4 ms·

YC has become a brand like harvard or stanford. The best are going to apply there.Even if you are terrible picking winners and loser you are picking from bunch

YC has become a brand like harvard or stanford. The best are going to apply there.Even if you are terrible picking winners and loser you are picking from bunch of impressive people so you will have winners.

Pharmakon 8y ago
I don’t buy that. A significant number of people around the world have heard of Harvard, while I doubt that most people in the U.S. alone have heard of YCombinator. I’m yet to talk to a friend or family member about this place without having to explain what YC is. Nobody has to explain Harvard. Not to say YC isn’t a big, impressive brand that draws talent, just that it’s still orders of magnitude from the top of the Ivy League.
- jedberg 8y ago
  Harvard is well known amongst people who attend college or who are interested in college. YC is probably equally well known amongst entrepreneurs or people who are interested in entrepreneurship. It's just that people who attend college or are interested in college is a much bigger group than entrepreneur.
  - keiferski 8y ago
    Harvard is probably one of the top 10 global brands along with Coke and Nike.
    - ballooney 8y ago
      Absurdly not the case. You are in a bubble.
      - keiferski 8y ago
        Not sure what bubble that would be. I didn’t attend Harvard and don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who has. I also don’t live in the United States. The concept of a university is fairly universal (pun intended) and surely Harvard or Oxford are considered the “best” at least in terms of name recognition.
        ballooney 8y ago
        You’re on HN. Go to yemen and ask your question.
        keiferski 8y ago
        According to Wikipedia, there are more than 20 universities in Yemen. I’m pretty sure they’ve heard of Harvard. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Yemen https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Yeme...
        ballooney 8y ago
        Which is different to being in the most recognisable brands in the world, with coke, disney, manchester united, etc etc.
- adventured 8y ago
  The parent simply stated that YC had become a brand like Harvard or Stanford. That's very clearly true, YC is the best in the world at what it does and it's extremely well known in tech. It is a potent brand. I don't see where the parent was implying YC was as well known globally as Harvard. Harvard also isn't as well known as Coca Cola (not even remotely close in fact). That lower recognition doesn't mean that Harvard isn't a brand that represents eg a very high standard in its field.
  - Pharmakon 8y ago
    Coca Cola is the most recognized brand on Earth, Harvard is the most reputable university brand on Earth. It actually seems like a good comparison. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/03/14/the-worlds-most-reputable-universities/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/03/14/the-w...
shafyy 8y ago
I think comparing an accelerator to a university is flawed for so many reasons.
- skrebbel 8y ago
  It's not, because the comparison was about brand value and brand perception. YC and Harvard have a very similar elite only-the-best-get-in-and-then-you're-set perception in their respective markets (plus a scarily similar "if you know guys who knows guys, it'll be easier to get in" aspect).
- bhl 8y ago
  They're more similar than dissimilar. For example, both try to have a selective process where they try to gauge potential of applicants, and whether they're worth investing resources into. Universities are actually a specific subset of accelerators..

Pharmakon 8y ago

I don’t buy that. A significant number of people around the world have heard of Harvard, while I doubt that most people in the U.S. alone have heard of YCombinator. I’m yet to talk to a friend or family member about this place without having to explain what YC is. Nobody has to explain Harvard. Not to say YC isn’t a big, impressive brand that draws talent, just that it’s still orders of magnitude from the top of the Ivy League.

jedberg 8y ago
Harvard is well known amongst people who attend college or who are interested in college. YC is probably equally well known amongst entrepreneurs or people who are interested in entrepreneurship. It's just that people who attend college or are interested in college is a much bigger group than entrepreneur.
- keiferski 8y ago
  Harvard is probably one of the top 10 global brands along with Coke and Nike.
  - ballooney 8y ago
    Absurdly not the case. You are in a bubble.
    - keiferski 8y ago
      Not sure what bubble that would be. I didn’t attend Harvard and don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who has. I also don’t live in the United States. The concept of a university is fairly universal (pun intended) and surely Harvard or Oxford are considered the “best” at least in terms of name recognition.
      - ballooney 8y ago
        You’re on HN. Go to yemen and ask your question.
        keiferski 8y ago
        According to Wikipedia, there are more than 20 universities in Yemen. I’m pretty sure they’ve heard of Harvard. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Yemen https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Yeme...
        ballooney 8y ago
        Which is different to being in the most recognisable brands in the world, with coke, disney, manchester united, etc etc.
adventured 8y ago
The parent simply stated that YC had become a brand like Harvard or Stanford. That's very clearly true, YC is the best in the world at what it does and it's extremely well known in tech. It is a potent brand. I don't see where the parent was implying YC was as well known globally as Harvard. Harvard also isn't as well known as Coca Cola (not even remotely close in fact). That lower recognition doesn't mean that Harvard isn't a brand that represents eg a very high standard in its field.
- Pharmakon 8y ago
  Coca Cola is the most recognized brand on Earth, Harvard is the most reputable university brand on Earth. It actually seems like a good comparison. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/03/14/the-worlds-most-reputable-universities/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/03/14/the-w...

shafyy 8y ago

I think comparing an accelerator to a university is flawed for so many reasons.

skrebbel 8y ago
It's not, because the comparison was about brand value and brand perception. YC and Harvard have a very similar elite only-the-best-get-in-and-then-you're-set perception in their respective markets (plus a scarily similar "if you know guys who knows guys, it'll be easier to get in" aspect).
bhl 8y ago
They're more similar than dissimilar. For example, both try to have a selective process where they try to gauge potential of applicants, and whether they're worth investing resources into. Universities are actually a specific subset of accelerators..