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I believe they were not random applicants either, but had been walked in by a YC founder. So no points to YC for choosing them out of the applicant pool on thei

I believe they were not random applicants either, but had been walked in by a YC founder. So no points to YC for choosing them out of the applicant pool on their own merits. The Airbnb founders seem to be good at Making Friends and Influencing People. Which is clearly a valuable trait in Silicon Valley but not all that admirable. Neither is the business they built, which has caused perhaps as much misery in the world as it has eliminated. YC set out to create the next generation of tech companies like Google/Microsoft/Apple. Instead, YC has only helped to launch some pretty mediocre companies that will be hardly be footnotes in history. Sure, they made money, but they were already rich. The Airbnb and DoorDash IPOs are evidence of YC's failure to achieve its real mission rather than evidence that it succeeded. If it had succeeded, we'd all be talking about the Google-killer or Apple-killer they launched, and not these super boring room rental and food delivery services they're left with as a consolation prizes. It'd be awesome to see YC's original mission fulfilled. It was a grand idea and would be great for the world.

dang 6y ago
I don't know what "walked in" means, but having been introduced by a YC founder didn't get them into YC. It would at most have helped them get an interview.
- staunch 6y ago
  Edit: I Googled it and it was Michael Siebel that helped them get into YC. You can debate what "walked in" means but I think it's safe to say the story of Airbnb getting into YC is one of Winning Friends and Influencing People rather than any brilliant ideas or work they did on their actual startup, which is precisely what the blog post is saying. Edit2: just saw on Twitter that @paulg posted the email that got Airbnb an interview. It's hard to imagine a stronger attempt at walking them in than they received. They got very special treatment from friends with connections. https://mobile.twitter.com/paulg/status/1337011619268882432 https://mobile.twitter.com/paulg/status/1337011619268882432
  - sillysaurusx 6y ago
    I just wanted to say, thank you for pointing this out. The other half of it, though, is that you’re being sort of unfair. Airbnb isn’t boring. YC’s goal was to make a tremendous amount of money. Without that, none of their other ambitions would succeed. Enough of their bets had to be right. In that sense, it seems like YC was a success in their original mission. One does not kill google simply by wishing it. That said, yes, you’re right about the special treatment. But that’s what the real world is like. It’s not meant to be a court with a judge. http://www.paulgraham.com/judgement.html http://www.paulgraham.com/judgement.html You (like me, once) can be uncomfortable with the idea of special treatment, but it’s hard to argue with the result. After all, Airbnb IPO’d. EDIT: By the way, if you’d like to chat privately about the old days, feel free to DM me on Twitter. That 2008-era was interesting, and I remember you were there for it. I’m curious to get more of your impressions.
    - dang 6y ago
      It's not true—there was no special treatment. I was there, and it was very clear that they were applying just like everybody else. To say otherwise is cynical bullshit, and you guys should really pause before reinforcing talented-but-disadvantaged people's worry that they don't have a shot. They do have a shot, and if you had any idea how hard YC works not to overlook applicants who show up without special connections, you'd be ashamed of yourselves.
      - sillysaurusx 6y ago
        But.. they didn't apply like everybody else. pg made an /apply2 endpoint specifically for them: https://twitter.com/paulg/status/1337011619268882432 https://twitter.com/paulg/status/1337011619268882432 I doubt they were given special treatment afterwards. Their interview probably went like everyone else's. But how can it be true that there was no special treatment beforehand, when it was a special /apply2 endpoint? Of course talented-but-disadvantaged people have a shot. None of this is to say that they don't, and no one implied that special connections were a requirement. I know how hard YC works not to overlook those. My position is that there's nothing wrong with it being a special exception. Instacart seemed to be, too. But that's different than saying there was no exception.
DoreenMichele 6y ago
One thing I wanted to mention is that it's basically impossible to network your way into YC. The whole reason YC was created was to make it easy for people that had no network to start a startup and get help and raise money. https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6t-how-to-apply-and-succeed-at-y-combinator https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6t-how-to-apply-and-succ... That was part of my 'official" curriculum in Startup School. I don't know a date on it, but I haven't officially finished Startup School. As far as I know, that is still their official policy to this day.

dang 6y ago

I don't know what "walked in" means, but having been introduced by a YC founder didn't get them into YC. It would at most have helped them get an interview.

staunch 6y ago
Edit: I Googled it and it was Michael Siebel that helped them get into YC. You can debate what "walked in" means but I think it's safe to say the story of Airbnb getting into YC is one of Winning Friends and Influencing People rather than any brilliant ideas or work they did on their actual startup, which is precisely what the blog post is saying. Edit2: just saw on Twitter that @paulg posted the email that got Airbnb an interview. It's hard to imagine a stronger attempt at walking them in than they received. They got very special treatment from friends with connections. https://mobile.twitter.com/paulg/status/1337011619268882432 https://mobile.twitter.com/paulg/status/1337011619268882432
- sillysaurusx 6y ago
  I just wanted to say, thank you for pointing this out. The other half of it, though, is that you’re being sort of unfair. Airbnb isn’t boring. YC’s goal was to make a tremendous amount of money. Without that, none of their other ambitions would succeed. Enough of their bets had to be right. In that sense, it seems like YC was a success in their original mission. One does not kill google simply by wishing it. That said, yes, you’re right about the special treatment. But that’s what the real world is like. It’s not meant to be a court with a judge. http://www.paulgraham.com/judgement.html http://www.paulgraham.com/judgement.html You (like me, once) can be uncomfortable with the idea of special treatment, but it’s hard to argue with the result. After all, Airbnb IPO’d. EDIT: By the way, if you’d like to chat privately about the old days, feel free to DM me on Twitter. That 2008-era was interesting, and I remember you were there for it. I’m curious to get more of your impressions.
  - dang 6y ago
    It's not true—there was no special treatment. I was there, and it was very clear that they were applying just like everybody else. To say otherwise is cynical bullshit, and you guys should really pause before reinforcing talented-but-disadvantaged people's worry that they don't have a shot. They do have a shot, and if you had any idea how hard YC works not to overlook applicants who show up without special connections, you'd be ashamed of yourselves.
    - sillysaurusx 6y ago
      But.. they didn't apply like everybody else. pg made an /apply2 endpoint specifically for them: https://twitter.com/paulg/status/1337011619268882432 https://twitter.com/paulg/status/1337011619268882432 I doubt they were given special treatment afterwards. Their interview probably went like everyone else's. But how can it be true that there was no special treatment beforehand, when it was a special /apply2 endpoint? Of course talented-but-disadvantaged people have a shot. None of this is to say that they don't, and no one implied that special connections were a requirement. I know how hard YC works not to overlook those. My position is that there's nothing wrong with it being a special exception. Instacart seemed to be, too. But that's different than saying there was no exception.

DoreenMichele 6y ago

One thing I wanted to mention is that it's basically impossible to network your way into YC. The whole reason YC was created was to make it easy for people that had no network to start a startup and get help and raise money. https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6t-how-to-apply-and-succeed-at-y-combinator https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6t-how-to-apply-and-succ... That was part of my 'official" curriculum in Startup School. I don't know a date on it, but I haven't officially finished Startup School. As far as I know, that is still their official policy to this day.