5 ms·

Y Combinator: the X Factor of tech

143 points by sethbannon 11y ago

will_pseudonym 11y ago
I had trouble opening this link on mobile. Here's the Google search link to get around the paywall that I encountered: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB0QFjAAahUKEwiO-7ass_rIAhVLdj4KHc7vAqI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.economist.com%2Fnews%2Fbusiness%2F21677636-tech-talent-spotter-has-come-dominate-silicon-valleys-startup-scene-y-combinator-x&usg=AFQjCNGKh_NIjVrqObAbVn-dNT9zsTivKQ&sig2=eI_qp1Uu-bYr-KQOPRfHyw&bvm=bv.106923889,d.eWE https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&c...
- biot 11y ago
  This is the purpose of the "web" link you can find at the top of the page; it works for any paywall that allows traffic from Google searches.
  - will_pseudonym 11y ago
    Wow, I have never seen that before. Thank you!!!!
dataker 11y ago
>YC’s partners seem surprisingly uninterested in money, or competitive threats. There are hundreds of other “accelerators” worldwide that have replicated YC’s investment and training philosophy, but none with its brand or its record
- mgalka 11y ago
  I've always wondered about this. Is it really just the brand that has made Y Combinator the #1 accelerator for so long?
  - _sentient 11y ago
    Well, the brand is a byproduct of all the excellent work YC partners have been doing over the last 10 years. That being said, YC now has a strong positive selection advantage, the benefit of which is self-perpetuating.
  - chasb 11y ago
    No, YC is more than the brand. YC has an ethos, and the brand is a result. The ethos is evangelism for basic business practices derived from common sense, rationality, and empathy. The brand does have perks for founders, though. The network is actually that awesome, yes. YC is extraordinary for making it easy to raise a seed round. Some good ideas take time to mature, and a seed round helps them get momentum. I wish more investors would try to emulate YC.
- vdaniuk 11y ago
  >There are hundreds of other “accelerators” worldwide that have replicated YC’s ... Nonsense. The article authors are so very wrong. There will be literally zero replicators of YC until someone replicates the most influential open tech community/media that is HN. A competitive advantage that is truly hard to copy. That's like a basic fact from real world startups 101.
  - robotresearcher 11y ago
    How does HN significantly advantage YC's startups over others?
    - smt88 11y ago
      Only YC companies are allowed to post jobs on HN. You could imagine that HN is a direct solution to what many people consider that hardest problem startups have to solve: hiring good engineers.
      - jacquesm 11y ago
        > Only YC companies are allowed to post jobs on HN. That's factually incorrect. Only YC companies are allowed to post job ads at any time and as separate threads. But once per month any company can post job ads on HN, the 'who is hiring' threads on the first of the month.
        smt88 11y ago
        Ok, let me rephrase that. Only YC companies are available on the "jobs" tab at the top of this, and every, HN page. Only YC companies can be the original post, instead of a comment. YC job postings are the only links that are not subject to comments/criticism. The original point is that HN serves a very useful purpose for YC companies that it doesn't serve for non-YC companies.
    - eloff 11y ago
      It's a hiring advantage for YC startups, as well it's publicity for YC in general, putting the YC brand in front of people who apply to accelerators. Why do I know a lot about YC? Because I read hacker news and there's a lot of stories here about YC and YC companies. What do I know about their competitors? Almost nothing. So it's a huge advantage.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
tptacek 11y ago
The classroom setting creates a sense of paranoia and competition Wat
- soneca 11y ago
  The programme teaches engineers—some of whose idea of a polished pitch is to look at your shoes rather than their own while speaking—how to sell their ideas to investors. Waat
  - tptacek 11y ago
    I mean that part seems right on the money.
newsignup 11y ago
I think the success is a mixture of 3 things, in that order: No. 1 - Talent pool of 1000s startups to choose from. No. 2 - Great alumni network. No. 3 - Experienced partners.
_pmf_ 11y ago
> Y Combinator: the X Factor of tech I don't know. X Factor weeds out folks that are obviously fraudulent shams with a huge ego, but without any talent. I'm not so sure about YC.
wattle_park 11y ago
Well..it was a not a balanced article. What is YC? An accelerators, incubators or VC? I believe YC has changed since 2005. It started as an incubator, then gradually becoming an accelerator with Dropbox and AirBnB successes. And to scale their business fast, it would make sense to accept companies with traction. The reason they received huge numbers of applicants because their criteria was wide and IMHO misleading. The originals partners were brilliant founders. They were not young (drop out or out of college) founders. They had 'life' experiences. So they were very nurturing and compassionate and patient. They helped young smart founders to build companies and many become successful companies. With the current goals of scaling fast, and many new partners YC has diluted its success recipe. It's not about 'making what people want' anymore. It's about making what 20 something year old who live in the valley want. Jessica Livingstone's book 'Founders at Work' contains many different types of founders. And not many of them were fresh out of college or college drop outs. YC has become a big company, and along the way YC has contributed to build Silicon Valley as the center for technology. However, it needs to have big companies responsibilities as well.

143 points by sethbannon 11y ago

I had trouble opening this link on mobile. Here's the Google search link to get around the paywall that I encountered: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB0QFjAAahUKEwiO-7ass_rIAhVLdj4KHc7vAqI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.economist.com%2Fnews%2Fbusiness%2F21677636-tech-talent-spotter-has-come-dominate-silicon-valleys-startup-scene-y-combinator-x&usg=AFQjCNGKh_NIjVrqObAbVn-dNT9zsTivKQ&sig2=eI_qp1Uu-bYr-KQOPRfHyw&bvm=bv.106923889,d.eWE https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&c...

biot 11y ago
This is the purpose of the "web" link you can find at the top of the page; it works for any paywall that allows traffic from Google searches.
- will_pseudonym 11y ago
  Wow, I have never seen that before. Thank you!!!!

dataker 11y ago

>YC’s partners seem surprisingly uninterested in money, or competitive threats. There are hundreds of other “accelerators” worldwide that have replicated YC’s investment and training philosophy, but none with its brand or its record

mgalka 11y ago
I've always wondered about this. Is it really just the brand that has made Y Combinator the #1 accelerator for so long?
- _sentient 11y ago
  Well, the brand is a byproduct of all the excellent work YC partners have been doing over the last 10 years. That being said, YC now has a strong positive selection advantage, the benefit of which is self-perpetuating.
- chasb 11y ago
  No, YC is more than the brand. YC has an ethos, and the brand is a result. The ethos is evangelism for basic business practices derived from common sense, rationality, and empathy. The brand does have perks for founders, though. The network is actually that awesome, yes. YC is extraordinary for making it easy to raise a seed round. Some good ideas take time to mature, and a seed round helps them get momentum. I wish more investors would try to emulate YC.
vdaniuk 11y ago
>There are hundreds of other “accelerators” worldwide that have replicated YC’s ... Nonsense. The article authors are so very wrong. There will be literally zero replicators of YC until someone replicates the most influential open tech community/media that is HN. A competitive advantage that is truly hard to copy. That's like a basic fact from real world startups 101.
- robotresearcher 11y ago
  How does HN significantly advantage YC's startups over others?
  - smt88 11y ago
    Only YC companies are allowed to post jobs on HN. You could imagine that HN is a direct solution to what many people consider that hardest problem startups have to solve: hiring good engineers.
    - jacquesm 11y ago
      > Only YC companies are allowed to post jobs on HN. That's factually incorrect. Only YC companies are allowed to post job ads at any time and as separate threads. But once per month any company can post job ads on HN, the 'who is hiring' threads on the first of the month.
      - smt88 11y ago
        Ok, let me rephrase that. Only YC companies are available on the "jobs" tab at the top of this, and every, HN page. Only YC companies can be the original post, instead of a comment. YC job postings are the only links that are not subject to comments/criticism. The original point is that HN serves a very useful purpose for YC companies that it doesn't serve for non-YC companies.
  - eloff 11y ago
    It's a hiring advantage for YC startups, as well it's publicity for YC in general, putting the YC brand in front of people who apply to accelerators. Why do I know a lot about YC? Because I read hacker news and there's a lot of stories here about YC and YC companies. What do I know about their competitors? Almost nothing. So it's a huge advantage.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

tptacek 11y ago

The classroom setting creates a sense of paranoia and competition Wat

soneca 11y ago
The programme teaches engineers—some of whose idea of a polished pitch is to look at your shoes rather than their own while speaking—how to sell their ideas to investors. Waat
- tptacek 11y ago
  I mean that part seems right on the money.

newsignup 11y ago

I think the success is a mixture of 3 things, in that order: No. 1 - Talent pool of 1000s startups to choose from. No. 2 - Great alumni network. No. 3 - Experienced partners.

_pmf_ 11y ago

> Y Combinator: the X Factor of tech I don't know. X Factor weeds out folks that are obviously fraudulent shams with a huge ego, but without any talent. I'm not so sure about YC.

wattle_park 11y ago

Well..it was a not a balanced article. What is YC? An accelerators, incubators or VC? I believe YC has changed since 2005. It started as an incubator, then gradually becoming an accelerator with Dropbox and AirBnB successes. And to scale their business fast, it would make sense to accept companies with traction. The reason they received huge numbers of applicants because their criteria was wide and IMHO misleading. The originals partners were brilliant founders. They were not young (drop out or out of college) founders. They had 'life' experiences. So they were very nurturing and compassionate and patient. They helped young smart founders to build companies and many become successful companies. With the current goals of scaling fast, and many new partners YC has diluted its success recipe. It's not about 'making what people want' anymore. It's about making what 20 something year old who live in the valley want. Jessica Livingstone's book 'Founders at Work' contains many different types of founders. And not many of them were fresh out of college or college drop outs. YC has become a big company, and along the way YC has contributed to build Silicon Valley as the center for technology. However, it needs to have big companies responsibilities as well.