8 ms·

CarWoo (YC S09): Dispelling 3 myths about Y Combinator

80 points by tommy_mcclung 16y ago

colinsidoti 16y ago
I was biting my fingernails as I read your first paragraph...well played sir.
seldo 16y ago
The irony of a 32-year-old considering himself "old" and claiming that therefore ageism doesn't exist at YC is great. I'm not saying YC is at all ageist, but the fact that at 32 he believes it would already apply to him speaks volumes about how endemic ageism is in tech.
- pg 16y ago
  I wouldn't read too much into it. I think he simply meant he's old in the sense of not a college kid-- that he has a wife and kids etc. You probably know better if you are an HN user, but a lot of people still think that YC only funds 22 year olds.
  - kellyreid 16y ago
    as a 26 year old single man, I must say it takes a lot of stress away when I don't have to explain it to my SO, my son/daughter, etc. I also don't have to worry if someone else will starve (I can handle myself, of course). That said, for those entrepreneurial types, age is rarely a factor outside of family concerns. I"m just glad i have the opportunity to try this before I get married and settle down.
    - BerislavLopac 16y ago
      Why would you marry at all? As you point out yourself, before you succeed it carries a lot of ballast, and increases the risk; and once you're successful, why would one want to tie himself (or herself, for that matter) down?
      - kellyreid 16y ago
        i'd prefer to be in a stable relationship while working for myself. it is helpful to have an "anchor" person who gets what you're doing, at least, or abides its because they love you. when you spend all your time pitching somewhat crazy ideas and getting them shot down, its nice to be able to come home to someone who doesn't need to be "sold" on anything.
        dirktheman 16y ago
        Me too. My wife is not tech-savvy at all, which is great because it forces me to talk to her as a regular person about my startup.
      - btilly 16y ago
        Ah, youth. When you fall in love, you fall in love. Spending time on the relationship at that point is highly worthwhile. And kids are their own reward. Seriously, most of us come hard wired to want kids, and a large portion never realize that until you have your own. But if you're not ready, then by all means don't get married. But be aware that you're missing out.
        BerislavLopac 16y ago
        The only thing you're missing is a lot of misunderstandings, unreasonable demands and endless fights. Who would want that?
        csallen 16y ago
        That's a pessimistic worst-case scenario way to look at it. The same could be said of almost anything else. Why make friends? Why post on Hacker News? Why read books, or watch TV, or leave your house? It's never enough to say "Bad things can happen" and leave it at that. You need to make the case that the costs outweigh the benefits.
        projectileboy 16y ago
        I've been very happily married for 10 years, so I wouldn't so readily dismiss it, but if it seems constricting to you, then that's cool - don't do it. Not directed at you, but at the overall thread: honestly, I don't completely get why folks get so revved about others' decisions to get/not get married and have/not have kids. How are your lifestyle choices threatening to my lifestyle choices?
  - Sukotto 16y ago
    Out of curiosity, what's the oldest applicant you guys have accepted into the program? How did that person do?
- tommy_mcclung 16y ago
  That's a great point, although I guess I should have said "old in life situation". I have kids, a house, etc... It's not just about your age but also about how much baggage you carry with you. Obviosly it's easier to do a startup if you are younger because you don't carry the baggage with you.
- johngalt 16y ago
  I've worked in tech since I was very young and I have always had nothing but respect for the older guys. Where do you think I learned from? We are judged on our skills and not our age. If that wasn't the case I would immediately submit a YC app to start an IT outsourcing shop that hired only people over forty. I'd take all those hungry underutilized experts and crush the competition! I think the real issue here is precisely that we aren't judging people by their age. In <generic industry> the number of years of experience are the predominate method of determining skill/compensation and that's not necessarily true in tech. So people look at the difference and scream ageism!
btucker 16y ago
I'd love to hear more about how they lined up their dealer network.
- tommy_mcclung 16y ago
  Through a ton of phone calls :). We followed our buyers and built some scheduling software to help us prioritize notifying existing dealers and contacting new ones to satisfy the buyers. Another great topic for another blog post. Stay tuned.
  - btucker 16y ago
    Very interesting. Looking forward to the post!
- myoung8 16y ago
  Unlike most other marketplaces, we're fortunate that we can build the network in an ad-hoc fashion. Essentially, every time a buyer pays us, we reach out to just the dealers in that person's immediate area and get them to sign up. It's surprisingly easy because we come to them with a buyer who has paid money to help them buy a car that the dealer who's on the phone has on his lot. Increasingly, though, as volume increases and dealers become more aware of CarWoo!, we don't even need to call.
random42 16y ago
We have raised over $6M and while YC helped us and we are extremely appreciative, the hard work we put into CarWoo! and our determination to build a huge company was the key to our success. raising venture capital != success. Not for a scalable, repeatable business anyways.
- tommy_mcclung 16y ago
  I meant our success in getting to the funding milestone. We are very well aware that we are at the beginning, not the end.
  - random42 16y ago
    Good to know that you are not counting your chickens before they are hatched. Best of luck! :)
ora600 16y ago
I'm currently searching for a new car, so I thought I'll check out CarWoo. Here are some issues I ran into: 1. Can we have photos of the different models next to the drop down list? and maybe a short summary of the differences? I know I want a MINI, but I didn't even know there are three different kinds, so obviously I don't know which one I want. 2. Same for trims. At least a link to the manufacturer site to help me figure this out. 3. Mention payments only after I entered all my details? This seems unfair! 4. I feel incredibly uncomfortable to pay for the privilege of you giving my details to dealers. Shouldn't they be paying you because you are sending them buyers? 5. Also, why should I pay upfront? What if I don't get a good deal out of this? 6. I tried to ask all this at the nice chat, but after typing my question and clicking "submit" my text just disappeared and I never got a reply. I'm using Chrome, btw. 7. So no, I'm not convinced, and I see no reason to spend time watching videos of happy customers. I'm not into testimonials anyway. How about some statistics? What's the expected dollar value of savings for the model I'm trying to buy? I hope my comments are at least somewhat useful, and my apologies if the tone is snarky - I got upset at the non-working chat.
- myoung8 16y ago
  Sorry about that! Let me address your questions one-by-one: 1. We'll consider this. However, the vast majority of our users already know what model they want (i.e. they've done their research before using CarWoo!) 2. Same. 3. Split tests don't lie. 4. Actually, you're paying for the privilege of us keeping your information anonymous from 10 dealers and only giving it to the one dealer you want to work with after you've vetted them all through our app (i.e. we save you from spam), among many other benefits we provide, such as better prices from competition. 5. We have a 100% Happiness Guarantee and we're not afraid to use it. 6. Sorry about that, we use a 3rd-party service called SnapEngage, I'll have to look into this. 7. Some statistics for the analytically-inclined: - CarWoo! buyers save an average of over $3000 off MSRP (but this is meaningless without context) - CarWoo! buyers save an average of $450 more than any other car-buying service (Costco, AAA, USAA) - For Minis, CarWoo! buyers save an average of about $500 off MSRP (relatively low, but Mini dealers generally aren't that willing to negotiate on price) Thank you for your comments. Please let me know if you have any other questions or if you'd like a coupon to use CarWoo!
kaiserama 16y ago
Thanks for sharing. On a completely side note I noticed that Brendan Schaub had a CarWoo logo on his shorts at UFC121, so someone at CarWoo must like MMA. Anyway, I've always been curious about how much those fighters charge to have advertisers on their shorts...would you mind sharing how much it cost you? :) Apologies to the moderator gods for the random and off topic question.

80 points by tommy_mcclung 16y ago

I was biting my fingernails as I read your first paragraph...well played sir.

seldo 16y ago

The irony of a 32-year-old considering himself "old" and claiming that therefore ageism doesn't exist at YC is great. I'm not saying YC is at all ageist, but the fact that at 32 he believes it would already apply to him speaks volumes about how endemic ageism is in tech.

pg 16y ago
I wouldn't read too much into it. I think he simply meant he's old in the sense of not a college kid-- that he has a wife and kids etc. You probably know better if you are an HN user, but a lot of people still think that YC only funds 22 year olds.
- kellyreid 16y ago
  as a 26 year old single man, I must say it takes a lot of stress away when I don't have to explain it to my SO, my son/daughter, etc. I also don't have to worry if someone else will starve (I can handle myself, of course). That said, for those entrepreneurial types, age is rarely a factor outside of family concerns. I"m just glad i have the opportunity to try this before I get married and settle down.
  - BerislavLopac 16y ago
    Why would you marry at all? As you point out yourself, before you succeed it carries a lot of ballast, and increases the risk; and once you're successful, why would one want to tie himself (or herself, for that matter) down?
    - kellyreid 16y ago
      i'd prefer to be in a stable relationship while working for myself. it is helpful to have an "anchor" person who gets what you're doing, at least, or abides its because they love you. when you spend all your time pitching somewhat crazy ideas and getting them shot down, its nice to be able to come home to someone who doesn't need to be "sold" on anything.
      - dirktheman 16y ago
        Me too. My wife is not tech-savvy at all, which is great because it forces me to talk to her as a regular person about my startup.
    - btilly 16y ago
      Ah, youth. When you fall in love, you fall in love. Spending time on the relationship at that point is highly worthwhile. And kids are their own reward. Seriously, most of us come hard wired to want kids, and a large portion never realize that until you have your own. But if you're not ready, then by all means don't get married. But be aware that you're missing out.
      - BerislavLopac 16y ago
        The only thing you're missing is a lot of misunderstandings, unreasonable demands and endless fights. Who would want that?
        csallen 16y ago
        That's a pessimistic worst-case scenario way to look at it. The same could be said of almost anything else. Why make friends? Why post on Hacker News? Why read books, or watch TV, or leave your house? It's never enough to say "Bad things can happen" and leave it at that. You need to make the case that the costs outweigh the benefits.
        projectileboy 16y ago
        I've been very happily married for 10 years, so I wouldn't so readily dismiss it, but if it seems constricting to you, then that's cool - don't do it. Not directed at you, but at the overall thread: honestly, I don't completely get why folks get so revved about others' decisions to get/not get married and have/not have kids. How are your lifestyle choices threatening to my lifestyle choices?
- Sukotto 16y ago
  Out of curiosity, what's the oldest applicant you guys have accepted into the program? How did that person do?
tommy_mcclung 16y ago
That's a great point, although I guess I should have said "old in life situation". I have kids, a house, etc... It's not just about your age but also about how much baggage you carry with you. Obviosly it's easier to do a startup if you are younger because you don't carry the baggage with you.
johngalt 16y ago
I've worked in tech since I was very young and I have always had nothing but respect for the older guys. Where do you think I learned from? We are judged on our skills and not our age. If that wasn't the case I would immediately submit a YC app to start an IT outsourcing shop that hired only people over forty. I'd take all those hungry underutilized experts and crush the competition! I think the real issue here is precisely that we aren't judging people by their age. In <generic industry> the number of years of experience are the predominate method of determining skill/compensation and that's not necessarily true in tech. So people look at the difference and scream ageism!

btucker 16y ago

I'd love to hear more about how they lined up their dealer network.

tommy_mcclung 16y ago
Through a ton of phone calls :). We followed our buyers and built some scheduling software to help us prioritize notifying existing dealers and contacting new ones to satisfy the buyers. Another great topic for another blog post. Stay tuned.
- btucker 16y ago
  Very interesting. Looking forward to the post!
myoung8 16y ago
Unlike most other marketplaces, we're fortunate that we can build the network in an ad-hoc fashion. Essentially, every time a buyer pays us, we reach out to just the dealers in that person's immediate area and get them to sign up. It's surprisingly easy because we come to them with a buyer who has paid money to help them buy a car that the dealer who's on the phone has on his lot. Increasingly, though, as volume increases and dealers become more aware of CarWoo!, we don't even need to call.

random42 16y ago

We have raised over $6M and while YC helped us and we are extremely appreciative, the hard work we put into CarWoo! and our determination to build a huge company was the key to our success. raising venture capital != success. Not for a scalable, repeatable business anyways.

tommy_mcclung 16y ago
I meant our success in getting to the funding milestone. We are very well aware that we are at the beginning, not the end.
- random42 16y ago
  Good to know that you are not counting your chickens before they are hatched. Best of luck! :)

ora600 16y ago

I'm currently searching for a new car, so I thought I'll check out CarWoo. Here are some issues I ran into: 1. Can we have photos of the different models next to the drop down list? and maybe a short summary of the differences? I know I want a MINI, but I didn't even know there are three different kinds, so obviously I don't know which one I want. 2. Same for trims. At least a link to the manufacturer site to help me figure this out. 3. Mention payments only after I entered all my details? This seems unfair! 4. I feel incredibly uncomfortable to pay for the privilege of you giving my details to dealers. Shouldn't they be paying you because you are sending them buyers? 5. Also, why should I pay upfront? What if I don't get a good deal out of this? 6. I tried to ask all this at the nice chat, but after typing my question and clicking "submit" my text just disappeared and I never got a reply. I'm using Chrome, btw. 7. So no, I'm not convinced, and I see no reason to spend time watching videos of happy customers. I'm not into testimonials anyway. How about some statistics? What's the expected dollar value of savings for the model I'm trying to buy? I hope my comments are at least somewhat useful, and my apologies if the tone is snarky - I got upset at the non-working chat.

myoung8 16y ago
Sorry about that! Let me address your questions one-by-one: 1. We'll consider this. However, the vast majority of our users already know what model they want (i.e. they've done their research before using CarWoo!) 2. Same. 3. Split tests don't lie. 4. Actually, you're paying for the privilege of us keeping your information anonymous from 10 dealers and only giving it to the one dealer you want to work with after you've vetted them all through our app (i.e. we save you from spam), among many other benefits we provide, such as better prices from competition. 5. We have a 100% Happiness Guarantee and we're not afraid to use it. 6. Sorry about that, we use a 3rd-party service called SnapEngage, I'll have to look into this. 7. Some statistics for the analytically-inclined: - CarWoo! buyers save an average of over $3000 off MSRP (but this is meaningless without context) - CarWoo! buyers save an average of $450 more than any other car-buying service (Costco, AAA, USAA) - For Minis, CarWoo! buyers save an average of about $500 off MSRP (relatively low, but Mini dealers generally aren't that willing to negotiate on price) Thank you for your comments. Please let me know if you have any other questions or if you'd like a coupon to use CarWoo!

kaiserama 16y ago

Thanks for sharing. On a completely side note I noticed that Brendan Schaub had a CarWoo logo on his shorts at UFC121, so someone at CarWoo must like MMA. Anyway, I've always been curious about how much those fighters charge to have advertisers on their shorts...would you mind sharing how much it cost you? :) Apologies to the moderator gods for the random and off topic question.