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PG how much of this attributable to $150k being too much money? Wasn't the last batch the largest by significant margin? Is it not expected that there will be m

PG how much of this attributable to $150k being too much money? Wasn't the last batch the largest by significant margin? Is it not expected that there will be more failure and therefore more demand on partner time as batch size increases? In another comment, you mention founders scrapping over the carcass of their failed startups; what is it exactly they're fighting over? Surely the money has run out and anything left should be returned to investors in good faith? Are they fighting over Cinema Displays, Aeron chairs, etc, and by reducing the amount of the note you're reducing the amount of accoutrements these fledgling startups accumulate, and thus can fight over in the event of failure?

tomhoward 14y ago
what is it exactly they're fighting over? Surely the money has run out and anything left should be returned to investors in good faith? I assume he's talking about cases where the founders fall out well before the money has run out. Previously, when there was little (money or IP) left, they'd just go their separate ways and start something new. But with money still in the bank, founders may believe the company still has some value and a future, and will fight to assume control of it.
- trevelyan 14y ago
  I wonder how many of those teams were single-founder projects that took on partners to apply. It is surely very rare for organic teams to experience this sort of drama in three months, no? Or is YC really just that stressful?
  - ibdknox 14y ago
    Doing a startup in general will test even the strongest relationships. I've seen old friends break apart. So yeah, YC can really be that stressful.
    - smita622 14y ago
      Point made - but do you really believe that halving the investment is going to change the level of drama involved? What is this - a shout out to Biggy's "mo money mo problems"? Surely, we can respect the complexity of founder relationships, and yes, at times their tenuousness - and not trivialize them as matters that can be solved by making it easier for a VC to write-off the investment. It just feels like an aspirin for a different problem...
pg 14y ago
The batches usually grow, but we also hire more partners, so the ratio of startups to partners stays pretty constant.

tomhoward 14y ago

what is it exactly they're fighting over? Surely the money has run out and anything left should be returned to investors in good faith? I assume he's talking about cases where the founders fall out well before the money has run out. Previously, when there was little (money or IP) left, they'd just go their separate ways and start something new. But with money still in the bank, founders may believe the company still has some value and a future, and will fight to assume control of it.

trevelyan 14y ago
I wonder how many of those teams were single-founder projects that took on partners to apply. It is surely very rare for organic teams to experience this sort of drama in three months, no? Or is YC really just that stressful?
- ibdknox 14y ago
  Doing a startup in general will test even the strongest relationships. I've seen old friends break apart. So yeah, YC can really be that stressful.
  - smita622 14y ago
    Point made - but do you really believe that halving the investment is going to change the level of drama involved? What is this - a shout out to Biggy's "mo money mo problems"? Surely, we can respect the complexity of founder relationships, and yes, at times their tenuousness - and not trivialize them as matters that can be solved by making it easier for a VC to write-off the investment. It just feels like an aspirin for a different problem...

pg 14y ago

The batches usually grow, but we also hire more partners, so the ratio of startups to partners stays pretty constant.