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Wow, this really stings coming from someone I respect so much. This is what happens when you leave without an explanation from YC I suppose. Paul, I agree I sh
by blader 17y ago
Wow, this really stings coming from someone I respect so much. This is what happens when you leave without an explanation from YC I suppose.
Paul, I agree I should have said "we got in the second time, but I dropped out a week later". I apologize for not being clear but I don't accept that there was anything wrong with what I said.
To be clear, the side project of mine which took off was co-owned 50% by my another founder who was not involved in YC and didn't want to join, so it wasn't mine to simply share with my YC team.
There were 3 cofounders who went to the YC interview - there were 2 cofounders remaining after I left. I was transparent with both of my cofounders and we remain friends to this day - they had zero involvement in the side project from beginning to end. I specifically asked each of them if they felt I was behaving unethically - they responded that they don't believe so and would have done the same in my shoes.
- p6 17y agoI think whats going on is pg is pissed someone ditched YC and made out better - "HOW DARE you leave YC and go on and make millions- while the rest of my flock struggles on ramen noodles and my outworn cliches!!!"
- blader1 17y agoI created another account just so I could get around my noprocrast settings. Out of the 2 cofounders in YC, one I later hired to run network operations at my company and the other I am very close friends with and regularly have beers. We left on good terms. Why don't you ask the two of them what they think of me? You're the reason why I'm an entrepreneur today and I respect you immensely. To hear you describe what I did as treachery is hurtful but worse it's just factually wrong. It was an incredibly difficult ethical decision for me at the time, but I truly believe that I behaved in a transparent and above the board way. I take responsibility for not talking to you before or after I left - I didn't realize you felt this way about it and I'm happy to have the chance to bring this out into the open.
- freshfunk 17y agoSeems like everything was fair and transparent among them. Reputation saved.
- pg 17y agoI'm glad they don't blame you. But what bothered me so much about what you did was that you were the leader of that group. You'd recruited them as cofounders to apply to YC with. IIRC you were the CEO. So it was like an officer deserting his men, not just one of three guys dropping out of a three person startup.
- blader 17y agoIt was far from an easy decision and I never felt great about it. This is fair criticism and I accept it. However, I don't feel the same way about your original response. The side project wasn't mine to share, and calling it "treacherous" takes it way too far.
- rmobin 17y agoI was Siqi's cofounder both times we applied. Siqi is correct; we didn't believe he was being unethical. The 3 of us agonized over the situation for quite a while, and understood his decision to leave, especially given that the side project wasn't completely his to share. It was a really tough spot for all of us, and I know he didnt make the decision lightly.
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- rkarumanchi 17y agoHmmm, both points of view have merit. IIRC PG/YC fund the team and not a specific idea. If you are on shaky idea, they would want you to persist and figure out a better idea as a team. This is clear to anyone who follows HN. So it does make sense that PG/YC don't like it if the founder(s) quits when something else interesting (like great job offer or another idea) comes along. And your POV, that it is something you did outside of YC and don't want to share, makes sense too. I don't know what I would have done if I was in the same situation.