I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA • Hacker News Board

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#71

Post by tehansen » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:17 PM UTC

Do you think that YC could ever invest or advise startups / founders that can't move to silicon valley for 3 months for one reason or another?

Is there something inherent in the in-person experience that cannot be overcome by technology (in general too i suppose, rather than just the type of work ycombinator does)?

Personally i believe we're not quite there yet. I have some hope, that within our life time communication and collaboration tools can become both sophisticated and intuitive enough to make physical presence for most type of work completely irrelevant)

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#72

Post by flipside » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:17 PM UTC

I know a lot of YC alumni, are endorsements about quality or quantity? Are they important?

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#73

Post by sama » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:18 PM UTC

jwanner wrote: post #28

Since you probably can't spend too much time on each YC application, what is the most common issue you see that causes companies to not get further attention?

Great question! The biggest mistake founders make is burying whatever it is that's exceptional about them or their company deep in the application.

We are optimists. We want to believe. Help us by putting whatever it is that is going to make us want to fund you early in the answer to each question.

Also, be concise.

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#74

Post by d--b » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:18 PM UTC

What does it mean to be president of YC?

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#75

Post by elsen » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:18 PM UTC

Good evening Sam, thanks for taking some time around.

- What do you think of similar structures burgeoning in Europe? - Are they a good first step before applying to YC?

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#76

Post by atroyn » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:18 PM UTC

sama wrote: post #69

atroyn wrote: post #33

What's something common that partners have to repeat over and over until founders 'get it' ?

The most common thing is getting founders to focus on the right thing. At this stage, nothing but building a product that users love matters. Founders want to focus on anything else, and have wonderfully detailed excuses for why whatever it is is so important. "Write code and talk to users" is not sexy, but it's the road to success. Seeing your name in the press is sexy, but unfortunately has nothing to do whatsoever…

One thing my company struggled with in ImagineK12 was attracting enough users to know if we were making something they loved - how can founders focus on both?

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#77

Post by 37e6457accf0 » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:18 PM UTC

Hi Sam Altman, What would you suggest to a new college grad? Should I go work for a big companies, save some money and then go into start ups or just go into start ups ?

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#78

Post by perphywoo » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:18 PM UTC

Just want to say thanks to YC for rejecting my previous terrible startup twice, or I won't have the oppy to pursue a more promising one now. When a startup is not ready, YC can smell it.

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#79

Post by ceeK » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:19 PM UTC

What are your thoughts on pre-accelerators such as Entrepreneur First (www.joinef.com) that take people pre-team, pre-idea?

Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

#80

Post by njays » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 5:19 PM UTC

Do you encourage people on a work visa to apply (like H1b)? If they get in, do you have any legal partner that will help them join the program on a valid visa or at least guide how to proceed?