Interviewing with YC? Don't overstep the limits like us (but be close)
1–10 of 51 posts
Re: Interviewing with YC? Don't overstep the limits like us (but be close)
#2"The problem is, while pg outwardly disapproved of our actions, we know he secretly loves founders that push the limits!"
You know what, though: the response function around the limit is not a smooth bell curve; it drops sharply below the x axis as you go past the peak.
Re: Interviewing with YC? Don't overstep the limits like us (but be close)
#3"It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission"
Thats a mantra that I found hard to take on, but it really has helped me
Re: Interviewing with YC? Don't overstep the limits like us (but be close)
#4Is anyone else somewhat annoyed by the wink-and-a-node style this post is written in? It's like, "Hey look how scrappy we are, willing to push the limits like this, but oh, that's not appropriate for you, you had better play it safe."
Re: Interviewing with YC? Don't overstep the limits like us (but be close)
#5Is anyone else somewhat annoyed by the wink-and-a-node style this post is written in? It's like, "Hey look how scrappy we are, willing to push the limits like this, but oh, that's not appropriate for you , you had better play it safe."
It's interesting that the tone of the blog post suggests a desperation about getting into YC, rather than the old adage of wanting to build something that people actually want to use.
It's also interesting that HN is full of people who talk about a higher education bubble, but a YC bubble mysteriously seems to be off-topic here.
(Note that I love and use a lot of YC companies)
Re: Interviewing with YC? Don't overstep the limits like us (but be close)
#6Given the inherent dodginess of so many 'social startups' already ("get piles of users now, figure out how to make a big pile of money from later"), this whole 'naughtiness' stuff bothers me. It's a short hop from naughty to 'actively unethical'.
Here's the question: given that you've already demonstrated that you don't really have a lot of regard for the privacy of fellow YC interviewees (however 'intentionally' you outed a bunch of people on Twitter), why should you be trusted with user data?
If you'll pull a stunt like this for seed money, what will you do to get VC money? Just wait until you've got 2-4 years of serious work on a startup and you're 'close' to serious profitability. What 'naughty' stuff will you do when you've actually got some serious skin in the game?
Re: Interviewing with YC? Don't overstep the limits like us (but be close)
#7"It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission" Thats a mantra that I found hard to take on, but it really has helped me
In uni myself and a friend used this philosophy to get lab space and desks in the postgrad labs (we were undergrads and normally didn't get our own "private" lab space). We had keycards because we needed access for project work[1], found ourselves some unused space, unused desks etc figuring that if anybody minded we would just apologize and find someplace else. Nobody complained and by the time I graduated we had three desks, in three different labs. Besides the two of us, everybody else in my class had no private labs/desks :)
Re: Interviewing with YC? Don't overstep the limits like us (but be close)
#8"The problem is, while pg outwardly disapproved of our actions, we know he secretly loves founders that push the limits!" You know what, though: the response function around the limit is not a smooth bell curve; it drops sharply below the x axis as you go past the peak.
It took me a while to get this, so I made a helpful graph for everyone else as slow as I am.
Re: Interviewing with YC? Don't overstep the limits like us (but be close)
#9"The problem is, while pg outwardly disapproved of our actions, we know he secretly loves founders that push the limits!" You know what, though: the response function around the limit is not a smooth bell curve; it drops sharply below the x axis as you go past the peak.
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Re: Interviewing with YC? Don't overstep the limits like us (but be close)
#10Lol... Let's co-opt an unaffiliated brand in the marketing of our product!
The tone of the piece reminds me of a scene from that Capote movie.
----
Truman Capote: I had lunch with Jimmy Baldwin the other day.
Party date: How is he?
Truman Capote: Hes lovely, hes a lovely man. And he told me the plot of his new book. And he said, "I just wanted to make sure its not one of those problem novels," you know. And I said , "Jimmy. Your book is about a Negro homosexual whos in love with a Jew. Wouldnt you call that a problem?"