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This is going to sound crass, but if a founder can't make the sacrifice to spend 3 months in SV for YC, are they really prepared to build the next billion dolla

by teej 11y ago

This is going to sound crass, but if a founder can't make the sacrifice to spend 3 months in SV for YC, are they really prepared to build the next billion dollar company?

komali2 11y ago
I see where you're coming from, but environment has many subtle factors that lead to, I believe, missed opportunities if they aren't taken advantage of. For example, what would a Houston Oil startup gain from spending a few months of critical startup time in a city with high rent, drastically different driving culture, little access to oil companies, services, equipment, fields and etc, and a completely different set of laws regarding their practice? Better to be spending their after-hours times mingling with the oil folks in Houston bars than the tech folks in SF bars.
- BillionaireBear 11y ago
  Precisely. People need to be where their customers are.
  - toomuchtodo 11y ago
    How many YC company customers are in SF?
    - BillionaireBear 11y ago
      Hey :) Just to clarify my statement - for some companies, it makes complete sense to stay in their local territory (think a young Alibaba). For some others, it doesn't. It's case by case.
omg_ketchup 11y ago
Are you prepared to miss out on the next billion dollar company because they happen to have a family and a job while they're hacking away on a revolutionary project?
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- bithive123 11y ago
  Seems risky!
BillionaireBear 11y ago
That's quite a narrow view to take. Many billion dollar companies built outside the US. Alibaba the best example.
eranation 11y ago
If that founder is a director of engineering/product in an enterprise software company in Atlanta, has a spouse, two kids and a mortgage, and the health insurance is dependent on her/his employer, then they will probably have a higher sacrifice than if they are a single Stanford grad living in SF with a year of saving after working at Google. They both need to make a sacrifice but it's not the same scale. If you make it easier for the enterprise founder to go and do it, and they know their industry and customers from the inside out, I think YC are increasing their odds a little bit of getting an enterprise software unicorn then if they don't. Nothing is guaranteed, and that enterprise person will have to make even worse sacrifices probably if they gets funded, but I'm pretty sure it will increase the number of them who will make the leap. However as Sam said he doesn't feel they are underrepresented, and that they can use the fellowship which sounds great :)
- jdavis703 11y ago
  Why doesn't a director have enough money saved up to support their family for at least three months? And I knew Navy folks who were away from their families for months at a time, so it is definitely possible (if not fun) to do this. But if you're becoming an entrepreneur for the fun, it's time to question your motives.
  - junto 11y ago
    I'm guessing you don't have a wife and children. It isn't about the money, it's about not seeing them. You are also forgetting that it isn't just your sacrifice in terms of the time you are giving up with your wife and children for three months, but also that you are forcibly restricting them from being able to see you too. They didn't choose that. Once you have a family you have a bunch of responsibilities and you've signed up for life. You can't just pick and choose when it suits you. I realise that there are a lot of young folks on HN and probably not so many parents, so I'm expecting a barrage of down votes, but maybe in ten years time when you've reached my perspective you'll come back and upvote me!
    - jdavis703 11y ago
dang 11y ago
We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11315112 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11315112 and marked it off-topic.

by teej 11y ago

This is going to sound crass, but if a founder can't make the sacrifice to spend 3 months in SV for YC, are they really prepared to build the next billion dollar company?

komali2 11y ago

I see where you're coming from, but environment has many subtle factors that lead to, I believe, missed opportunities if they aren't taken advantage of. For example, what would a Houston Oil startup gain from spending a few months of critical startup time in a city with high rent, drastically different driving culture, little access to oil companies, services, equipment, fields and etc, and a completely different set of laws regarding their practice? Better to be spending their after-hours times mingling with the oil folks in Houston bars than the tech folks in SF bars.

BillionaireBear 11y ago
Precisely. People need to be where their customers are.
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  How many YC company customers are in SF?
  - BillionaireBear 11y ago
    Hey :) Just to clarify my statement - for some companies, it makes complete sense to stay in their local territory (think a young Alibaba). For some others, it doesn't. It's case by case.

omg_ketchup 11y ago

Are you prepared to miss out on the next billion dollar company because they happen to have a family and a job while they're hacking away on a revolutionary project?

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
bithive123 11y ago
Seems risky!

BillionaireBear 11y ago

That's quite a narrow view to take. Many billion dollar companies built outside the US. Alibaba the best example.

eranation 11y ago

If that founder is a director of engineering/product in an enterprise software company in Atlanta, has a spouse, two kids and a mortgage, and the health insurance is dependent on her/his employer, then they will probably have a higher sacrifice than if they are a single Stanford grad living in SF with a year of saving after working at Google. They both need to make a sacrifice but it's not the same scale. If you make it easier for the enterprise founder to go and do it, and they know their industry and customers from the inside out, I think YC are increasing their odds a little bit of getting an enterprise software unicorn then if they don't. Nothing is guaranteed, and that enterprise person will have to make even worse sacrifices probably if they gets funded, but I'm pretty sure it will increase the number of them who will make the leap. However as Sam said he doesn't feel they are underrepresented, and that they can use the fellowship which sounds great :)

jdavis703 11y ago
Why doesn't a director have enough money saved up to support their family for at least three months? And I knew Navy folks who were away from their families for months at a time, so it is definitely possible (if not fun) to do this. But if you're becoming an entrepreneur for the fun, it's time to question your motives.
- junto 11y ago
  I'm guessing you don't have a wife and children. It isn't about the money, it's about not seeing them. You are also forgetting that it isn't just your sacrifice in terms of the time you are giving up with your wife and children for three months, but also that you are forcibly restricting them from being able to see you too. They didn't choose that. Once you have a family you have a bunch of responsibilities and you've signed up for life. You can't just pick and choose when it suits you. I realise that there are a lot of young folks on HN and probably not so many parents, so I'm expecting a barrage of down votes, but maybe in ten years time when you've reached my perspective you'll come back and upvote me!
  - jdavis703 11y ago

dang 11y ago

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11315112 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11315112 and marked it off-topic.