4 ms·

Now I want to do YC just to get into these conferences.

by mrshoe 17y ago

breebree 17y ago
I agree. I'm getting a boner just thinking about this YC Conference.
- breebree 17y ago
  Can somebody tell me why I was downvoted?
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
mrduncan 17y ago
If you haven't before, make sure you apply for a spot at Startup School (http://startupschool.org/ http://startupschool.org/) this year. It's run by YC and open to non-founders. Edit: This is of course assuming that there will be a Startup School in 2010 since it hasn't been announced that I'm aware of yet.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- pg 17y ago
  Yes, there will be Startup School in 2010. Sometime in the fall.
jazzychad 17y ago
I realize there is probably some jest in that sentiment, but if you only want to do YC for these sorts of things then you're not in it for the right reasons. The extra events are certainly a nice perk, but the main focus is definitely bringing something to market that people want.
- ynniv 17y ago
  I'm with the original commenter: I can make something that people want without being part of YC, but the YC networking events are not independently reproducible. Many people say that higher education is going to lose out to online programs, but that opinion is oblivious to the institutional benefits that universities provide. YC is becoming a similar institutional organization, where membership provides value independently of the reason for membership. That has interesting implications, as pg has said that Harvard/Stanford/MIT YC applicants statistically do no better than others. I would be very interested in a comparison of YC's output to similar programs (TechStars) to see if YC has succeeded in attracting / developing a statistically "better" population, or if YC membership benefits are being squandered on an arbitrary few. There is a benefit to having a trusted crowd, but there may be a better way to decide who is "in". OTOH, it is good business for YC to nurture companies that it has invested in.
- e1ven 17y ago
  I can't say I agree at all. People can create a startup for lots of reasons- Wanting to change the world, wanting to make a lot of money, wanting to disrupt a market, whatever they want. That's great. I wish them well. YC is one way to get things started. It provides a pittance of money- $15K isn't really enough to fund substantial development, but it's enough to help build momentum. The biggest thing that YC does provide is Networking and advice. Meeting with PG et all is a great way to get good advice on how improve your product, and how to handle the trickier aspects of running a company, such as buyouts, raising additional capital, and the like. But beyond working with the YC staff, one of the other really nice advantages is working with the YC network. There is an ever increasing group of people who have gone through the same process you are- Who know a lot about what you're doing, and often have Great advice on what to do next. To my mind, they're one of the best reasons to join YC. The problem is, like everything else that YC is facing right now, it needs to scale. Kn0thing can't meet with 400 founders to discuss the sale of Redit to Conde Nast.. While it'd be great, that'd be his new full-time job. Holding a conference allows him to tell the same story once, and have everyone hear it. He can take questions, and answer them for everyone, rather than having 25 people ask the same variation of a question over and over. So to your main point- I love the conference idea, and I think it's a great value-add to YC. People might do a startup for any number of reasons, but this increases the value of YC being a part of yours.
maxklein 17y ago
You know what we should do? Get a hotdog stand, then set up shop right outside where the conference is happening. Then when people get hungry, they come out for hotdogs, and we'll be like: hey, it's mrshoe and maxklein from news.yc, so, what did the speaker just say. Then we take notes. Then they'd invite us for the after party, and we'd blow all the money we made from hotdogs on drinks, get them drunk AND get even more information about the conference.
- vaksel 17y ago
  might as well just bug the room or hack the anybots robot's webcam feed
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
- lsb 17y ago
  Please tell us about the time you most successfully hacked some (non-computer) system to your advantage.
- kyro 17y ago
  Are you looking for another cofounder? I'm a rockstar hotdog flipper and am knowledgeable in condiment spreading.
  - jayliew 17y ago
    But I have mad social engineering skillz!
- rms 17y ago
  Hot dogs? Why not just skip a step and sell beer and tequila shots outside of the conference?
sinzone 17y ago
Firs of all, YC is about amazing people, and only later about amazing conferences.

Now I want to do YC just to get into these conferences.

by mrshoe 17y ago

Now I want to do YC just to get into these conferences.

breebree 17y ago

I agree. I'm getting a boner just thinking about this YC Conference.

breebree 17y ago
Can somebody tell me why I was downvoted?

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

mrduncan 17y ago

If you haven't before, make sure you apply for a spot at Startup School (http://startupschool.org/ http://startupschool.org/) this year. It's run by YC and open to non-founders. Edit: This is of course assuming that there will be a Startup School in 2010 since it hasn't been announced that I'm aware of yet.

deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
pg 17y ago
Yes, there will be Startup School in 2010. Sometime in the fall.

jazzychad 17y ago

I realize there is probably some jest in that sentiment, but if you only want to do YC for these sorts of things then you're not in it for the right reasons. The extra events are certainly a nice perk, but the main focus is definitely bringing something to market that people want.

ynniv 17y ago
I'm with the original commenter: I can make something that people want without being part of YC, but the YC networking events are not independently reproducible. Many people say that higher education is going to lose out to online programs, but that opinion is oblivious to the institutional benefits that universities provide. YC is becoming a similar institutional organization, where membership provides value independently of the reason for membership. That has interesting implications, as pg has said that Harvard/Stanford/MIT YC applicants statistically do no better than others. I would be very interested in a comparison of YC's output to similar programs (TechStars) to see if YC has succeeded in attracting / developing a statistically "better" population, or if YC membership benefits are being squandered on an arbitrary few. There is a benefit to having a trusted crowd, but there may be a better way to decide who is "in". OTOH, it is good business for YC to nurture companies that it has invested in.
e1ven 17y ago
I can't say I agree at all. People can create a startup for lots of reasons- Wanting to change the world, wanting to make a lot of money, wanting to disrupt a market, whatever they want. That's great. I wish them well. YC is one way to get things started. It provides a pittance of money- $15K isn't really enough to fund substantial development, but it's enough to help build momentum. The biggest thing that YC does provide is Networking and advice. Meeting with PG et all is a great way to get good advice on how improve your product, and how to handle the trickier aspects of running a company, such as buyouts, raising additional capital, and the like. But beyond working with the YC staff, one of the other really nice advantages is working with the YC network. There is an ever increasing group of people who have gone through the same process you are- Who know a lot about what you're doing, and often have Great advice on what to do next. To my mind, they're one of the best reasons to join YC. The problem is, like everything else that YC is facing right now, it needs to scale. Kn0thing can't meet with 400 founders to discuss the sale of Redit to Conde Nast.. While it'd be great, that'd be his new full-time job. Holding a conference allows him to tell the same story once, and have everyone hear it. He can take questions, and answer them for everyone, rather than having 25 people ask the same variation of a question over and over. So to your main point- I love the conference idea, and I think it's a great value-add to YC. People might do a startup for any number of reasons, but this increases the value of YC being a part of yours.

maxklein 17y ago

You know what we should do? Get a hotdog stand, then set up shop right outside where the conference is happening. Then when people get hungry, they come out for hotdogs, and we'll be like: hey, it's mrshoe and maxklein from news.yc, so, what did the speaker just say. Then we take notes. Then they'd invite us for the after party, and we'd blow all the money we made from hotdogs on drinks, get them drunk AND get even more information about the conference.

vaksel 17y ago
might as well just bug the room or hack the anybots robot's webcam feed
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
lsb 17y ago
Please tell us about the time you most successfully hacked some (non-computer) system to your advantage.
kyro 17y ago
Are you looking for another cofounder? I'm a rockstar hotdog flipper and am knowledgeable in condiment spreading.
- jayliew 17y ago
  But I have mad social engineering skillz!
rms 17y ago
Hot dogs? Why not just skip a step and sell beer and tequila shots outside of the conference?

sinzone 17y ago

Firs of all, YC is about amazing people, and only later about amazing conferences.