Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How to Start a Startup: Fall 2014

startupclass.samaltman.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 145 posts

Re: How to Start a Startup: Fall 2014

#81

Post by sillysaurus3 »

selmnoo wrote: post #76

This is a fantastic move by the YC folks. Doing the class at Stanford raises their profile in just the right place -- now more of just the right and able individuals will apply to YC (especially because YC basically "teaching" at Stanford has earned them validation as a place to go for Stanford students, who up til now may have had any reservation about joining YC, or just simply hadn't considered the possibility, or…

now more of just the right and able individuals will apply to YC

Do those people care about Stanford? The founders of neither Dropbox nor Airbnb attended Stanford, for example. Evidence thus far seems to indicate that elitism isn't the right metric to optimize for. That said, there's certainly a large talent pool concentrated at Stanford.

Keeping YC a meritocracy seems important, so hopefully it won't become something else.

Re: How to Start a Startup: Fall 2014

#82

Post by quaunaut »

jacquesm wrote: post #74
Nicholas_C wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're forgetting the absolutely incredible intangible value and legitimacy of having Stanford on your resume.

Your customers have absolutely no idea of what is on your resume.

This is a hell of a quote.

Re: How to Start a Startup: Fall 2014

#83

Post by kevinwang »

wj wrote: post #40

Another great resource from Stanford on startups is their Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders lecture series. http://ecorner.stanford.edu/podcasts.html Talks have been given by some of the same people (including Marc Andreessen, Aaron Levie, Reid Hoffman, and Marissa Mayer) and many others. This talk on negotiation is one of the best lectures I've ever heard and I've recommended it to people dozens of times: http://ecorn…

Thanks for linking that lecture on negotiation! - it was an enjoyable listen and I especially liked the emphasis on fairness and even altruism to others in negotiations. I think humanity's a lot more fun to think about when people are good to each other.

Re: How to Start a Startup: Fall 2014

#84

Post by dropit_sphere »

michaelochurch wrote: post #77
jacquesm wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's not the information or know-how that makes YC a game-changer. YC is composed of equal parts capital, smarts and process. That's not taking into account the connections or the seal of approval, those are results not inputs! You could claim they are inputs now but it wasn't always like that. > It's the connections and seal of approval, which are scarce by definition. Connections are not scarce at all. You - and…

I used to be much angrier about the non-meritocracy of the Valley, but in 2014, we're near the end of the bubble cycle anyway. I've decided to be forward-thinking and wait for the crash. After the crash hits and the carpetbaggers leave, it'll be up to people like me to rebuild the technology world. I hope that, when we do it, we create one in which engineers and scientists and makers matter again.

seriouslypleasedropit here, I've commented on your blog.

I've come to the conclusion that it's impossible to completely flatten things. There will always be an in-group.

But new in-groups can be created. That's basically what YC has done in the last 20 years. Further, in-groups can actively help outgroups. Pell grants are a great example of this.

YC wants startups with promise. Build one, join the in-group, and then shape the world according to your will.

Re: How to Start a Startup: Fall 2014

#85

Post by waterlesscloud »

jacquesm wrote: post #71
michaelochurch wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps it wasn't the most useful comment I've written, but I think I have a strong point. It's not the information or know-how that makes YC a game-changer. It's the connections and seal of approval, which are scarce by definition. And now the Stanford -> Funded pipeline is even stronger, which means that everyone else is slightly (imperceptibly) more an outsider fuckhead employee on 0.04%. I don't begrudge YC, real…

> It's not the information or know-how that makes YC a game-changer. YC is composed of equal parts capital, smarts and process. That's not taking into account the connections or the seal of approval, those are results not inputs! You could claim they are inputs now but it wasn't always like that. > It's the connections and seal of approval, which are scarce by definition. Connections are not scarce at all. You - and…

>> And now the Stanford -> Funded pipeline is even stronger, which means that everyone else is slightly (imperceptibly) more an outsider fuckhead employee on 0.04%.

>On the contrary, all the material will be made available, so you too can benefit from this.

This is missing his point. The student in the same room as these speakers will have considerably more access to the individuals speaking than someone merely watching the lectures online. In addition, those students also have the stamp of approval that comes with being a Stanford student.

This situation isn't creating this privilege, but it is reinforcing it.

That said, it also creates some lesser opportunities for the clever and determined outsider that didn't exist otherwise.

Re: How to Start a Startup: Fall 2014

#86

Post by jacquesm »

waterlesscloud wrote: post #85
jacquesm wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's not the information or know-how that makes YC a game-changer. YC is composed of equal parts capital, smarts and process. That's not taking into account the connections or the seal of approval, those are results not inputs! You could claim they are inputs now but it wasn't always like that. > It's the connections and seal of approval, which are scarce by definition. Connections are not scarce at all. You - and…

>> And now the Stanford -> Funded pipeline is even stronger, which means that everyone else is slightly (imperceptibly) more an outsider fuckhead employee on 0.04%. >On the contrary, all the material will be made available, so you too can benefit from this. This is missing his point. The student in the same room as these speakers will have considerably more access to the individuals speaking than someone merely watch…

That Stanford session will be over-subscribed to the point that any access privilege is relatively minor, as well as just a moment in time but the treasure trove of footage resulting from it will last for a lifetime.

Re: How to Start a Startup: Fall 2014

#87

Post by michaelochurch »

jacquesm wrote: post #78
michaelochurch wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to be much angrier about the non-meritocracy of the Valley, but in 2014, we're near the end of the bubble cycle anyway. I've decided to be forward-thinking and wait for the crash. After the crash hits and the carpetbaggers leave, it'll be up to people like me to rebuild the technology world. I hope that, when we do it, we create one in which engineers and scientists and makers matter again.

> I hope that, when we do it, we create one in which engineers and scientists and makers matter again. There has never in the history of mankind been a time when engineers, scientists and makers mattered more than they do today.

There has never in the history of mankind been a time when engineers, scientists and makers mattered more than they do today.

8 (or 18, or 38) years ago, before the douchebags tracked the mainstream business culture into startups, reduced engineer equity slices dramatically, and generally made the sorts of people who built the original Silicon Valley into second-class citizens.

There are many who argue that the 1970s was the Golden Age of Silicon Valley. People who actually wrote the software were treated like real people, and equity slices reflected it. None of this 90-hour-work-week-for-0.03% bullshit.

Re: How to Start a Startup: Fall 2014

#88

Post by michaelochurch »

jacquesm wrote: post #86
waterlesscloud wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> And now the Stanford -> Funded pipeline is even stronger, which means that everyone else is slightly (imperceptibly) more an outsider fuckhead employee on 0.04%. >On the contrary, all the material will be made available, so you too can benefit from this. This is missing his point. The student in the same room as these speakers will have considerably more access to the individuals speaking than someone merely watch…

That Stanford session will be over-subscribed to the point that any access privilege is relatively minor, as well as just a moment in time but the treasure trove of footage resulting from it will last for a lifetime.

The bubble will probably wind down in the next 3 years, and douche companies Snapchat and Clinkle have done so much damage to the credibility of technology (even though their founders are douches, not technologists) that, after those assholes finish vaporizing billions, it could be another 50 years before anyone with money takes us seriously.

The problem is that most of the people "out there" don't separate the Google-Glass-wearing douches in most of the executive roles and true technologists. They lump us together and think we're like them. Which is why they hate us.

Re: How to Start a Startup: Fall 2014

#89

Post by reduce »

sama wrote: post #28
crazypyro wrote: post #23

I am beyond jealous. That instructor list is unreal. Students at Stanford get another peg up on the starting ladder... (Also there is only 90 universities signed up for watch parties, yet copy lists "hundreds")

it's online! don't be jealous; watch the talks.

Unfortunately, there's a huge difference in the psychological impact of seeing role models in-person, versus only on a screen.

I've experienced this many times while living outside of the US, in recent years. All of the people you'll read about in blogs, or see in videos -- they're perceived like movie stars or legends that must have been greatly distorted on their journey to the opposite end of the world. Keep in mind that many small countries have never seen a single big tech-startup success happen within their borders. Even suggesting a remote possibility of successes, will be met with the argument that every successful person they've ever known hasn't followed what they call the "American" startup way.

In-person role models -- can't underestimate the psychological impact.

Post reply on HN