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I am more interested in the question of how Y-Combinator has changed Stanford over the last two decades rather than the question of how Stanford should change t

I am more interested in the question of how Y-Combinator has changed Stanford over the last two decades rather than the question of how Stanford should change to accommodate Y-Combinator. Notice there is no mention of ethics, philosophy, or human connection, except maybe Zuck being a psych major. Do we really want the future of education to be an incubator pipeline? That said I wholehearted agree with the second half of this paragraph: "In fact there are only two things universities need to change to be perfect at preparing founders: they need to make students feel that starting a startup is something they can do, and they need to encourage them to work on their own projects." For the first part, I suspect that money, and the safety net it provides, is a bigger impediment to entrepreneurship than its collegiate advocacy. It's hard to start a company or join a fledgling one when you are staring at an immense debt.

fantasizr 1mo ago
Elizabeth Holmes, SBF, Do Kwon, Phoebe Gates (anyone else?) all needed a Stanford freshman ethics seminar.
- jihadjihad 1mo ago
  Caroline Ellison, Sunny Balwani
- ValentineC 1mo ago
  Karun Kaushik and Selin Kocalar: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47634690 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47634690
alistairSH 1mo ago
I had a similar thought... starting a business is risky. And health insurance (among other things) is expensive. Once the VC class starts pushing for health care reform (among other things), maybe I'll take what they want seriously.
- nradov 1mo ago
  Younger founders coming out of college are somewhat insulated from health insurance concerns. Many of them can remain as a dependant on a parent's employer sponsored group plan until age 26. Others are eligible for Medicaid due to relatively low cash income. Once a startup reaches the Series A funding stage, the larger VC funds have existing arrangements with commercial health insurers to offer group coverage. I do agree that we need healthcare coverage reform but don't expect a lot of political pressure from that particular group.
- hobo123 1mo ago
  Funny how the US produces many more and more successful startups, while in Germany health insurance is like 200 bucks a month (if you have no income) and I think even free if you're unemployed.
matherial 1mo ago
To be fair, I wouldn't pin the blame on YC. Few people go to Ivy League universities to ponder ethics or philosophy. These schools are widely seen - by students and by parents - as an incredibly expensive way to "10x" your earning potential and influence. They were producing Mark Zuckerbergs for a good while. Yes, they accept some number of gifted people from underprivileged backgrounds, but these people are not the ones defining the school's culture. For most people, success at Harvard is to become a politician or to get very rich (or both).
- PaulHoule 1mo ago
  I am LMFAO about claims that Cornell is too "woke", like there is a woman's studies department, but also a Hotel Management school, a Business school, an Engineering school, ROTC, an ag school, a vet school, etc. Very vocational stuff. My wife studied animal science and she teaches people to ride horses. Yeah I am proud of the Nobel Prize winner who teaches an introductory physics class that I helped with, but I am also proud of the guy who grows potatoes on top of Mt. Pleasant to test their suitability for potato chip production.
Swizec 1mo ago
> For the first part, I suspect that money, and the safety net it provides, is a bigger impediment to entrepreneurship than its collegiate advocacy. An old HN comment captured this perfectly, it’s my favorite analogy of entrepreneurship [1] Entrepreneurship is like one of those carnival games where you throw darts or something. Middle class kids can afford one throw. Most miss. A few hit the target and get a small prize. A very few hit the center bullseye and get a bigger prize. Rags to riches! The American Dream lives on. Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they can try over and over and over again until they hit something and feel good about themselves. Some keep going until they hit the center bullseye, then they give speeches or write blog posts about "meritocracy" and the salutary effects of hard work. Poor kids aren't visiting the carnival. They're the ones working it. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15659076 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15659076

fantasizr 1mo ago

Elizabeth Holmes, SBF, Do Kwon, Phoebe Gates (anyone else?) all needed a Stanford freshman ethics seminar.

jihadjihad 1mo ago
Caroline Ellison, Sunny Balwani
ValentineC 1mo ago
Karun Kaushik and Selin Kocalar: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47634690 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47634690

alistairSH 1mo ago

I had a similar thought... starting a business is risky. And health insurance (among other things) is expensive. Once the VC class starts pushing for health care reform (among other things), maybe I'll take what they want seriously.

nradov 1mo ago
Younger founders coming out of college are somewhat insulated from health insurance concerns. Many of them can remain as a dependant on a parent's employer sponsored group plan until age 26. Others are eligible for Medicaid due to relatively low cash income. Once a startup reaches the Series A funding stage, the larger VC funds have existing arrangements with commercial health insurers to offer group coverage. I do agree that we need healthcare coverage reform but don't expect a lot of political pressure from that particular group.
hobo123 1mo ago
Funny how the US produces many more and more successful startups, while in Germany health insurance is like 200 bucks a month (if you have no income) and I think even free if you're unemployed.

matherial 1mo ago

To be fair, I wouldn't pin the blame on YC. Few people go to Ivy League universities to ponder ethics or philosophy. These schools are widely seen - by students and by parents - as an incredibly expensive way to "10x" your earning potential and influence. They were producing Mark Zuckerbergs for a good while. Yes, they accept some number of gifted people from underprivileged backgrounds, but these people are not the ones defining the school's culture. For most people, success at Harvard is to become a politician or to get very rich (or both).

PaulHoule 1mo ago
I am LMFAO about claims that Cornell is too "woke", like there is a woman's studies department, but also a Hotel Management school, a Business school, an Engineering school, ROTC, an ag school, a vet school, etc. Very vocational stuff. My wife studied animal science and she teaches people to ride horses. Yeah I am proud of the Nobel Prize winner who teaches an introductory physics class that I helped with, but I am also proud of the guy who grows potatoes on top of Mt. Pleasant to test their suitability for potato chip production.

Swizec 1mo ago

> For the first part, I suspect that money, and the safety net it provides, is a bigger impediment to entrepreneurship than its collegiate advocacy. An old HN comment captured this perfectly, it’s my favorite analogy of entrepreneurship [1] Entrepreneurship is like one of those carnival games where you throw darts or something. Middle class kids can afford one throw. Most miss. A few hit the target and get a small prize. A very few hit the center bullseye and get a bigger prize. Rags to riches! The American Dream lives on. Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they can try over and over and over again until they hit something and feel good about themselves. Some keep going until they hit the center bullseye, then they give speeches or write blog posts about "meritocracy" and the salutary effects of hard work. Poor kids aren't visiting the carnival. They're the ones working it. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15659076 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15659076