A not-so-obvious reason to apply to YC
yvonne.posthaven.com
A not-so-obvious reason to apply to YC
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Re: A not-so-obvious reason to apply to YC
#2>YC is at its core a group of great people.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I actually thought that was the obvious reason to most applicants.
A $120k investment from YC doesn't provide that much runway. That kind of money doesn't give much wiggle room for founders to splurge on luxuries like Aeron chairs and fancy cappuccino machines. That amount is to allow a small team to live in near-poverty in the SF Bay area for ~6 months and maybe also buy some tech necessities like AWS EC2 time. Basically, provide some breathing room for founders to not worry about rent and put the focus on building their idea. What other reason to work 60+ hours a week in modest conditions unless it was the networking and interaction?
Re: A not-so-obvious reason to apply to YC
#3>YC is at its core a group of great people. Correct me if I'm wrong but I actually thought that was the obvious reason to most applicants. A $120k investment from YC doesn't provide that much runway. That kind of money doesn't give much wiggle room for founders to splurge on luxuries like Aeron chairs and fancy cappuccino machines. That amount is to allow a small team to live in near-poverty in the SF Bay area for ~6…
This is what I was about to say. If you want money, go to investors. If you want a community, join an incubator.
Re: A not-so-obvious reason to apply to YC
#4Knowing all the people mentioned in this post, I don't doubt a single one of these stories. Every one of those people is selfless and eager to help.
Jessica has done an amazing job of instilling a culture at YC that selects for people who are friendly and eager to help others.
Re: A not-so-obvious reason to apply to YC
#5>YC is at its core a group of great people. Correct me if I'm wrong but I actually thought that was the obvious reason to most applicants. A $120k investment from YC doesn't provide that much runway. That kind of money doesn't give much wiggle room for founders to splurge on luxuries like Aeron chairs and fancy cappuccino machines. That amount is to allow a small team to live in near-poverty in the SF Bay area for ~6…
It was much less not too long ago, as well.
Re: A not-so-obvious reason to apply to YC
#6>YC is at its core a group of great people. Correct me if I'm wrong but I actually thought that was the obvious reason to most applicants. A $120k investment from YC doesn't provide that much runway. That kind of money doesn't give much wiggle room for founders to splurge on luxuries like Aeron chairs and fancy cappuccino machines. That amount is to allow a small team to live in near-poverty in the SF Bay area for ~6…
This is what I was about to say. If you want money, go to investors. If you want a community, join an incubator.
Ehhhh... Aren't there syndicates standing ready with millions for every YC startup on Demo Day? I think YC acceptance is worth at least 10 million in funding.
Re: A not-so-obvious reason to apply to YC
#7>YC is at its core a group of great people. Correct me if I'm wrong but I actually thought that was the obvious reason to most applicants. A $120k investment from YC doesn't provide that much runway. That kind of money doesn't give much wiggle room for founders to splurge on luxuries like Aeron chairs and fancy cappuccino machines. That amount is to allow a small team to live in near-poverty in the SF Bay area for ~6…
I would suspect that this is non-obvious to people who view YC as a structured, semi-guaranteed route to success, the way many people view a degree from a prestigious university. I know many people who are 'interested' in startups and crave some kind of validation that they are a real entrepreneur before sinking their teeth in. My university even offers a 1 year diploma in entrepreneurship. Madness! As though formal training will help you make the hard decisions you face as a founder.
Re: A not-so-obvious reason to apply to YC
#8Very cool of Yvonne to share about her pivot, not many founders (yc or not) are open about that.
The core message is so true. YC partners (and the founder community) is incredibly genuine, very eager to help out. This scales past being a "small company" as well -- the Collisons are some of the most approachable founders ever.
Re: A not-so-obvious reason to apply to YC
#9>YC is at its core a group of great people. Correct me if I'm wrong but I actually thought that was the obvious reason to most applicants. A $120k investment from YC doesn't provide that much runway. That kind of money doesn't give much wiggle room for founders to splurge on luxuries like Aeron chairs and fancy cappuccino machines. That amount is to allow a small team to live in near-poverty in the SF Bay area for ~6…
The obvious reason is that the people at YC are talented, the non obvious reason is that are such genuinely nice people as well.
Re: A not-so-obvious reason to apply to YC
#10A not-so-obvious excerpt I took away is this...
>Before joining YC, I had been working on my startup for 6 months and a few of my customers were YC companies.
I think most people are aware that the startup market is quickly growing, and it is not what the author suggested by any means, but I think entire startups can be created to cater to the startup market...in fact YC is probably so large that a startup could probably succeed by catering solely to YC startups. For example, I applied to YC once with an incorporation/legal service idea, with the thought that even serving as a Delaware Registered Agent (~$100/year) and filing the Delaware annual compliance documents (~$100) on behalf of the YC companies - a captured market - would generate ~$100k/year, which is probably peanuts from a investors point of view, but a solid life style business that has the potential to cater to ever Delaware C-Corp startup.
Its kind of like the 49er days and the old saying: "In a gold rush, some entrepreneurs dig for gold, and some sell shovels."