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If StoreEnvy already had "product, customers, revenue, and whatnot", and "just needed cash to hire a bunch of people", it seems odd that the author was so despe

by mef 13y ago

If StoreEnvy already had "product, customers, revenue, and whatnot", and "just needed cash to hire a bunch of people", it seems odd that the author was so desperate to get funded by YC since that wouldn't give them the cash to hire anyone. Joining YC obviously gives you tons of other very valuable benefits, just seems to be some dissonance there in the narrative.

SurfScore 13y ago
Having "product, customers, revenue, and whatnot" does not a successful startup make. You have to continually execute, improve, and grow at a very high clip. YC is probably one of the best, if not the best, resources for advice and direction on how to do just that. Startups are so hard you have to take every bit of help you can get.
- dl_terp 13y ago
  I agree. There are so many things that need to be improved, optimized, moved forward. If YC could improve their viral coefficient by .2 that could be the difference between success and failure. If YC could improve homepage optimization and customer acquisition flow in a meaningful way, again, disaster diverted. So many things that experts know how to move forward that us new guys often miss out on. At such an early level, it's like adding gasoline to a fire.
resu_nimda 13y ago
Pretty selective quoting there... The full text of that sentence explains that he "hadn't really considered" YC because he "thought" he just needed cash. Not sure how you figure that he was desperate for YC; he was accepted through a chance encounter without even submitting an application. edit: After a re-read I understand more where you're getting the desperation from, but that came after he had been accepted, and was trying to hold on to the gift he had been given. I think it's fair to say that the situation had changed sufficiently by that point.
- gridspy 13y ago
  He just moved and lost his team. Both of these are traumatic. Then he lost YC - the whole rationale of both. Of course he's a bit shellshocked. I would be. Great tale!
nostromo 13y ago
What's odd about that? VCs use YC as one signal (of many) to figure out who to give money to. The primary reason, in my view, to join an incubator is to raise. Everything else is ancillary.
jusben1369 13y ago
Well I think you're being a bit harsh. He definitely headed out thinking he needed just capital. But once YC seemed interested he probably starting thinking "hmmm, rather than just capital maybe spending 3 months under these guys wings and everything that entails is the smarter way to go"

by mef 13y ago

SurfScore 13y ago

Having "product, customers, revenue, and whatnot" does not a successful startup make. You have to continually execute, improve, and grow at a very high clip. YC is probably one of the best, if not the best, resources for advice and direction on how to do just that. Startups are so hard you have to take every bit of help you can get.

dl_terp 13y ago
I agree. There are so many things that need to be improved, optimized, moved forward. If YC could improve their viral coefficient by .2 that could be the difference between success and failure. If YC could improve homepage optimization and customer acquisition flow in a meaningful way, again, disaster diverted. So many things that experts know how to move forward that us new guys often miss out on. At such an early level, it's like adding gasoline to a fire.

resu_nimda 13y ago

Pretty selective quoting there... The full text of that sentence explains that he "hadn't really considered" YC because he "thought" he just needed cash. Not sure how you figure that he was desperate for YC; he was accepted through a chance encounter without even submitting an application. edit: After a re-read I understand more where you're getting the desperation from, but that came after he had been accepted, and was trying to hold on to the gift he had been given. I think it's fair to say that the situation had changed sufficiently by that point.

gridspy 13y ago
He just moved and lost his team. Both of these are traumatic. Then he lost YC - the whole rationale of both. Of course he's a bit shellshocked. I would be. Great tale!

nostromo 13y ago

What's odd about that? VCs use YC as one signal (of many) to figure out who to give money to. The primary reason, in my view, to join an incubator is to raise. Everything else is ancillary.

jusben1369 13y ago

Well I think you're being a bit harsh. He definitely headed out thinking he needed just capital. But once YC seemed interested he probably starting thinking "hmmm, rather than just capital maybe spending 3 months under these guys wings and everything that entails is the smarter way to go"