4 ms·

Not at this incubator.

by pg 15y ago

vyrotek 15y ago
Unfortunately for many, joining an incubator is a schlep itself. I'm obviously not talking about the programs themselves but instead the application process and relocation requirements. There are plenty of problems out there that people are trying to solve outside of the bubble area. Sadly it also seems that not moving to some 'hot spot' is a handicap these days.
- tlb 15y ago
  Gosh, filling out a YC application takes a few hours at most. If that seems like a big hurdle, definitely don't start a payments company.
  - vyrotek 15y ago
    Oh come on, that specific part wasn't the point. Have you gone through the process of actually being accepted? I have and it takes more than just a quick 15 min meeting. It also takes quite a bit of saving, planning, sacrifice and bit of logistics to actually get your life in order to go through an incubator program. Been there, done that! I'm not saying you shouldn't do it. Quite the contrary. That's why I said it was a schlep. But some people's wives can only handle so much. :)
    - Harj 15y ago
      There's nothing specific to going through an incubator in what you mention, that all applies to the decision of starting a company regardless of incubators. If you can't handle a bit of saving, planning, sacrifice and a bit of logistics then you probably shouldn't start a company.
      - count 15y ago
        I think that's a little harsh, and misjudging what he is saying. I can handle lots of saving, planning and sacrifice, as well as logistics. I cannot handle moving to the valley, without destroying a happy family life. That doesn't mean I shouldn't start a company, it means I shouldn't apply to YC or other things that require a move to the valley. There's nothing WRONG with requiring that move, and I agree, it probably does considerably raise your chances of success. It is just not necessarily possible for everyone who would/could/should start a company.
      - vyrotek 15y ago
        Sure, I was just pointing out that life is full of layers of schleps to overcome before you get to the fun and business related schleps which you actually have a choice to overcome. For some, they are more of obstacles. Before incubators far fewer people had the opportunity to attempt to solve life's problems by starting a company. Hopefully things continue to evolve and new ways are created to expose as many minds as possible to the various business schleps in the world.
absconditus 15y ago
The amount of money provided by YC seems like it would naturally limit the type of problems that could be solved by a YC startup.
- tptacek 15y ago
  The amount of money more-or-less promised to all YC companies is deceptively larger than the amount YC itself publishes. Also, until you get to Webvan sizes, there are existence proofs to pretty much all the possible company sizes at YC.
  - absconditus 15y ago
    I am aware that there are very large companies that were originally funded by YC. There are some problems that do not begin with throwing some code on EC2 and iterating to success. Hardware design and production is the area that comes to mind. I realize that there are a few companies that were funded by YC that did some hardware design and production, but they are certainly not representative of the entire problem of hardware design and production.
- tlb 15y ago
  No business starts with all the money it will ever need. Some YC companies are profitable in the first year and never need more. Some raise hundreds of millions for capital intensive businesses like Dropbox. The size of seed funding is not a limit on the size of problems companies can tackle.
  - absconditus 15y ago
    The size of the problem is not at issue; the type of problem is. Many problems have a natural path from small to large scale. Some do not.
    - phil 15y ago
      That's certainly true. If you want to do something that requires 10s of millions of dollars to get off the ground, seed funding is not for you. Car and solar energy companies are great recent examples. Hugely capital intensive, and you'll note the pace of innovation is slower to match...

Not at this incubator.

by pg 15y ago

Not at this incubator.

Unfortunately for many, joining an incubator is a schlep itself. I'm obviously not talking about the programs themselves but instead the application process and relocation requirements. There are plenty of problems out there that people are trying to solve outside of the bubble area. Sadly it also seems that not moving to some 'hot spot' is a handicap these days.

tlb 15y ago
Gosh, filling out a YC application takes a few hours at most. If that seems like a big hurdle, definitely don't start a payments company.
- vyrotek 15y ago
  Oh come on, that specific part wasn't the point. Have you gone through the process of actually being accepted? I have and it takes more than just a quick 15 min meeting. It also takes quite a bit of saving, planning, sacrifice and bit of logistics to actually get your life in order to go through an incubator program. Been there, done that! I'm not saying you shouldn't do it. Quite the contrary. That's why I said it was a schlep. But some people's wives can only handle so much. :)
  - Harj 15y ago
    There's nothing specific to going through an incubator in what you mention, that all applies to the decision of starting a company regardless of incubators. If you can't handle a bit of saving, planning, sacrifice and a bit of logistics then you probably shouldn't start a company.
    - count 15y ago
      I think that's a little harsh, and misjudging what he is saying. I can handle lots of saving, planning and sacrifice, as well as logistics. I cannot handle moving to the valley, without destroying a happy family life. That doesn't mean I shouldn't start a company, it means I shouldn't apply to YC or other things that require a move to the valley. There's nothing WRONG with requiring that move, and I agree, it probably does considerably raise your chances of success. It is just not necessarily possible for everyone who would/could/should start a company.
    - vyrotek 15y ago
      Sure, I was just pointing out that life is full of layers of schleps to overcome before you get to the fun and business related schleps which you actually have a choice to overcome. For some, they are more of obstacles. Before incubators far fewer people had the opportunity to attempt to solve life's problems by starting a company. Hopefully things continue to evolve and new ways are created to expose as many minds as possible to the various business schleps in the world.

absconditus 15y ago

The amount of money provided by YC seems like it would naturally limit the type of problems that could be solved by a YC startup.

tptacek 15y ago
The amount of money more-or-less promised to all YC companies is deceptively larger than the amount YC itself publishes. Also, until you get to Webvan sizes, there are existence proofs to pretty much all the possible company sizes at YC.
- absconditus 15y ago
  I am aware that there are very large companies that were originally funded by YC. There are some problems that do not begin with throwing some code on EC2 and iterating to success. Hardware design and production is the area that comes to mind. I realize that there are a few companies that were funded by YC that did some hardware design and production, but they are certainly not representative of the entire problem of hardware design and production.
tlb 15y ago
No business starts with all the money it will ever need. Some YC companies are profitable in the first year and never need more. Some raise hundreds of millions for capital intensive businesses like Dropbox. The size of seed funding is not a limit on the size of problems companies can tackle.
- absconditus 15y ago
  The size of the problem is not at issue; the type of problem is. Many problems have a natural path from small to large scale. Some do not.
  - phil 15y ago
    That's certainly true. If you want to do something that requires 10s of millions of dollars to get off the ground, seed funding is not for you. Car and solar energy companies are great recent examples. Hugely capital intensive, and you'll note the pace of innovation is slower to match...