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It seems to me that people are more interested into getting into YC than starting interesting businesses. That is probably because the selection process is sele

by emillon 14y ago

It seems to me that people are more interested into getting into YC than starting interesting businesses. That is probably because the selection process is selective and talked about everywhere, so getting in must be good, right? The truth is (and it's been repeated all over when discussing these "hack YC" articles), there's only working strategy to get into YC : be good. It's not an end in itself ; building a business is.

benjlang 14y ago
Couldn't agree more with you.
eytanlevit 14y ago
Appreciate the feedback, but the contrary is true. I'm currently building a business and I find YC a great place to kickstart it from. This is my 3rd company, in my previous two actually dismissed the value of a strong network, mentorship and sitting in Silicon Valley. Applying to YC in the earliest stages of this company is actually me not making the same mistake I did with my previous startup(raised $350K, busted asses for almost 2 years but failed).
- emillon 14y ago
  Well, don't misunderstand me; I wish you the best for your future business! But to me it looks like bad means to an end. As an entrepreneur, I believe that you can get known through more classic initiatives. It reminds me of a french deputy who used a hunger strike to defend his cause : noble end but terrible means.
  - eytanlevit 14y ago
    I think that any feedback is a form of caring, so I really appreciate you even writing a response. And don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing, even though I might try to be contrary, I'm still listening to everything written here in the comments, and it will be a factor in future decisions. Anyway, I agree it's not a classy move, much more classy would be to apply with an amazing demo, paying customers and a co-founder, but this is what I think will happen when I'll apply in the next batch. The only decision I had to make was to myself: do I want to start y combinator without traction and co-founder - and I decided that I do. Once I've reached that decision - I allocated a week for the whole effort and did whatever came to mind to get applied. If I don't get accepted, I hope next round I'll come stronger - tractionwise. Cheers

by emillon 14y ago

benjlang 14y ago

Couldn't agree more with you.

eytanlevit 14y ago

Appreciate the feedback, but the contrary is true. I'm currently building a business and I find YC a great place to kickstart it from. This is my 3rd company, in my previous two actually dismissed the value of a strong network, mentorship and sitting in Silicon Valley. Applying to YC in the earliest stages of this company is actually me not making the same mistake I did with my previous startup(raised $350K, busted asses for almost 2 years but failed).

emillon 14y ago
Well, don't misunderstand me; I wish you the best for your future business! But to me it looks like bad means to an end. As an entrepreneur, I believe that you can get known through more classic initiatives. It reminds me of a french deputy who used a hunger strike to defend his cause : noble end but terrible means.
- eytanlevit 14y ago
  I think that any feedback is a form of caring, so I really appreciate you even writing a response. And don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing, even though I might try to be contrary, I'm still listening to everything written here in the comments, and it will be a factor in future decisions. Anyway, I agree it's not a classy move, much more classy would be to apply with an amazing demo, paying customers and a co-founder, but this is what I think will happen when I'll apply in the next batch. The only decision I had to make was to myself: do I want to start y combinator without traction and co-founder - and I decided that I do. Once I've reached that decision - I allocated a week for the whole effort and did whatever came to mind to get applied. If I don't get accepted, I hope next round I'll come stronger - tractionwise. Cheers