Why we applied to YC despite having gone through another accelerator
karthikmanimaran.com
Why we applied to YC despite having gone through another accelerator
1–10 of 29 posts
Re: Why we applied to YC despite having gone through another accelerator
#2As a YC B2B alum, not totally impartial, but also not totally uninformed. I think you may have the wrong take-away from your experience.
I'm sorry you had a bad experience in LA. I agree a lot of the stuff you wrote about that accelerator sounds like unconscionable bullshit. The amazing thing is it is far from the worst I've read about. I'm glad you realize it was crappy.
Yes, there are ways to bootstrap a B2B business: early sales/revenue. The risk is becoming a consultancy, or losing your market to someone who is better funded. I wouldn't say you have to raise (even for consumer), but I also wouldn't say you shouldn't, and in the current market, raising is probably the best choice for someone who fits the scale/size/winner-take-all model, even in B2B.
2.9%? Why does a specific percentage matter? If someone takes 10% and tanks your business, that's bad. If I could get YC level value-add (network, advice, reputation) as a developer tool company focused on startups for 25% of common from a huge value-add investor, I'd seriously consider it. But of course I'd rather take YC for 7% and all the other YC benefits.
Re: Why we applied to YC despite having gone through another accelerator
#3Now it's not so convincing piece of advice when you say "Never do an accelerator", when you just applied for one and got rejected, is it?
Re: Why we applied to YC despite having gone through another accelerator
#4I assume you plan on raising money? In your case, you would likely get even more than a 6% valuation bump, making YC worth it on that alone.
I think there are some key details missing in this post which make it hard to tell why you were in fact rejected. In addition to the accelerator, you've also been going at it for 3+ years, and are only now hitting 1M For B2B, that is unfortunately on the really slow end of things for growth (read Jason Lemkins quora posts for whay to expect for typical bootstrapped busineeses). The fact that you're a leader already in this market, and growth is that slow, is maybe an indicator the market doesn't have much potential. On the other hand it might also just be that you're in a market that is new, so the potential is there and others just don't see it.
Re: Why we applied to YC despite having gone through another accelerator
#5This is a good example of how bad many accelerators are, but extrapolating based on that experience to thinking that he knows anything about YC is a major error. This is a bit like saying, "I had a bad time drinking bleach, therefore you should avoid all liquids."
Re: Why we applied to YC despite having gone through another accelerator
#6I don't think YC cares about growth, or if you're early/late stage (yeah I know this goes against what the president said..but hear me out). We also got refused being a B2B startup with extreme growth and only less than 6 months old solving a real world problem. The difference is that our startup was boring web SaaS, without any crazy tech or AI. If you look at their latest batch most companies are hardware, biotech, energy, or some batshit crazy algorithm AI buzzwordy startup. They're going deep and risking a lot, and this is probably what I would do too if I had a big fund 8 years later.
Quora got in YC after already raising many rounds and through other accelator..but that was 2 years ago when YC wasn't 100% crazy tech only yet: http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/11/quora-y-combinator/
Re: Why we applied to YC despite having gone through another accelerator
#7I assume you plan on raising money? In your case, you would likely get even more than a 6% valuation bump, making YC worth it on that alone. I think there are some key details missing in this post which make it hard to tell why you were in fact rejected. In addition to the accelerator, you've also been going at it for 3+ years, and are only now hitting 1M For B2B, that is unfortunately on the really slow end of thing…
I'm fairly down on Quora, but ~everything https://www.quora.com/profile/Jason-M.-Lemkin has written looks pretty amazing -- I wish he'd write a book or something.
Re: Why we applied to YC despite having gone through another accelerator
#8This is a good example of how bad many accelerators are, but extrapolating based on that experience to thinking that he knows anything about YC is a major error. This is a bit like saying, "I had a bad time drinking bleach, therefore you should avoid all liquids."
Most accelerators are profit generating initiatives that while started to be beneficial are unable to scale and fulfill their purpose.
Re: Why we applied to YC despite having gone through another accelerator
#9This is a good example of how bad many accelerators are, but extrapolating based on that experience to thinking that he knows anything about YC is a major error. This is a bit like saying, "I had a bad time drinking bleach, therefore you should avoid all liquids."
Most accelerators are profit generating initiatives that while started to be beneficial are unable to scale and fulfill their purpose.
Accelerators are actually a terrible business because you only make money if you get a big hit (which most won't), and even then it can take 10 years or more to realize the gains. I predict most will disappear in the next 5 years.
Re: Why we applied to YC despite having gone through another accelerator
#10I assume you plan on raising money? In your case, you would likely get even more than a 6% valuation bump, making YC worth it on that alone. I think there are some key details missing in this post which make it hard to tell why you were in fact rejected. In addition to the accelerator, you've also been going at it for 3+ years, and are only now hitting 1M For B2B, that is unfortunately on the really slow end of thing…
IIRC his number is $2-3mm ARR after 24 months bootstrapped in SaaS at the lowest end.