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I'm hoping we don't continue to see yc turn into 'the old guard'. YC folks, startups & the people yc startup school attracts that I've personally spoken to in

I'm hoping we don't continue to see yc turn into 'the old guard'. YC folks, startups & the people yc startup school attracts that I've personally spoken to in the past few years are more imitator-types. YC folks & startups of 2009 were more authentic & original types. Though I suppose it's tough to avoid this deterioration in culture following $-influx & 'success', in any domain.

sillysaurusx 6y ago
2009 era YC was epic. Literally once in a century. I was happy to be around, if not involved. Startup School afterparty at Anybots was a dream. Trevor even pinched me with his new robot (at my request). There were posers even back then, though. I remember one guy getting very drunk, saying “Ok, this is it,” and walking up to pg to pitch his startup. I’m not sure who I felt worse for, him or pg.
- Swizec 6y ago
  I was at the 2010 after party and I will always remember trying to pitch Ron Conway and he just turned around and walked away. Scoble listened to me then said “You’re an idiot, RSS is dead” Fun times for a 22 year old nerd on his first trip to USA. I grew a thick skin fast. The fact that a random kid from Europe could even get a chance to show up and speak to all those amazing people ... priceless. Just wish I had had the chops to do more with the opportunity.
  - throwaway713 6y ago
    > he just turned around and walked away > You’re an idiot That seems awfully rude of them. They don't sound like very pleasant people.
    - sillysaurusx 6y ago
      Some are. Most were nice. Some do that as a way of seeing whether a founder will get discouraged; if you know your idea will work, it’s easy to respond “Actually, that isn’t a problem anymore because X.” That tends to perk up the ears of VCs, since old ideas are bad until they’re suddenly very good.
      - neilv 6y ago
        If the intent is to test for resilience (not getting discouraged by setbacks) or for technical savvy (being able to debate the merits of the approach knowledgeably, and able to refine/pivot when problems with it encountered), I don't understand introducing the variable of rudeness. If A being rude to B, there's a good chance B will walk away, even if B could argue their point. If the situation is such that B can't walk away -- meaning that A has power over B -- then A being rude in that context is not only unpleasant, but possibly also an abuse of power by A.
        sillysaurusx 6y ago
        To be clear, you’re absolutely right about the rudeness. But it happened to me, when sama referred me to a VC. They were extremely nice in how they said “but that probably won’t work because X,” and I was too young to recognize that they were probing for determination. Nowadays I’d chuckle and say nah, that’s not the problem because x; y is the issue, but we address that with z. (Only if it’s true though! A surprising number of founders try to BS their way, which is always a mistake.)
        jariel 6y ago
        This is way over analyzing the situation. They are not testing for such things. Sometimes over drinks, someone might say something, possibly rude, possibly just perceived as that. I wouldn't perceive it as rude if someone said to me 'Kid, XYZ is dead!'. It's just a statement. There are not 'introduction of variables' here. Also, I would perceive it a rude to meet someone in a social situation and have them 'pitch' to me. That part of 'always hustling' in every social setting is one of the reasons I will never move back to the Valley.
        Swizec 6y ago
        It was definitely rude of me to go in for a pitch like that. But as a 22 year old outsider I also didn’t know any better.
        6y ago
- untog 6y ago
  I realise this will sound negative, but: what made 2009 era YC a once in a century thing? I’m trying to think of the companies that came out of it that truly shook the earth and I’m coming up blank.
netcan 6y ago
"The music was new, black polished chrome / And came over the summer like liquid night / The DJ's took pills to stay awake / And play for seven day" Jim Morrison. I always thought that song was prescient, considering the the "waves" of rock and roll in the following decades. Ideas emerged, often from the underground. Some were true, and they upended old, stale ideas that had descended into hack mimicry packaged and sold to the unwashed masses. Novelty is a quality and it only lasts so long. Johnny Rotten's antics would be trite cliches by the 1980s, just as he himself had been disgusted by the trite homages to Jim Morrison of the last 70s. Authenticity, originality and rebellion don't generally follow clearly signposted roads. Movements have cycles. In retrospect, Mike Oldfield didn't really suck... but Johnny was right at the time.

sillysaurusx 6y ago

2009 era YC was epic. Literally once in a century. I was happy to be around, if not involved. Startup School afterparty at Anybots was a dream. Trevor even pinched me with his new robot (at my request). There were posers even back then, though. I remember one guy getting very drunk, saying “Ok, this is it,” and walking up to pg to pitch his startup. I’m not sure who I felt worse for, him or pg.

Swizec 6y ago
I was at the 2010 after party and I will always remember trying to pitch Ron Conway and he just turned around and walked away. Scoble listened to me then said “You’re an idiot, RSS is dead” Fun times for a 22 year old nerd on his first trip to USA. I grew a thick skin fast. The fact that a random kid from Europe could even get a chance to show up and speak to all those amazing people ... priceless. Just wish I had had the chops to do more with the opportunity.
- throwaway713 6y ago
  > he just turned around and walked away > You’re an idiot That seems awfully rude of them. They don't sound like very pleasant people.
  - sillysaurusx 6y ago
    Some are. Most were nice. Some do that as a way of seeing whether a founder will get discouraged; if you know your idea will work, it’s easy to respond “Actually, that isn’t a problem anymore because X.” That tends to perk up the ears of VCs, since old ideas are bad until they’re suddenly very good.
    - neilv 6y ago
      If the intent is to test for resilience (not getting discouraged by setbacks) or for technical savvy (being able to debate the merits of the approach knowledgeably, and able to refine/pivot when problems with it encountered), I don't understand introducing the variable of rudeness. If A being rude to B, there's a good chance B will walk away, even if B could argue their point. If the situation is such that B can't walk away -- meaning that A has power over B -- then A being rude in that context is not only unpleasant, but possibly also an abuse of power by A.
      - sillysaurusx 6y ago
        To be clear, you’re absolutely right about the rudeness. But it happened to me, when sama referred me to a VC. They were extremely nice in how they said “but that probably won’t work because X,” and I was too young to recognize that they were probing for determination. Nowadays I’d chuckle and say nah, that’s not the problem because x; y is the issue, but we address that with z. (Only if it’s true though! A surprising number of founders try to BS their way, which is always a mistake.)
      - jariel 6y ago
        This is way over analyzing the situation. They are not testing for such things. Sometimes over drinks, someone might say something, possibly rude, possibly just perceived as that. I wouldn't perceive it as rude if someone said to me 'Kid, XYZ is dead!'. It's just a statement. There are not 'introduction of variables' here. Also, I would perceive it a rude to meet someone in a social situation and have them 'pitch' to me. That part of 'always hustling' in every social setting is one of the reasons I will never move back to the Valley.
        Swizec 6y ago
        It was definitely rude of me to go in for a pitch like that. But as a 22 year old outsider I also didn’t know any better.
        6y ago
untog 6y ago
I realise this will sound negative, but: what made 2009 era YC a once in a century thing? I’m trying to think of the companies that came out of it that truly shook the earth and I’m coming up blank.

netcan 6y ago

"The music was new, black polished chrome / And came over the summer like liquid night / The DJ's took pills to stay awake / And play for seven day" Jim Morrison. I always thought that song was prescient, considering the the "waves" of rock and roll in the following decades. Ideas emerged, often from the underground. Some were true, and they upended old, stale ideas that had descended into hack mimicry packaged and sold to the unwashed masses. Novelty is a quality and it only lasts so long. Johnny Rotten's antics would be trite cliches by the 1980s, just as he himself had been disgusted by the trite homages to Jim Morrison of the last 70s. Authenticity, originality and rebellion don't generally follow clearly signposted roads. Movements have cycles. In retrospect, Mike Oldfield didn't really suck... but Johnny was right at the time.