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I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#411

Post by johndoe42 »

sama wrote: post #219
johndoe42 wrote: post #144

Hello Sam, First, thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions. My question is about confidentiality of applications. Today I am working at a YC startup. I (and two other friends) have a project in mind. But what prevents me from applying to YC is the fear that my application would fall in the inbox of our founders. Obviously I would prefer our application to remain confidential until if they we get…

We do have some alumni help us review applications. There is a chance the founders of your startup would randomly see your application. HOWEVER, you should not only start a startup if you get into YC. If you're into this startup, you should be doing it whether or not YC funds you. It's a big red flag for us when people only want to work on a startup if they get into YC. Also, in general, if you're planning to start a…

Thank you Sam for your feedback. I totally agree: YC should not be the only reason for you to start what you want to build. And I had no pb submitting applications to other accelerators. That being said, YC is considered as the best of the best by many :)

In a nutshell, I guess the answer is no, it can not be confidential.

Thank you for your answer and time.

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#412

Post by swampthinker »

Hi Sam,

I'm currently a highschool junior and the co - founder of EnerScore. I'm aware that YC has a semi-preference for younger founders as you said so yourself, but I wanted to know how YC might view me being this young. Will it count against me in my application, or is YC more focused on the product itself?

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#414

Post by asdfasdfa »

sama wrote: post #219
johndoe42 wrote: post #144

Hello Sam, First, thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions. My question is about confidentiality of applications. Today I am working at a YC startup. I (and two other friends) have a project in mind. But what prevents me from applying to YC is the fear that my application would fall in the inbox of our founders. Obviously I would prefer our application to remain confidential until if they we get…

We do have some alumni help us review applications. There is a chance the founders of your startup would randomly see your application. HOWEVER, you should not only start a startup if you get into YC. If you're into this startup, you should be doing it whether or not YC funds you. It's a big red flag for us when people only want to work on a startup if they get into YC. Also, in general, if you're planning to start a…

Anecdotally, I was rejected by YC and in the following year my startup has grossed over $100,000 and is acquiring new users at a stable 20%+ MoM. Point being YC is a nice-to-have, not a need to have.

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#415

Post by jpmcglone »

latj wrote: post #376
sama wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a personal choice for workers. If you're an engineer and you want a guaranteed $250k per year, go work for a financial firm. Nothing wrong with that decision. Everyone gets to make his or her own. Engineers at startups make $100k+, sometimes much more. I don't think people are being asked to subject themselves to unreasonable financial strain. It is indeed "maybe-someday" competition. When you work at a startup,…

>Engineers at startups make $100k+, sometimes much more. I don't think people are being asked to subject themselves to unreasonable financial strain. Is $100k enough for a person to live without roommates within 20-30 minutes commute from said startup? Eat healthy food? Pay student loans? Have health insurance and build savings? I'm not from the Bay Area- this is a serious question.

I was making $100k and was able to find a small apartment in SF AND save about $2k a month (granted, I've finished paying my student loans). Not needing a car, and the ability to walk / scooter / public transport everywhere for relatively cheap, is a huge money saver! My half of the rent each month, as of today in SF, is $1300 ($2600 for the whole apartment in SoMa), but you need to take into account the money I'm not spending maintaining a car (which can be costly in the city, especially w/ parking).

As for health insurance, you'll more than likely find a job that offers that. I had great health insurance, the company had some neat perks like a gym membership, free lunch and dinner at the offices, and permission to work from home pretty frequently.

I think if you are anticipating $100k a year in SF, you'll do fine!

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#416

Post by lsllc »

sama wrote: post #408
lsllc wrote: post #390

There's a well known theory that non-competes stifles innovation and in particular CA's ban on these has allowed SV to flourish. There have been moves afoot in MA to enact a similar ban, although recently it seems to have been somewhat defanged through lobbying by the likes EMC (despite still being protected by copyright, trade secrets and patents!). What are your thoughts on this; if MA is able to pass a ban on non-…

I think it'd be good to do this, but that the startup scene is really broken in Boston for many other reasons. I'm not very optimistic this would be enough to fix it.

Do you have time to elaborate?

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#417

Post by jantos8 »

sama wrote: post #355
jantos8 wrote: post #331

I am currently applying to the summer batch and I was wondering about my setup. I came to the U.S. about four years ago and immediately built a marketing agency and after a year added software development services to it. We grew rapidly to a stable stage and now I am at the point where I can step back from taking care of the company and let my other partners manage it (We are four partners). My question is, I am appl…

Make it clear in your application you're going to spend 100% of your time on this new business.

Thank you and I did. I was just wondering if there is already a certain penalty towards me. 1) Only founder 2) Owner of another company....

Thx, for your prompt answer. Enjoy the rest of your AMA and have a great weekend!

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#419

Post by jpmcglone »

suyash wrote: post #395
latj wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Engineers at startups make $100k+, sometimes much more. I don't think people are being asked to subject themselves to unreasonable financial strain. Is $100k enough for a person to live without roommates within 20-30 minutes commute from said startup? Eat healthy food? Pay student loans? Have health insurance and build savings? I'm not from the Bay Area- this is a serious question.

Please don't side track this thread with salary discussion in bay area. There are plenty of HN threads where this has been talked extensively.

Hey, "AMA" does mean "Ask Me Anything"
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