6 ms·

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 boa

by 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."
- dbarlett 11y ago
  What will rise up and be the new YC for unconnected 18 year olds? That's the idea behind the Thiel Fellowship [1]. [1] http://www.thielfellowship.org/apply/ http://www.thielfellowship.org/apply/
- paul 11y ago
  http://fellowship.ycombinator.com/ http://fellowship.ycombinator.com/ :)
  - xiaoma 11y ago
    I suspect that most of those who were accepted were highly credentialed (either via brand name schools or former employers). It would be wonderful to be wrong about that, though.
    - garry 11y ago
      Thankfully what you suspect is wrong here.
      - xiaoma 11y ago
        Good to hear!
sama 11y ago
We just hire whoever we think will be best at advising startups. When they are too well known people complain. When they are not well-known enough people complain. But as long as the startups get good advice I'm happy.
- Amorymeltzer 11y ago
  Super thrilled about Anne. YC could use more exposure to biotech, and aspiring biotech-ers could use an open, accepting mind. Great choice.
  - elcritch 11y ago
    Had similar thoughts regarding Anne. I'm working in a boomed field the potentials for startups in biotech will be expanding rapidly. Otherwise I've been unsure about the goals/strategies of YC regarding non-app based startups.

by numair 11y ago

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."

dbarlett 11y ago
What will rise up and be the new YC for unconnected 18 year olds? That's the idea behind the Thiel Fellowship [1]. [1] http://www.thielfellowship.org/apply/ http://www.thielfellowship.org/apply/
paul 11y ago
http://fellowship.ycombinator.com/ http://fellowship.ycombinator.com/ :)
- xiaoma 11y ago
  I suspect that most of those who were accepted were highly credentialed (either via brand name schools or former employers). It would be wonderful to be wrong about that, though.
  - garry 11y ago
    Thankfully what you suspect is wrong here.
    - xiaoma 11y ago
      Good to hear!

sama 11y ago

We just hire whoever we think will be best at advising startups. When they are too well known people complain. When they are not well-known enough people complain. But as long as the startups get good advice I'm happy.

Amorymeltzer 11y ago
Super thrilled about Anne. YC could use more exposure to biotech, and aspiring biotech-ers could use an open, accepting mind. Great choice.
- elcritch 11y ago
  Had similar thoughts regarding Anne. I'm working in a boomed field the potentials for startups in biotech will be expanding rapidly. Otherwise I've been unsure about the goals/strategies of YC regarding non-app based startups.