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Whilst PG, Jessica, RTM, Trevor, Harj, Kirsty, Paul, Geoff etc and the other members of the team at Y Combinator are there to help founders, the most important
by itsprofitbaron 14y ago
Whilst PG, Jessica, RTM, Trevor, Harj, Kirsty, Paul, Geoff etc and the other members of the team at Y Combinator are there to help founders, the most important thing that YC have created is their alumni network (YC have invested in 400 companies and ~1500 founders).
The network of YC also appear to be willing to pay it forward (in other words they are often each others first customers/users and they mentor, support and fund each other to success).
So to answer your question, can another Dropbox or AirBnB come out of YC with everything that the original Dropbox got? I believe the answer is Yes.
- kohfake 14y agoquestion is, can drew houston substitute paul graham? i'm sure he'll be glad to do his best, but i'm not sure he's essentially capable to
- itsprofitbaron 14y agoLet’s not forget that PG's full-time job is YC whereas Drew's full-time job is as Dropbox CEO. I think the difference is already apparent in that sentence – Drew isn’t a substitute for PG and PG isn’t a substitute for Drew. YC has never been just PG, there has always been a group of partners (which has increased over a period of time and includes some part-time founders) and you can always arrange time with the partners during office hours. Sure PG and the other partners can provide you with some excellent advice but, no one is an expert in every single vertical. YC fully understand that which is why they bring experts in during YC for dinners as well as hosting conferences for the founders throughout the year. I believe the alumni network has made YC stronger because, they've funded so many companies that there's likely to be other members in the alumni network within the same industry and/or using a similar technology to you – and if you ever need their help then they are there to help you.