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Serious question, let's say that I have delivered or proven some prototype to users, but I am not already famous or rich or powerful. How would I convince YC t

Serious question, let's say that I have delivered or proven some prototype to users, but I am not already famous or rich or powerful. How would I convince YC that though I am technically gifted and people like my prototype, there is probably a founder out there elsewhere who has the ability to make the legal/manufacturing side of things work? Airbnb and Uber essentially disregarded local regulations and let things fall as they may. If you do that with the FCC or DOE I imagine things are a bit more serious? Most of the problems out there that need solving are not data ones anymore, they're physical/manufacturing related in my opinion.

ahstilde 5y ago
FROM THE ARTICLE: > We strive to be a bridge for everyone – no matter who they are, where they live, or what demographic they belong to – to enter the startup world. That was the situation for me and many other I know. YC explicitly looks for overlooked founders and companies. They'll take risks other won't. They discount credentialism more than any other S-tier VC I know. FROM THE ABOVE: > let's say that I have delivered or proven some prototype to users, but I am not already famous or rich or powerful. How would I convince YC that though I am technically gifted and people like my prototype, there is probably a founder out there elsewhere who has the ability to make the legal/manufacturing side of things work? Keep demonstrating traction, and find that founder out there who can make it work. FROM THE ABOVE: > Airbnb and Uber essentially disregarded local regulations and let things fall as they may. If you do that with the FCC or DOE I imagine things are a bit more serious? That's after they had initial traction. YC accepted ABNB off of literal airbeds on people's floors.
anamax 5y ago
> Airbnb and Uber essentially disregarded local regulations Not really. There were almost no AirBnB regulations before AirBnB because no one was doing anything like that at scale. Uber/lyft got started as a "town car" service, which is legally very different from a taxi. The essential difference is that "town cars" can't do "street hail" - they can only do rides when they're specifically called (or messaged). "Street hail" is where you flag down a ride. Confusing this is that most taxi companies also offer town-car services, but even pre-Uber/Lyft, most town car providers were not taxis. No one thought that town car services could compete with taxis before Uber/Lyft. Plus, all previous town car services were "call us for our cars", not two-sided market places/aggregators. That's why there were very few town-car regulations.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  > There were almost no AirBnB regulations before AirBnB because no one was doing anything like that at scale. You mean unlike the piles of settled law governing the hospitality industry? > Uber/lyft got started as a "town car" service, which is legally very different from a taxi. Which is exactly like a taxi. It is a vehicle that you do not own that some else is driving to take you places, where you will pay per ride.
  - anamax 5y ago
    > You mean unlike the piles of settled law governing the hospitality industry? Short-term rentals are/were not part of the hospitality industry. >>> Uber/lyft got started as a "town car" service, which is legally very different from a taxi. > Which is exactly like a taxi. It is a vehicle that you do not own that some else is driving to take you places, where you will pay per ride. You mean buses? Trains? Airlines? Taxi services are services that can legally accept riders via "street hail". There are "rides for rent" that are not done via street hail and they are regulated differently. This LEGAL distinction predates Uber/Lyft by decades. It's a bit confusing because most taxi companies provide both street hail and arranged-ride services. However, most "rides for rent" companies do not have street hail privileges. Uber/Lyft did "call for a ride" on a scale that no one had imagined and via a two-sided marketplace. Previous companies didn't work that way.
    - jacquesm 5y ago
      > Short-term rentals are/were not part of the hospitality industry. Tricks with words won't work. AirBNB competes with hotels who are very much in the 'short term rental' business: you can rent their rooms for a short period. > You mean buses? Trains? Airlines? If you want to stretch the definition to those cases where the vehicle does not drive you door-to-door that's fine by me but it looks as if you are just - again - playing word games. AirBNB competes with hotels by using private property as hotels, Uber competes with taxis by breaking the law. Whether you want to see it like that or not isn't really my problem but redefinition of terms does not change the law. I don't care if the scale is different, though them operating at scale is part of what makes them problematic.
jollybean 5y ago
If your 'prototype' does something materially useful wherein there's some kind of clear revenue opportunity, then it doesn't hurt to apply. And you can always apply again.

ahstilde 5y ago

FROM THE ARTICLE: > We strive to be a bridge for everyone – no matter who they are, where they live, or what demographic they belong to – to enter the startup world. That was the situation for me and many other I know. YC explicitly looks for overlooked founders and companies. They'll take risks other won't. They discount credentialism more than any other S-tier VC I know. FROM THE ABOVE: > let's say that I have delivered or proven some prototype to users, but I am not already famous or rich or powerful. How would I convince YC that though I am technically gifted and people like my prototype, there is probably a founder out there elsewhere who has the ability to make the legal/manufacturing side of things work? Keep demonstrating traction, and find that founder out there who can make it work. FROM THE ABOVE: > Airbnb and Uber essentially disregarded local regulations and let things fall as they may. If you do that with the FCC or DOE I imagine things are a bit more serious? That's after they had initial traction. YC accepted ABNB off of literal airbeds on people's floors.

anamax 5y ago

> Airbnb and Uber essentially disregarded local regulations Not really. There were almost no AirBnB regulations before AirBnB because no one was doing anything like that at scale. Uber/lyft got started as a "town car" service, which is legally very different from a taxi. The essential difference is that "town cars" can't do "street hail" - they can only do rides when they're specifically called (or messaged). "Street hail" is where you flag down a ride. Confusing this is that most taxi companies also offer town-car services, but even pre-Uber/Lyft, most town car providers were not taxis. No one thought that town car services could compete with taxis before Uber/Lyft. Plus, all previous town car services were "call us for our cars", not two-sided market places/aggregators. That's why there were very few town-car regulations.

jacquesm 5y ago
> There were almost no AirBnB regulations before AirBnB because no one was doing anything like that at scale. You mean unlike the piles of settled law governing the hospitality industry? > Uber/lyft got started as a "town car" service, which is legally very different from a taxi. Which is exactly like a taxi. It is a vehicle that you do not own that some else is driving to take you places, where you will pay per ride.
- anamax 5y ago
  > You mean unlike the piles of settled law governing the hospitality industry? Short-term rentals are/were not part of the hospitality industry. >>> Uber/lyft got started as a "town car" service, which is legally very different from a taxi. > Which is exactly like a taxi. It is a vehicle that you do not own that some else is driving to take you places, where you will pay per ride. You mean buses? Trains? Airlines? Taxi services are services that can legally accept riders via "street hail". There are "rides for rent" that are not done via street hail and they are regulated differently. This LEGAL distinction predates Uber/Lyft by decades. It's a bit confusing because most taxi companies provide both street hail and arranged-ride services. However, most "rides for rent" companies do not have street hail privileges. Uber/Lyft did "call for a ride" on a scale that no one had imagined and via a two-sided marketplace. Previous companies didn't work that way.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    > Short-term rentals are/were not part of the hospitality industry. Tricks with words won't work. AirBNB competes with hotels who are very much in the 'short term rental' business: you can rent their rooms for a short period. > You mean buses? Trains? Airlines? If you want to stretch the definition to those cases where the vehicle does not drive you door-to-door that's fine by me but it looks as if you are just - again - playing word games. AirBNB competes with hotels by using private property as hotels, Uber competes with taxis by breaking the law. Whether you want to see it like that or not isn't really my problem but redefinition of terms does not change the law. I don't care if the scale is different, though them operating at scale is part of what makes them problematic.

jollybean 5y ago

If your 'prototype' does something materially useful wherein there's some kind of clear revenue opportunity, then it doesn't hurt to apply. And you can always apply again.