4 ms·

So 60+ out of how many? I must admit. I cant wait to hear the types of startups that made the cut this time. It would be incredible to know (or scary as hell)

So 60+ out of how many? I must admit. I cant wait to hear the types of startups that made the cut this time. It would be incredible to know (or scary as hell) to find out if any of them are in essence, similar to what we want to do (or are in the process of doing). YC has made it possible for some really cool technologies come to the marketplace. And YC has inspired many like me to get off our collective asses to chase our dreams. Even if what I am currently building does not amount to a whole lot, the essays of PG has sure inspired me and will in turn inspire a lot many more who I will be sure to recommend it to.

xnerdr 15y ago
Do you have a link to "the essays of PG"? I'd be interested in checking them out...
- alexgartrell 15y ago
  http://paulgraham.com/articles.html http://paulgraham.com/articles.html I'm actually pretty surprised that there are HN users that don't know about his essays...
  - srgseg 15y ago
    It makes sense though - more people probably stumble across HN while searching for programming answers than through hearing about Y Combinator. Even those that realise that the top left top left 'Y' image is actually a link to ycombinator.com would be hard pressed to find a link from there to PG's essays.
  - wallflower 15y ago
    > I'm actually pretty surprised that there are HN users that don't know about his essays... Actually a long time ago, I remember reading one of PG's essays on High School and was struck by the sheer number of active comments (vibing with the thoughts) on it from kids who were in high school and most likely had no idea what HN was.
- deleted 15y ago
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abbasmehdi 15y ago
Yes, I feel naked for telling them every useful insight we had about our project.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- emmett 15y ago
  I can promise you they barely remember the interview. After so many days with hours of 10 minute interviews, the chances they will even remember any useful insight you had is close to nil. Moreover, YC would never take an idea you told them in an interview and tell it to another start-up.
  - BrandonM 15y ago
    The problem arises when you put these two statements together. Sometimes we hear a key insight or have an interesting thought and seem to forget it instantly. In reality, it's often filed away somewhere in our heads, only to be refreshed later when something similar jogs our memory. The true danger for a non-accepted startup is for their ideas to be absorbed into the subconscious memory of the YC advisers, only to bubble up later as a seemingly-original idea or interesting angle for another startup to pursue. This kind of accidental "idea theft" is practically guaranteed.
    - boucher 15y ago
      Honestly, your idea probably isn't that great. Even if it truly is, these things tend to have pretty short half lives. By the time it accidentally made its way to another startup through a YC partner you'll probably have had a lot of opportunity to already act on it. Or someone else will probably already have come up with it.
      - BrandonM 15y ago
        I'm not talking about "my idea" (I didn't even apply) or the value of ideas in general. I merely dispute the notion that a YC partner would hear an idea, forget it, and never make use of it again. I've seen it said several times over the last few years by defenders of YC and I don't buy it. The reality is that some people will have genuinely good, novel ideas but not be accepted (perhaps the applicant didn't seem motivated enough). Not using that idea takes conscious effort; "forgetting" the idea is exactly the recipe for inadvertently passing it on to someone else. I'm not contending that it does not make sense to share an idea with YC as part of the application process. Weighing the financial impact of giving away the idea (most would contend this is relatively small) against the potential benefit of getting into YC, submitting an application to YC will often be the rational decision.
deleted 15y ago
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teej 15y ago
I'll let PG answer that: On-time applications for s2011 were up by 84% from w2011 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2512854 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2512854

xnerdr 15y ago

Do you have a link to "the essays of PG"? I'd be interested in checking them out...

alexgartrell 15y ago
http://paulgraham.com/articles.html http://paulgraham.com/articles.html I'm actually pretty surprised that there are HN users that don't know about his essays...
- srgseg 15y ago
  It makes sense though - more people probably stumble across HN while searching for programming answers than through hearing about Y Combinator. Even those that realise that the top left top left 'Y' image is actually a link to ycombinator.com would be hard pressed to find a link from there to PG's essays.
- wallflower 15y ago
  > I'm actually pretty surprised that there are HN users that don't know about his essays... Actually a long time ago, I remember reading one of PG's essays on High School and was struck by the sheer number of active comments (vibing with the thoughts) on it from kids who were in high school and most likely had no idea what HN was.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

abbasmehdi 15y ago

Yes, I feel naked for telling them every useful insight we had about our project.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
emmett 15y ago
I can promise you they barely remember the interview. After so many days with hours of 10 minute interviews, the chances they will even remember any useful insight you had is close to nil. Moreover, YC would never take an idea you told them in an interview and tell it to another start-up.
- BrandonM 15y ago
  The problem arises when you put these two statements together. Sometimes we hear a key insight or have an interesting thought and seem to forget it instantly. In reality, it's often filed away somewhere in our heads, only to be refreshed later when something similar jogs our memory. The true danger for a non-accepted startup is for their ideas to be absorbed into the subconscious memory of the YC advisers, only to bubble up later as a seemingly-original idea or interesting angle for another startup to pursue. This kind of accidental "idea theft" is practically guaranteed.
  - boucher 15y ago
    Honestly, your idea probably isn't that great. Even if it truly is, these things tend to have pretty short half lives. By the time it accidentally made its way to another startup through a YC partner you'll probably have had a lot of opportunity to already act on it. Or someone else will probably already have come up with it.
    - BrandonM 15y ago
      I'm not talking about "my idea" (I didn't even apply) or the value of ideas in general. I merely dispute the notion that a YC partner would hear an idea, forget it, and never make use of it again. I've seen it said several times over the last few years by defenders of YC and I don't buy it. The reality is that some people will have genuinely good, novel ideas but not be accepted (perhaps the applicant didn't seem motivated enough). Not using that idea takes conscious effort; "forgetting" the idea is exactly the recipe for inadvertently passing it on to someone else. I'm not contending that it does not make sense to share an idea with YC as part of the application process. Weighing the financial impact of giving away the idea (most would contend this is relatively small) against the potential benefit of getting into YC, submitting an application to YC will often be the rational decision.

deleted 15y ago

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teej 15y ago

I'll let PG answer that: On-time applications for s2011 were up by 84% from w2011 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2512854 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2512854