4 ms·

So do you condone working such long hours that founders are routinely sleep deprived?

ed 18y ago
Quit trolling. Clearly it's the founder's decision how many hours to work, not PG's.
staunch 18y ago
"Even during Viaweb I still slept 8 hours a night (roughly 3-11). The most productive people rarely have more than 6 hours or so of really concentrated work per day, except in emergencies. If you can ensure you get that every day, you don't need to economize on sleep..." -- by pg 358 days ago http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39778 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39778
- gojomo 18y ago
  So Say We All.
icey 18y ago
If you're going to troll, I want disclosure. How many times have you applied to YC and been rejected?
- danielharan 18y ago
  Never applied, although encouraged others to do so. If people working insanely long hours is actually mythology, that actually hurts YC: sane people will avoid applying in the first place. If the long hours is really true, then people aren't being productive, also hurting YC. Either way, call me a troll but this is something YC should be making clear.
  - mattmaroon 18y ago
    YC doesn't dictate how many hours you work. They aren't project managers or pointy haired bosses. They're investors. Your biggest mistake is taking the blog entry of one startup out of 100 or so that they've funded and assuming that what they do is typical and/or directed by YC.
    - danielharan 18y ago
      I wish it were selection bias. Unfortunately, every time I hear about a YC company they seem to brag about the hours they work. Are there numbers about this? A survey of average hours worked in YC startups (ideally separating code / biz time) would be helpful to give people a realistic idea of what they're signing up for when they apply.
      - icey 18y ago
        Now I'm positive you're trolling. Kudos to you for a troll well executed.
      - mattmaroon 18y ago
        No it wouldn't, because again, YC doesn't dictate the hours. You're signing up for whatever you want to sign up for. It's not as if you punch a time card and PG looks at them. People work so hard because they want to do well on demo day. Other than that one day, I don't know of any way to pitch to all of the top investors in the industry at once. You'd be a fool to not try to maximize your productivity with that in mind.
      - Xichekolas 18y ago
        If you want to work a guaranteed maximum of eight hours a day, then America has just the thing for you... I hope you like cubicles.
  - icey 18y ago
    This isn't a YC thing. This is a startup thing. Startups work a lot of hours, it's the nature of the beast. By being as accusatory as you've been, you've highlighted your inexperience with startups in general.

ed 18y ago

Quit trolling. Clearly it's the founder's decision how many hours to work, not PG's.

"Even during Viaweb I still slept 8 hours a night (roughly 3-11). The most productive people rarely have more than 6 hours or so of really concentrated work per day, except in emergencies. If you can ensure you get that every day, you don't need to economize on sleep..." -- by pg 358 days ago http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39778 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39778

gojomo 18y ago
So Say We All.

icey 18y ago

If you're going to troll, I want disclosure. How many times have you applied to YC and been rejected?

danielharan 18y ago
Never applied, although encouraged others to do so. If people working insanely long hours is actually mythology, that actually hurts YC: sane people will avoid applying in the first place. If the long hours is really true, then people aren't being productive, also hurting YC. Either way, call me a troll but this is something YC should be making clear.
- mattmaroon 18y ago
  YC doesn't dictate how many hours you work. They aren't project managers or pointy haired bosses. They're investors. Your biggest mistake is taking the blog entry of one startup out of 100 or so that they've funded and assuming that what they do is typical and/or directed by YC.
  - danielharan 18y ago
    I wish it were selection bias. Unfortunately, every time I hear about a YC company they seem to brag about the hours they work. Are there numbers about this? A survey of average hours worked in YC startups (ideally separating code / biz time) would be helpful to give people a realistic idea of what they're signing up for when they apply.
    - icey 18y ago
      Now I'm positive you're trolling. Kudos to you for a troll well executed.
    - mattmaroon 18y ago
      No it wouldn't, because again, YC doesn't dictate the hours. You're signing up for whatever you want to sign up for. It's not as if you punch a time card and PG looks at them. People work so hard because they want to do well on demo day. Other than that one day, I don't know of any way to pitch to all of the top investors in the industry at once. You'd be a fool to not try to maximize your productivity with that in mind.
    - Xichekolas 18y ago
      If you want to work a guaranteed maximum of eight hours a day, then America has just the thing for you... I hope you like cubicles.
- icey 18y ago
  This isn't a YC thing. This is a startup thing. Startups work a lot of hours, it's the nature of the beast. By being as accusatory as you've been, you've highlighted your inexperience with startups in general.