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YC 120

blog.ycombinator.com

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Re: YC 120

#51

Post by avmich »

staunch wrote: post #42

I think what we all want is a lot more more Elon Musks to push the world forward more quickly. But he was only able to create Tesla and SpaceX because he gained a massive windfall from PayPal. That payout could have easily been an order of magnitude smaller, or even gone to zero. He wasn't even involved in the company so he got super lucky with that. Even though he had a network of powerful friends, virtually all of…

> But he was only able to create Tesla and SpaceX because he gained a massive windfall from PayPal.

Agree. Bezos was earlier, but threading lighter. Carmack didn't have enough resources. Investors were slow even after 2004 X Prize. So Musk had little competition.

EDIT: interesting that just a few years earlier Andrew Beal folded complaining about unfair NASA competition. And less than decade before that McDonnel Douglas were trying to jumpstart with Delta Clipper... The window of opportunity isn't that big...

Re: YC 120

#52

Post by jpwagner »

d--b wrote: post #11

> Aside from some basic information, all you need to do to apply is submit a one-minute video with answers to these three questions: > What are you interested in and what are you working on? > What have you done so far that shows your potential for greatness, adjusted for whatever life circumstances you were born into? > In a best-case scenario, what do you want your obituary to say? Ugh... what a terrible selection…

i don't think you're imagining the selection process properly.

i think to get the right mental model, imagine instead that they only wrote "send a one-minute video and convince us to invite you".

Re: YC 120

#53

Post by avmich »

jpwagner wrote: post #52
d--b wrote: post #11

> Aside from some basic information, all you need to do to apply is submit a one-minute video with answers to these three questions: > What are you interested in and what are you working on? > What have you done so far that shows your potential for greatness, adjusted for whatever life circumstances you were born into? > In a best-case scenario, what do you want your obituary to say? Ugh... what a terrible selection…

i don't think you're imagining the selection process properly. i think to get the right mental model, imagine instead that they only wrote "send a one-minute video and convince us to invite you".

That exactly how it looks, and this approach seems wrong here. For somebody who can articulate - on video, no less - you have some who can't. Not sure who's more promising.

Re: YC 120

#54

Post by jpwagner »

briantmaurer wrote: post #10

I personally like these questions together: • If you could have the resume you want , what would it say? • If you could write your eulogy, what would it say? (As the company/manager/advisor: How can we help you to get there?)

is your framework a reference to David Brooks' Ted Talk?

https://www.ted.com/talks/david_brooks_should_you_live_for_y...

Re: YC 120

#55

Post by caljones1618 »

rubidium wrote: post #47

WHEW! Sama's worldview is so technocractic it's rather disturbing. The world is _actually_ shaped by mothers and fathers. Teachers and physical therapists. Doctors and pastors. Friends and romantic partners. ... I hesitate to write the following because I'm not going to express everything how I actually think. But it should add to the discussion... Here's an interesting spin on it. I'll give my "real" answers and my…

Agreed. It's easy to assume that technology is good for society when it's fun to build it, ship it, and backwards-justify what you've done. Are we sure that AGI will be good for society? If not, why should we try and push to develop it as fast as possible?

Re: YC 120

#56

Post by chrisweekly »

uptown wrote: post #46
d--b wrote: post #11

> Aside from some basic information, all you need to do to apply is submit a one-minute video with answers to these three questions: > What are you interested in and what are you working on? > What have you done so far that shows your potential for greatness, adjusted for whatever life circumstances you were born into? > In a best-case scenario, what do you want your obituary to say? Ugh... what a terrible selection…

Really puts a damper on people who are interested in immortality.

that's actually really funny (still chuckling)

Re: YC 120

#57

Post by radagaisus »

This is frustrating and borderline cringe-inducing to read. YC clearly has their eyes on tapping introvert talent. That's a good thing. What’s not is trying to use the same stale tools and programs to catch them. Hint: this is not the crowd that will be comfortable talking on camera, about themselves, answering such bombastic questions. Try again.

Re: YC 120

#58

Post by whatshisface »

radagaisus wrote: post #57

This is frustrating and borderline cringe-inducing to read. YC clearly has their eyes on tapping introvert talent. That's a good thing. What’s not is trying to use the same stale tools and programs to catch them. Hint: this is not the crowd that will be comfortable talking on camera, about themselves, answering such bombastic questions. Try again.

Technically, the rules do not prevent submitters from uploading silent slideshows that just so happen to be in video file formats. Presumably anyone whose goal was "finally solving physics," would be clever enough to think of this. ;)

Re: YC 120

#60

Post by vm »

radagaisus wrote: post #57

This is frustrating and borderline cringe-inducing to read. YC clearly has their eyes on tapping introvert talent. That's a good thing. What’s not is trying to use the same stale tools and programs to catch them. Hint: this is not the crowd that will be comfortable talking on camera, about themselves, answering such bombastic questions. Try again.

i give them credit for doing it. if they find something there, they can improve on it. v1 rarely nails everything (nor does v100!)
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