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Changes at YC

ycombinator.com

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Re: Changes at YC

#441

Post by aaa_aaa »

lmm wrote: post #416
hsn915 wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do they need "taking care" of? Are they fragile school kids? Desparate single mothers who can't make ends meet? What is with this "save our babies!" attitude towards people who are - Well off - Highly skilled ??

The idea that you can just throw away an employee is bizzarre to most of the developed world. You have a responsibility to them (usually a legal one); the employee-employer relationship is an unbalanced one in many ways, and relies on that for fairness. If you want people you can get rid of at the drop of a hat you should be hiring contractors and paying the associated premium.

It should not be bizarre. Everybody should adapt and act accordingly, save money and keep your axe sharp. No job is forever, no employer is your friend or family.

Re: Changes at YC

#442

Post by ScoobleDoodle »

andsoitis wrote: post #417
komali2 wrote: post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> > It reminds one of how people like to pretend that Elon's money is because his family had an emerald mine. Well, would he be a billionaire, if he didn't inherit an emerald mind? > Do you think that a significant percentage of wealth inheritors go on to immigrate across the world and invent electric cars and reusable rockets? What portion of people who inherit no wealth whatsoever, do that? What portion become bill…

> I think thus it's very easy to guess that Elon would not be a hundred billionaire, or billionaire at all, if he was the exact same brain born to some working class family in south africa. There are many brilliant people in South Africa who are born into wealth and none of them have reached the same heights as Elon Musk. Even if it were the case, wouldn't your argument then predict that there would be many people MU…

It’s a necessary but not sufficient condition.

Re: Changes at YC

#444

Post by fzeroracer »

hsn915 wrote: post #411
samtheDamned wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the risk is supposed to lie in the hands of the investors, the founders, and the people who make the decisions. When the risks taken by the people at the top succeed, they profit, when they fail, they tend to push that onto their employees through layoffs and withholding raises. Then they will turn back around saying that they deserve their lavish lifestyles because they are the ones taking the risks. You can…

If you were getting paid for 2 years working on a project that doesn't pan out, that's you not taking the risk. "Getting laid off" is not a risk. Wasting 2 years for nothing while bleeding income _is_ risk. If you don't agree, then why would you work for an employer when you could take your own risk?

Except it's not upper management bleeding income, it's the company. They still get their golden parachutes and massive bonuses, then they downsize other parts of the company in order to claw back the costs. They don't have to worry about losing their healthcare or having to survive. Hell they don't even have to care about keeping the company alive, they can just straight up kill it and still reap the benefits like we've seen with Sears and the scumbag Eddie Lampert.

That's the risk. They destroy the bonuses and benefits of their workers to fuel their own rat race.

Re: Changes at YC

#445

Post by pengaru »

spir wrote: post #374
7e wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not even a great boast. Their success is due to the Federal Reserve. Oh, sweet summer child.

Are you suggesting that YC's success is because of the long-term US monetary policy climate? That's a very incorrect suggestion. It reminds one of how people like to pretend that Elon's money is because his family had an emerald mine. Do you think that a significant percentage of wealth inheritors go on to immigrate across the world and invent electric cars and reusable rockets? Same thing with YC and the investment…

Imagine thinking Elon Musk invented electric cars

Re: Changes at YC

#446

Post by curiousgal »

fwlr wrote: post #289
erickhill wrote: post #224

187 comments almost entirely focused on language usage, and at best two to three words. Fascinating.

What else in the post is worth debating? YC made a decision about the value of one of their departments, and HackerNews generally accepts it as given that companies can make these kinds of self-determinations. The reasons for the decision were given. As a result of that decision, 17 people no longer have jobs with YC. All that’s really left to debate is how YC phrases it. “17 teammates were impacted” is weasellier th…

I find it hilarious that a company with such a big success rate cannot afford to keep 17 people on its payroll.

Re: Changes at YC

#447

Post by analyst74 »

ajross wrote: post #377
fairity wrote: post #270

I can think of a few reasons why YC would make this decision without admitting so publicly: 1) Too much negative signaling risk when they don't make follow-on investments 2) Negative returns given the recent downturn 3) The increasing business need to make non-founder-friendly changes in late stage companies (e.g. replacing CEO) 4) Anu/Ali deciding to leave first to start their own fund I wonder if any of these reaso…

Oh, come on. This is three days after their favorite bank got shut down. We all know what the proximate cause is. I think it's clear that the venture world (at least the top of it) had turned itself into an industry on its own. They didn't make money on startup exits anymore, they made it on services. They'd fund startups, get those startups into later rounds by milking less sophisicated VCs[1], push them at their fa…

Out of curiosity, what services do YC provide for additional fees?

Re: Changes at YC

#448

Post by gspetr »

ScoobleDoodle wrote: post #442
andsoitis wrote: post #417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think thus it's very easy to guess that Elon would not be a hundred billionaire, or billionaire at all, if he was the exact same brain born to some working class family in south africa. There are many brilliant people in South Africa who are born into wealth and none of them have reached the same heights as Elon Musk. Even if it were the case, wouldn't your argument then predict that there would be many people MU…

It’s a necessary but not sufficient condition.

Necessary? This statement does not hold any water.

Jeff Bezos used to work as a cook at McDonalds in his teenage years.

Re: Changes at YC

#449

Post by dgb23 »

aaa_aaa wrote: post #441
lmm wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that you can just throw away an employee is bizzarre to most of the developed world. You have a responsibility to them (usually a legal one); the employee-employer relationship is an unbalanced one in many ways, and relies on that for fairness. If you want people you can get rid of at the drop of a hat you should be hiring contractors and paying the associated premium.

It should not be bizarre. Everybody should adapt and act accordingly, save money and keep your axe sharp. No job is forever, no employer is your friend or family.

That last sentence is true. But it doesn’t imply that people shouldn’t treat each other with basic respect.

Re: Changes at YC

#450

Post by Timon3 »

aaa_aaa wrote: post #441
lmm wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that you can just throw away an employee is bizzarre to most of the developed world. You have a responsibility to them (usually a legal one); the employee-employer relationship is an unbalanced one in many ways, and relies on that for fairness. If you want people you can get rid of at the drop of a hat you should be hiring contractors and paying the associated premium.

It should not be bizarre. Everybody should adapt and act accordingly, save money and keep your axe sharp. No job is forever, no employer is your friend or family.

Counterpoint: it should be much more bizarre, and should track social consequences for those responsible.
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