4 ms·

is this going to suffer from the same problems as increased class sizes? less personal mentoring, for example? i guess you can argue that it increases the poo

is this going to suffer from the same problems as increased class sizes? less personal mentoring, for example? i guess you can argue that it increases the pool of connections, but that's a lower quality (unproved) pool than contacts with established players, no?

nanoanderson 16y ago
I think YC would cut it off if they knew they had reached their limit. After all, they're investing in these companies and want them all to succeed. Overbooking would cost them a lot of money in the short- and long-term.
- andrewcooke 16y ago
  that depends on the maths, doesn't it? for example, although they no doubt want them all to succeed, they probably make a lot of money on very few, and those few pay for the rest. since no-one can predict exactly which those few are, it's not clear the investors lose by increasing the pool (as long as they don't lower their standards). that's not the same arguments as a participant might use. it could be that you're going to start several companies in your lifetime; the probability of any one succeeding is not that great, but hopefully one will. from that point of view, what you want from YC is high quality contacts that carry across into future companies, even if those are not YC supported. there's nothing to say, on the face of it, that those to mechanisms must pull in the same direction; the timescales are different, for example.
ksolanki 16y ago
is this going to suffer from the same problems as increased class sizes? less personal mentoring, for example? Probably NOT. The bar has been higher in recent batches and as a result, relatively more established companies make it to the batch, as compared to, say, in 2005 - 2007. This benefits both the companies and YC -- the companies benefit by the excellent environment and networking opportunities, and YC ends up making somewhat (again, relatively speaking) safer investments.
- nicholasjbs 16y ago
  YC is certainly getting and accepting applications from more established companies now, but they're also still funding very, very early stage companies (i.e., two founders and an idea). My cofounder and I were in the Summer 2010 batch and fit that description, and I know of founders in this summer's batch who do as well.
tokenadult 16y ago
is this going to suffer from the same problems as increased class sizes? (Note: I first came to Hacker News by following links after reading Paul Graham's essays on education, e.g., http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html from 2003, http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html http://www.paulgraham.com/college.html http://www.paulgraham.com/college.html from 2005, http://www.paulgraham.com/colleges.html http://www.paulgraham.com/colleges.html from 2007, and http://www.paulgraham.com/credentials.html http://www.paulgraham.com/credentials.html from 2008, so my starting assumption is that some other people here on HN like to discuss education policy.) What evidence is there that there are problems from increased class sizes? Several of the countries that best the United States in educational achievement http://pirls.bc.edu/timss2007/PDF/T07_M_IR_Chapter1.pdf http://pirls.bc.edu/timss2007/PDF/T07_M_IR_Chapter1.pdf have long had larger class sizes than the United States. For example, my wife grew up in Taiwan when the typical class size was 60 pupils in each classroom, and an unusually small class might have 50 pupils. But she had better primary and secondary education in mathematics and science and world history than I had (I supplemented my schooling with much independent reading of library books, which is the main reason I can keep up with her knowledge base) and she was going to school in a second language (her native language and home language was Taiwanese, but all her school instruction was in Mandarin) and attained strong proficiency in English by the end of high school besides. Small class sizes aren't so good if they match up many learners with less proficient teachers and curricula that are not well thought out. Better to have a larger class size, if that means being with a better teacher, and that's what the research shows about education policy. On the specific point of mentoring for start-up businesses, if the YC people know their craft, and it appears that they do, shared face time with them is better than much more undivided face time with at least some other investors. Choose your trade-offs if you are launching a start-up.

nanoanderson 16y ago

I think YC would cut it off if they knew they had reached their limit. After all, they're investing in these companies and want them all to succeed. Overbooking would cost them a lot of money in the short- and long-term.

andrewcooke 16y ago
that depends on the maths, doesn't it? for example, although they no doubt want them all to succeed, they probably make a lot of money on very few, and those few pay for the rest. since no-one can predict exactly which those few are, it's not clear the investors lose by increasing the pool (as long as they don't lower their standards). that's not the same arguments as a participant might use. it could be that you're going to start several companies in your lifetime; the probability of any one succeeding is not that great, but hopefully one will. from that point of view, what you want from YC is high quality contacts that carry across into future companies, even if those are not YC supported. there's nothing to say, on the face of it, that those to mechanisms must pull in the same direction; the timescales are different, for example.

ksolanki 16y ago

is this going to suffer from the same problems as increased class sizes? less personal mentoring, for example? Probably NOT. The bar has been higher in recent batches and as a result, relatively more established companies make it to the batch, as compared to, say, in 2005 - 2007. This benefits both the companies and YC -- the companies benefit by the excellent environment and networking opportunities, and YC ends up making somewhat (again, relatively speaking) safer investments.

nicholasjbs 16y ago
YC is certainly getting and accepting applications from more established companies now, but they're also still funding very, very early stage companies (i.e., two founders and an idea). My cofounder and I were in the Summer 2010 batch and fit that description, and I know of founders in this summer's batch who do as well.

tokenadult 16y ago

is this going to suffer from the same problems as increased class sizes? (Note: I first came to Hacker News by following links after reading Paul Graham's essays on education, e.g., http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html from 2003, http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html http://www.paulgraham.com/college.html http://www.paulgraham.com/college.html from 2005, http://www.paulgraham.com/colleges.html http://www.paulgraham.com/colleges.html from 2007, and http://www.paulgraham.com/credentials.html http://www.paulgraham.com/credentials.html from 2008, so my starting assumption is that some other people here on HN like to discuss education policy.) What evidence is there that there are problems from increased class sizes? Several of the countries that best the United States in educational achievement http://pirls.bc.edu/timss2007/PDF/T07_M_IR_Chapter1.pdf http://pirls.bc.edu/timss2007/PDF/T07_M_IR_Chapter1.pdf have long had larger class sizes than the United States. For example, my wife grew up in Taiwan when the typical class size was 60 pupils in each classroom, and an unusually small class might have 50 pupils. But she had better primary and secondary education in mathematics and science and world history than I had (I supplemented my schooling with much independent reading of library books, which is the main reason I can keep up with her knowledge base) and she was going to school in a second language (her native language and home language was Taiwanese, but all her school instruction was in Mandarin) and attained strong proficiency in English by the end of high school besides. Small class sizes aren't so good if they match up many learners with less proficient teachers and curricula that are not well thought out. Better to have a larger class size, if that means being with a better teacher, and that's what the research shows about education policy. On the specific point of mentoring for start-up businesses, if the YC people know their craft, and it appears that they do, shared face time with them is better than much more undivided face time with at least some other investors. Choose your trade-offs if you are launching a start-up.