4 ms·

Brought to you by the VC famous for InstallMonetizer? Make no mistake, it’ll basically back anything that makes money, there’s no moral high ground. And like it

by oefrha 2y ago

Brought to you by the VC famous for InstallMonetizer? Make no mistake, it’ll basically back anything that makes money, there’s no moral high ground. And like it or not, this kind of AI (or should I say A-eye) is here to stay.

tuukkah 2y ago
Did YC fund (or otherwise back) InstallMonetizer? The way I understood it, they applied to YC with a different idea and worked on IM earlier/on the side/later. (In which case, the controversy was more whether YC works with people who make things like InstallMonetizer.)
- latexr 2y ago
  > Did YC fund (or otherwise back) InstallMonetizer? Yes. Quoting Paul Graham: > Last week there was some controversy online about a company we funded called InstallMonetizer. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5092711 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5092711
  - tuukkah 2y ago
    Here's his clarification that followed, saying they didn't fund the product InstallMonetizer: > They're working on something new, and all the office hours I had with them were about that. They're not even in our database of companies as InstallMonetizer but as the new thing. (I'm not sure if I can say the name because it may not be launched yet.) I knew they had some previous product that was called a Windows installer, but I don't think we ever talked about what it did. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5093047 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5093047
dang 2y ago
That's deeply untrue and unfair, and the fact that you've reached back 12 years to find an example, when YC has funded thousands of startups since then, is evidence against what you're saying. YC has turned down many startups because they didn't think what the product was doing was right, and it has defunded and banned startups for ethical reasons over the years. It's not your fault that you didn't know this, since no one makes a big deal of it, but I think it's proper to bring it up when you say that the people at YC will "back anything that makes money".
- oefrha 2y ago
  I deeply respect your work here on HN (and I semi-frequently email you so you know I do), but I disagree here. I don’t have to go back 12 years, I think YC funded its fair share of crypto scams like other VCs (of course what’s considered a crypto scam is different for everyone so no point in arguing), but I picked a very well known example that most old users probably know. I should probably mention I commented on a Launch HN thread this month that’s clearly illegal by design: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42886294 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42886294. I don’t have much against VCs investing in whatever makes money, to be honest, given how immoral the top dogs of this industry are to begin with, and I can’t claim I haven’t worked in an at least somewhat immoral company. Edit: I only saw the second paragraph after a refresh. Sure, what I wrote about “back anything that makes money” was inaccurate so I should retract that, but I stand by the “no moral high ground” point.
  - dang 2y ago
    Ok, I appreciate the reply and am sorry about editing while you were replying. (Sometimes I leave a tag in my comments while I'm still editing them, but I didn't do that this time.)
    - oefrha 2y ago
      No problem!
- dttze 2y ago
  YC is funding weapon manufacturers lol. Where are the ethics there?
  - dang 2y ago
    People have different views about what is ethical. The HN community itself is divided on the ethics of things like weapons manufacturing (a.k.a. "defense companies") or crytpocurrency (mentioned elsewhere in this thread). Having different views about ethics is not the same thing as having no ethics.

by oefrha 2y ago

tuukkah 2y ago

Did YC fund (or otherwise back) InstallMonetizer? The way I understood it, they applied to YC with a different idea and worked on IM earlier/on the side/later. (In which case, the controversy was more whether YC works with people who make things like InstallMonetizer.)

latexr 2y ago
> Did YC fund (or otherwise back) InstallMonetizer? Yes. Quoting Paul Graham: > Last week there was some controversy online about a company we funded called InstallMonetizer. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5092711 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5092711
- tuukkah 2y ago
  Here's his clarification that followed, saying they didn't fund the product InstallMonetizer: > They're working on something new, and all the office hours I had with them were about that. They're not even in our database of companies as InstallMonetizer but as the new thing. (I'm not sure if I can say the name because it may not be launched yet.) I knew they had some previous product that was called a Windows installer, but I don't think we ever talked about what it did. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5093047 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5093047

dang 2y ago

That's deeply untrue and unfair, and the fact that you've reached back 12 years to find an example, when YC has funded thousands of startups since then, is evidence against what you're saying. YC has turned down many startups because they didn't think what the product was doing was right, and it has defunded and banned startups for ethical reasons over the years. It's not your fault that you didn't know this, since no one makes a big deal of it, but I think it's proper to bring it up when you say that the people at YC will "back anything that makes money".

oefrha 2y ago
I deeply respect your work here on HN (and I semi-frequently email you so you know I do), but I disagree here. I don’t have to go back 12 years, I think YC funded its fair share of crypto scams like other VCs (of course what’s considered a crypto scam is different for everyone so no point in arguing), but I picked a very well known example that most old users probably know. I should probably mention I commented on a Launch HN thread this month that’s clearly illegal by design: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42886294 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42886294. I don’t have much against VCs investing in whatever makes money, to be honest, given how immoral the top dogs of this industry are to begin with, and I can’t claim I haven’t worked in an at least somewhat immoral company. Edit: I only saw the second paragraph after a refresh. Sure, what I wrote about “back anything that makes money” was inaccurate so I should retract that, but I stand by the “no moral high ground” point.
- dang 2y ago
  Ok, I appreciate the reply and am sorry about editing while you were replying. (Sometimes I leave a tag in my comments while I'm still editing them, but I didn't do that this time.)
  - oefrha 2y ago
    No problem!
dttze 2y ago
YC is funding weapon manufacturers lol. Where are the ethics there?
- dang 2y ago
  People have different views about what is ethical. The HN community itself is divided on the ethics of things like weapons manufacturing (a.k.a. "defense companies") or crytpocurrency (mentioned elsewhere in this thread). Having different views about ethics is not the same thing as having no ethics.