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So, I've actually gone through the local version of Marine Corps training with the 'crawling on your belly through mud with bullets whizzing over your head' par

by znt 16y ago

So, I've actually gone through the local version of Marine Corps training with the 'crawling on your belly through mud with bullets whizzing over your head' part and served near North Iraq for 9 months as a squad leader. It was basically hard like hell and fainting teammates due to exhaustion wasn't unusual during basic training. Should I include this experience to my application form if I ever decide to apply to YCombinator?

earbitscom 16y ago
Absolutely.
mindcrime 16y ago
Cool. I never did quite that, but I was a volunteer firefighter and a firefighter instructor who literally crawled on my belly in smoke-filled buildings, with a fire burning inside, with nothing but a flashlight and a 2" hoseline, and with flashover a possiblity at any moment... and I trained guys to do LP gas firefighting where the simulator generated so much heat that guys routinely found their helmets partially melted after a training drill. Wonder if I should put any of that stuff on my YC application?
- kovar 16y ago
  The trick is finding an effective way to include this in your story. YC isn't, or shouldn't, be your only incubator option and others will require you to communicate your story with very few words. (And just because YC doesn't require it doesn't mean that you shouldn't keep it in mind.) I run an international SAR team (www.1srg.org) and kept forgetting that it was a startup. I've been trying to include that experience while not adding too many words. The resulting story is much tighter, and hopefully more compelling. Invest in good prose....
  - mindcrime 16y ago
    Good point. And that's something I'm not terribly good at yet. I tend to use too many words when communicating. I need to learn to tighten things up a bit. :-(
    - eru 16y ago
      Write, then re-write.
spitfire 16y ago
For me, yes. People gain a maturity from experiences like that, and that's something I look for - maturity and experience. Not just the ability to whack on a keyboard all day. Better still if you can apply your Boyd to the problem. As for PG, he seems like a bit of a softy. I'm not sure how it'd go over with him. Personally, if you were a marine and have some technical chops I don't see why you need anyone else's help. Or why you should give up any of your company.
linuxdo0d 16y ago
Yeah no kidding - I was in Fallujah, and went through 6 months of bootcamp. In addition I've worked under high stress in the civilian world and there is absolutely no comparison to the training in the USMC and what menial (and trivial BS) that these startups go through. If you want to participate in high stress and get your kicks from it - join the USMC and see if you can make it. Unlike the drivviling worthless companies that make it out of incubation by sheer luck, do something real with our life. lz
pg 16y ago
Yes.
mrj 16y ago
Brother, you should include that anywhere you apply! Semper

by znt 16y ago

earbitscom 16y ago

Absolutely.

mindcrime 16y ago

Cool. I never did quite that, but I was a volunteer firefighter and a firefighter instructor who literally crawled on my belly in smoke-filled buildings, with a fire burning inside, with nothing but a flashlight and a 2" hoseline, and with flashover a possiblity at any moment... and I trained guys to do LP gas firefighting where the simulator generated so much heat that guys routinely found their helmets partially melted after a training drill. Wonder if I should put any of that stuff on my YC application?

kovar 16y ago
The trick is finding an effective way to include this in your story. YC isn't, or shouldn't, be your only incubator option and others will require you to communicate your story with very few words. (And just because YC doesn't require it doesn't mean that you shouldn't keep it in mind.) I run an international SAR team (www.1srg.org) and kept forgetting that it was a startup. I've been trying to include that experience while not adding too many words. The resulting story is much tighter, and hopefully more compelling. Invest in good prose....
- mindcrime 16y ago
  Good point. And that's something I'm not terribly good at yet. I tend to use too many words when communicating. I need to learn to tighten things up a bit. :-(
  - eru 16y ago
    Write, then re-write.

spitfire 16y ago

For me, yes. People gain a maturity from experiences like that, and that's something I look for - maturity and experience. Not just the ability to whack on a keyboard all day. Better still if you can apply your Boyd to the problem. As for PG, he seems like a bit of a softy. I'm not sure how it'd go over with him. Personally, if you were a marine and have some technical chops I don't see why you need anyone else's help. Or why you should give up any of your company.

linuxdo0d 16y ago

Yeah no kidding - I was in Fallujah, and went through 6 months of bootcamp. In addition I've worked under high stress in the civilian world and there is absolutely no comparison to the training in the USMC and what menial (and trivial BS) that these startups go through. If you want to participate in high stress and get your kicks from it - join the USMC and see if you can make it. Unlike the drivviling worthless companies that make it out of incubation by sheer luck, do something real with our life. lz

pg 16y ago

Yes.

mrj 16y ago

Brother, you should include that anywhere you apply! Semper