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YC: Requests for Startups

ycombinator.com

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Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#421

Post by cmrdporcupine »

ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #366
appplication wrote: post #358

> The UK became the world's richest country in the 19th century by being the workshop of the world Ahh.. haha. Yes it was certainly the innovation and industrialism of the UK that did it, not the inevitable result of centuries of imperialism, conquest and subjugation.

Ya I think the whole industrial revolution made them capable of colonizing everything. So I guess in a round about way.

Massive navy + Ideology/ethic of feeling justified dominating others and a sense of superiority to go with it + A couple centuries of practicing on the Irish

Profit!

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#422

Post by RowanH »

hawk_ wrote: post #339
RowanH wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problems with ERP is (1) in order to be a big player you have to cater for so many use cases it starts becoming a glorified development tool without any room for providing actual ROI to the vertical that wants to buy it. (2) it's very, very easy to fall into the trap of saying "well, process x is really no different in industry y, we can adapt the ERP system". In reality there's so many nuances that the platform…

> In weeks we can develop and roll out features & functionality that our clients just lap up that you would never in a million years build into an ERP platform Interesting. Just to make sure I understood this correctly, are you taking of a purpose built app/software for each such 'request' as opposed to this being some 'module'/'add-on' in an ERP suite?

Yeah so in an ERP platform, you (well the client) needs to pay for a feature they want to be built ontop of the platform. It may have additional tables/data structures added into the ERP system or outside of it. Sure an ERP might have say an "Field Service Module" add-on you can get. But if you're a Spa Pool shop, there might be a whole bunch of things you do spa pool specific, eg taking water chemistry measurements. With an ERP system to add say a 'chemistry tracker add-on', you're very unlikely to find one off the shelf, so you need to customise the ERP system to do it. By the end of having an ERP system that works for your Spa Pool Empire you've blown $100'000's to $millions.

The alternative is some scrappy startup does a SaaS platform for Spa Pool shops and builds the features natively. Not being hamstrung by the ERP platform, so no compromises - no UI's that look like an ugly duckling. And of course they learn every new spa pool shop that comes onboard, adapts and improves.

Eventually the SaaS software startup will become the Spa Pool system of choice, and will come up against the ERP platforms in sales pitches.

One will be ready to go for a Spa Pool shop, the other will have a team of consultants wanting to do requirements gathering....

That's the problem with ERPs, when a vertical/niche has got dedicated software, the ERPs almost always look inferior*

* Upto a certain business size/throughput/specialised requirements, then Mega Spa Pool corp is okay paying millions to have their own ERP team.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#423

Post by HWR_14 »

bozhark wrote: post #315
Animats wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

US Steel is now Japanese, btw

Not yet. The federal government could still block it or the acquisition could fall through for other reasons.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#424

Post by burkaman »

neilv wrote: post #391
burkaman wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is it possible to build a cell phone in the US? Definitely possible, this one is mostly US-built: https://puri.sm/products/librem-5-usa/

It's a good sign that Purism can do this at all, even though it's a boutique/fringe product right now. Note that it's $1,999+ for mostly made/assembled in USA version, vs. $999 for Purism's made in China version. And China is more capable at scaling, if the product were ever competing on price rather than principle. So still a ways to go to be competitive at manufacturing.

It's definitely more expensive to produce in the US, but I think it's priced at $2000 because this is literally the only option for people who want/need a US-made phone. I don't think it actually costs them double to produce.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#425

Post by peter_d_sherman »

>"1. Introduction

2. Applying Machine Learning To Robotics

3. Using Machine Learning To Simulate The Physical World

4. New Defense Technology

5. Bring Manufacturing Back To America

6. New Space Companies

7. Climate Tech

8. Commercial Open Source Companies

9. Spatial Computing

10. New Enterprise Resource Planning Software

11. Developer Tools Inspired By Existing Internal Tools

12. Explainable A.I.

13. L.L.Ms For Manual Back Office Processes In Legacy Enterprises

14. A.I. To Build Enterprise Software

15. Stablecoin Finance

16. A Way To End Cancer

17. Foundation Models For Biological Systems

18. The Managed Service Organization Model For Healthcare

19. Eliminating Middlemen In Healthcare

20. Better Enterprise Glue

21. Small Fine Tuned Models As An Alternative To Giant Generic Ones"

If I may suggest one:

22. Help The Growing Number Of Homeless People In Our Country

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#426

Post by Animats »

a_vanderbilt wrote: post #354
hef19898 wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of zhe reason why a javelin costs what it costs: - small production runs - obsolete components - obsolete production technology - certification requirements - continued support and design changes to account for the above - the mandatory defence surcharge From top of my head.

More or less all of these yes. I always found it ironic how the new Javelin is believed to be cheaper because the components are less mechanical and easier to source. The continued support especially. Military systems can be designed (and warrantied) to last decades if maintained properly - and that costs the big bucks.

During wartime, it may be better to design for a short lifespan. Build the seeker with ordinary AA batteries welded in instead of thermal batteries with a standby life of decades. If it's intended for Ukraine or Taiwan, skip the part temperature range that would allow the thing to sit in the sun for a year in Iraq. Seal up the unit and stencil it "NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE" and "USE BEFORE 2026-12-31". It will have been fired at the enemy long before then.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#427

Post by [deleted] »

ultrasaurus wrote: post #388
leetrout wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 :)

[deleted]

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#428

Post by yaacov »

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…

Healthcare is not a public good. It is both excludable and rivalrous. In fact, it is the exact opposite of a public good.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_good_(economics)

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#429

Post by CalChris »

yaacov wrote: post #428
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…

Healthcare is not a public good. It is both excludable and rivalrous. In fact, it is the exact opposite of a public good. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_good_(economics)

Single Payer would go a long way towards making our healthcare system non-excludable and non-rivalrous. What we have, the MIDDLEMEN which the post complains about, are rent seekers.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#430

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

jaredmclaughlin wrote: post #263
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…

What part of a cell phone do you think we can't make?

The chips. Which are... kind of the most important part, arguably. Hopefully Intel's new fabs will help.
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