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator?

#43

Post by startupfounder » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:58 PM UTC

dpritchett wrote: post #26

hi wrote: post #19

You mean would Steve Wozniak & Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator? (Oh yeah, that other Steve...) No! They were too busy hacking phones and building things people wanted to waste time to go through the application process of YC. Money was chasing them. This is true for most runaway successes, they were all true hackers that broke things: Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, etc. Not the "hackers" who are asking for $125k…

> I think YC supports the companies that shoot for the moon, but people aren't willing to take the risk and say no to acquisitions of $20-$100m because that is the short term business model of today and people just want to take their $5m and show off. A more charitable take: A founder with a few grand in the bank is doing a high wire act without a safety net. A respected repeat founder who's already banked a few mill…

This is the mindset I am talking about, "I just need a few million as a pillow and then I can create something great!"

A founder with a few grand in the bank who can create something great is the founder who doesn't depend on money to make them great! They don't need to look for investors to support them and give them an allowance.

Look at Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, etc... Money is not the dependent factor, they hack the system for the simple fact that they want to hack the system! Free phone calls, driving a van records across boarders, etc.

Re: Would Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator?

#44

Post by smoyer » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:59 PM UTC

I don't spend all day reading HN but I'm here quite a bit ... can someone explain the "and deluded database CEOs" reference?

Re: Would Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator?

#45

Post by startupfounder » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 3:00 PM UTC

lgieron wrote: post #22

hi wrote: post #19

You mean would Steve Wozniak & Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator? (Oh yeah, that other Steve...) No! They were too busy hacking phones and building things people wanted to waste time to go through the application process of YC. Money was chasing them. This is true for most runaway successes, they were all true hackers that broke things: Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, etc. Not the "hackers" who are asking for $125k…

> They didn't care about the money, they didn't care about the allure, they didn't care about the status Isn't that a romantization? How do we know they didn't love tech AND wanted to become rich at the same time?

You are making the point for me, thank you. They do love the tech, first and foremost, and don't want to sell out for a quick buck because they know money is not the thing that makes you happy! Wealth is different then money, building wealth is valuable for them, not money. Big difference.

Re: Would Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator?

#46

Post by davidw » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 3:01 PM UTC

startupfounder wrote: post #42

larrys wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"They didn't care about the money" While your statement is true about Wozniak from what I know it's not true about Jobs. He was a business person and he knew how to make a buck in addition to wanting to "change the world". Same with Gates for that matter.

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me” - Jobs “Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful . . . that’s what matters to me.” - Jobs

You could argue that he was smart enough to say things like that. Who wants to hear a rich guy say how much he loves having such a shitload of money that most people could not even imagine it?

Re: Would Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator?

#47

Post by dpritchett » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 3:05 PM UTC

startupfounder wrote: post #43

dpritchett wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think YC supports the companies that shoot for the moon, but people aren't willing to take the risk and say no to acquisitions of $20-$100m because that is the short term business model of today and people just want to take their $5m and show off. A more charitable take: A founder with a few grand in the bank is doing a high wire act without a safety net. A respected repeat founder who's already banked a few mill…

This is the mindset I am talking about, "I just need a few million as a pillow and then I can create something great!" A founder with a few grand in the bank who can create something great is the founder who doesn't depend on money to make them great! They don't need to look for investors to support them and give them an allowance. Look at Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, etc... Money is not the dependent factor, they ha…

Citing billionaire succes stories leans a bit heavily on survivorship bias. As an individual who's not yet financially independent the expected return on trying to be Patrick McKenzie or even Joshua Schachter is much higher than the expected return on trying to be Bill Gates.

Re: Would Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator?

#48

Post by ThomPete » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 3:06 PM UTC

davidw wrote: post #46

startupfounder wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me” - Jobs “Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful . . . that’s what matters to me.” - Jobs

You could argue that he was smart enough to say things like that. Who wants to hear a rich guy say how much he loves having such a shitload of money that most people could not even imagine it?

He proved through is way of living that he wasn't about the money. He lived by all metrics a fairly simple and humble private live far from the Ellifsons out there.

Re: Would Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator?

#49

Post by ezl » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 3:12 PM UTC

> I think the problem is rooted in the business model that seems to be preached by Y Combinator: build a great product, choose investment over income, and exit as quickly as possible.

This seems like a misinterpretation of what YCs investment/mentorship philosophy.

Re: Would Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator?

#50

Post by cjkarr » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 3:15 PM UTC

kalininalex wrote: post #28

wissler wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But Jobs had to be lucky enough for Apple to nearly go bankrupt so they would entertain having him return and turn them around. This cosmically lucky event is not very reproducible.

After Apple, Jobs didn't sit on his hands, but went on to found two companies - Pixar and NEXT. Pixar alone would have made him famous, again. And, NEXT assured his return to Apple, because of Apple's failure to innovate in early 90s and the need of something, anything to restart its OS line. NEXT and Jobs were their best bets. Even without Apple Jobs would have accomplished many things. That's just the kind of perso…

Just a quibble, but Jobs purchased what became Pixar from George Lucas. Saying that he founded it is a bit of a stretch -- he pretty much just bankrolled it until it finally found its niche with "Toy Story". Alan Deutschman's "The Second Coming of Steve Jobs" draws a sharp contrast between Jobs' roles at the two companies:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Second-Coming-Steve-Jobs/dp/076790...