4 ms·

The market is global Excellent point, and the one I came here to make. I think you're off, though, on the reason YC companies are so successful. It's not the

The market is global Excellent point, and the one I came here to make. I think you're off, though, on the reason YC companies are so successful. It's not the quality of the startups or the quality of the talent. It's the connections and exposure that YC comes with that gives them such a huge advantage. Imagine if your little one-man company could land itself on TechCrunch whenever you wanted. If you had reporters at Inc. magazine using you as examples in articles related to your industry (or writing articles about your industry specifically so they could drop your name). If you could call in favors from pretty much anybody in the tech world. That would be pretty cool. Way cooler than $30k (plus 150k), and certainly worth 6% of your thing. At this point, YC companies are successful because YC companies are successful. It's so self-reinforcing it's essentially a tautology.

apu 15y ago
PG has repeatedly said that connections and exposure are NOT the biggest advantage. It is the talent that matters, AND the fact that YC can provide extremely relevant and detailed guidance on all aspects of startupping. http://ycombinator.com/atyc.html http://ycombinator.com/atyc.html
- jasonkester 15y ago
  Do you believe that though? Talent happens everywhere, and the knowledge and advice that they give is freely available to anybody with access to Google. So why, given two teams with equal talent and equal guidance, would the YC company do so much better in the general case? If you look at the link you referenced, you'll notice that every single one of them is about connecting YC startups with important people (including VCs, the YC team, other YC companies, angels, tech press, and Silicon Valley as a whole). It's a good thing, by the way.
  - apu 15y ago
    I definitely believe it. The knowledge and advice that they give is freely available to anybody with access to Google Definitely not. They're not giving general advice -- that's already been given in the form of PG's essays, etc. They give detailed, specific information for each company. From what I understand, it includes everything from tactical information on exactly when to launch or what features to cut, to longer term product and UI design to long-term strategic advice for the company. Also, they have expertise in everything from team dynamics to product development to knowledge of the press and funding, etc. With hundreds of companies as YC alums, the YC folks have an unrivaled amount of experience -- whatever your situation, they've probably seen something like it and can give you great advice. I think there are very few other advisors who could give really good advice on all these fronts. If you look at the link you referenced, you'll notice that every single one of them is about connecting YC startups with important people What? Maybe half of it is, but did you miss the whole "office hours" section?
  - known 15y ago
    I don't believe it. For e.g. Banks in India gave 84% of loans to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_caste http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_caste community

apu 15y ago

PG has repeatedly said that connections and exposure are NOT the biggest advantage. It is the talent that matters, AND the fact that YC can provide extremely relevant and detailed guidance on all aspects of startupping. http://ycombinator.com/atyc.html http://ycombinator.com/atyc.html

jasonkester 15y ago
Do you believe that though? Talent happens everywhere, and the knowledge and advice that they give is freely available to anybody with access to Google. So why, given two teams with equal talent and equal guidance, would the YC company do so much better in the general case? If you look at the link you referenced, you'll notice that every single one of them is about connecting YC startups with important people (including VCs, the YC team, other YC companies, angels, tech press, and Silicon Valley as a whole). It's a good thing, by the way.
- apu 15y ago
  I definitely believe it. The knowledge and advice that they give is freely available to anybody with access to Google Definitely not. They're not giving general advice -- that's already been given in the form of PG's essays, etc. They give detailed, specific information for each company. From what I understand, it includes everything from tactical information on exactly when to launch or what features to cut, to longer term product and UI design to long-term strategic advice for the company. Also, they have expertise in everything from team dynamics to product development to knowledge of the press and funding, etc. With hundreds of companies as YC alums, the YC folks have an unrivaled amount of experience -- whatever your situation, they've probably seen something like it and can give you great advice. I think there are very few other advisors who could give really good advice on all these fronts. If you look at the link you referenced, you'll notice that every single one of them is about connecting YC startups with important people What? Maybe half of it is, but did you miss the whole "office hours" section?
- known 15y ago
  I don't believe it. For e.g. Banks in India gave 84% of loans to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_caste http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_caste community