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What do you mean? Like Hacker News or YC itself? If the latter, where are you encountering YC doing scummy stuff like TripleByte? And wrist slapping for what?

trevyn 6y ago
YC supports TripleByte, and TripleByte should be told by YC that they should stop doing this egregious stuff. If YC does not ask TripleByte to stop, YC is implicitly endorsing the behavior. If YC does make the request, and TripleByte agrees, then the scumminess stops. This clearly has not happened. (Or the request was not forceful enough.) If YC does make the request, and TripleByte disagrees, then YC should publicly distance itself from TripleByte. It’s like a milder version of what YC must do if a YC startup, say, starts making murder drones. YC doesn’t control what YC-affiliated startups do, but they have a lot of influence. In certain cases, YC is morally obligated to exert that influence. If they don’t, then they are complicit, and they hurt their own brand.
- cercatrova 6y ago
  Why would YC tell TB to stop increasing growth and revenue? They're a VC, that's what they want, of course they'd be endorsing it. It doesn't hurt their brand, again because they are interested only in making money, and founders are similarly interested in a VC that pushes their company to make more money. That you as a bystander (not even a customer) don't like it is inconsequential to both YC and their portfolio companies. See my response to another comment in the thread for more context.
  - jakelazaroff 6y ago
    Acting rationally does not preclude one from being a shitty company/person/whatever. They’re doing something sketchy, and we’re allowed to be mad at them for it. The fact that it’s better for their bottom line is not exculpatory.
    - cercatrova 6y ago
      Sure, I never said they weren't shitty, but it's not useful to be mad at them.
  - trevyn 6y ago
    “Making money” as a VC has dependencies on a lot of things, including reputation and deal flow.
    - cercatrova 6y ago
      Depends, YC is doing pretty well protecting their investments

trevyn 6y ago

YC supports TripleByte, and TripleByte should be told by YC that they should stop doing this egregious stuff. If YC does not ask TripleByte to stop, YC is implicitly endorsing the behavior. If YC does make the request, and TripleByte agrees, then the scumminess stops. This clearly has not happened. (Or the request was not forceful enough.) If YC does make the request, and TripleByte disagrees, then YC should publicly distance itself from TripleByte. It’s like a milder version of what YC must do if a YC startup, say, starts making murder drones. YC doesn’t control what YC-affiliated startups do, but they have a lot of influence. In certain cases, YC is morally obligated to exert that influence. If they don’t, then they are complicit, and they hurt their own brand.

cercatrova 6y ago
Why would YC tell TB to stop increasing growth and revenue? They're a VC, that's what they want, of course they'd be endorsing it. It doesn't hurt their brand, again because they are interested only in making money, and founders are similarly interested in a VC that pushes their company to make more money. That you as a bystander (not even a customer) don't like it is inconsequential to both YC and their portfolio companies. See my response to another comment in the thread for more context.
- jakelazaroff 6y ago
  Acting rationally does not preclude one from being a shitty company/person/whatever. They’re doing something sketchy, and we’re allowed to be mad at them for it. The fact that it’s better for their bottom line is not exculpatory.
  - cercatrova 6y ago
    Sure, I never said they weren't shitty, but it's not useful to be mad at them.
- trevyn 6y ago
  “Making money” as a VC has dependencies on a lot of things, including reputation and deal flow.
  - cercatrova 6y ago
    Depends, YC is doing pretty well protecting their investments