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The problem with this is that I can't see the people involved. Who are the investors? What are their backgrounds? Why are they going to increase my chances o

by Harj 20y ago

The problem with this is that I can't see the people involved. Who are the investors? What are their backgrounds? Why are they going to increase my chances of success? Replicating the YC seed funding model is fair game. What I find irritating (and btw I'm very keen to see more European start ups funded so I'm not outright attacking you for the sake of it) is that people replicate the easy parts without putting the effort into the hard parts of YC. Easy parts = Getting money and an application form Hard parts = Getting high profile speakers every week to talk with founders, putting together an investor day with the most high profile investors in the world, providing real mentorship, creating a supportive community.

create_account 19y ago
Connections with high profile investors? That's why Kiko had to use eBay? Ha!
- pg 19y ago
  We did actually introduce Kiko to angels who invested in them. And Kiko didn't sell because they were out of money, but because their users were draining away.
  - create_account 19y ago
    But why weren't you able to introduce them to prospective buyers once they'd decided to sell? Isn't that where a well-connected investment firm adds value?
    - pg 19y ago
      The usual acquirers buy whole companies, including the programmers (which are actually the main thing they want). They don't buy just software in asset sales. So the fact that Justin and Emmett didn't want to keep working on the calendar meant that a normal acquisition was out of the question.
    - Harj 19y ago
      There's a difference between adding value and doing things for you. Believe it or not, once you get into YC you still have to put your own work into your start up and not expect YC to magically work everything out for you...
jmw 19y ago
One of the hardest parts of a "seed investor" is having actual successful experience in an early stage company (See PG, Trevor, and RTM in ViaWeb-Yahoo Store), and being able to use that experience when mentoring a young company. Having talked with all kinds of investors it's amazing how much more you can respect and understand the advice of someone who's been in your place before - and how much more relevant they can make it through their own experiences.

by Harj 20y ago

create_account 19y ago

Connections with high profile investors? That's why Kiko had to use eBay? Ha!

pg 19y ago
We did actually introduce Kiko to angels who invested in them. And Kiko didn't sell because they were out of money, but because their users were draining away.
- create_account 19y ago
  But why weren't you able to introduce them to prospective buyers once they'd decided to sell? Isn't that where a well-connected investment firm adds value?
  - pg 19y ago
    The usual acquirers buy whole companies, including the programmers (which are actually the main thing they want). They don't buy just software in asset sales. So the fact that Justin and Emmett didn't want to keep working on the calendar meant that a normal acquisition was out of the question.
  - Harj 19y ago
    There's a difference between adding value and doing things for you. Believe it or not, once you get into YC you still have to put your own work into your start up and not expect YC to magically work everything out for you...

jmw 19y ago

One of the hardest parts of a "seed investor" is having actual successful experience in an early stage company (See PG, Trevor, and RTM in ViaWeb-Yahoo Store), and being able to use that experience when mentoring a young company. Having talked with all kinds of investors it's amazing how much more you can respect and understand the advice of someone who's been in your place before - and how much more relevant they can make it through their own experiences.