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PG: Would you consider funding a startup aiming to take on a massive but completely monopolized market, e.g. desktop OSes? Being one of the developers on a com

by daeken 17y ago

PG: Would you consider funding a startup aiming to take on a massive but completely monopolized market, e.g. desktop OSes? Being one of the developers on a completely new OS, I frequently wonder about how it could be commercialized and pitted against the likes of MS, and it seems that it would be effectively untouchable from a funding perspective, with the way things are now. I know investors like risk, but it seems like the chances of success are such that 99% of the time, you're going to be throwing your money way. Any insight here?

billclerico 17y ago
that's sort of a vague question. some of history's biggest monopolies have been the most vulnerable to disruption (telecom, anyone?). i don't want to speak for PG, but I think when YC considers applications they weigh risk against potential return. m$ certainly has demonstrated there is a tremendous market for desktop software (though with the onset of cloud computing, perhaps it is becoming obsolete).
- daeken 17y ago
  I perhaps made it a bit too vague in an effort to make it applicable outside my specific case (I work on a pure-managed OS focused on desktop/mobile applications). Even though I fully believe in the project, the chances of it ever becoming the Next Big OS (TM) are slim to nil, so I'm curious if any sane investor would touch it. Obviously there's a profit to be made with it in certain niches, but I don't know if that would be big enough for anyone to fund it.
cperciva 17y ago
PG: Would you consider funding a startup aiming to take on a massive but completely monopolized market, e.g. desktop OSes? From what I've seen I'd say that YC has a high probability of funding the sort of brave/foolish people who would try such a thing. Keep in mind that to a first approximation, YC funds teams, not startups -- PG has stated many times that one of the most important things a startup can do is be ready to throw everything out and start moving in a completely new direction.
pg 17y ago
Yes! In fact we particularly like that type of startup.
extension 17y ago
Even if you don't take over the desktop, your project has a lot of commercial possibilities in mobile and other gadget spaces.

by daeken 17y ago

billclerico 17y ago

that's sort of a vague question. some of history's biggest monopolies have been the most vulnerable to disruption (telecom, anyone?). i don't want to speak for PG, but I think when YC considers applications they weigh risk against potential return. m$ certainly has demonstrated there is a tremendous market for desktop software (though with the onset of cloud computing, perhaps it is becoming obsolete).

daeken 17y ago
I perhaps made it a bit too vague in an effort to make it applicable outside my specific case (I work on a pure-managed OS focused on desktop/mobile applications). Even though I fully believe in the project, the chances of it ever becoming the Next Big OS (TM) are slim to nil, so I'm curious if any sane investor would touch it. Obviously there's a profit to be made with it in certain niches, but I don't know if that would be big enough for anyone to fund it.

cperciva 17y ago

PG: Would you consider funding a startup aiming to take on a massive but completely monopolized market, e.g. desktop OSes? From what I've seen I'd say that YC has a high probability of funding the sort of brave/foolish people who would try such a thing. Keep in mind that to a first approximation, YC funds teams, not startups -- PG has stated many times that one of the most important things a startup can do is be ready to throw everything out and start moving in a completely new direction.

pg 17y ago

Yes! In fact we particularly like that type of startup.

extension 17y ago

Even if you don't take over the desktop, your project has a lot of commercial possibilities in mobile and other gadget spaces.