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Out of dozens of fairly lame attempts by others, this may very well end up becoming the most serious competitor to YC so far. It'll all come down to who they g

Out of dozens of fairly lame attempts by others, this may very well end up becoming the most serious competitor to YC so far. It'll all come down to who they get to run it, how well they run it, and if they can consistently get the attention of founders. A16Z certainly has the brand and money to make a real go of it. I wonder if they know what makes YC special and if they can offer the first head-to-head alternative. Edit: After another quick look, seems like they may just be targeting executives at existing successful companies, in which case they're not likely to create a legit alternative to YC at all. Oh well.

gordon_freeman 4y ago
their application seems pretty simple to fill out (in some cases requiring less than 100 words of description) unlike YC app so I assume they want to funnel interest from as many founders as possible before deciding which apps to pick to fund.
- staunch 4y ago
  Which could be their first mistake. YC gets a lot of signal by requiring people to clearly answer so many questions. YC's questions are really good and it wouldn't have been a bad idea to wholesale copy them like some other's have. Not least of all because then founders could apply quickly using copy-paste. I suspect someone could out-compete YC just by obtaining the YC application data and funding on that basis alone, eschewing the interview process entirely as it very possibly introduces more noise than signal. It'd take some guts though, kinda like starting YC in the first place took guts.
- sokoloff 4y ago
  I don’t think the length or complexity of the YC app is a barrier for anyone with a shot to build a successful startup, with the possible exception of an English language barrier.
matus_congrady 4y ago
> After another quick look, seems like they may just be targeting executives at existing successful companies May I ask how you came to this conclusion?
- staunch 4y ago
  YC asks primarily questions about the company applying (but also has founder profiles attached). This A16Z program only asks questions about an individual applying, and seems most interested in their corporate pedigree. The "Meet our STARTers" carousel shows: Cofounder of Rappi, Former Global Head of Ecommerce at Rappi, Former Business Unit Head at Rappi, Former VP Product at Ethos, Former Chief Strategy Officer. It appears to be something like an open invitation for a "Entrepreneurs in Residence" type program than a YC-style startup program. A lot of VCs think hiring the executive team at a successful startup is a good recipe for success. As far as I know this hasn't proven to be true, although of course there are surely some examples.

gordon_freeman 4y ago

their application seems pretty simple to fill out (in some cases requiring less than 100 words of description) unlike YC app so I assume they want to funnel interest from as many founders as possible before deciding which apps to pick to fund.

staunch 4y ago
Which could be their first mistake. YC gets a lot of signal by requiring people to clearly answer so many questions. YC's questions are really good and it wouldn't have been a bad idea to wholesale copy them like some other's have. Not least of all because then founders could apply quickly using copy-paste. I suspect someone could out-compete YC just by obtaining the YC application data and funding on that basis alone, eschewing the interview process entirely as it very possibly introduces more noise than signal. It'd take some guts though, kinda like starting YC in the first place took guts.
sokoloff 4y ago
I don’t think the length or complexity of the YC app is a barrier for anyone with a shot to build a successful startup, with the possible exception of an English language barrier.

matus_congrady 4y ago

> After another quick look, seems like they may just be targeting executives at existing successful companies May I ask how you came to this conclusion?

staunch 4y ago
YC asks primarily questions about the company applying (but also has founder profiles attached). This A16Z program only asks questions about an individual applying, and seems most interested in their corporate pedigree. The "Meet our STARTers" carousel shows: Cofounder of Rappi, Former Global Head of Ecommerce at Rappi, Former Business Unit Head at Rappi, Former VP Product at Ethos, Former Chief Strategy Officer. It appears to be something like an open invitation for a "Entrepreneurs in Residence" type program than a YC-style startup program. A lot of VCs think hiring the executive team at a successful startup is a good recipe for success. As far as I know this hasn't proven to be true, although of course there are surely some examples.