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Fair enough. Personally I would want to have the highest probability of being accepted when/if I ever apply to YC. Frankly speaking, I don't have the time to w

Fair enough. Personally I would want to have the highest probability of being accepted when/if I ever apply to YC. Frankly speaking, I don't have the time to wait around for another term if I got rejected. I would dramatically shift my product/process or pitch. YC is not a late stage venture fund who brings cash to the table. These guys are making a big bet by validating your idea/business. A rejection from YC should make you rethink your business/people/idea.

DanielBMarkham 17y ago
Hell if I'd wait until I had everything perfect. It's an imperfect world, I'm an imperfect person and we're going to make this thing work anyway, brother. YC or no YC. People still trade eyeballs and money for value, and single founder guys still come up with successful ways to trade that. A cofounder might be a critical success factor -- and you still might not have one. Guess what? Keep looking and keep moving forward. Waiting for a cofounder and not working on your plan is as stupid as getting a cofounder and waiting for the perfect plan. It's an imperfect world. We get judged on how well we deal with these imperfections and yet still make progress.
freshfunk 17y ago
I'm with Daniel. If you only try things you think have a high probability of success, then you're probably not going to embark on being an entrepreneur period. The percentages of success are very low. Applying to YC was fairly easy and didn't take much time. There's really only upside to it. The only downside is your ego when you're rejected and the remote chance that your idea/startup would be undervalued. I also disagree with your final notion that YC is THE yardstick for success. If you read their "whynot" post, it's obvious they go through very many applications and really your idea could be skimmed and rejected quite easily. Also, the companies that have come out of YC haven't ALL been successful (no discredit to those that have been). Lastly, at such an early stage I think entrepreneurs are always thinking through changes in business/people/idea. That's just the nature of the beast whether YC accepted you or not.
benologist 17y ago
I don't think a rejection means anything at all other than you don't fit what YC is looking for. By itself it's not a compelling argument that "you're doing it wrong". I met with MTV the other day, they can't wait to use my service. And they're just one of the awesome companies that are very excited about what I'm doing ... YC is a missed opportunity but it's just one of many you can find or make for yourself.
kareemm 17y ago
> A rejection from YC should make you rethink your business/people/idea. disagree. it should push you to get market validation so that you don't rely on investors to determine whether you go forward with your business. instead, you decide whether to go forward and how to change by relying on input from paying customers.

DanielBMarkham 17y ago

Hell if I'd wait until I had everything perfect. It's an imperfect world, I'm an imperfect person and we're going to make this thing work anyway, brother. YC or no YC. People still trade eyeballs and money for value, and single founder guys still come up with successful ways to trade that. A cofounder might be a critical success factor -- and you still might not have one. Guess what? Keep looking and keep moving forward. Waiting for a cofounder and not working on your plan is as stupid as getting a cofounder and waiting for the perfect plan. It's an imperfect world. We get judged on how well we deal with these imperfections and yet still make progress.

freshfunk 17y ago

I'm with Daniel. If you only try things you think have a high probability of success, then you're probably not going to embark on being an entrepreneur period. The percentages of success are very low. Applying to YC was fairly easy and didn't take much time. There's really only upside to it. The only downside is your ego when you're rejected and the remote chance that your idea/startup would be undervalued. I also disagree with your final notion that YC is THE yardstick for success. If you read their "whynot" post, it's obvious they go through very many applications and really your idea could be skimmed and rejected quite easily. Also, the companies that have come out of YC haven't ALL been successful (no discredit to those that have been). Lastly, at such an early stage I think entrepreneurs are always thinking through changes in business/people/idea. That's just the nature of the beast whether YC accepted you or not.

benologist 17y ago

I don't think a rejection means anything at all other than you don't fit what YC is looking for. By itself it's not a compelling argument that "you're doing it wrong". I met with MTV the other day, they can't wait to use my service. And they're just one of the awesome companies that are very excited about what I'm doing ... YC is a missed opportunity but it's just one of many you can find or make for yourself.

kareemm 17y ago

> A rejection from YC should make you rethink your business/people/idea. disagree. it should push you to get market validation so that you don't rely on investors to determine whether you go forward with your business. instead, you decide whether to go forward and how to change by relying on input from paying customers.