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Impressive that Julia hustled so hard just to be there at YC, but disappointing that she had to. Why doesn't YC provide some basic support for its founders to a

by Blahah 11y ago

Impressive that Julia hustled so hard just to be there at YC, but disappointing that she had to. Why doesn't YC provide some basic support for its founders to attend the program? At a minimum, room, board and transport for founders and their families for the duration. Not doing so will strongly select for people who already have the means to support themselves in Silicon Valley for 3 months, which is like saying "rich kids only".

davidw 11y ago
Well, the article does have (italics mine): > she and Adam would have to get by in the Bay Area on the meager monthly stipend she allowed herself. YC does give people a decent chunk of money; at least startups. Maybe it's different for non profits? From the article, it seems she chose to live frugally and spend it on her project.
seiji 11y ago
YC isn't a summer camp. It's not an incubator. You are not an incubee. They give you money and you can spend it however you want. It's generally assumed the cost to start at startup these days is only food+housing for two or three people.
dang 11y ago
Of course YC provides "support for its founders to attend the program". It funds them to do so. Nonprofits get the same funding. I don't know about this case, but the article mentions "the meager monthly stipend she allowed herself", which suggests that Julia chose to spend as much of the funding as possible on the nonprofit itself, despite considerable inconvenience. If that's so, I admire her for it, and it's a strong signal of authenticity for Zidisha.
- Blahah 11y ago
  I also admire Julia for the commitment she showed. She made it work, and by the sound of it, it was damn hard. Don't get me wrong, YC clearly provides great support in general for its founders. What I'm suggesting is that I would expect them to go that bit further to be inclusive - especially with their public commitment to encouraging female founders. My impression is that the funding founders get is interpreted as funding for the company, rather than for the founder to live. Is that wrong?
  - dang 11y ago
    > funding for the company, rather than for the founder to live. Is that wrong? Oh yes, quite wrong. The #1 purpose of the funding has always been to cover founders' living expenses while in YC. It was more than enough for that when we went through it in 2009, and of course the startups get a lot more these days. I should repeat that I don't know any details, but I bet you the YC partners had no idea of the lengths Julia was personally taking. (Literally! Commuting an hour on foot with a two-year-old is quite a length to take.) This is clearly a strong and determined person. It seems unlikely that she would have brought such details up or asked for special treatment in any way.
s73v3r 11y ago
"Why doesn't YC provide some basic support for its founders to attend the program?" Because they assume that everyone who wants to participate is young, unattached, and without major needs like insurance.
- dang 11y ago
  That's false, as you could trivially find out for yourself if you wanted to.
jkurnia 11y ago
The YC donation was more than enough to cover the cost of airfare and living in Mountain View for three months. I spent the majority of it on Zidisha rather than living expenses. Another reason we ended up staying in the Airbnb location, other than the affordability, was that Adam became good friends with one of the neighbor kids. :)

by Blahah 11y ago

davidw 11y ago

Well, the article does have (italics mine): > she and Adam would have to get by in the Bay Area on the meager monthly stipend she allowed herself. YC does give people a decent chunk of money; at least startups. Maybe it's different for non profits? From the article, it seems she chose to live frugally and spend it on her project.

seiji 11y ago

YC isn't a summer camp. It's not an incubator. You are not an incubee. They give you money and you can spend it however you want. It's generally assumed the cost to start at startup these days is only food+housing for two or three people.

dang 11y ago

Of course YC provides "support for its founders to attend the program". It funds them to do so. Nonprofits get the same funding. I don't know about this case, but the article mentions "the meager monthly stipend she allowed herself", which suggests that Julia chose to spend as much of the funding as possible on the nonprofit itself, despite considerable inconvenience. If that's so, I admire her for it, and it's a strong signal of authenticity for Zidisha.

Blahah 11y ago
I also admire Julia for the commitment she showed. She made it work, and by the sound of it, it was damn hard. Don't get me wrong, YC clearly provides great support in general for its founders. What I'm suggesting is that I would expect them to go that bit further to be inclusive - especially with their public commitment to encouraging female founders. My impression is that the funding founders get is interpreted as funding for the company, rather than for the founder to live. Is that wrong?
- dang 11y ago
  > funding for the company, rather than for the founder to live. Is that wrong? Oh yes, quite wrong. The #1 purpose of the funding has always been to cover founders' living expenses while in YC. It was more than enough for that when we went through it in 2009, and of course the startups get a lot more these days. I should repeat that I don't know any details, but I bet you the YC partners had no idea of the lengths Julia was personally taking. (Literally! Commuting an hour on foot with a two-year-old is quite a length to take.) This is clearly a strong and determined person. It seems unlikely that she would have brought such details up or asked for special treatment in any way.

s73v3r 11y ago

"Why doesn't YC provide some basic support for its founders to attend the program?" Because they assume that everyone who wants to participate is young, unattached, and without major needs like insurance.

dang 11y ago
That's false, as you could trivially find out for yourself if you wanted to.

jkurnia 11y ago

The YC donation was more than enough to cover the cost of airfare and living in Mountain View for three months. I spent the majority of it on Zidisha rather than living expenses. Another reason we ended up staying in the Airbnb location, other than the affordability, was that Adam became good friends with one of the neighbor kids. :)