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Applying to YC

blog.samaltman.com

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Re: Applying to YC

#71

Post by waterlesscloud »

nostrademons wrote: post #55
Qworg wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this impression is pervasive (at least amongst my friends). It would be great to highlight founders who have gotten into YC who don't "fit the mold" so to speak. Most, if not all, of the "check out my winning YC application" posts have multiple Ivy League/Stanford founders, advantageous childhoods, etc. Add to that the same posts have "multiple people who are YC alums read, edited, and/or vetted our applicati…

I think one of the critical skills for a startup founder is to ignore the general impression and find out yourself what the actual reality is. Another critical skill is the ability, when somebody else is confused by their general preconceptions, to point out why your special case is different and why they should abandon their general theories for the specific opportunity in front of them. YC might very well do the hi…

A critical skill for a startup incubator is reaching all the people who could succeed and make them a ton of money.

That includes openly and directly addressing mis-impressions the talent pool may have of who the incubator is looking for.

Re: Applying to YC

#72

Post by waterlesscloud »

pbreit wrote: post #53
rmena123 wrote: post #25

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't YC for the Ivy League class type? The "I dropped out cause I am smart" type? The "I wrote a book on _____" type? "I worked at Google or Facebook" type? What about the regular type that doesn't have much to show, but wants to do great things? Basically, I feel like the YC application is a pissing match of who can piss the farthest shown on paper not outside. haha :) I have realized…

No, you definitely do not fit. But you have no idea why.

Comments like this one make me have no desire to even attempt to "fit".

Re: Applying to YC

#73

Post by alliejanoch »

rmena123 wrote: post #40
paul wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are wrong :) YC founders come from everywhere.

I don't care to talk about race or gender, if you are good you are good, but me being American/Mexican "Hispanic" does YC have any?

I have a friend who is a YC alum and he is definitely hispanic. Not going to call him out, and of course that is only one person, but I don't feel that being a minority is going to hurt you. YC has made a lot of effort to address diversity: http://blog.ycombinator.com/diversity-and-startups

Re: Applying to YC

#74

Post by nostrademons »

waterlesscloud wrote: post #71
nostrademons wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think one of the critical skills for a startup founder is to ignore the general impression and find out yourself what the actual reality is. Another critical skill is the ability, when somebody else is confused by their general preconceptions, to point out why your special case is different and why they should abandon their general theories for the specific opportunity in front of them. YC might very well do the hi…

A critical skill for a startup incubator is reaching all the people who could succeed and make them a ton of money. That includes openly and directly addressing mis-impressions the talent pool may have of who the incubator is looking for.

That's true, and that's why I said YC may very well want to highlight such founders from disadvantaged backgrounds, if only for their own benefit.

However, I'm assuming that the YC partners are not going to be taking advice from me just because I post on Hacker News. People thinking of applying to YC might (hell, I might). They can control their actions, they can't control YC's actions. Why not focus on what you can control? That's another critical startup skill.

Re: Applying to YC

#75

Post by ChrisNorstrom »

rmena123 wrote: post #25

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't YC for the Ivy League class type? The "I dropped out cause I am smart" type? The "I wrote a book on _____" type? "I worked at Google or Facebook" type? What about the regular type that doesn't have much to show, but wants to do great things? Basically, I feel like the YC application is a pissing match of who can piss the farthest shown on paper not outside. haha :) I have realized…

What a sad, self defeatist attitude. You just knocked yourself down before anyone else did. It seems you're afraid of trying because you're afraid of failure.

You're the type of person that probably won't get accepted. Because if this is your attitude now, who knows what your mood's going to be like when your startup goes through turbulence.

You're searching for a reason not to apply. To keep failure at bay. To keep pain from the ego.

Re: Applying to YC

#76

Post by staunch »

sama wrote: post #42
rmena123 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree somewhat, I guess its just the impression many have.

if people have that impression, i think they looking for an excuse and not looking at data.

If YC partner selection is anything like YC founder selection the data says YC is for white and asian men who went to Stanford or Harvard, with few exceptions. YC partners, being only human, will tend to be biased in favor of people who are like them.

http://www.ycombinator.com/partners/

I'm pretty sure YC has not published any background diversity numbers. It would be good for the world if you did but I doubt you would find it flattering. I think this issue is just an understandable blind spot for you.

Re: Applying to YC

#77

Post by rattray »

rmena123 wrote: post #33
amirmc wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What gives you this impression? From what I can tell (from the outside) YC is a pretty diverse crowd and I believe PG once said that academic background doesn't much matter. Grit (aka resilience, determination, relentlessness, etc) is more important. In fact, there's nothing in the application form that even asks about education (there used to be but maybe it moved to the additional founder info - i.e it doesn't seem…

I am not just talking about education. Trust me, look up the founders, its the same type. If I walked into a YC dinner I would probably stand out, not for lack of education, but something would not be mixed up right.

Lack of confidence would certainly make someone stick out like a sore thumb =)

Re: Applying to YC

#78

Post by scobar »

rmena123 wrote: post #25

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't YC for the Ivy League class type? The "I dropped out cause I am smart" type? The "I wrote a book on _____" type? "I worked at Google or Facebook" type? What about the regular type that doesn't have much to show, but wants to do great things? Basically, I feel like the YC application is a pissing match of who can piss the farthest shown on paper not outside. haha :) I have realized…

I'll reiterate something YC partners have said. If you're working on a startup, even if you don't apply, completing the application is a great way to clarify your idea and focus on what's important moving forward.

If you don't have much to show yet, don't sweat it. Just get started, and work on your ideas with whatever time you can afford. Some applicants will have accomplished more, but some may have started with huge disadvantages and overcame far more adversity to achieve a much less impressive track record. Regardless of not being the type that seemingly has an advantage, if you're going to build a successful startup, then go build it.

I just returned from meeting with the CEO of the only YC company based in my state. He's an awesome guy, and I'm very grateful he took the time to meet with me and offer his advice. Throughout the meeting, it seemed like he had the impression that I had no idea how much work I had ahead of me and how hard it actually is to get into YC. Being underestimated like that is so thrilling; I love it! It means he'll be that much more impressed when I accomplish what I plan to do whether I get into YC or not.

Re: Applying to YC

#79

Post by paul »

yousifa wrote: post #56

Sam/Paul, what is the most important thing you look for in a hardware startup (that is not also shared with software startups)?

In general, there aren't any differences. We're looking for people who can create something that people will want. For hardware companies, that will likely require some hardware skills, so show us that you have what it takes to ship whatever it is that you are building. You should also have a good understanding of how much capital will be required to ship your v1, as that will often be an issue if you're actually manufacturing something.

Re: Applying to YC

#80

Post by Iftheshoefits »

_sentient wrote: post #70
enraged_camel wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Evaluating people based on what they have demonstrated is by far the fairest method, and I can't really imagine what you would propose to replace it with. Sounds like a great way to discriminate against those who are brilliant but have not been given the opportunity (through a certain type of upbringing, e.g. race, gender, income, nationality, etc.) to demonstrate it. I don't have a solution, but I do think that b…

I understand that everyone starts from a different place, and degrees of privilege certainly vary. However, the ability to create success in the face of failure is a core property of most successful entrepreneurs. People who stand around waiting for someone to "give them a chance" are rarely the ones who materially impact the world.

Edit: lest somebody take the below comment negatively, I'd submit that one doesn't have much to lose by simply applying to YC, so I'm not sure I understand why there'd be any hesitation even by people who are very unlikely to get in.

The evidence by an overwhelming margin indicates that being born into privilege is one of the most significant indicators of future success. In fact, in the world of entrepreneurs, "being given a chance" is hardly necessary for the overwhelming majority of success cases, because by accident of their birth they had such a head start. In fact, most people who "materially impact the world", by a big, big, big margin, were people who were born into privilege.

So I don't think that it's a negative indicator if somebody is particularly skeptical of their chances of getting accepted by YC for not fitting into a certain mold. In fact, it strikes me as being incredibly rational.

That being said, if one doesn't try, one will never know for sure. That doesn't mean one should apply, either, and expect anything if one isn't already wealthy or connected.

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