8 ms·

Welcome Sam, Garry, Emmett, and Justin

218 points by pg 15y ago

inmygarage 15y ago
These sorts of additions to the YC team provide a great example of how YC will scale its model. There's so much shared knowledge and know-how among the alumni and that's what will enable YC to create hundreds of companies a year without sacrificing quality.
- loganlinn 15y ago
  Funny you mention the word alumni, because it made me think of the operational structure and salability of a fraternity where past members serve the same positions that once served them.
- jurjenh 15y ago
  This kinda looks like an apprentice-ship training system! The master adviser trains up a few keen trainees, these then in turn become masters who train more apprentices etc... Maybe it IS a pyramid scheme all along! I did have my suspicions with the recent discussion / evaluation of YC performance.
  - justin 15y ago
    A pyramid scheme is a zero-sum game where wealth accrues up the pyramid in exchange for promises of future riches to the new recruits. YC startups thus far have been a positive sum game to the tune of $4 billion. Additionally, new YC companies aren't required to pay anyone for the things YC provides (as opposed to a pyramid scheme).
indyT 15y ago
This move seems to indicate that the startups are having issues getting access/undivided attention from the 'senior' partners. It is great that ycombinator has become so successful but the value prop of it seems to be diminishing as it grows. If I wanted to collaborate with other founders there are plenty of meetup groups I could attend without giving up a large share of my company.
- pg 15y ago
  No, this is in addition to office hours with the regular partners. And we can tell if there's any shortage there, from the length of the office hour request queue, which at this moment has only 2 requests in it.
- deleted 15y ago
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- justin 15y ago
  Ouch! ;) I'm probably biased but a big part of the value we've received from YC has been from access to alumni -- for example, when going out for our series A Sam was actually the most helpful out of anyone we spoke to, having just gone through the process himself (and done a killer job!). I think the view we can bring as alumni going through later stage startups is that we have immediate relevant operational experience to earlier stage startups.
  - akharris 15y ago
    Totally agree with you, Justin. Garry and Sam were hugely influential for us at really important junctures during YC, and have continued to be helpful afterwards. This is a huge win for YC.
  - ericfrenkiel 15y ago
    justin, couldn't agree more; you guys prove how strong the YC family is.
  - indyT 15y ago
    that wasn't intended to diminish your personal value or expertise. I think there is a general concern that future YC batches will have less personal involvement from the people that made YC compelling.
staunch 15y ago
It's a dojo. The most senior students teach you all the basic stances/punches/kicks/throws. The sensei helps you put it all together into a coherent fighting style.
- Shenglong 15y ago
  That sounds nice. When I was training, it was: senior students teach you the basic moves, and then the teacher chases you around with a big stick telling you to move faster.
guildchatter 15y ago
Grats Garry! =]
dgunn 15y ago
It seems that with each session, YC takes on more and more companies. Will this extra help continue to make this a YC norm? Has there been an upper limit defined?
- mparr4 15y ago
  I'd guess they'll keep going until they see diminishing returns. PG has said y-combinator is an effort to mass produce the startup (don't have the direct quote offhand). With that in mind, they seem to be looking to optimize the entire experience rather than just seeking to maximize profit. I imagine they'll let it grow only to the point that they still feel like they can work with each of the startups in some capacity (and within reason).
- pg 15y ago
  We can handle about 20 startups per (full-time) partner. Maybe 25. So with 10 partners advising startups we could get up to 200-250 startups simultaneously. Not that we expect to anytime soon; the point is just that if there is a limit, it's not immediately in front of us.
  - edanm 15y ago
    Have you considered taking on far more teams? You're growing from batch to batch, but if you could reach 200 startups by your estimates, why not grow even faster? Is it just a matter of "slow and steady"?
    - pg 15y ago
      Our growth is entirely a function of the growth in applications. So we don't have much choice about our growth rate. To grow faster we'd have to fund people we thought would fail, and to grow slower we'd have to reject people we thought would succeed. Either would be painful.
      - netcan 15y ago
        Was the borderline rejected application in your 1st or 2nd years indistinguishable form this year's, in terms of quality?
deleted 15y ago
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jdp23 15y ago
Four more guys! That'll really help scale to a more gender-balanced group of companies! No insult to Sam, Garry, Emmet, and Justin who I'm sure are very talented. But given how Jessica Livingston talks about how hard it's been for Y Combinator to attract female founders and then they do something like this, I really have to wonder how much they're trying to change.
- pg 15y ago
  I think you're insulting female founders by suggesting that their decision about whether to apply to something like YC would be determined by the gender of the partners. Surely male applicants wouldn't be scared off if most of the YC partners were female. Why assume female applicants are any different?
  - walter 15y ago
    If more YC partners were female, it could result in more women applicants because it might provide encouragement to potential female startup founders who are on the fence that successful entrepreneurship in a male-dominated startup environment is achievable--and ultimately worth striving for. Social science studies point to a gap between similarly-qualified men and women on their respective levels of self-confidence and risk tolerance. The implication of this gap is that while the gender makeup of YC partners wouldn't affect the decision of most men to apply, the presence of women could have the effect of encouraging women to apply by demonstrating what can be achieved. Ultimately, this is a pipeline issue--there are just not enough women founders who go on to be angels and VCs.
  - jdp23 15y ago
    It's not a matter of women being "scared off". Diversifying the people at the top is one of the key steps to getting a more diverse organization. This was an opportunity to do it. YC chose not to. In contrast, there's 500 Startups, where Dave McClure is actively reaching out.* Which environment is likely to look more attractive to women entrepeneurs? * http://www.ezebis.com/venture/dave-mcclure500-startups-founderstaking-advantage-arbitrage-of-other-investors-disinclination/ http://www.ezebis.com/venture/dave-mcclure500-startups-found...
leahculver 15y ago
As part of YC winter 2011 I've already had office hours with both Sam and Garry. The nice part of having so many advisors is that each advisor tends to specialize in different areas (Garry is great with design and UX and Sam has good advice on social products and fundraising). A wider variety of expertise is super helpful for the increasingly diverse group of YC companies. Welcome Sam, Garry, Emmett, and Justin!

218 points by pg 15y ago

These sorts of additions to the YC team provide a great example of how YC will scale its model. There's so much shared knowledge and know-how among the alumni and that's what will enable YC to create hundreds of companies a year without sacrificing quality.

loganlinn 15y ago
Funny you mention the word alumni, because it made me think of the operational structure and salability of a fraternity where past members serve the same positions that once served them.
jurjenh 15y ago
This kinda looks like an apprentice-ship training system! The master adviser trains up a few keen trainees, these then in turn become masters who train more apprentices etc... Maybe it IS a pyramid scheme all along! I did have my suspicions with the recent discussion / evaluation of YC performance.
- justin 15y ago
  A pyramid scheme is a zero-sum game where wealth accrues up the pyramid in exchange for promises of future riches to the new recruits. YC startups thus far have been a positive sum game to the tune of $4 billion. Additionally, new YC companies aren't required to pay anyone for the things YC provides (as opposed to a pyramid scheme).

indyT 15y ago

This move seems to indicate that the startups are having issues getting access/undivided attention from the 'senior' partners. It is great that ycombinator has become so successful but the value prop of it seems to be diminishing as it grows. If I wanted to collaborate with other founders there are plenty of meetup groups I could attend without giving up a large share of my company.

pg 15y ago
No, this is in addition to office hours with the regular partners. And we can tell if there's any shortage there, from the length of the office hour request queue, which at this moment has only 2 requests in it.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
justin 15y ago
Ouch! ;) I'm probably biased but a big part of the value we've received from YC has been from access to alumni -- for example, when going out for our series A Sam was actually the most helpful out of anyone we spoke to, having just gone through the process himself (and done a killer job!). I think the view we can bring as alumni going through later stage startups is that we have immediate relevant operational experience to earlier stage startups.
- akharris 15y ago
  Totally agree with you, Justin. Garry and Sam were hugely influential for us at really important junctures during YC, and have continued to be helpful afterwards. This is a huge win for YC.
- ericfrenkiel 15y ago
  justin, couldn't agree more; you guys prove how strong the YC family is.
- indyT 15y ago
  that wasn't intended to diminish your personal value or expertise. I think there is a general concern that future YC batches will have less personal involvement from the people that made YC compelling.

staunch 15y ago

It's a dojo. The most senior students teach you all the basic stances/punches/kicks/throws. The sensei helps you put it all together into a coherent fighting style.

Shenglong 15y ago
That sounds nice. When I was training, it was: senior students teach you the basic moves, and then the teacher chases you around with a big stick telling you to move faster.

guildchatter 15y ago

Grats Garry! =]

dgunn 15y ago

It seems that with each session, YC takes on more and more companies. Will this extra help continue to make this a YC norm? Has there been an upper limit defined?

mparr4 15y ago
I'd guess they'll keep going until they see diminishing returns. PG has said y-combinator is an effort to mass produce the startup (don't have the direct quote offhand). With that in mind, they seem to be looking to optimize the entire experience rather than just seeking to maximize profit. I imagine they'll let it grow only to the point that they still feel like they can work with each of the startups in some capacity (and within reason).
pg 15y ago
We can handle about 20 startups per (full-time) partner. Maybe 25. So with 10 partners advising startups we could get up to 200-250 startups simultaneously. Not that we expect to anytime soon; the point is just that if there is a limit, it's not immediately in front of us.
- edanm 15y ago
  Have you considered taking on far more teams? You're growing from batch to batch, but if you could reach 200 startups by your estimates, why not grow even faster? Is it just a matter of "slow and steady"?
  - pg 15y ago
    Our growth is entirely a function of the growth in applications. So we don't have much choice about our growth rate. To grow faster we'd have to fund people we thought would fail, and to grow slower we'd have to reject people we thought would succeed. Either would be painful.
    - netcan 15y ago
      Was the borderline rejected application in your 1st or 2nd years indistinguishable form this year's, in terms of quality?

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

jdp23 15y ago

Four more guys! That'll really help scale to a more gender-balanced group of companies! No insult to Sam, Garry, Emmet, and Justin who I'm sure are very talented. But given how Jessica Livingston talks about how hard it's been for Y Combinator to attract female founders and then they do something like this, I really have to wonder how much they're trying to change.

pg 15y ago
I think you're insulting female founders by suggesting that their decision about whether to apply to something like YC would be determined by the gender of the partners. Surely male applicants wouldn't be scared off if most of the YC partners were female. Why assume female applicants are any different?
- walter 15y ago
  If more YC partners were female, it could result in more women applicants because it might provide encouragement to potential female startup founders who are on the fence that successful entrepreneurship in a male-dominated startup environment is achievable--and ultimately worth striving for. Social science studies point to a gap between similarly-qualified men and women on their respective levels of self-confidence and risk tolerance. The implication of this gap is that while the gender makeup of YC partners wouldn't affect the decision of most men to apply, the presence of women could have the effect of encouraging women to apply by demonstrating what can be achieved. Ultimately, this is a pipeline issue--there are just not enough women founders who go on to be angels and VCs.
- jdp23 15y ago
  It's not a matter of women being "scared off". Diversifying the people at the top is one of the key steps to getting a more diverse organization. This was an opportunity to do it. YC chose not to. In contrast, there's 500 Startups, where Dave McClure is actively reaching out.* Which environment is likely to look more attractive to women entrepeneurs? * http://www.ezebis.com/venture/dave-mcclure500-startups-founderstaking-advantage-arbitrage-of-other-investors-disinclination/ http://www.ezebis.com/venture/dave-mcclure500-startups-found...

leahculver 15y ago

As part of YC winter 2011 I've already had office hours with both Sam and Garry. The nice part of having so many advisors is that each advisor tends to specialize in different areas (Garry is great with design and UX and Sam has good advice on social products and fundraising). A wider variety of expertise is super helpful for the increasingly diverse group of YC companies. Welcome Sam, Garry, Emmett, and Justin!