5 ms·

Don't worry about the registration fee. It serves to eliminate people who are not serious about participating/developing their startup plans. You should registe

by fvds 16y ago

Don't worry about the registration fee. It serves to eliminate people who are not serious about participating/developing their startup plans. You should register (with $199), and if you are serious about your plans you'll have many, many opportunities to get your full $199 back from MassChallenge. They make it easy to get reimbursed (e.g. give an informal pitch in one of the early pitch practice sessions, etc.). Last year we got our registration fee back very quickly (we could have gotten back even several times that). Olivier Boss, Energesis Pharmaceuticals (a MassChallenge 2010 award winner)

rhizome 16y ago
It's still creepy.
- JohnHarthorne 16y ago
  Is it as creepy as taking 6% equity from a company that is still young and strategically weak? To me that is molestation.
  - pg 16y ago
    I wouldn't be surprised to see this sort of comment from a random troll on HN, but I'm surprised to see it from one of the organizers of the program. It suggests that as well as having rather bad judgment, you don't understand the math of equity. A "free" alternative is no bargain if you end up net worse off. http://paulgraham.com/equity.html http://paulgraham.com/equity.html
    - JohnHarthorne 16y ago
      But if we offer a free alternative with equivalent benefits, then 6% is way overpriced. And that's what we do. Paul omits a discussion of opportunity cost. Sure, buying a coke for 50 cents is great ... but getting it for free is much better. Remember that at 6.4% improvement, you end up even with ycombinator. At 6.4% improvement with MassChallenge, you end up 6.4% ahead.
      - staunch 16y ago
        Do yourself a favor: wait until you have a track record and reputation that's at least 5% the quality of YC's before you start bragging about how much better you are.
        JohnHarthorne 16y ago
        This isn't about me. I don't do this. MassChallenge is a community supported by literally thousands of volunteers foregoing value capture to support value creation. After year 1, we asked our finalists this survey question: How likely are you on a scale of 0-10 to recommend MassChallenge to another startup? 79% answered either 9 or 10. (Just about 60% answered 10). One person answered 6 -- the lowest score. For perspective, that means that our finalists are slightly more enthusiastic about MassChallenge than Apple customers are about Apple Computer ... see here for more details and other metrics: http://www.masschallenge.org/2010_metrics http://www.masschallenge.org/2010_metrics Again, please visit some time. I'm sure you will understand why we are so excited about MassChallenge if you do.
        mctavjb9 16y ago
        I'd be curious to know what the results of this survey question were from companies that made it to the first round but were not selected for the incubation phase. I had the entry fee waived through endorsements last year, but had an experience during the pitch round similar to others who have commented here-- judges who had nothing resembling a clue. I've heard this story over and over and have no intention of participating this year.
        WarPaul 16y ago
        Again, I'll reference my aforementioned post above: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2388691 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2388691 I guarantee that the judging has been drastically improved from last year. It's still too bad that you feel the way you do. I wish you continued success in your venture.
      - deleted 16y ago
    - whatucantsay 16y ago
      Which level of How to Disagree is comparing people to "random trolls"? And how about refuting with "you don't understand the math"? http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html
      - pg 16y ago
        DH6, actually, when you include the next sentence and the link.
        whatucantsay 16y ago
        Is it really your position that one can string together multiple DH0 / DH1 arguments, add a DH6 argument, and be on the high ground? That sort of reasoning could only come from someone who is so narcissistic that he created a forum with all of the trappings of a reasonable place save the single essential one, just so that he could continue to delude himself and the hand-picked psychophants he surrounds himself with. If that fails to make clear the weakness in the position, the point will be repeated.
        projectileboy 16y ago
        If you're going to get nasty and hide behind one or more sockpuppet accounts, could you please promote your goods and/or services on a different forum?
        JohnHarthorne 15y ago
        I have only posted comments under one account - using my full name and prefaced with a clear indication of my role as the founder of MassChallenge. I have not influenced or attempted to influence any other comments on this thread offline, and I do not know who is writing comments under the name whatucantsay.
    - JohnHarthorne 15y ago
      Paul, you are right. I should not have used such a strong analogy. My intention was to draw a clear distinction. I wanted to be playfully controversial to highlight the point, but the implication was inappropriate and contributed to a degradation of the conversation from functional to name-calling. You have accomplished a great deal and have contributed enormously to the startup ecosystem. Techstars and other programs that take equity are also a great benefit to the community, and I would be remiss to leave a lasting impression on the community that I felt Y-Combinator or Techstars are anything short of remarkable. MassChallenge is a unique model with huge promise. Clearly, there is room in the ecosystem for multiple models to coexist. We are proud to enable the type of community that Y-Combinator pioneered without taking any equity from startups, and we are excited about the opportunity to contribute to the mounting startup renaissance and to shift the broader economic discourse from one of value capture back to one of value creation. Sorry everyone for the coarse commentary. As noted previously, you are all invited to visit us in Boston any time. Our deadline to enter this year is April 11, and we would be honored to help you win. http://www.masschallenge.org/enter http://www.masschallenge.org/enter
  - rhizome 16y ago
    False dichotomy, they can both be creepy.
- WarPaul 16y ago
  ...and thinking you can build a billion dollar web app or online platform without engaging a single outsider is straight narcissism.

by fvds 16y ago

rhizome 16y ago

It's still creepy.

JohnHarthorne 16y ago
Is it as creepy as taking 6% equity from a company that is still young and strategically weak? To me that is molestation.
- pg 16y ago
  I wouldn't be surprised to see this sort of comment from a random troll on HN, but I'm surprised to see it from one of the organizers of the program. It suggests that as well as having rather bad judgment, you don't understand the math of equity. A "free" alternative is no bargain if you end up net worse off. http://paulgraham.com/equity.html http://paulgraham.com/equity.html
  - JohnHarthorne 16y ago
    But if we offer a free alternative with equivalent benefits, then 6% is way overpriced. And that's what we do. Paul omits a discussion of opportunity cost. Sure, buying a coke for 50 cents is great ... but getting it for free is much better. Remember that at 6.4% improvement, you end up even with ycombinator. At 6.4% improvement with MassChallenge, you end up 6.4% ahead.
    - staunch 16y ago
      Do yourself a favor: wait until you have a track record and reputation that's at least 5% the quality of YC's before you start bragging about how much better you are.
      - JohnHarthorne 16y ago
        This isn't about me. I don't do this. MassChallenge is a community supported by literally thousands of volunteers foregoing value capture to support value creation. After year 1, we asked our finalists this survey question: How likely are you on a scale of 0-10 to recommend MassChallenge to another startup? 79% answered either 9 or 10. (Just about 60% answered 10). One person answered 6 -- the lowest score. For perspective, that means that our finalists are slightly more enthusiastic about MassChallenge than Apple customers are about Apple Computer ... see here for more details and other metrics: http://www.masschallenge.org/2010_metrics http://www.masschallenge.org/2010_metrics Again, please visit some time. I'm sure you will understand why we are so excited about MassChallenge if you do.
        mctavjb9 16y ago
        I'd be curious to know what the results of this survey question were from companies that made it to the first round but were not selected for the incubation phase. I had the entry fee waived through endorsements last year, but had an experience during the pitch round similar to others who have commented here-- judges who had nothing resembling a clue. I've heard this story over and over and have no intention of participating this year.
        WarPaul 16y ago
        Again, I'll reference my aforementioned post above: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2388691 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2388691 I guarantee that the judging has been drastically improved from last year. It's still too bad that you feel the way you do. I wish you continued success in your venture.
    - deleted 16y ago
  - whatucantsay 16y ago
    Which level of How to Disagree is comparing people to "random trolls"? And how about refuting with "you don't understand the math"? http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html
    - pg 16y ago
      DH6, actually, when you include the next sentence and the link.
      - whatucantsay 16y ago
        Is it really your position that one can string together multiple DH0 / DH1 arguments, add a DH6 argument, and be on the high ground? That sort of reasoning could only come from someone who is so narcissistic that he created a forum with all of the trappings of a reasonable place save the single essential one, just so that he could continue to delude himself and the hand-picked psychophants he surrounds himself with. If that fails to make clear the weakness in the position, the point will be repeated.
        projectileboy 16y ago
        If you're going to get nasty and hide behind one or more sockpuppet accounts, could you please promote your goods and/or services on a different forum?
        JohnHarthorne 15y ago
        I have only posted comments under one account - using my full name and prefaced with a clear indication of my role as the founder of MassChallenge. I have not influenced or attempted to influence any other comments on this thread offline, and I do not know who is writing comments under the name whatucantsay.
  - JohnHarthorne 15y ago
    Paul, you are right. I should not have used such a strong analogy. My intention was to draw a clear distinction. I wanted to be playfully controversial to highlight the point, but the implication was inappropriate and contributed to a degradation of the conversation from functional to name-calling. You have accomplished a great deal and have contributed enormously to the startup ecosystem. Techstars and other programs that take equity are also a great benefit to the community, and I would be remiss to leave a lasting impression on the community that I felt Y-Combinator or Techstars are anything short of remarkable. MassChallenge is a unique model with huge promise. Clearly, there is room in the ecosystem for multiple models to coexist. We are proud to enable the type of community that Y-Combinator pioneered without taking any equity from startups, and we are excited about the opportunity to contribute to the mounting startup renaissance and to shift the broader economic discourse from one of value capture back to one of value creation. Sorry everyone for the coarse commentary. As noted previously, you are all invited to visit us in Boston any time. Our deadline to enter this year is April 11, and we would be honored to help you win. http://www.masschallenge.org/enter http://www.masschallenge.org/enter
- rhizome 16y ago
  False dichotomy, they can both be creepy.
WarPaul 16y ago
...and thinking you can build a billion dollar web app or online platform without engaging a single outsider is straight narcissism.