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> but this is less true of YC than society at large, and it's a big part of YC's business for it to remain so. Are there collected statistics that showcase thi

> but this is less true of YC than society at large, and it's a big part of YC's business for it to remain so. Are there collected statistics that showcase this?

dang 3y ago
Good question. Probably? I imagine so. But I doubt the data is public. I'm just talking from my own observations in any case. Edit: i inserted an IMO into my comment to make that clearer
- blagie 3y ago
  Question: - I am older, established, and have done a number of successful startups in various roles. - I have a family and can't spend a summer in California. - I don't need the seed funding YCombinator provides, but I don't mind it either. I can self-fund a bit However, I'd truly enjoy the experience, and with my next startup, I'd be glad to trade off the equity to be in the YC community. I think I'd learn a lot from it, since YC does startups very differently than I have (learning might go both ways!). Does it make sense to engage with YC in any way next time I do a startup (or before)? Or am I far enough outside the target demographic?
  - neoecos 3y ago
    As two times YC founder, you fit 100% in what YC invests.
    - mavsman 3y ago
      As someone in a similar scenario to the comment you're replying to, I feel like we 0% fit because of this: > I have a family and can't spend a summer in California.
    - blagie 3y ago
      I'm curious: Why two-time? It feels to me that YC would generate enormous value the first time. It feels like there might be very strongly diminishing returns on investment after that. My impression is that the equity YC receives, relative to funding, is quite high, and most of the network / learning / etc. would happen on round one (This is a comment about me to give context for my likely naive question, not a comment about YC; I'm explaining in hopes you'll explain how I'm wrong. Given you did it twice, I am aware my thinking here is probably wrong, and I need to share my misconception to have it addressed)
  - dang 3y ago
    There is no target demographic, so I wouldn't think in those terms. Also, last I heard, there wasn't a hard requirement to spend the entire program in California, although most founders do. Your track record with previous startups should certainly help. I'm biased but I'd say go for it!
reaperman 3y ago
This might help for creating an initial analysis: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/founders https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/founders Of 11,162 YC founders who haven't opted out of the directory, the top 9 alma maters account for nearly exactly 20% of founders. 540 - Stanford University 388 - University of California, Berkeley 373 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology 193 - University of Waterloo 187 - Harvard University 144 - Carnegie Mellon University 143 - Columbia University 143 - University of Pennsylvania 124 - Cornell University I don't know what you'd compare this to for "society at large" but of the 500 CEO's in the Fortune 500, the top 9 alma maters account for about 16% of those CEO's. 25 - Harvard University 11 - Stanford University 9 - University of Pennsylvania 7 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology 6 - Cornell University 6 - University of Chicago 6 - Northwestern 6 - Columbia University 6 - Yale
- HPMOR 3y ago
  It's nice to see my ala mater up there! Go Cornell! Also, I know PG disassociates himself from his roots but it's nice to know he was probably once sitting at the same desk I'm at now.
- haltIncomplete 3y ago
  [flagged]
- ethanwillis 3y ago
  Very nice work and pretty interesting to see. The comparison for society at large is definitely difficult, but I'm not sure if there's a better one than what you've come up with.

> but this is less true of YC than society at large, and it's a big part of YC's business for it to remain so. Are there collected statistics that showcase this?

dang 3y ago

Good question. Probably? I imagine so. But I doubt the data is public. I'm just talking from my own observations in any case. Edit: i inserted an IMO into my comment to make that clearer

blagie 3y ago
Question: - I am older, established, and have done a number of successful startups in various roles. - I have a family and can't spend a summer in California. - I don't need the seed funding YCombinator provides, but I don't mind it either. I can self-fund a bit However, I'd truly enjoy the experience, and with my next startup, I'd be glad to trade off the equity to be in the YC community. I think I'd learn a lot from it, since YC does startups very differently than I have (learning might go both ways!). Does it make sense to engage with YC in any way next time I do a startup (or before)? Or am I far enough outside the target demographic?
- neoecos 3y ago
  As two times YC founder, you fit 100% in what YC invests.
  - mavsman 3y ago
    As someone in a similar scenario to the comment you're replying to, I feel like we 0% fit because of this: > I have a family and can't spend a summer in California.
  - blagie 3y ago
    I'm curious: Why two-time? It feels to me that YC would generate enormous value the first time. It feels like there might be very strongly diminishing returns on investment after that. My impression is that the equity YC receives, relative to funding, is quite high, and most of the network / learning / etc. would happen on round one (This is a comment about me to give context for my likely naive question, not a comment about YC; I'm explaining in hopes you'll explain how I'm wrong. Given you did it twice, I am aware my thinking here is probably wrong, and I need to share my misconception to have it addressed)
- dang 3y ago
  There is no target demographic, so I wouldn't think in those terms. Also, last I heard, there wasn't a hard requirement to spend the entire program in California, although most founders do. Your track record with previous startups should certainly help. I'm biased but I'd say go for it!

reaperman 3y ago

This might help for creating an initial analysis: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/founders https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/founders Of 11,162 YC founders who haven't opted out of the directory, the top 9 alma maters account for nearly exactly 20% of founders. 540 - Stanford University 388 - University of California, Berkeley 373 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology 193 - University of Waterloo 187 - Harvard University 144 - Carnegie Mellon University 143 - Columbia University 143 - University of Pennsylvania 124 - Cornell University I don't know what you'd compare this to for "society at large" but of the 500 CEO's in the Fortune 500, the top 9 alma maters account for about 16% of those CEO's. 25 - Harvard University 11 - Stanford University 9 - University of Pennsylvania 7 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology 6 - Cornell University 6 - University of Chicago 6 - Northwestern 6 - Columbia University 6 - Yale

HPMOR 3y ago
It's nice to see my ala mater up there! Go Cornell! Also, I know PG disassociates himself from his roots but it's nice to know he was probably once sitting at the same desk I'm at now.
haltIncomplete 3y ago
[flagged]
ethanwillis 3y ago
Very nice work and pretty interesting to see. The comparison for society at large is definitely difficult, but I'm not sure if there's a better one than what you've come up with.