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If you can get into a good accelerator like YC, it’s not that risky. You’ll have a good shot at raising more money after, and then worst case you have a couple

If you can get into a good accelerator like YC, it’s not that risky. You’ll have a good shot at raising more money after, and then worst case you have a couple years to work on something interesting under relatively financially comfortable (albeit stressful) conditions, learn a ton, and make a lot of valuable connections. Even if it doesn’t pan out, your career prospects are likely to improve, not get worse. That said, without finding a way to raise money or bootstrap to profitability, you’re absolutely right.

Grustaf 8y ago
If you can get into YC therer is really no risk at all for you. 1. You have enough to cover your costs while in SF 2. If you are good enough to get in, you will never have a hard time to get back into employment 3. Having been accepted to YC will in fact boost your prospects afterwards. Unless your situation at work is very unusual, there is no downside to getting accepted, only upside.
- godot 8y ago
  I trust that you have well intentions, but I'd like to dispute most of your points. (I was once a YC founder -- that startup had since been shut down) 1. YC's investment amount can cover your costs while in SF, but not much more than that. If you have family to support back home, it may not even be enough for that. If your startup didn't have other investments already, you're also on the hook to raise funds at the end of YC too, or else you're in another bad place. 2 & 3. Having been a YC founder on your resume does not make you a gold standard everywhere, you still pretty much go through the exact same hoops at interviews everywhere. I job-hunted after our YC startup shut down. It was not any easier than before YC. In fact, it seemed like it was harder (not because of YC experience but because the overall environment for software engineering interviews got a lot different than I last job-hunted 10+ years before that). In the end I landed at a place I'm very happy at now as a regular ol' senior engineer, but it was certainly not effortless. Of course, YC is awesome and there is no downside for the company or yourself to getting accepted. But definitely not riskless if you have a family to support and you don't already have a lot of savings as safety net.
- quickthrower2 8y ago
  > 1. You have enough to cover your costs while in SF What about your costs back home? You need to earn enough to live in SF plus pay for your food and mortgage etc. at home for your family. You really need some savings.
  - Grustaf 8y ago
    Let's say you normally earn 120 k a year, or 10k a month. You and your cofounder share a studio in SF for 5k, then you need 10 + 10 + 5 = 25 k a month, meaning the YC money lasts you 4 months if you both had a good salary and don't want to compromise at all. If you are lucky enough to be earning more than 120 k now, then I'm sure you have 100+ stashed away by now, so it really should be a no-brainer for almost anyone. In reality most people earn much less, and are willing to dial down their spending a bit for a few months, so I really don't think money is an issue for the vast majority of YC applicants.
    - quickthrower2 8y ago
      The 100 stashed away is the issue though. Even if you have it, it might be rainy day money not for living expenses for a moonshot.

Grustaf 8y ago

If you can get into YC therer is really no risk at all for you. 1. You have enough to cover your costs while in SF 2. If you are good enough to get in, you will never have a hard time to get back into employment 3. Having been accepted to YC will in fact boost your prospects afterwards. Unless your situation at work is very unusual, there is no downside to getting accepted, only upside.

godot 8y ago
I trust that you have well intentions, but I'd like to dispute most of your points. (I was once a YC founder -- that startup had since been shut down) 1. YC's investment amount can cover your costs while in SF, but not much more than that. If you have family to support back home, it may not even be enough for that. If your startup didn't have other investments already, you're also on the hook to raise funds at the end of YC too, or else you're in another bad place. 2 & 3. Having been a YC founder on your resume does not make you a gold standard everywhere, you still pretty much go through the exact same hoops at interviews everywhere. I job-hunted after our YC startup shut down. It was not any easier than before YC. In fact, it seemed like it was harder (not because of YC experience but because the overall environment for software engineering interviews got a lot different than I last job-hunted 10+ years before that). In the end I landed at a place I'm very happy at now as a regular ol' senior engineer, but it was certainly not effortless. Of course, YC is awesome and there is no downside for the company or yourself to getting accepted. But definitely not riskless if you have a family to support and you don't already have a lot of savings as safety net.
quickthrower2 8y ago
> 1. You have enough to cover your costs while in SF What about your costs back home? You need to earn enough to live in SF plus pay for your food and mortgage etc. at home for your family. You really need some savings.
- Grustaf 8y ago
  Let's say you normally earn 120 k a year, or 10k a month. You and your cofounder share a studio in SF for 5k, then you need 10 + 10 + 5 = 25 k a month, meaning the YC money lasts you 4 months if you both had a good salary and don't want to compromise at all. If you are lucky enough to be earning more than 120 k now, then I'm sure you have 100+ stashed away by now, so it really should be a no-brainer for almost anyone. In reality most people earn much less, and are willing to dial down their spending a bit for a few months, so I really don't think money is an issue for the vast majority of YC applicants.
  - quickthrower2 8y ago
    The 100 stashed away is the issue though. Even if you have it, it might be rainy day money not for living expenses for a moonshot.