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Another thing I've been curious about is how many of the founders had student loans when they started the company. I'd bet that student loans hold a lot of peop

by katm 9y ago

Another thing I've been curious about is how many of the founders had student loans when they started the company. I'd bet that student loans hold a lot of people back. I just paid mine off last year.

adventured 9y ago
Student loans and health factors (specifically complications around health insurance or existing healthcare costs). Health considerations can be a massive issue when trying to do a start-up. At 30-40 years old (with the average age around 30, I imagine there are plenty of candidates between 30-40), some small percentage of people are likely to be running into their first health problems or concerns. Financially speaking, the only thing more ridiculous than the cost of education, is the cost of healthcare. If you need health insurance to cover a prescription that costs a thousand dollars per month, you're naturally going to have serious concerns about leaving the job that provides that insurance.
- aianus 9y ago
  It's a rather marginal difference when you're already forgoing $13k a month or more in salary to be an entrepreneur instead of a bigco developer, no? Like, you'd just have to work a month or two extra before quitting to cover a year of prescriptions.
  - edwhitesell 9y ago
    If you have a need for a prescription with costs in that range, the prescription itself is likely a minimal cost in the whole scheme of healthcare costs you have. Specialists usually charge significantly more than primary care physicians and an unforseen trip to the ER can easily cost $20k. It's not as simple as working an extra month or two. The risks of not having insurance are utterly terrible financial handcuffs. I'm just starting down the path of cancer treatments, the coverages (or lack thereof) and costs are eye-opening, and scary.
- rdlecler1 9y ago
  If YC could give 1 year of healthcare I bet the would get a lot more companies applying.
  - hn_throwaway_99 9y ago
    I'm pretty sure YC doesn't have any trouble getting companies to apply. Perhaps their biggest problem is just dealing with the shear volume of applications they already get.
- hn_throwaway_99 9y ago
  In the US, you can get COBRA coverage to continue on your employer's group plan for 18 months. You have to pay the full premium, but at least it takes away the risk about getting coverage.
robhunter 9y ago
It's an interesting proxy for childhood socioeconomic status (which I'd also love to see some data on)

by katm 9y ago

adventured 9y ago

Student loans and health factors (specifically complications around health insurance or existing healthcare costs). Health considerations can be a massive issue when trying to do a start-up. At 30-40 years old (with the average age around 30, I imagine there are plenty of candidates between 30-40), some small percentage of people are likely to be running into their first health problems or concerns. Financially speaking, the only thing more ridiculous than the cost of education, is the cost of healthcare. If you need health insurance to cover a prescription that costs a thousand dollars per month, you're naturally going to have serious concerns about leaving the job that provides that insurance.

aianus 9y ago
It's a rather marginal difference when you're already forgoing $13k a month or more in salary to be an entrepreneur instead of a bigco developer, no? Like, you'd just have to work a month or two extra before quitting to cover a year of prescriptions.
- edwhitesell 9y ago
  If you have a need for a prescription with costs in that range, the prescription itself is likely a minimal cost in the whole scheme of healthcare costs you have. Specialists usually charge significantly more than primary care physicians and an unforseen trip to the ER can easily cost $20k. It's not as simple as working an extra month or two. The risks of not having insurance are utterly terrible financial handcuffs. I'm just starting down the path of cancer treatments, the coverages (or lack thereof) and costs are eye-opening, and scary.
rdlecler1 9y ago
If YC could give 1 year of healthcare I bet the would get a lot more companies applying.
- hn_throwaway_99 9y ago
  I'm pretty sure YC doesn't have any trouble getting companies to apply. Perhaps their biggest problem is just dealing with the shear volume of applications they already get.
hn_throwaway_99 9y ago
In the US, you can get COBRA coverage to continue on your employer's group plan for 18 months. You have to pay the full premium, but at least it takes away the risk about getting coverage.

robhunter 9y ago

It's an interesting proxy for childhood socioeconomic status (which I'd also love to see some data on)