4 ms·

The question I have is "Win what?" There's no doubt getting into YC is a feather in one's cap. But for what purpose? What's the plan here? That's what struck me

The question I have is "Win what?" There's no doubt getting into YC is a feather in one's cap. But for what purpose? What's the plan here? That's what struck me as surprising in this story. "I want to be a YC startup to say I was a YC startup and I'll do anything to get it" doesn't make a lot of sense. If you aren't, to use your terminology, leveraging that for something bigger that you already had your heart set on, why go through all the effort?

dvt 14y ago
> The question I have is "Win what?" I was fairly explicit: VC and media coverage. YC is much (much) more than a feather in one's cap. Most astute start-uppers understand that exceedingly well. That's why YC is so competitive.
tunesmith 14y ago
There's something to be said for having a clear goal, but there's also something to be said for establishing the conditions such that when you do identify your goal, you're in a better position to be able to meet it. Years ago, people weren't doing MBAs at Harvard because they already had a business plan. It was because it made it more likely they'd succeed later one when they had their plan.
- itafroma 14y ago
  I think you've clarified it better, thanks for that. But take the MBA: the narrative typically goes something like, "I want power/money, being a corporate executive is one of the best means of achieving that, getting an MBA at Harvard makes that much easier, therefore I'll do whatever it takes to get into Harvard." The narrative here is "I want to succeed/win, getting into YC is going to help me, therefore I must get into YC and I'll do whatever it takes even though every time I've tried so far I've failed." The seemingly obvious question here is: what are you trying to succeed/win at? It obviously wasn't a product you're passionate about (although going into the fourth try, it sounds like the latest pivot is growing on you). Fame, power, money, personal validation? 2.3 kids and a white picket fence? YC isn't the only way to get it, and it's probably one of the harder ways to do it. If it's common to treat YC as a Harvard MBA—something like "if I have it, everything in life will almost magically work out for me"—that's pretty interesting and surprising to me. I always thought it was more about speeding up getting a specific vision or idea to market, or at the very least iterating on an idea until it grows into something huge.

dvt 14y ago

> The question I have is "Win what?" I was fairly explicit: VC and media coverage. YC is much (much) more than a feather in one's cap. Most astute start-uppers understand that exceedingly well. That's why YC is so competitive.

tunesmith 14y ago

There's something to be said for having a clear goal, but there's also something to be said for establishing the conditions such that when you do identify your goal, you're in a better position to be able to meet it. Years ago, people weren't doing MBAs at Harvard because they already had a business plan. It was because it made it more likely they'd succeed later one when they had their plan.

itafroma 14y ago
I think you've clarified it better, thanks for that. But take the MBA: the narrative typically goes something like, "I want power/money, being a corporate executive is one of the best means of achieving that, getting an MBA at Harvard makes that much easier, therefore I'll do whatever it takes to get into Harvard." The narrative here is "I want to succeed/win, getting into YC is going to help me, therefore I must get into YC and I'll do whatever it takes even though every time I've tried so far I've failed." The seemingly obvious question here is: what are you trying to succeed/win at? It obviously wasn't a product you're passionate about (although going into the fourth try, it sounds like the latest pivot is growing on you). Fame, power, money, personal validation? 2.3 kids and a white picket fence? YC isn't the only way to get it, and it's probably one of the harder ways to do it. If it's common to treat YC as a Harvard MBA—something like "if I have it, everything in life will almost magically work out for me"—that's pretty interesting and surprising to me. I always thought it was more about speeding up getting a specific vision or idea to market, or at the very least iterating on an idea until it grows into something huge.