4 ms·

I applied to ycombinator with this idea two years ago, I read an article about how the wind turbines were driving people who live near them crazy with the noise

by gscott 13y ago

I applied to ycombinator with this idea two years ago, I read an article about how the wind turbines were driving people who live near them crazy with the noise they create. Having a funnel that would capture the wind, then put it through a turbine, plus the ability to channel the wind, seemed like a good idea. However I am not an engineer, never finished college, and am over 35 which may have hurt my application :)

tinco 13y ago
Hi, please don't be fatalist over those things, that's just being unconstructive. You were probably rejected because you had no engineer to validate your idea.
CmonDev 13y ago
Did you present a plan of how to inflate the price of the start-up rapidly for a quick sell-off?
- gscott 13y ago
  That was the challenge, I couldn't think of a way to make everyone in the whole world want the product but it seemed like an interesting problem because giant blades spinning just can't be the future of wind energy. The blades take out too many birds and make too much noise. There is a wind energy project maybe 40 miles from me, the installation of the towers and movement of the dirt has caused dust storms for the local residents. A funnel system could be longer and have more support of a wider area, requiring less digging. Big corporations would only switch if they can build it for less and make more money through additional production from each unit so it is unlikely there is big money in developing it, it would have to be a Bill Gates type save the world project and give the designs away for free.
scythe 13y ago
Unfortunately, I think part of the reason your idea was rejected was that it's just a bad idea. The thing is, you -- non-collegiate, over 35 -- are nonetheless capable of doing enough research yourself to determine if an idea is very good. One thing to consider is the cross-sectional area of the funnel -- the size of the mouth. Another is a relation mentioned here: the power available (dF/dT) in wind is proportional to v^3. You can look up "power available in wind" here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power You'll be able to test your idea by considering a few scenarios, like "how does the force on the funnel (~area v^2) relate to the power generated (~area v^3) and is this practical?" and "Where would wind farms most likely be located, based on power availability (remote high-wind areas)?". I say this not [primarily] as a criticism, but to hopefully recommend to people that they can use simple math to test their ideas using pubically available information. It helps you form ideas with a closer relationship to reality. Doing research can be good for you, and elementary physics shouldn't be daunting, especially if you're taking things as far as applying for angel funding. Having a broader knowledge base doesn't hurt for coming up with ideas, either.
nether 13y ago
> However I am not an engineer, never finished college, and am over 35 which may have hurt my application :) I think it was more that the idea is far afield of what YC typically invests in (computer software/hardward) and what YC understands. They understand and accept their circle of competence and don't want to put money toward something they might be unable to assess accurately.

by gscott 13y ago

tinco 13y ago

Hi, please don't be fatalist over those things, that's just being unconstructive. You were probably rejected because you had no engineer to validate your idea.

CmonDev 13y ago

Did you present a plan of how to inflate the price of the start-up rapidly for a quick sell-off?

gscott 13y ago
That was the challenge, I couldn't think of a way to make everyone in the whole world want the product but it seemed like an interesting problem because giant blades spinning just can't be the future of wind energy. The blades take out too many birds and make too much noise. There is a wind energy project maybe 40 miles from me, the installation of the towers and movement of the dirt has caused dust storms for the local residents. A funnel system could be longer and have more support of a wider area, requiring less digging. Big corporations would only switch if they can build it for less and make more money through additional production from each unit so it is unlikely there is big money in developing it, it would have to be a Bill Gates type save the world project and give the designs away for free.

scythe 13y ago

Unfortunately, I think part of the reason your idea was rejected was that it's just a bad idea. The thing is, you -- non-collegiate, over 35 -- are nonetheless capable of doing enough research yourself to determine if an idea is very good. One thing to consider is the cross-sectional area of the funnel -- the size of the mouth. Another is a relation mentioned here: the power available (dF/dT) in wind is proportional to v^3. You can look up "power available in wind" here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power You'll be able to test your idea by considering a few scenarios, like "how does the force on the funnel (~area v^2) relate to the power generated (~area v^3) and is this practical?" and "Where would wind farms most likely be located, based on power availability (remote high-wind areas)?". I say this not [primarily] as a criticism, but to hopefully recommend to people that they can use simple math to test their ideas using pubically available information. It helps you form ideas with a closer relationship to reality. Doing research can be good for you, and elementary physics shouldn't be daunting, especially if you're taking things as far as applying for angel funding. Having a broader knowledge base doesn't hurt for coming up with ideas, either.

nether 13y ago

> However I am not an engineer, never finished college, and am over 35 which may have hurt my application :) I think it was more that the idea is far afield of what YC typically invests in (computer software/hardward) and what YC understands. They understand and accept their circle of competence and don't want to put money toward something they might be unable to assess accurately.