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Congratulations to PG & company. When I first met Paul years ago, he was musing about spam filters and the finer points of a well-designed lisp. Now he appare

by tc 16y ago

Congratulations to PG & company. When I first met Paul years ago, he was musing about spam filters and the finer points of a well-designed lisp. Now he apparently has the top 10 angels in Silicon Valley running scared of him.

jeromec 16y ago
The interesting thing is unlike that group of Angels apparently in the bar PG's interests are less about helping himself, and more about helping entrepreneurs. From an essay by PG entitled "Why YC": The real reason we started Y Combinator is one probably only a hacker would understand. We did it because it seems such a great hack. There are thousands of smart people who could start companies and don't, and with a relatively small amount of force applied at just the right place, we can spring on the world a stream of new startups that might otherwise not have existed. In a way this is virtuous, because I think startups are a good thing. But really what motivates us is the completely amoral desire that would motivate any hacker who looked at some complex device and realized that with a tiny tweak he could make it run more efficiently. In this case, the device is the world's economy, which fortunately happens to be open source. http://paulgraham.com/whyyc.html http://paulgraham.com/whyyc.html
- qq66 16y ago
  I don't think anybody's stated interests should be taken as an indicator of their true interests. In this case, with PG, I do believe that his stated intentions are sincere. But there is often so little correlation between actual and stated intentions, that I don't take any such statement at face value.
  - jeromec 16y ago
    I don't think anybody's stated interests should be taken as an indicator of their true interests. I agree. (actually I'd replace "taken as an indicator" with "taken as an absolute indicator") In this case, with PG, I do believe that his stated intentions are sincere. I agree.
    - mhendrick 16y ago
      Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it likely that the angels involved also make up a strong percentage of the people who invest on Demo Day in post-YC companies? How can it be a "PG vs Angels" situation when the parties involved are likely some of YC's portfolio companies biggest "supporters"?
      - jeromec 16y ago
        Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it likely that the angels involved also make up a strong percentage of the people who invest on Demo Day in post-YC companies? Yes, I believe so. How can it be a "PG vs Angels" situation when the parties involved are likely some of YC's portfolio companies biggest "supporters"? That question might be better put to those Angels in the bar...
        mhendrick 16y ago
        I'm not defending the angels involved by any means; I actually think it's a great thing that this has been exposed if it is indeed what's been going on. The easy access to YC companies may in fact be what emboldened them to act in this manner in the first place. Once this all plays out, I think it's safe to assume that at least a few of the angels in question are going to have to answer for their actions. Should be interesting to hear what they have to say.
      - MediaSquirrel 16y ago
        YC is the seller, angels at Demo Day are the buyers. Just cuz you work with someone closely doesn't mean you won't or can't try to screw them.
        mhendrick 16y ago
        Agreed. It's possible they got a bit overconfident in their respective positions because of the easy access to so many well-vetted companies.
        redrobot5050 16y ago
- wensing 16y ago
  YC's greatest hack is identifying founder material based on technical rather than social proof (the YC app asks for an example of the coolest thing you've ever built, not an example of a cool person that thinks you are cool). This hack is possible thanks to a judges panel full of real nerds. How many super angels or VC's can claim to have the same?
  - gruseom 16y ago
    I agree that YC are able to identify great hackers and great founders more easily because they are these things themselves. What's little recognized is how big a difference this is between YC and the other YC-like funds.
    - wensing 16y ago
      Yes. I had a colleague apply for TechStars and her takeaway from the interview was "he was really focused on where the business was." Doesn't seem in line with what I've heard about YC's primary interest (it's not the business model).
      - gruseom 16y ago
        It seems kind of obvious that most successful startups don't succeed via the business model they started with. And that great founders can change business models more easily than great business models can change founders. These things are so obvious that they're cliches, in fact, but that doesn't mean that they're common practice.
brendonjason 16y ago
Yes. They are running scared of the growing threat of the Ylluminati. But since they have 100% of all the deals, they also seem to co-invest(?!?). These anxious (yet all-powerful) group of angels and this unstoppable new seed-stage prominence. They form a closed loop. A loop closed off to venture capitalists and angels not at that meeting ... which is basically everybody. Except Michael. He got away with his life intact and lived to warn us all. Actually, I don't know what's scarier - the supposed collusion or the subtle dread that Y Combinator is supposed to evoke in my mind as I ponder the possibility of this event being true. If it is true - maybe we should be side with these poor angels and help them before it's too late. To paraphrase Woodrow Wilson, "Since I entered (angel investing), I have chiefly had (angel investor's) views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the (Valley), in the Field of (IT) and (Venture Capital), are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it." That something ... is Y Combinator. Um ... no. The dark side doesn't suit you, Y Combinator. Please stop. I'm sorry. Maybe I've had too many beers tonight. But this is the kind of scenario that only comes out of the mind of a silicon valley PR firm. (please don't downvote me too much ... I'd like to get above 100 karma points just once for a change! Noooo!)
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- limist 16y ago
  I upvoted you just for the historical reference. :)
  - brendonjason 16y ago
    Thank you! Your rare sense of humor more than counterbalances the dime-a-dozen downvotes that have yet again stripped me of run at a 100 karma points on this, my ... 8th(?) YC account!

by tc 16y ago

jeromec 16y ago

The interesting thing is unlike that group of Angels apparently in the bar PG's interests are less about helping himself, and more about helping entrepreneurs. From an essay by PG entitled "Why YC": The real reason we started Y Combinator is one probably only a hacker would understand. We did it because it seems such a great hack. There are thousands of smart people who could start companies and don't, and with a relatively small amount of force applied at just the right place, we can spring on the world a stream of new startups that might otherwise not have existed. In a way this is virtuous, because I think startups are a good thing. But really what motivates us is the completely amoral desire that would motivate any hacker who looked at some complex device and realized that with a tiny tweak he could make it run more efficiently. In this case, the device is the world's economy, which fortunately happens to be open source. http://paulgraham.com/whyyc.html http://paulgraham.com/whyyc.html

qq66 16y ago
I don't think anybody's stated interests should be taken as an indicator of their true interests. In this case, with PG, I do believe that his stated intentions are sincere. But there is often so little correlation between actual and stated intentions, that I don't take any such statement at face value.
- jeromec 16y ago
  I don't think anybody's stated interests should be taken as an indicator of their true interests. I agree. (actually I'd replace "taken as an indicator" with "taken as an absolute indicator") In this case, with PG, I do believe that his stated intentions are sincere. I agree.
  - mhendrick 16y ago
    Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it likely that the angels involved also make up a strong percentage of the people who invest on Demo Day in post-YC companies? How can it be a "PG vs Angels" situation when the parties involved are likely some of YC's portfolio companies biggest "supporters"?
    - jeromec 16y ago
      Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it likely that the angels involved also make up a strong percentage of the people who invest on Demo Day in post-YC companies? Yes, I believe so. How can it be a "PG vs Angels" situation when the parties involved are likely some of YC's portfolio companies biggest "supporters"? That question might be better put to those Angels in the bar...
      - mhendrick 16y ago
        I'm not defending the angels involved by any means; I actually think it's a great thing that this has been exposed if it is indeed what's been going on. The easy access to YC companies may in fact be what emboldened them to act in this manner in the first place. Once this all plays out, I think it's safe to assume that at least a few of the angels in question are going to have to answer for their actions. Should be interesting to hear what they have to say.
    - MediaSquirrel 16y ago
      YC is the seller, angels at Demo Day are the buyers. Just cuz you work with someone closely doesn't mean you won't or can't try to screw them.
      - mhendrick 16y ago
        Agreed. It's possible they got a bit overconfident in their respective positions because of the easy access to so many well-vetted companies.
      - redrobot5050 16y ago
wensing 16y ago
YC's greatest hack is identifying founder material based on technical rather than social proof (the YC app asks for an example of the coolest thing you've ever built, not an example of a cool person that thinks you are cool). This hack is possible thanks to a judges panel full of real nerds. How many super angels or VC's can claim to have the same?
- gruseom 16y ago
  I agree that YC are able to identify great hackers and great founders more easily because they are these things themselves. What's little recognized is how big a difference this is between YC and the other YC-like funds.
  - wensing 16y ago
    Yes. I had a colleague apply for TechStars and her takeaway from the interview was "he was really focused on where the business was." Doesn't seem in line with what I've heard about YC's primary interest (it's not the business model).
    - gruseom 16y ago
      It seems kind of obvious that most successful startups don't succeed via the business model they started with. And that great founders can change business models more easily than great business models can change founders. These things are so obvious that they're cliches, in fact, but that doesn't mean that they're common practice.

brendonjason 16y ago

Yes. They are running scared of the growing threat of the Ylluminati. But since they have 100% of all the deals, they also seem to co-invest(?!?). These anxious (yet all-powerful) group of angels and this unstoppable new seed-stage prominence. They form a closed loop. A loop closed off to venture capitalists and angels not at that meeting ... which is basically everybody. Except Michael. He got away with his life intact and lived to warn us all. Actually, I don't know what's scarier - the supposed collusion or the subtle dread that Y Combinator is supposed to evoke in my mind as I ponder the possibility of this event being true. If it is true - maybe we should be side with these poor angels and help them before it's too late. To paraphrase Woodrow Wilson, "Since I entered (angel investing), I have chiefly had (angel investor's) views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the (Valley), in the Field of (IT) and (Venture Capital), are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it." That something ... is Y Combinator. Um ... no. The dark side doesn't suit you, Y Combinator. Please stop. I'm sorry. Maybe I've had too many beers tonight. But this is the kind of scenario that only comes out of the mind of a silicon valley PR firm. (please don't downvote me too much ... I'd like to get above 100 karma points just once for a change! Noooo!)

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
limist 16y ago
I upvoted you just for the historical reference. :)
- brendonjason 16y ago
  Thank you! Your rare sense of humor more than counterbalances the dime-a-dozen downvotes that have yet again stripped me of run at a 100 karma points on this, my ... 8th(?) YC account!