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YC is now the best deal that exists.

by mattgratt 16y ago

mkramlich 16y ago
maybe now we need a YC for new YC's
- rudiger 16y ago
  How many thousands of people apply for YC every year? Someone should offer a service: $500 to prepare you for a successful YC application.
  - mkramlich 16y ago
    good idea. a sort of pre-YC. could be worth it now that every YC alumni is basically guaranteed a $160k+ investment. (forgot offhand how much YC itself gives)
JoeAltmaier 16y ago
Hm. There are folks still using the 'old-fashioned' model of fundraising manually, building a team, honing a product and going to market. YC may be the best deal for a crew of wet-behind-the-ears startup virgins, I'll grant that.
- justin 16y ago
  That was a trollish comment but I'll bite. 150k is not going to get a company very far, and certainly not far enough to reinvent the startup model completely. Building a team is still a critical part of building a YC (or any other) company, as is honing a product and bringing it to market (which is primarily what they help you do). Saying that those things aren't part of the YC model just because you get some extra free money on great terms is disingenuous. Also, more and more experienced entrepreneurs are going to YC, because of the effects of the network and because the money really isn't that expensive. People always bring up that it isn't a great deal for experienced entrepreneurs, but you can ask my friend Steve, who just sold Reddit, went back to YC, and just raised a fat series A for hipmunk whether it was worth it.
  - JoeAltmaier 16y ago
    Hm. 150K is going to get a company, lets see, 10 times as far as $15K? Probably not, but its certainly going to get it something, and fundraising is going to be an order less critical for the duration. The YC model is something like this: Founders are recruited, then weeks are spent building a prototype whilst attending dinners/lectures about the next step: fundraising. YC is out of the picture once teambuilding, product honing begins. Its explicitely NOT part of the YC experience. As I understand it. To expand on my 1st remark: the shoestring bootstrap model is just one; others solicit Angels to fund development in a more structured manner. The reasons to bootstrap are usually, you are not known and cannot convince Angels to cough up. If for instance you have a success behind you, it may be possible to dispense with the grinding poverty phase.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

YC is now the best deal that exists.

mkramlich 16y ago

maybe now we need a YC for new YC's

rudiger 16y ago
How many thousands of people apply for YC every year? Someone should offer a service: $500 to prepare you for a successful YC application.
- mkramlich 16y ago
  good idea. a sort of pre-YC. could be worth it now that every YC alumni is basically guaranteed a $160k+ investment. (forgot offhand how much YC itself gives)

JoeAltmaier 16y ago

Hm. There are folks still using the 'old-fashioned' model of fundraising manually, building a team, honing a product and going to market. YC may be the best deal for a crew of wet-behind-the-ears startup virgins, I'll grant that.

justin 16y ago
That was a trollish comment but I'll bite. 150k is not going to get a company very far, and certainly not far enough to reinvent the startup model completely. Building a team is still a critical part of building a YC (or any other) company, as is honing a product and bringing it to market (which is primarily what they help you do). Saying that those things aren't part of the YC model just because you get some extra free money on great terms is disingenuous. Also, more and more experienced entrepreneurs are going to YC, because of the effects of the network and because the money really isn't that expensive. People always bring up that it isn't a great deal for experienced entrepreneurs, but you can ask my friend Steve, who just sold Reddit, went back to YC, and just raised a fat series A for hipmunk whether it was worth it.
- JoeAltmaier 16y ago
  Hm. 150K is going to get a company, lets see, 10 times as far as $15K? Probably not, but its certainly going to get it something, and fundraising is going to be an order less critical for the duration. The YC model is something like this: Founders are recruited, then weeks are spent building a prototype whilst attending dinners/lectures about the next step: fundraising. YC is out of the picture once teambuilding, product honing begins. Its explicitely NOT part of the YC experience. As I understand it. To expand on my 1st remark: the shoestring bootstrap model is just one; others solicit Angels to fund development in a more structured manner. The reasons to bootstrap are usually, you are not known and cannot convince Angels to cough up. If for instance you have a success behind you, it may be possible to dispense with the grinding poverty phase.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]