4 ms·

oh man thats it?! thought it was 500k for 7% and only 10k for first batch ... forget YC man damn super disappointed only 0.2% of IPO...with success rates this

oh man thats it?! thought it was 500k for 7% and only 10k for first batch ... forget YC man damn super disappointed only 0.2% of IPO...with success rates this bad might as well just become a professional poker player lmao

runjake 2y ago
Honest question: what did you expect to find? Startups are hard. The vast majority fail. Joining YC doesn't mean they run the company and drive the vision for you. It sounds like they give you some money and people connections, and from there, it's almost all you.
muzani 2y ago
The $500k is guaranteed if the startup grows enough, but if it doesn't, then that's how they control the risk. IPO isn't entirely the success metric though. Reddit was founded in 2005, the first batch, and IPOed this year. That's almost two decades and it's one of the more successful YC stories - nobody at the time would have touched a non-profitable company led by someone below 40. YC started the cliche of founders being 20 year olds who have no plan for profitability. And many VCs just copied it, snatching all these young, brash, YC rejects, which is what gives the demographic a bad reputation. Also I'd say the exit most people want is an acquisition. There's plenty of those too. You get cash right away, and so do the VCs. You don't get into the billionaires list, but the thing is with IPO, you can't even cash out a lot of it without the stock tanking. IPOs are often the option because some companies get too big to acquire. And the other thing is you don't leave with $0 on failure - you get experience, the resume item, possibly a job later. Acquihires might even mean it's a good job. Sam Altman didn't IPO but he got a job with YC after his exit, and now he's a superstar founder. And YC the most successful by a large margin. 500 Startups might be the next best. 500 has more small exits than most other accelerators. They're more marketing based, while YC is product based. So it may fit different people.
- localfirst 2y ago
  The problem with acquisition focused investment strategy is that it only works during low rate and non-recession environments It's also very destructive to the economy. The wealth concentrates at the hands of the few and those capital are almost certainly outside US jurisdiction to avoid taxes. Lastly, the shock to the people that helped those few get rich have to find new jobs or at the mercy of those seeking enrichment over building long term jobs which can only come from those with long term focus not cash out so i can retired mentality. You can see the differences in how East Asian conglomerates operate vs the West. Life long job prospects, conservative long term focused at monopolizing and transferring jobs from the West to the East. The society and city are completely different as a result. Whereas in tech bro cities you have homelessness, violence, addiction and ideological absurdities. East Asia + Singapore have created stable civil societies without those things and its reflected by the type of billionaires they create and allow to operate with long term focus and stability top to down.

runjake 2y ago

Honest question: what did you expect to find? Startups are hard. The vast majority fail. Joining YC doesn't mean they run the company and drive the vision for you. It sounds like they give you some money and people connections, and from there, it's almost all you.

muzani 2y ago

The $500k is guaranteed if the startup grows enough, but if it doesn't, then that's how they control the risk. IPO isn't entirely the success metric though. Reddit was founded in 2005, the first batch, and IPOed this year. That's almost two decades and it's one of the more successful YC stories - nobody at the time would have touched a non-profitable company led by someone below 40. YC started the cliche of founders being 20 year olds who have no plan for profitability. And many VCs just copied it, snatching all these young, brash, YC rejects, which is what gives the demographic a bad reputation. Also I'd say the exit most people want is an acquisition. There's plenty of those too. You get cash right away, and so do the VCs. You don't get into the billionaires list, but the thing is with IPO, you can't even cash out a lot of it without the stock tanking. IPOs are often the option because some companies get too big to acquire. And the other thing is you don't leave with $0 on failure - you get experience, the resume item, possibly a job later. Acquihires might even mean it's a good job. Sam Altman didn't IPO but he got a job with YC after his exit, and now he's a superstar founder. And YC the most successful by a large margin. 500 Startups might be the next best. 500 has more small exits than most other accelerators. They're more marketing based, while YC is product based. So it may fit different people.

localfirst 2y ago
The problem with acquisition focused investment strategy is that it only works during low rate and non-recession environments It's also very destructive to the economy. The wealth concentrates at the hands of the few and those capital are almost certainly outside US jurisdiction to avoid taxes. Lastly, the shock to the people that helped those few get rich have to find new jobs or at the mercy of those seeking enrichment over building long term jobs which can only come from those with long term focus not cash out so i can retired mentality. You can see the differences in how East Asian conglomerates operate vs the West. Life long job prospects, conservative long term focused at monopolizing and transferring jobs from the West to the East. The society and city are completely different as a result. Whereas in tech bro cities you have homelessness, violence, addiction and ideological absurdities. East Asia + Singapore have created stable civil societies without those things and its reflected by the type of billionaires they create and allow to operate with long term focus and stability top to down.