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A significant difference is that a major part of the value of getting into YC is having successfully completed the selection process. There's a reason that when
by casca 13y ago
A significant difference is that a major part of the value of getting into YC is having successfully completed the selection process. There's a reason that when hiring and looking for funding, companies will usually include the year they went into YC. Given the value of the brand, it's likely that YC could offer less for more equity and still be oversubscribed.
- pa5tabear 13y agoDid you realize you're replying to Paul Graham? I thought it pretty funny telling pg about his program. Of course I understand there are many more readers of the comment, but it still seems directed at him.
- lifeisstillgood 13y agoHonestly I cannot see casca's comment as trying to tell pg something about YC, more that casca is emphasising that YC is not exploiting its brand value; so a direct comparison (15% for 150K vs 22% for ~800K) could be seen either as pg does - "hey we are waaaaay better value", or as casca says "hey you are toooo cheap" Anecdotally Henry Ford was told that the drive shafts in Model T's were outlasting the chassis, so should they improve the chassis to match? Hell no, drop the quality of the drive shaft and save some money. I think pg would have made a bad Henry Ford. Edit: there is however a clear need for fast, time boxed, fund raising. Kima is part of the YC-inspired move in that direction, and there is far far more talent and money out there than YC can handle, so there is scope for them. They are just pricing in the middle market, away from the luxury brands :-)
- will_brown 13y agoHenry Ford was cost conscious but not for the reasons one might think. Ford was once sued by his Shareholders because he was purposely selling his cars at a loss to the company. The Michigan Supreme Court held that Henry Ford owed a duty to the shareholders of the Ford Motor Company to operate his business to profit his shareholders, rather than the community as a whole or employees. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Company http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Company While shareholders were worried about maximizing profits and dividends, Ford was thinking of bettering the World with $60M in capital surplus. Ford envisioned a World where every family could afford and benefit from a vehicle - he just intended to see to it they owned a Ford which simultaneously would have allowed him to employ more workers.
- lifeisstillgood 13y agoI think aggressively pursuing market share through subsidised products hardly counts as Nobel Peace Prize material. Bill Gates would not have needed to do all that exhausting philanthropy now...
- derefr 13y agoI don't know... replace "car" with "water filter" and "America" with "Africa", and I think you might be able to see Ford's point of view.
- lifeisstillgood 13y agoI would love to see a Nairobi business woman become the next African billionaire selling water filters, mosquito nets and led lights to the whole continent, making a fortune and saving lives. but I won't call her a philanthropist when she is picking out her next yacht. I will be pleased she lived however.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- clarky07 13y agoHe's just commenting on it, and it's a reasonable comment at that. It's not like he's telling pg how to run his business.