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I can see the other side. YC's requirements are not a surprise (and are quickly Googleable). If Jon's cofounders weren't on board with YC's requirements (namely

I can see the other side. YC's requirements are not a surprise (and are quickly Googleable). If Jon's cofounders weren't on board with YC's requirements (namely, moving to San Francisco), that's something he should have been aware of before pitching and getting accepted, and probably should have come up during his pitch -- to YC, it could have been a sign that he didn't know his cofounders well. My knowledge of this is limited to reading the comments here and Jon's blog post, but it's fair to see YC's side as well on feeling a bit blindsided. That's what I read between Paul's lines, anyway, specifically since he used the phrase "up front with us". Not pointing fingers or anything, just understanding both sides and responding to you specifically.

NewMonarch 16y ago
A big life decision like that takes at least a few days to process and decide. We had 7. Things got pretty crazy in that week, understandably.
- jedsmith 16y ago
  I wasn't pointing fingers at you in this, as I said - I was responding to the question directed at Paul. Now, I'll respond to you. I thought this privately, but your comment kind of pushed me over: I'm not sure if it's intentional, so I apologize if it isn't and I'm completely off-base. I mean no disrespect, and I'm just trying to understand what I'm reading. I'm reading a bit of exasperation from you that you weren't provided enough time to make life-changing decisions by YC. It almost sounds like blame, even though your blog post leans the other way. Whether you overtly admit it or not, it sounds like you hold a bit of a grudge that you lost out on that YC round because you weren't provided enough time to uproot your (and your cofounders') lives. Based on Paul's response, it sounds like they had wished they'd have known in that garden meeting that perhaps your cofounders weren't on board. I don't think it's an unfair assumption that you knew, when you pitched YC, that your cofounders had families and were rooted. I think Paul is expressing disappointment that he was blindsided by you hours before YC started with something hitherto unmentioned. Is it unfair to say that perhaps you should have expressed at the initial meeting that the next round might have been better? I can't imagine YC would have pulled funding from you had you said, at the initial meeting, "can we please shoot for Winter? this is a big deal, and I know your round starts soon, and I want to be respectful of my cofounders and give myself time to get things together". I'd have considered that a sign of wisdom, personally, and gained a lot of respect for you. My take, anyway. It worked out in the end, so bravo.
  - NewMonarch 16y ago
    Yeah it wasn't really like that. The guys were willing to move if they had to. They were willing to make the move and I had no idea they were going to be out until they were. But after getting swept up in everything for a few days preparing to move, it just became clear it wasn't going to work. There was no intentional omission of facts. When I accepted, I expected us all to be there. And to clarify, I don't blame YC at all. I love those guys. I really admire Paul and sometimes even quote the few interactions we've had. I think he's a genius and seriously hope we can work together on something one day. (Hi, Paul!) In my comment above, I was actually just trying to explain that everything happened very fast. I tried to update people as best as I could. It was just a very crazy week.

NewMonarch 16y ago

A big life decision like that takes at least a few days to process and decide. We had 7. Things got pretty crazy in that week, understandably.

jedsmith 16y ago
I wasn't pointing fingers at you in this, as I said - I was responding to the question directed at Paul. Now, I'll respond to you. I thought this privately, but your comment kind of pushed me over: I'm not sure if it's intentional, so I apologize if it isn't and I'm completely off-base. I mean no disrespect, and I'm just trying to understand what I'm reading. I'm reading a bit of exasperation from you that you weren't provided enough time to make life-changing decisions by YC. It almost sounds like blame, even though your blog post leans the other way. Whether you overtly admit it or not, it sounds like you hold a bit of a grudge that you lost out on that YC round because you weren't provided enough time to uproot your (and your cofounders') lives. Based on Paul's response, it sounds like they had wished they'd have known in that garden meeting that perhaps your cofounders weren't on board. I don't think it's an unfair assumption that you knew, when you pitched YC, that your cofounders had families and were rooted. I think Paul is expressing disappointment that he was blindsided by you hours before YC started with something hitherto unmentioned. Is it unfair to say that perhaps you should have expressed at the initial meeting that the next round might have been better? I can't imagine YC would have pulled funding from you had you said, at the initial meeting, "can we please shoot for Winter? this is a big deal, and I know your round starts soon, and I want to be respectful of my cofounders and give myself time to get things together". I'd have considered that a sign of wisdom, personally, and gained a lot of respect for you. My take, anyway. It worked out in the end, so bravo.
- NewMonarch 16y ago
  Yeah it wasn't really like that. The guys were willing to move if they had to. They were willing to make the move and I had no idea they were going to be out until they were. But after getting swept up in everything for a few days preparing to move, it just became clear it wasn't going to work. There was no intentional omission of facts. When I accepted, I expected us all to be there. And to clarify, I don't blame YC at all. I love those guys. I really admire Paul and sometimes even quote the few interactions we've had. I think he's a genius and seriously hope we can work together on something one day. (Hi, Paul!) In my comment above, I was actually just trying to explain that everything happened very fast. I tried to update people as best as I could. It was just a very crazy week.