It's really amazing how well YC selects their companies, and how effectively they propel their startups forward. When talking to YC founders, you can just tell that there is something different about them.
We need a YC mutual fund to invest in
37 YC Companies have valuations of or been sold for at least $40 Million
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Re: 37 YC Companies have valuations of or been sold for at least $40 Million
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
After dilution it will be more like 3%.
So arguably at least one of {pg, pb, etc.} could have made just as much value over the past ~10 years by starting another startup, instead of an YC, if that were the goal. 10 years is probably enough time to try/fail-fast at least 2 and maybe 4 times, each.
Probably, but you're only counting the tangible value. In my mind what they've done is far greater in intangible value. What about HN and the community it has nurtured? And let's not forget being a sort of pointer to true north to most of the people thinking of creating something out of nothing. Sure, money is easy to count and imagine, but there's plenty of people that make that, how many PG's appear every 10 years? To paraphrase Michael Scott - you think PG's grow on trees; well they don't; there is no PG tree.
Re: 37 YC Companies have valuations of or been sold for at least $40 Million
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
So arguably at least one of {pg, pb, etc.} could have made just as much value over the past ~10 years by starting another startup, instead of an YC, if that were the goal. 10 years is probably enough time to try/fail-fast at least 2 and maybe 4 times, each.
Probably, but you're only counting the tangible value. In my mind what they've done is far greater in intangible value. What about HN and the community it has nurtured? And let's not forget being a sort of pointer to true north to most of the people thinking of creating something out of nothing. Sure, money is easy to count and imagine, but there's plenty of people that make that, how many PG's appear every 10 years?…
Absolutely - I think YC's overall "consumer surplus" is over $10b, since it somewhat changed the game for early stage startups in general, not just startups in YC.
Re: 37 YC Companies have valuations of or been sold for at least $40 Million
#54Unless you're a total hater, this is an amazing achievement no matter how you look at it.
I just have one concern, however.
Like most people on HN, I have a ton of respect for PG i.e. how smart he is, his willingness to share his knowledge with the world, and the way he has helped change Silicon Valley for the better.
However, what happens if/when PG decides to hang it up? OR if "God forbid" he's forced to hang it up like e.g. Steve Jobs?
Some cynics accuse YC of essentially being a (benevolent) cult with PG as the guru with his own cult of personality. I wouldn't go that far, but you can't deny that PG essentially IS YC and without him it may be very difficult to maintain this kind of success, much less scale it.
I have no affiliation with any of these accelerators and forgive me for overgeneralizing, but it seems like 500 Startups and/or TechStars, while not quite as heralded as YC, have done a much better job of hedging this kind of risk via a much more decentralized network with multiple mentors/"gurus" in multiple cities.
So I have two questions - (1) PG, do you ever see yourself "moving on" and starting something brand new that is not YC-related, and if so, (2) what is the "Steve Jobs contingency plan" for YC?
Re: 37 YC Companies have valuations of or been sold for at least $40 Million
#55Unless you're a total hater, this is an amazing achievement no matter how you look at it. I just have one concern, however. Like most people on HN, I have a ton of respect for PG i.e. how smart he is, his willingness to share his knowledge with the world, and the way he has helped change Silicon Valley for the better. However, what happens if/when PG decides to hang it up? OR if "God forbid" he's forced to hang it up…
When it comes to venture capital investing, you take your "unfair" advantage and leverage it to the hilt. It doesn't make sense to hedge your bets with a decentralized network of partners.
Re: 37 YC Companies have valuations of or been sold for at least $40 Million
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
The total valuation of those 511 is currently about $11.5 billion. We ourselves don't know the percentage owned by founders. But considering that investors continually complain that YC companies are overpriced, it may be higher than the industry average.
I'm bad at math, anyone know what's 6% of $11.5 billion? In all seriousness, congratulations pg. You've played your cards very well the past 10 years.
Google says:
3% of (US$ 11.5 billion) = 345 million U.S. dollars
and
6% of (US$ 11.5 billion) = 690 million U.S. dollars
Re: 37 YC Companies have valuations of or been sold for at least $40 Million
#57I value myself quite highly as well.
Re: 37 YC Companies have valuations of or been sold for at least $40 Million
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
The founders on stage at TC Disrupt NYC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NAzQPll7Lo
skipping through that video without sound gives me the impression that this is a video about all thats wrong with the startup scene. Everybody on that stage looks like a complete douche, even the TC guy. I know they probably want to portray a certain image, but gawd...Sunglasses WTF ?
It does look like and feel like Doucheville on stage. But if you hold your nose through the first part, there's some interesting stuff in there (like how they bootstrapped by finding a passionate niche and targeting them initially)
Re: 37 YC Companies have valuations of or been sold for at least $40 Million
#59Unless you're a total hater, this is an amazing achievement no matter how you look at it. I just have one concern, however. Like most people on HN, I have a ton of respect for PG i.e. how smart he is, his willingness to share his knowledge with the world, and the way he has helped change Silicon Valley for the better. However, what happens if/when PG decides to hang it up? OR if "God forbid" he's forced to hang it up…
I have no inside knowledge of YC, but I get the impression that "PG essentially IS YC" is just not true. He is the public face, communicator and prime founder; but the other partners, the people who support them, and the YC alumni network, at this point, I would wager, together contribute more value than he does.
However, as the public face of YC, the public perception of YC would be greatly affected if he left that role. And this could potentially have an adverse effect on attracting the best startups, and thus over time weaken the whole structure.
Re: 37 YC Companies have valuations of or been sold for at least $40 Million
#60Incredible - even though it's 37 out of 511 companies.