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Doesn’t YC recommend a non-solo team. Solo founder startups are most likely to get rejected?

by indus 4y ago

julianeon 4y ago
I think the difference is VC-backed startups need to achieve a larger scale, for which more than one person is needed.
- indus 4y ago
  But that team could be non founders..early engineers, hired guns, mercenaries,…
  - teaearlgraycold 4y ago
    You don't want mercenaries running your company.
    - indus 4y ago
      I was making a point around building a team…
RayVR 4y ago
I don’t think you are “most likely to get rejected” IIRC, they have a preference for founders > 1 but it is not a strict rule. From an investment perspective this makes sense for a number of reasons. Diversification at the top decision maker level may be seen as beneficial. Bus factor is greater than or equal to 1. (vs exactly 1 for a solid founder) if a solo founder decides to pack it in or is the victim of a bus accident, the probability the startup will survive, in the early stages and maybe much longer, is approximately zero. Separation of concerns may be possible. Sales/marketing/anything non-technical + technical is a powerful combination if both are scrappy. Getting a solo founder that’s good at both is exceedingly rare. I am certain the list goes on and I may not have even touched on the most important points that YC values. My own experience, however, is that if you are not selecting cofounders from a pool that meets or exceeds your own level of ambition/dedication and skill, you are almost certainly going to fail. I would argue, if you don’t have access to the right people in your network when you form your initial business, the odds are much better if you wait and take on a cofounder at a later time, even if it feels like they weren’t there for the beginning. If your startup is remotely successful the future will be much longer than the short history of your company and the benefits of having a good cofounder will outweigh whatever equity you give up.
petilon 4y ago
Right, YC does not like solo founders. Not only that, but they also require you to split equally with your co-founders [1]. From an investor's pov that makes sense. Their investment is safer if they can force out a co-founder if he/she is not working out. [1] https://www.ycombinator.com/library/5x-how-to-split-equity-among-co-founders https://www.ycombinator.com/library/5x-how-to-split-equity-a...

Doesn’t YC recommend a non-solo team. Solo founder startups are most likely to get rejected?

by indus 4y ago

Doesn’t YC recommend a non-solo team. Solo founder startups are most likely to get rejected?

julianeon 4y ago

I think the difference is VC-backed startups need to achieve a larger scale, for which more than one person is needed.

indus 4y ago
But that team could be non founders..early engineers, hired guns, mercenaries,…
- teaearlgraycold 4y ago
  You don't want mercenaries running your company.
  - indus 4y ago
    I was making a point around building a team…

RayVR 4y ago

I don’t think you are “most likely to get rejected” IIRC, they have a preference for founders > 1 but it is not a strict rule. From an investment perspective this makes sense for a number of reasons. Diversification at the top decision maker level may be seen as beneficial. Bus factor is greater than or equal to 1. (vs exactly 1 for a solid founder) if a solo founder decides to pack it in or is the victim of a bus accident, the probability the startup will survive, in the early stages and maybe much longer, is approximately zero. Separation of concerns may be possible. Sales/marketing/anything non-technical + technical is a powerful combination if both are scrappy. Getting a solo founder that’s good at both is exceedingly rare. I am certain the list goes on and I may not have even touched on the most important points that YC values. My own experience, however, is that if you are not selecting cofounders from a pool that meets or exceeds your own level of ambition/dedication and skill, you are almost certainly going to fail. I would argue, if you don’t have access to the right people in your network when you form your initial business, the odds are much better if you wait and take on a cofounder at a later time, even if it feels like they weren’t there for the beginning. If your startup is remotely successful the future will be much longer than the short history of your company and the benefits of having a good cofounder will outweigh whatever equity you give up.

petilon 4y ago

Right, YC does not like solo founders. Not only that, but they also require you to split equally with your co-founders [1]. From an investor's pov that makes sense. Their investment is safer if they can force out a co-founder if he/she is not working out. [1] https://www.ycombinator.com/library/5x-how-to-split-equity-among-co-founders https://www.ycombinator.com/library/5x-how-to-split-equity-a...