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Was Y Combinator worth it?

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Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?

#61

Post by tptacek »

threeseed wrote: post #49
brianwawok wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bootstrap is more likely to hit a 10M exit VC funded is more likely to hit a 1B exit Depends on goals…. And yes I chose bootstrap.

It's not a binary choice. You can bootstrap until Series A at which point you can decide what direction to go. Either a successful lifestyle business or a bigger VC backed business. But you can't choose if you take YC/Seed. And you are more likely as a founder to acquire life changing wealth with a lifestyle business than a VC one.

Why can't you choose if you go to YC? Plenty of YC companies have not raised A rounds.

Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?

#62

Post by huevosabio »

electricduck wrote: post #5

You know, I've been reading Hacker News for god-knows-how-long, and it never occurred to me to look up what Y Combinator even was.

I landed first on some random PG essay, then I found out about HN and kept reading it for a while and then found out what YC was. This was some years ago, but still quite out of order!

Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?

#63

Post by ellis0n »

Good article. I believe YC provides a fantastic platform for startups, but I've noticed a stronger focus on complex regulations and financial aspects rather than genuine technological advancement. I applied twice, yet others with more effective strategies and personal investments, independent from the tech and knowledge, seemed to be in a better position when it came to applying to YC.

Over a decade ago, I emerged from an underprivileged local community and stumbled upon YC's content randomly, without finding the original links or names associated. Googled randomly.

I struggle to comprehend why we can't bring together the brightest minds, irrespective of their backgrounds, race, location, or financial status. As evidence, @amasad (YC10) wrote that he couldn't launch with YC in today's environment.

In the case of my most recent startup, which I developed in San Francisco, we opted not to pursue YC due to their substantial equity requirements. The time has come for YC to instigate changes, giving priority to technology over politics, and reigniting the technological renaissance of startups.

Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?

#64

Post by armini »

Yes it's helped me handle rejections (starting from 2017 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kNN6O_C8-9apBDRkl4BsfzcQfah... ). We're still working on the same project just rebranded (kuky.com) iterating on user feedback & building an organic community that loves what we're doing https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtR9Lnav1GH/?igshid=MzRlODBiN...

Following YC taught us to make what people love. Not being accepted meant that it took us a little longer as we had to build our own network. In a way I'm actually proud we managed to come so far self funded, Investor check is nice but user love holds far more value for us now.

Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?

#66

Post by PheonixPharts »

grotorea wrote: post #56
fasterik wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean this isn't a website for lambda calculus enthusiasts?

Maybe this has something to do with the local opinion on Haskell?

Funnily enough you can't actually implement the proper y-combinator in Haskell because the type system won't allow it. Which is a real shame because in most Lisps you can only implement the applicative order y-combinator due to a lack of lazy evaluation.

Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?

#67

Post by paulcole »

ellis0n wrote: post #63

Good article. I believe YC provides a fantastic platform for startups, but I've noticed a stronger focus on complex regulations and financial aspects rather than genuine technological advancement. I applied twice, yet others with more effective strategies and personal investments, independent from the tech and knowledge, seemed to be in a better position when it came to applying to YC. Over a decade ago, I emerged fr…

> why we can't bring together the brightest minds, irrespective of their backgrounds, race, location, or financial status

We (as society) can. We simply choose not to.

Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?

#68

Post by ellis0n »

paulcole wrote: post #67
ellis0n wrote: post #63

Good article. I believe YC provides a fantastic platform for startups, but I've noticed a stronger focus on complex regulations and financial aspects rather than genuine technological advancement. I applied twice, yet others with more effective strategies and personal investments, independent from the tech and knowledge, seemed to be in a better position when it came to applying to YC. Over a decade ago, I emerged fr…

> why we can't bring together the brightest minds, irrespective of their backgrounds, race, location, or financial status We (as society) can. We simply choose not to.

This leads to loss of knowledge. We could live in the much better world that Tesla and Einstein dreamed of. Perhaps we would prolong life and prevent the loss of the great people I see every day. Human life and knowledge is the most important thing.

Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?

#69

Post by spennant »

downWidOutaFite wrote: post #41
electricduck wrote: post #5

You know, I've been reading Hacker News for god-knows-how-long, and it never occurred to me to look up what Y Combinator even was.

Our Eternal September has arrived.

It’s been here for a while now. (but I’m old, so what do I know?…)

Re: Was Y Combinator worth it?

#70

Post by MiguelX413 »

huevosabio wrote: post #62
electricduck wrote: post #5

You know, I've been reading Hacker News for god-knows-how-long, and it never occurred to me to look up what Y Combinator even was.

I landed first on some random PG essay, then I found out about HN and kept reading it for a while and then found out what YC was. This was some years ago, but still quite out of order!

What's a PG essay?
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