5 ms·

I personally know the founders of three YC startups that are functionally dead (raised capital, not developing anything, basically laid off everyone but the fou

I personally know the founders of three YC startups that are functionally dead (raised capital, not developing anything, basically laid off everyone but the founder(s)) but are not on this list. I'd bet it's at least twice that number.

choppaface 2y ago
Need to also consider the ones that had a qualified exit event and then the product got axed (e.g. aquihire or just customer acquisition). It’s a very different graveyard but in many cases has similar impact on the non-Founders (especially the IC SWEs).
satvikpendem 2y ago
I'm curious, what do ex-founders generally do after their startup is dead? For me I just got a job after my first few ones died, until I was able to succeed at my current ones, but I'm sure many might just continue working a job indefinitely.
- noduerme 2y ago
  I don't think a lot of founders actually write code, but I did, I just realized my startup was probably going to be illegal soon and also that it wasn't going to get the funding it needed. I just kept writing code for whoever wanted to pay. It's fairly lucrative. Looking back, maybe I should have just done the illegal thing and gotten pardoned.
  - kiney 2y ago
    now I'm curious about the illegal thing
    - CamelCaseName 2y ago
      Seems like Bitcoin casino (from bio)
      - jsemrau 2y ago
        Might have worked in a different jurisdiction. If you look at valve and the CSGO controversy.
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
  - netsharc 2y ago
    Gotta love the jumping on the criminality bandwagon... Louis Brandeis says hello. https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1062178 https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1062178
    - xenospn 2y ago
      Fun fact: my kibbutz is named after him. He bought the land from the local Palestinians.
- sebmellen 2y ago
  I know some (YC and others) who float around doing nothing on $200k a year in salary because no investor cares enough, or has the legal right, to get their money back. Not sure what their long-term game plan is. The others end up at another Series B+ startup or go to a MANGA company if they can grind leetcode for a bit and get an interview.
  - tinco 2y ago
    They pay themselves 200k/y in a pre-market fit startup? That's insane and I guess on the investors for going over the traditional preseed amounts. Or do you mean that they're zombie startups that make enough to pay the founder 200k/year?
    - xenospn 2y ago
      I think a lot of gen z founders see nothing wrong with paying themselves a FAANG salary. My generation, not so much (I’m 45).
      - leetrout 2y ago
        I worked at a startup where the founders were your age and paid themselves that much while holding their majority stake in stock. We had open salary bands so we were all paid OK - especially our couple ~entry level folks at $100-120k. It was strange times in my eyes, though. They hired an HR person whose first act was to raise the c-suite salaries to market rate ($200k+) while the business still had negligible income but closed a round. It is good to be in the owner class, I guess.
        Salgat 2y ago
        What a sweet position to be in. All the upside of the potential stock valuation windfall while none of the downside of putting your career and income on the line.
        ryandrake 2y ago
chipotle_coyote 2y ago
I can think of at least one YC startup -- one that was relatively high-profile, for a hot minute, at least in the developer space -- that just shut down, period, that doesn't seem to be on the list, because I worked there. One extra irony point for its absence: it was basically across the street from Y Combinator's office in Mountain View at the time. :)
chasely 2y ago
I know a similar number but they were "acquihired" to essentially return money to investors and get the founders promotions at their former companies. So an exit on paper even if it's not necessarily so in practice.

choppaface 2y ago

Need to also consider the ones that had a qualified exit event and then the product got axed (e.g. aquihire or just customer acquisition). It’s a very different graveyard but in many cases has similar impact on the non-Founders (especially the IC SWEs).

satvikpendem 2y ago

I'm curious, what do ex-founders generally do after their startup is dead? For me I just got a job after my first few ones died, until I was able to succeed at my current ones, but I'm sure many might just continue working a job indefinitely.

noduerme 2y ago
I don't think a lot of founders actually write code, but I did, I just realized my startup was probably going to be illegal soon and also that it wasn't going to get the funding it needed. I just kept writing code for whoever wanted to pay. It's fairly lucrative. Looking back, maybe I should have just done the illegal thing and gotten pardoned.
- kiney 2y ago
  now I'm curious about the illegal thing
  - CamelCaseName 2y ago
    Seems like Bitcoin casino (from bio)
    - jsemrau 2y ago
      Might have worked in a different jurisdiction. If you look at valve and the CSGO controversy.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
- netsharc 2y ago
  Gotta love the jumping on the criminality bandwagon... Louis Brandeis says hello. https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1062178 https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1062178
  - xenospn 2y ago
    Fun fact: my kibbutz is named after him. He bought the land from the local Palestinians.
sebmellen 2y ago
I know some (YC and others) who float around doing nothing on $200k a year in salary because no investor cares enough, or has the legal right, to get their money back. Not sure what their long-term game plan is. The others end up at another Series B+ startup or go to a MANGA company if they can grind leetcode for a bit and get an interview.
- tinco 2y ago
  They pay themselves 200k/y in a pre-market fit startup? That's insane and I guess on the investors for going over the traditional preseed amounts. Or do you mean that they're zombie startups that make enough to pay the founder 200k/year?
  - xenospn 2y ago
    I think a lot of gen z founders see nothing wrong with paying themselves a FAANG salary. My generation, not so much (I’m 45).
    - leetrout 2y ago
      I worked at a startup where the founders were your age and paid themselves that much while holding their majority stake in stock. We had open salary bands so we were all paid OK - especially our couple ~entry level folks at $100-120k. It was strange times in my eyes, though. They hired an HR person whose first act was to raise the c-suite salaries to market rate ($200k+) while the business still had negligible income but closed a round. It is good to be in the owner class, I guess.
      - Salgat 2y ago
        What a sweet position to be in. All the upside of the potential stock valuation windfall while none of the downside of putting your career and income on the line.
        ryandrake 2y ago

chipotle_coyote 2y ago

I can think of at least one YC startup -- one that was relatively high-profile, for a hot minute, at least in the developer space -- that just shut down, period, that doesn't seem to be on the list, because I worked there. One extra irony point for its absence: it was basically across the street from Y Combinator's office in Mountain View at the time. :)

chasely 2y ago

I know a similar number but they were "acquihired" to essentially return money to investors and get the founders promotions at their former companies. So an exit on paper even if it's not necessarily so in practice.