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That's a little scary. Any way to opt out of being included in that? I'm probably not the target market for YC, but if I were, this would run me off. I don't wa

• benatkin 4y ago
  > That's a little scary. It's an awful lot like AngelList. > Any way to opt out of being included in that? I think there probably is. It might even be opt-in. How do you get people to opt in? Have them check their information is correct and remind them to until it's launched.
  • capableweb 4y ago
    It is opt-in: > We’re also enabling any YC company to opt into having their YC application video, written application answers, and Demo Day video public on the YC Startup Directory
    • aliqot 4y ago
      I'm mainly concerned about the listing of me as a person at all, not the materials.
      • capableweb 4y ago
        But if you chose to incorporate and run a company in the US as YC requires, and participate in their program, you'd be "public" regardless, in various forms.
        • ignoramous 4y ago
          There's being in public, and there's being put on a pedestal (:
          • quartesixte 4y ago
            As far as I can see, choosing to become a founder in YC and succeeding at it requires a bit of desire for the limelight.
            • benatkin 4y ago
              Not necessarily. With young startups, the only available position for a role is often "Founder". A developer could simply want to work on a project and see where it goes, and the only way would be to become a founder.
              • quartesixte 4y ago
                In general yes. But with YC, I get the feeling that there is a push for founders who at the very least won’t actively shun the limelight if required.
                • ignoramous 4y ago
                  Yep: There's a reason a bunch of YC founders appear every year like clockwork on popularity lists like Forbes 30u30 ...
    • SpeedilyDamage 4y ago
      It's almost certainly opt-out for founders, I would be very surprised if they individually went back and got permission from every founder for the past decade before creating this. I see someone I know would have said no if asked, for example, as their time at YC was pretty awful and resulted in what they consider to be shameful failure.
      • benatkin 4y ago
        Yeah, that sounds right, and I don't agree with making it opt-out. I think it should be opt-in and like you am now almost completely certain that it isn't.
      • antipotoad 4y ago
        Maybe it’s a lack of imagination, but I can’t think of why any kind of YC experience should be shameful, provided lessons were learned and no one ended up in jail. That said, I still agree it should be opt-in.
        • SpeedilyDamage 4y ago
          He had to drop out due to still-unresolved mental health issues, and the source of his shame is mostly that he didn't deal with those issues earlier, and still isn't dealing with them now.
          • antipotoad 4y ago
            Hmm, I see. Can relate too. I still see that as no reason for shame, even though from within that situation it can feel shameful. The journey to getting better can be a long and challenging one that’s hard to make sense of from the outside.
            • SpeedilyDamage 4y ago
              I would like to give you some feedback; nobody cares if you see something as shameful or not, least of all the person feeling the shame.
    • santa_boy 4y ago
      Looking for any YC application video, written application answers made public so far. Any links?
• nkotov 4y ago
  There is an option for YC founders to not be publicly listed.
• deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
• alexgrover 4y ago
  If you’re not the target market, why do you care?
  • maest 4y ago
    First they came for the YC founders, and I did not speak out...
• cameroncooper 4y ago
  Founders can opt-out, though it looks like there's little control on what information is shared publicly.
• paxys 4y ago
  Why is it scary? There is an option to opt out, but marketing and networking are two of the main reasons people join YC in the first place. No founder is saying no to this.
  • greggarious 4y ago
    >Why is it scary? There is an option to opt out, but marketing and networking are two of the main reasons people join YC in the first place. No founder is saying no to this. Probably because in an age of targeting phish paired with browsers that strain to run whatever JavaScript or whatever you hurl at them, the founders are rightfully concerned someone who’d be stopped by the secretary can slam their inbox because they misticked some box. (But what do I know? I’m a venture socialist slamming lattès in the museum when everyone else is at work.)
    • radlad 4y ago
      I think there might be a disconnect here. The Founder Directory doesn't appear to offer a way to contact founders (besides social media links.)
      • greggarious 4y ago
        Sorry for misspeaking then, I need to think more before I post. (The only thing I’ve ever founded is a lemonade stand)
• rdl 4y ago
  They emailed months ago asking if people wanted to opt out; it was a concern but I suspect the vast majority of people both want to be in it AND are already trivially googleable as being in YC.