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If there is a YC member here, would be interesting to know why Flow Club got in and not for example other startups like https://www.focusmate.com/ https://www.f

If there is a YC member here, would be interesting to know why Flow Club got in and not for example other startups like https://www.focusmate.com/ https://www.focusmate.com/ which in my mind deserve all the credit for the first really good implementation of the concept. Extra points if you remember other applicants with the same concept that didn't get in ! ( Btw, applicants, if you reading this, I would love to hear from you !!! )

immy 5y ago
[I’m not YC] For one they are YC alums. Also the “Peloton for your brain” angle means there’s motivation in the value proposition, and a group aspect. Whereas FocusMate comes across like pairing two souls to be a little better off together. There’s a slew of other group coworking things but they haven’t launched yet.
- dekervin 5y ago
  For one they are YC alums. Now that I read your answer after reading the others, it honestly makes more sense this way. Especially if some people where on the fence.
reilly3000 5y ago
Not YC here, but it usually comes down to team, traction, and timing. Given the immense amount of applicants they screen, its unrealistic that they would be able to assess the traction of all of each startup’s competition. Timing-wise, a 2019 application for virtual coworking would have theoretically done poorly in its batch relative to a 2021 company in the same space. Also, solo-founder companies just aren’t as attractive to investors. There is no backup in a flameout or hit-by-bus scenario, and may signal that the founder “doesn’t play well with others”. YC is now offering a co-founder matching service to attempt to mitigate this issue.
breck 5y ago
I am just an alum, and have no insight into YC's thoughts, and I don't even know if FocusMate applied (I assume by your question they did). I would also add, that I'd hope they'd apply again, as I have a strong pro-YC bias. But I find this is an interesting question, both for the general pattern, and also because I am interested in productivity boosters and did end up paying for Flow Club but haven't yet tried FocusMate. 1) There's a Francis Darwin quote that is relevant "In science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the idea first occurs." I hope to explore that idea in an essay someday, for now I'll just share the quote. I am not trying to make a prediction here. Getting into YC is not convincing the world. No one has done that yet in this market. I know some of the people involved in Focus Mate and absolutely think they could be the #1 player, but assuming a big market is there it's certainly game on and who was first is a rounding error and the rest comes down to execution. It's a wide open field. 2) I did YC with AirBnb and at the time CouchSurfing.org was indeed a decently known thing in some circles. For every YC investment I'm sure you can find multiple "really good implementation of the concept". 3) This is still very much early innings in this space. As an investment, it's very hard to predict whether Flow Club or FocusMate or one of the other 8 will be the big unicorn (if any). A lot of it will come down to the founders. Even if there does turn out to be a huge market, some may take an early exit (Facebook v. MySpace, for example). As an entrepreneur I generally opt for the small earlier exit, but as an angel investor I try to avoid investing in people like me (both to hedge and b/c of power laws of returns). 4) A friend had brought me to SoulCycle once and so I totally get the "Peloton for Work" angle. So that's what led me to give Flow Club a shot. And I have found it very productive a couple of times per month. The coach and music have been great. For me the FocusMate style was intriguing, but it was just slightly below the threshold where I would give it a shot. Could those be 2 different markets with one being 100x bigger than the other? I have no idea but seems small things like that could actually make a big difference.
- dekervin 5y ago
  Interesting set of answers. I will jump to the most interesting one. 2) It's easier to think of Airbnb as a good idea now, but back then the idea that you could even make a business out of it was mind blowing. A lot of concepts that subsequents startups borrowed where introduced on a big stage by Airbnb. How you attacked 2-sided consumer markets. How you monetised it, .how a better UX than craigslist translated to a great, business,... And even YC back then was still a novel thing. If you compare to the FlowClub-FocusMate situation. FocusMate had a good insight about the market, guts to go for it, good implementation, ingenuous BeachHead. They surely wheren't first to think about it but they delivered at a time when a lot of developpers fumbled around. And They were Genuine. Which brings me back to my curiosity around FlowClub YC pitch. Do they have a particular insight about the market, or are they confident in their ability to outraise FocusMate ? In 4) Could those be 2 different markets with one being 100x bigger than the other? I have no idea but seems small things like that could actually make a big difference. , I guess It's true and it it's woth a shot from the entrepreneur side. But from my armchair, while doing some amateur quaterbacking, it feels weird to see the incubator with the most cachet pick the not genuine product. As if YC had backed studivz after Facebook came ( it's easy to say in hindsight of course ).

immy 5y ago

[I’m not YC] For one they are YC alums. Also the “Peloton for your brain” angle means there’s motivation in the value proposition, and a group aspect. Whereas FocusMate comes across like pairing two souls to be a little better off together. There’s a slew of other group coworking things but they haven’t launched yet.

dekervin 5y ago
For one they are YC alums. Now that I read your answer after reading the others, it honestly makes more sense this way. Especially if some people where on the fence.

reilly3000 5y ago

Not YC here, but it usually comes down to team, traction, and timing. Given the immense amount of applicants they screen, its unrealistic that they would be able to assess the traction of all of each startup’s competition. Timing-wise, a 2019 application for virtual coworking would have theoretically done poorly in its batch relative to a 2021 company in the same space. Also, solo-founder companies just aren’t as attractive to investors. There is no backup in a flameout or hit-by-bus scenario, and may signal that the founder “doesn’t play well with others”. YC is now offering a co-founder matching service to attempt to mitigate this issue.

breck 5y ago

I am just an alum, and have no insight into YC's thoughts, and I don't even know if FocusMate applied (I assume by your question they did). I would also add, that I'd hope they'd apply again, as I have a strong pro-YC bias. But I find this is an interesting question, both for the general pattern, and also because I am interested in productivity boosters and did end up paying for Flow Club but haven't yet tried FocusMate. 1) There's a Francis Darwin quote that is relevant "In science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the idea first occurs." I hope to explore that idea in an essay someday, for now I'll just share the quote. I am not trying to make a prediction here. Getting into YC is not convincing the world. No one has done that yet in this market. I know some of the people involved in Focus Mate and absolutely think they could be the #1 player, but assuming a big market is there it's certainly game on and who was first is a rounding error and the rest comes down to execution. It's a wide open field. 2) I did YC with AirBnb and at the time CouchSurfing.org was indeed a decently known thing in some circles. For every YC investment I'm sure you can find multiple "really good implementation of the concept". 3) This is still very much early innings in this space. As an investment, it's very hard to predict whether Flow Club or FocusMate or one of the other 8 will be the big unicorn (if any). A lot of it will come down to the founders. Even if there does turn out to be a huge market, some may take an early exit (Facebook v. MySpace, for example). As an entrepreneur I generally opt for the small earlier exit, but as an angel investor I try to avoid investing in people like me (both to hedge and b/c of power laws of returns). 4) A friend had brought me to SoulCycle once and so I totally get the "Peloton for Work" angle. So that's what led me to give Flow Club a shot. And I have found it very productive a couple of times per month. The coach and music have been great. For me the FocusMate style was intriguing, but it was just slightly below the threshold where I would give it a shot. Could those be 2 different markets with one being 100x bigger than the other? I have no idea but seems small things like that could actually make a big difference.

dekervin 5y ago
Interesting set of answers. I will jump to the most interesting one. 2) It's easier to think of Airbnb as a good idea now, but back then the idea that you could even make a business out of it was mind blowing. A lot of concepts that subsequents startups borrowed where introduced on a big stage by Airbnb. How you attacked 2-sided consumer markets. How you monetised it, .how a better UX than craigslist translated to a great, business,... And even YC back then was still a novel thing. If you compare to the FlowClub-FocusMate situation. FocusMate had a good insight about the market, guts to go for it, good implementation, ingenuous BeachHead. They surely wheren't first to think about it but they delivered at a time when a lot of developpers fumbled around. And They were Genuine. Which brings me back to my curiosity around FlowClub YC pitch. Do they have a particular insight about the market, or are they confident in their ability to outraise FocusMate ? In 4) Could those be 2 different markets with one being 100x bigger than the other? I have no idea but seems small things like that could actually make a big difference. , I guess It's true and it it's woth a shot from the entrepreneur side. But from my armchair, while doing some amateur quaterbacking, it feels weird to see the incubator with the most cachet pick the not genuine product. As if YC had backed studivz after Facebook came ( it's easy to say in hindsight of course ).