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The brilliance of YCombinator, IMO, is HackerNews. It's turned YC into a self-perpetuating machine by getting smart people to congregate and talk about news YC

The brilliance of YCombinator, IMO, is HackerNews. It's turned YC into a self-perpetuating machine by getting smart people to congregate and talk about news YC itself partially generates. I heard about YC, PG, and sama all through this outlet.

muse900 10y ago
Makes sense. I personally read some of the comments before jumping into an article, mainly because comments most of the time loop me in on something that I am completely clueless or have little aware of. Also to see if the article is worth reading into because obviously if you read 20 people saying "The author of the article doesn't know what he is talking about" then its more possible that indeed the author has written about something he doesn't know or understand. Also a lot of the times the solutions given or explanations are amazingly good and entertaining. Thanks to YC I've become a better person I'd say.
- ptero 10y ago
  Great point, now that you wrote it I realize I often do the same -- use HN comments as a signal on whether the article is worth reading. Coupled with the "do not be nasty" tone overall (a rarity online) it gives a very positive prior to YC.
- pault 10y ago
  > Also a lot of the times the solutions given or explanations are amazingly good and entertaining. Thanks to YC I've become a better person I'd say. I couldn't agree more, on both counts. It's such a thrill seeing a link to a research paper or exceptionally well written essay, and have the author answering questions in the comments. I can't even estimate how much general science, history, and literary education I've received this way, almost by accident. No doubt I am a much more well rounded person as a result. I rarely read TFA. I'm here for the discussion, and if the discussion is extraordinarily interesting, I'll read the article for clarification. To me, HN is the "guild" that teaches fundamentals, and keeps me abreast of the state of the industry (and many, many unrelated topics that are equally interesting!). Normally this level of access to illuminating dialog would be restricted to universities, but I can get it here for free, in my underwear. I've spent a good part of my life geographically isolated from centers of learning and industry, and being able to remain in the loop is priceless. I doubt my personal and professional growth over the last 10 years would be a fraction of what it is if I hadn't had this resource. Yes, I am a fanboy.
  - throwaway6497 10y ago
    Amen to that!
- louprado 10y ago
  "Thanks to YC I've become a better person I'd say." Specifically I have become a better writer. The HN crowd is a tough but fair audience when it comes to upvotes on comments.
  - sidlls 10y ago
    A better writer for the HN audience or in general? They are not the same thing.
Lordarminius 10y ago
> The brilliance of YCombinator, IMO, is HackerNews.... Before HN there was PG's blog.
- bootload 10y ago
  > Before HN there was PG's blog. Before pg's blog, there was /., before /. there was Carmack's .plan file ~ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12575501 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12575501
  - vardhanw 10y ago
    How is /. now compared to YC?
    - ebcode 10y ago
      I think you misinterpreted the comparison. It's not /. to YC, but /. to HN
    - bootload 10y ago
      slashdot was/is a message board on hacker-like things a proto-HN sans the startup stuff.
crdb 10y ago
If you mean the fund(s), I disagree. The strength of YC is the relatively large value they provide in exchange for your equity. Their "price" is still excellent and continues to clear the market. This becomes rapidly obvious if you attempt to raise early stage funding and start comparing options. Aside from the actual cash and the famous network, YC and its partners have earned a reputation for sticking with their investments through tough times instead of writing them off. This seems relatively rare amongst early stage investors, especially outside the US. In my relatively few years of experience in business, I've learnt to value people in the "cooperate cooperate" quadrant of the Prisoner's Dilemma very highly, and it's not a reputation you can "buy" quickly. HN is a place to have civilised discussions thanks to both a seed of core tech personalities for historical reasons drawing a network of quality, and thorough and active moderation. I think "self-perpetuating machine" is harsh and not quite representative of most of the value derived by those of us who are not part of the YC ecosystem and unlikely ever to be (and yes, I haven't read the original article). PS: nice site! Light, fast and with just one tracker (but "old geeks" would crunch web logs, surely?)
- johnwheeler 10y ago
  I agree 7% in exchange for 120K and the YC network is a solid deal for the founder. And, thanks for the feedback OldGeekJobs. It's been making rounds on HN over the last two weeks. https://oldgeekjobs.com/press https://oldgeekjobs.com/press
- traek 10y ago
  > I've learnt to value people in the "cooperate cooperate" quadrant of the Prisoner's Dilemma very highly, and it's not a reputation you can "buy" quickly. This is a great way to put it. People who act in good faith are the only people I'd want to do business with, and YC has (rightfully IMO) earned a reputation for being a partner you can trust.
wuschel 10y ago
I agree. HN and pg's old essays were a gem in the times were little other startup resources were out there.
- tedmiston 10y ago
  Even today when startup resources abound, Sam's Startup Playbook [0] and the course How to Start a Startup [1] are in another league, particularly with their directness and clarity. Edit: Getting downvoted, but these resources are really great, so I'm not sure what's going on. I just added links in case people are unfamiliar. [0]: http://playbook.samaltman.com http://playbook.samaltman.com [1]: http://startupclass.samaltman.com http://startupclass.samaltman.com
yolesaber 10y ago
I read a lot less about YC companies on here than I did a few years ago. The site's popularity has partially eclipsed its original intent, for better or for worse.
Jd 10y ago
Agreed but you have to credit PG's earlier work that makes this all credible as an uber-nerd watering hole (i.e. his guide to Lisp, Arc, Hackers and Painters, etc.).

muse900 10y ago

Makes sense. I personally read some of the comments before jumping into an article, mainly because comments most of the time loop me in on something that I am completely clueless or have little aware of. Also to see if the article is worth reading into because obviously if you read 20 people saying "The author of the article doesn't know what he is talking about" then its more possible that indeed the author has written about something he doesn't know or understand. Also a lot of the times the solutions given or explanations are amazingly good and entertaining. Thanks to YC I've become a better person I'd say.

ptero 10y ago
Great point, now that you wrote it I realize I often do the same -- use HN comments as a signal on whether the article is worth reading. Coupled with the "do not be nasty" tone overall (a rarity online) it gives a very positive prior to YC.
pault 10y ago
> Also a lot of the times the solutions given or explanations are amazingly good and entertaining. Thanks to YC I've become a better person I'd say. I couldn't agree more, on both counts. It's such a thrill seeing a link to a research paper or exceptionally well written essay, and have the author answering questions in the comments. I can't even estimate how much general science, history, and literary education I've received this way, almost by accident. No doubt I am a much more well rounded person as a result. I rarely read TFA. I'm here for the discussion, and if the discussion is extraordinarily interesting, I'll read the article for clarification. To me, HN is the "guild" that teaches fundamentals, and keeps me abreast of the state of the industry (and many, many unrelated topics that are equally interesting!). Normally this level of access to illuminating dialog would be restricted to universities, but I can get it here for free, in my underwear. I've spent a good part of my life geographically isolated from centers of learning and industry, and being able to remain in the loop is priceless. I doubt my personal and professional growth over the last 10 years would be a fraction of what it is if I hadn't had this resource. Yes, I am a fanboy.
- throwaway6497 10y ago
  Amen to that!
louprado 10y ago
"Thanks to YC I've become a better person I'd say." Specifically I have become a better writer. The HN crowd is a tough but fair audience when it comes to upvotes on comments.
- sidlls 10y ago
  A better writer for the HN audience or in general? They are not the same thing.

Lordarminius 10y ago

> The brilliance of YCombinator, IMO, is HackerNews.... Before HN there was PG's blog.

bootload 10y ago
> Before HN there was PG's blog. Before pg's blog, there was /., before /. there was Carmack's .plan file ~ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12575501 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12575501
- vardhanw 10y ago
  How is /. now compared to YC?
  - ebcode 10y ago
    I think you misinterpreted the comparison. It's not /. to YC, but /. to HN
  - bootload 10y ago
    slashdot was/is a message board on hacker-like things a proto-HN sans the startup stuff.

crdb 10y ago

If you mean the fund(s), I disagree. The strength of YC is the relatively large value they provide in exchange for your equity. Their "price" is still excellent and continues to clear the market. This becomes rapidly obvious if you attempt to raise early stage funding and start comparing options. Aside from the actual cash and the famous network, YC and its partners have earned a reputation for sticking with their investments through tough times instead of writing them off. This seems relatively rare amongst early stage investors, especially outside the US. In my relatively few years of experience in business, I've learnt to value people in the "cooperate cooperate" quadrant of the Prisoner's Dilemma very highly, and it's not a reputation you can "buy" quickly. HN is a place to have civilised discussions thanks to both a seed of core tech personalities for historical reasons drawing a network of quality, and thorough and active moderation. I think "self-perpetuating machine" is harsh and not quite representative of most of the value derived by those of us who are not part of the YC ecosystem and unlikely ever to be (and yes, I haven't read the original article). PS: nice site! Light, fast and with just one tracker (but "old geeks" would crunch web logs, surely?)

johnwheeler 10y ago
I agree 7% in exchange for 120K and the YC network is a solid deal for the founder. And, thanks for the feedback OldGeekJobs. It's been making rounds on HN over the last two weeks. https://oldgeekjobs.com/press https://oldgeekjobs.com/press
traek 10y ago
> I've learnt to value people in the "cooperate cooperate" quadrant of the Prisoner's Dilemma very highly, and it's not a reputation you can "buy" quickly. This is a great way to put it. People who act in good faith are the only people I'd want to do business with, and YC has (rightfully IMO) earned a reputation for being a partner you can trust.

wuschel 10y ago

I agree. HN and pg's old essays were a gem in the times were little other startup resources were out there.

tedmiston 10y ago
Even today when startup resources abound, Sam's Startup Playbook [0] and the course How to Start a Startup [1] are in another league, particularly with their directness and clarity. Edit: Getting downvoted, but these resources are really great, so I'm not sure what's going on. I just added links in case people are unfamiliar. [0]: http://playbook.samaltman.com http://playbook.samaltman.com [1]: http://startupclass.samaltman.com http://startupclass.samaltman.com

yolesaber 10y ago

I read a lot less about YC companies on here than I did a few years ago. The site's popularity has partially eclipsed its original intent, for better or for worse.

Jd 10y ago

Agreed but you have to credit PG's earlier work that makes this all credible as an uber-nerd watering hole (i.e. his guide to Lisp, Arc, Hackers and Painters, etc.).