11 ms·

Welcome Anne, Ben, and Joe

111 points by sama 11y ago

atorralb 11y ago
does religion matter at YC? because the 3 of them are jews...just saying... don't hate.. maybe justa a coincidence
- dang 11y ago
  We've banned this account for obvious reasons, especially given https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9789044 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9789044.
  - bobsgame 11y ago
    I'm actually curious about the effect faith and upbringing might have on an entrepreneurial mindset. Does someone who is brought up being taught David vs Goliath and "an eye for an eye" for instance end up having greater capacity for confidence or competition than a Christian who is (in addition) taught to turn the other cheek? What about Islam or Buddhism, what unique effects could they have on a person's psychology? It's a touchy subject, but religion certainly could be a meaningful factor.
    - GFK_of_xmaspast 11y ago
      That's a remarkably superficial view of world religions.
numair 11y ago
We keep seeing impressive names come on board as YC partners. This might sound strange to you guys, but I'd love to read about some no-name partners come on board as well. I've found that a lot of the most helpful people out there are mostly unknown and under-appreciated (think: corporate version of "guy on couch" in Half-Baked). Maybe those people are just so stealthy that I don't notice that you're staffing up in that area as well. Just a thought!
- GFK_of_xmaspast 11y ago
  """Even if he were mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren't they, and a little chance? We can't have all Brandeises, Frankfurters and Cardozos.""" ???
- umziehennachbar 11y ago
  agreed. feels like famous name marketing stratgy
  - pavornyoh 11y ago
    Actually, it isn't a famous marketing strategy. YC is already massively successful and I disagree with your thought process.
- seiji 11y ago
  YC is no longer a quaint little outsider experiment. They are now The Man, The Establishment, The Gatekeepers. What will rise up and be the new YC for unconnected 18 year olds? YC probably wouldn't even talk to Steve and Alexis under the current expanded growth model. pg grew their idea and seeded their initial user base from his personal website readership. I think Sergey once mentioned (jokingly) he's not smart enough to be hired at Google anymore. That's kinda the YC situation, isn't it? The original people of YC created something bigger than themselves, and maintaining+growing the behemoth machine is the focus now. The people who "grew up" inside YC run it now because they helped create it. But, as an outsider, you can't just be hired into the machine. You can't grow the same way the originators did—you have to prove your worth elsewhere (this parking spot is already taken). There's always space for new scrappy teams to out maneuver established organizations. What would a new "the next YC" look like? You probably can't start it as a tech industry outsider. You'll need to have had your VC connections and an exit or two already under your belt. The easiest route would probably be to round up a team of traitorous YC partners who say "this has grown too big and crazy, we need to reset our roots back to the original problem space again."
  - 11y ago
kaffeemitsahne 11y ago
Will be nice to demo cryptography apps with Anne and Ben. :D
stevesearer 11y ago
I see these announcements from time to time and not knowing that much about how YC operates, have no idea what something like this means for the companies accepted into YC. Can someone shine a light on what these three people (and the other partners) will do in a practical sense?
- sama 11y ago
  It means YC companies will be able to meet with them one on one and get advice. They get a slice of YC equity in return.
  - stevesearer 11y ago
    Ah understood. Is it something like the company feels like it needs some help in the area of design and sets up a meeting with a design-minded partner? Or does YC look from outside and say, "you could use some help in the area of design, so maybe talking to so-and-so is a good idea". Or a little of both?
giarc 11y ago
Wow, very impressive additions. Given the size of their existing companies, will it be difficult to dedicate time to YC? Not only for the new partners but for all existing partners that maintain an executive level position.
rdl 11y ago
I think it's been long enough to conclude: the pg -> sama transition has been a clear success. YC has innovated in a lot of really promising ways, expanding the partnership, expanding access, scaling successfully, and doing some new things. Succession is one of the biggest challenges in organizations, and navigating it successfully is a big win.
- chimeracoder 11y ago
  > I think it's been long enough to conclude: the pg -> sama transition has been a clear success. Yeah, I can't think of a leadership handoff that's gone this smoothly - no loss in continuity, while at the same time launching new ventures[0], partnerships, and programs as well. [0] pun intended :)
- seiji 11y ago
  Replacing older and cautious and raising children with younger and ambitious and fabulous often yields amazing results.
- JonFish85 11y ago
  Wow, you're jumping to that conclusion already? As much as I'm sure the three of them are great additions in a lot of ways, none of them has led a product to a meaningful exit just yet (Pinterest, 123andme and Airbnb have yet to exit). Now their valuations are sky-high, and they've raised an incredible amount of money, but it seems like a big chunk of YC people (people working for YC, not in the program) haven't really successfully led a company to a big exit (IPO or $100m+ cash buyout). PG: Sold Viaweb for ~$50m Sam Altman: Sold Loopt for ~$43.4m after raising ~$30m Anne Wojcicki: Raised $191m, no exit Ben Silbermann: Raised $1.3bn, no exit Joe Gebbia: Raised $2.3bn, no exit I'm sure they're all very bright people, but at the end of the day, these aren't companies that have been profitable or really been sustainable. They're great resources for how to raise lots of money, sure, but are they people who can speak at any great lengths about building a long-standing business? I don't mean to sound incredibly negative about YC; I want to keep a level head when looking at them and what they offer.
  - rdl 11y ago
sinzone 11y ago
Joe is a rockstar! Great addition.
luxilove 11y ago
With respect to Anne joining, would Google find out about applying startups?
- mikeryan 11y ago
  I'm not entirely sure the source of the question but you know she's divorced Sergey right?
jeremonda 11y ago
The fact that we're welcoming Anne, Ben, and Joe, is why we need ethics in welcoming Anne, Ben, Joe.
pgroves 11y ago
Are there ever posts about who has left? Has anyone left?
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
RickHull 11y ago
What is a CPO? from wikipedia: Chief People Officer, an executive who oversees human resource management and industrial relations operations for an organization Chief Privacy Officer, an executive responsible for managing issues of privacy laws and policies Chief Process Officer, an executive responsible for defining processes rules and guidelines for an organization to follow Chief Procurement Officer, an executive responsible for supply management Chief Product Officer, an executive responsible for product management and development
- desdiv 11y ago
  >@airbnb Co-founder & Chief Product Officer. I design things. https://twitter.com/jgebbia https://twitter.com/jgebbia
ClintEhrlich 11y ago
The part about Ben being a two-time YC alum caught my eye. In practice, what does that mean? I was under the impression that even once YC technically ends, founders are still allowed to schedule office hours if it suites them. If so, what does that person receive from returning to YC? I presume (1) the opportunity to have the advice geared towards a new company, not the old one (2) access to the dinners for that session, and (3) the ability to bring in new partners to YC. Roughly accurate?
gone35 11y ago
Ben Silbermann is the cofounder and CEO of Pinterest, and a two-time YC alumni. Shouldn't it read instead "[...] and a two-time YC alumnus"? Just saying!

111 points by sama 11y ago

atorralb 11y ago

does religion matter at YC? because the 3 of them are jews...just saying... don't hate.. maybe justa a coincidence

dang 11y ago
We've banned this account for obvious reasons, especially given https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9789044 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9789044.
- bobsgame 11y ago
  I'm actually curious about the effect faith and upbringing might have on an entrepreneurial mindset. Does someone who is brought up being taught David vs Goliath and "an eye for an eye" for instance end up having greater capacity for confidence or competition than a Christian who is (in addition) taught to turn the other cheek? What about Islam or Buddhism, what unique effects could they have on a person's psychology? It's a touchy subject, but religion certainly could be a meaningful factor.
  - GFK_of_xmaspast 11y ago
    That's a remarkably superficial view of world religions.

numair 11y ago

We keep seeing impressive names come on board as YC partners. This might sound strange to you guys, but I'd love to read about some no-name partners come on board as well. I've found that a lot of the most helpful people out there are mostly unknown and under-appreciated (think: corporate version of "guy on couch" in Half-Baked). Maybe those people are just so stealthy that I don't notice that you're staffing up in that area as well. Just a thought!

GFK_of_xmaspast 11y ago
"""Even if he were mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren't they, and a little chance? We can't have all Brandeises, Frankfurters and Cardozos.""" ???
umziehennachbar 11y ago
agreed. feels like famous name marketing stratgy
- pavornyoh 11y ago
  Actually, it isn't a famous marketing strategy. YC is already massively successful and I disagree with your thought process.
seiji 11y ago
YC is no longer a quaint little outsider experiment. They are now The Man, The Establishment, The Gatekeepers. What will rise up and be the new YC for unconnected 18 year olds? YC probably wouldn't even talk to Steve and Alexis under the current expanded growth model. pg grew their idea and seeded their initial user base from his personal website readership. I think Sergey once mentioned (jokingly) he's not smart enough to be hired at Google anymore. That's kinda the YC situation, isn't it? The original people of YC created something bigger than themselves, and maintaining+growing the behemoth machine is the focus now. The people who "grew up" inside YC run it now because they helped create it. But, as an outsider, you can't just be hired into the machine. You can't grow the same way the originators did—you have to prove your worth elsewhere (this parking spot is already taken). There's always space for new scrappy teams to out maneuver established organizations. What would a new "the next YC" look like? You probably can't start it as a tech industry outsider. You'll need to have had your VC connections and an exit or two already under your belt. The easiest route would probably be to round up a team of traitorous YC partners who say "this has grown too big and crazy, we need to reset our roots back to the original problem space again."
- 11y ago

kaffeemitsahne 11y ago

Will be nice to demo cryptography apps with Anne and Ben. :D

stevesearer 11y ago

I see these announcements from time to time and not knowing that much about how YC operates, have no idea what something like this means for the companies accepted into YC. Can someone shine a light on what these three people (and the other partners) will do in a practical sense?

sama 11y ago
It means YC companies will be able to meet with them one on one and get advice. They get a slice of YC equity in return.
- stevesearer 11y ago
  Ah understood. Is it something like the company feels like it needs some help in the area of design and sets up a meeting with a design-minded partner? Or does YC look from outside and say, "you could use some help in the area of design, so maybe talking to so-and-so is a good idea". Or a little of both?

giarc 11y ago

Wow, very impressive additions. Given the size of their existing companies, will it be difficult to dedicate time to YC? Not only for the new partners but for all existing partners that maintain an executive level position.

rdl 11y ago

I think it's been long enough to conclude: the pg -> sama transition has been a clear success. YC has innovated in a lot of really promising ways, expanding the partnership, expanding access, scaling successfully, and doing some new things. Succession is one of the biggest challenges in organizations, and navigating it successfully is a big win.

chimeracoder 11y ago
> I think it's been long enough to conclude: the pg -> sama transition has been a clear success. Yeah, I can't think of a leadership handoff that's gone this smoothly - no loss in continuity, while at the same time launching new ventures[0], partnerships, and programs as well. [0] pun intended :)
seiji 11y ago
Replacing older and cautious and raising children with younger and ambitious and fabulous often yields amazing results.
JonFish85 11y ago
Wow, you're jumping to that conclusion already? As much as I'm sure the three of them are great additions in a lot of ways, none of them has led a product to a meaningful exit just yet (Pinterest, 123andme and Airbnb have yet to exit). Now their valuations are sky-high, and they've raised an incredible amount of money, but it seems like a big chunk of YC people (people working for YC, not in the program) haven't really successfully led a company to a big exit (IPO or $100m+ cash buyout). PG: Sold Viaweb for ~$50m Sam Altman: Sold Loopt for ~$43.4m after raising ~$30m Anne Wojcicki: Raised $191m, no exit Ben Silbermann: Raised $1.3bn, no exit Joe Gebbia: Raised $2.3bn, no exit I'm sure they're all very bright people, but at the end of the day, these aren't companies that have been profitable or really been sustainable. They're great resources for how to raise lots of money, sure, but are they people who can speak at any great lengths about building a long-standing business? I don't mean to sound incredibly negative about YC; I want to keep a level head when looking at them and what they offer.
- rdl 11y ago

sinzone 11y ago

Joe is a rockstar! Great addition.

luxilove 11y ago

With respect to Anne joining, would Google find out about applying startups?

mikeryan 11y ago
I'm not entirely sure the source of the question but you know she's divorced Sergey right?

jeremonda 11y ago

The fact that we're welcoming Anne, Ben, and Joe, is why we need ethics in welcoming Anne, Ben, Joe.

pgroves 11y ago

Are there ever posts about who has left? Has anyone left?

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

RickHull 11y ago

What is a CPO? from wikipedia: Chief People Officer, an executive who oversees human resource management and industrial relations operations for an organization Chief Privacy Officer, an executive responsible for managing issues of privacy laws and policies Chief Process Officer, an executive responsible for defining processes rules and guidelines for an organization to follow Chief Procurement Officer, an executive responsible for supply management Chief Product Officer, an executive responsible for product management and development

desdiv 11y ago
>@airbnb Co-founder & Chief Product Officer. I design things. https://twitter.com/jgebbia https://twitter.com/jgebbia

ClintEhrlich 11y ago

The part about Ben being a two-time YC alum caught my eye. In practice, what does that mean? I was under the impression that even once YC technically ends, founders are still allowed to schedule office hours if it suites them. If so, what does that person receive from returning to YC? I presume (1) the opportunity to have the advice geared towards a new company, not the old one (2) access to the dinners for that session, and (3) the ability to bring in new partners to YC. Roughly accurate?

gone35 11y ago

Ben Silbermann is the cofounder and CEO of Pinterest, and a two-time YC alumni. Shouldn't it read instead "[...] and a two-time YC alumnus"? Just saying!