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Y Combinator Clone in Vienna, Austria launches

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Re: Y Combinator Clone in Vienna, Austria launches

#61

Post by fmu »

enki wrote: post #7
gibsonf1 wrote: post #4

Maybe YC should be getting some percentage?

i wouldn't mind giving them percentage, or for that matter, even all of it - we don't care about making money with it - i have my own startup running already. what we want is to attract talent to austria, and make it possible for locals to make the leap.

the question is: do i want someone to hold a large chunk of my equity who does not care about making money? me thinks not.

secondly, you state having your own startup. if this is not a shitty startup it will absorb all of your free time.

what makes you think your lack of time, apparent lack of connections, and lack of interest in financial gain would be a good deal for an entrepreneur?

Re: Y Combinator Clone in Vienna, Austria launches

#62

Post by fmu »

davidw wrote: post #59
enki wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

hello benja, i'm paul and i'm the one who mainly started this. your reservations are absolutely justified. who am i to think i can do this? i haven't had any huge successes to show yet, and i really didn't want to launch like this. i had big plans of launching with my own money, and then i'd have prepared some nice texts telling my success story. as things went, we are launching early. i'm certainly in a different le…

Having recently relocated to Innsbruck (from Padova, Italy, and originally from Oregon in the US), I'm curious about utilizing an LLP from the UK. I'd be really interested to hear if anyone has more information on that, because as things stand, starting a company in countries like Austria or Italy is absurdly expensive.

the company form you would typically choose is actually the Ltd. rather than a partnership; there is really nothing special to it, you can self-incorporate online for a few hundred EUR and will only need a mail forwarding agent

having gone the AG (company by shares) route before i would agree the legal expenses associated with the traditional legal forms are insane, plus you need a significant minimum amount of founding capital upfront

being in Innsbruck right now (for non-startup reasons) I wonder what brought you here?

Re: Y Combinator Clone in Vienna, Austria launches

#63

Post by create_account »

pg wrote: post #53
create_account wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Connections with high profile investors? That's why Kiko had to use eBay? Ha!

We did actually introduce Kiko to angels who invested in them. And Kiko didn't sell because they were out of money, but because their users were draining away.

But why weren't you able to introduce them to prospective buyers once they'd decided to sell?

Isn't that where a well-connected investment firm adds value?

Re: Y Combinator Clone in Vienna, Austria launches

#64

Post by pg »

jey wrote: post #40
Sam_Odio wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It also implies a collaboration with YC, which doesn't exist. Regardless, I think it will be hard to fully replicate the YC model, because it's unlikely these firms will generate the following YC has. This following equates to attention, press, prestige and connections for all the new YC companies. Without all that, all you have is an angel investor. And there's nothing new about that. Really, when it comes down to i…

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Really, these guys aren't claiming to be YCombinator II. They're just validating the model and wanting to do something similar in Europe. They clearly state on their page "This site is inspired by, but not affiliated with YCombinator." The YCombinators should be flattered, and everyone who participates in YC can give themselves a pat on the back for being funded by the o…

Though this graphic joke wasn't planned, we did notice early on that YC was VC with, ah, more masculine characteristics.

Re: Y Combinator Clone in Vienna, Austria launches

#65

Post by BitGeek »

SwellJoe wrote: post #58
BitGeek wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If %50 of the value of YC is the fact that they require startups to locate in Boston or SF, then any startup who doesn't get into YC can get %60 of the benefit by simply relocating. Seriously, I hope that %50 of the "benefit" of YC is not moveing to an expensive location where every resource you could need for a business is constrained. I've seen no evidence that locating outside of SF or MA reduces your chances of s…

"where every resource you could need for a business is constrained" Every resource except: Money. The Valley has money like you wouldn't believe. Everything worth anything gets funded. If you can pull out a nice demo and sign on a few paying customers, you will get money--more than enough to make up for the cost of living. People who understand what you're doing. There are dozens or hundreds of "startup" attorneys he…

There's a lot of irony there, but I don't know how to make you see it.

Re: Y Combinator Clone in Vienna, Austria launches

#66

Post by schmidp »

I think it's a great Idea! I've been at Metalab quite a few times now and it's a great place with great people.

Last friday they hosted the first "Startup Freitag" (Startup Friday) to bring people interested in startups together. As Paul hasn't talked about YEurope on friday, I guess some opportunities emerged from that first get togehter.

I'm eagerly awaiting the next one the 5th of May. I left the last one after a great chat at about 3am (if I remember correctly).

While I do understand why people don't like the YEurope copycat from YCombinator, I think the reasons why they did it is obvious: attention and getting the message out fast. Most people interested in startups know about YCombinator and most of them will asume YEurope is doing something similar. (time might also have played a factor)

I personally know Paul and if you have a look at Metalab and on what he (and the others) achieved there, I think it's a good point to have some trust in YEurope.

Many will agree that one of the great values of YCombinator are connections and bringing the right people together. That's exactly what the Metalab is trying to do and has done really well so far.

(I first wrote that comment on TechCrunch and then copied it over here)

Re: Y Combinator Clone in Vienna, Austria launches

#68

Post by sudhirc »

rms wrote: post #2

Cool. They stole the application too, but I guess they can because doing so didn't hurt Techstars at all. They stole it so badly that I wonder if it's a joke. "If one wanted to buy you three months in (March 2007), what's the lowest offer you'd take?" I wonder how long it will be before we see a clone in India/East Asia.

Well rms I am from India. Mentality right now is against startups. Working for big companies is considered very smart and only options out here. But things are changing out here too. One of my friend quit his job to join a startup. I do not have the right credentials otherwise i would have setup a YC clone here too.

Re: Y Combinator Clone in Vienna, Austria launches

#69

Post by pg »

create_account wrote: post #63
pg wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We did actually introduce Kiko to angels who invested in them. And Kiko didn't sell because they were out of money, but because their users were draining away.

But why weren't you able to introduce them to prospective buyers once they'd decided to sell? Isn't that where a well-connected investment firm adds value?

The usual acquirers buy whole companies, including the programmers (which are actually the main thing they want). They don't buy just software in asset sales. So the fact that Justin and Emmett didn't want to keep working on the calendar meant that a normal acquisition was out of the question.

Re: Y Combinator Clone in Vienna, Austria launches

#70

Post by pg »

usablecontent wrote: post #67
furd wrote: post #51

The bad news is that you have to move to Poland during the summer session.

The good news is that, last time I checked the map Vienna was in Austria...

He's joking. He's saying that Poland is to Vienna as Massachusetts is to Silicon Valley.
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