3 ms·

then why yc alumni network exists? Why yc provides mentors? Whose feedback is more valuable, mentors or customers?

by xmly 11y ago

smt88 11y ago
The entire assumption of YC (and all investors, really) is that they're able to select companies that are likely to succeed. I'm not saying YC (or anyone) is good at it, but let's pretend that they are. You're proposing to create a group of people who YC has decided are not likely to succeed. That doesn't make any sense. YC alumni might want to be in a network so they can collaborate, make deals with each other, or find new jobs when their own company fails. Why would you want to do that with the rejected group? Why not try to do that with other companies in general? There are lots of opportunities to meet other founders in any city with a decent level of entrepreneurship.
- xmly 11y ago
  See, you already give me feedback and you are not my customer.
- jjoe 11y ago
  You're stopping short of saying YC-rejected groups are failures (less likely to succeed) ergo their advice will certainly fall short. But then we learn better from failure in general and the failure of others. I think that rejected YC companies are one step closer to success. So why not...
  - smt88 11y ago
    > we learn better from failure in general and the failure of others If they've been rejected from YC, they're not failures. They're still working on their idea. You can't learn from their failure until they actually fail. It's also really hard to learn from the failures of others. Most people only learn the hard way. I'm one of them, so I don't meant that in a judgmental way at all.
  - brudgers 11y ago
    I think the process of applying is useful for some people At least for me, it took me outside my comfort zone. I've always just operated under my own name and spokesmodelling "a company" instead for the video created a cognitive shift that I didn't know existed. This article is probably a reasonable way to look at not getting accepted: http://mathwithbaddrawings.com/2015/09/30/why-ive-stopped-doing-interviews-for-yale/ http://mathwithbaddrawings.com/2015/09/30/why-ive-stopped-do...
- brudgers 11y ago
  There's actually a subtle difference in YC's criteria. YC selects against false positives rather than against false negatives. This means that YC selects with the knowing that some rejected companies are likely to succeed. YC also selects against companies that do not fit it's model, e.g. the recent thread where the founder wanted to organize as a UK LTD rather than a Delaware corporation. To put it another way, even though asshole founders can succeed, YC purportedly selects against possible asshole founders when they are identifable. Part of this I suspect is general principle. Part, I suspect, is that asshole founders create additional work. Finally, most entrepreneurs in most cities are not founding the sort of businesses that YC and the rest of Silicon Valley would classify as startups. Outside the bubble, an LLC that opens a restaurant gets called "a startup". While there are people in most markets doing businesses that take rocket fuel and either blow up or reach orbit, that model is much rarer out in the regular world.

then why yc alumni network exists? Why yc provides mentors? Whose feedback is more valuable, mentors or customers?

by xmly 11y ago

then why yc alumni network exists? Why yc provides mentors? Whose feedback is more valuable, mentors or customers?

smt88 11y ago

The entire assumption of YC (and all investors, really) is that they're able to select companies that are likely to succeed. I'm not saying YC (or anyone) is good at it, but let's pretend that they are. You're proposing to create a group of people who YC has decided are not likely to succeed. That doesn't make any sense. YC alumni might want to be in a network so they can collaborate, make deals with each other, or find new jobs when their own company fails. Why would you want to do that with the rejected group? Why not try to do that with other companies in general? There are lots of opportunities to meet other founders in any city with a decent level of entrepreneurship.

xmly 11y ago
See, you already give me feedback and you are not my customer.
jjoe 11y ago
You're stopping short of saying YC-rejected groups are failures (less likely to succeed) ergo their advice will certainly fall short. But then we learn better from failure in general and the failure of others. I think that rejected YC companies are one step closer to success. So why not...
- smt88 11y ago
  > we learn better from failure in general and the failure of others If they've been rejected from YC, they're not failures. They're still working on their idea. You can't learn from their failure until they actually fail. It's also really hard to learn from the failures of others. Most people only learn the hard way. I'm one of them, so I don't meant that in a judgmental way at all.
- brudgers 11y ago
  I think the process of applying is useful for some people At least for me, it took me outside my comfort zone. I've always just operated under my own name and spokesmodelling "a company" instead for the video created a cognitive shift that I didn't know existed. This article is probably a reasonable way to look at not getting accepted: http://mathwithbaddrawings.com/2015/09/30/why-ive-stopped-doing-interviews-for-yale/ http://mathwithbaddrawings.com/2015/09/30/why-ive-stopped-do...
brudgers 11y ago
There's actually a subtle difference in YC's criteria. YC selects against false positives rather than against false negatives. This means that YC selects with the knowing that some rejected companies are likely to succeed. YC also selects against companies that do not fit it's model, e.g. the recent thread where the founder wanted to organize as a UK LTD rather than a Delaware corporation. To put it another way, even though asshole founders can succeed, YC purportedly selects against possible asshole founders when they are identifable. Part of this I suspect is general principle. Part, I suspect, is that asshole founders create additional work. Finally, most entrepreneurs in most cities are not founding the sort of businesses that YC and the rest of Silicon Valley would classify as startups. Outside the bubble, an LLC that opens a restaurant gets called "a startup". While there are people in most markets doing businesses that take rocket fuel and either blow up or reach orbit, that model is much rarer out in the regular world.