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What if you are interviewing a kid from south-side Chicago or kid from third world who against all odds went to college? That is exactly the sort of achievemen

by pg 13y ago

What if you are interviewing a kid from south-side Chicago or kid from third world who against all odds went to college? That is exactly the sort of achievement that impresses us, actually. For example, Qasar Younis started life in a house with dirt floors in a village in Pakistan. His family moved to the US, to Detroit, when he was 7. He appears to have worked his ass off from the moment they landed. We funded his startup, Talkbin, in Winter 2011, mainly because we were so impressed with him. Talkbin was acquired by Google soon after Demo Day, and he is now a part time partner at YC. (Why do so many people assume that after 9 years of picking founders, we still have huge blind spots that are obvious to them but not to us?)

dominotw 13y ago
I am not assuming that this is blind spot in YC selection process. After all YC is just another organization trying to reap the benefits our society's disproportionate investment in a minority of population at the top of socio economic ladder. (I might be totally off target on this but my impression of typical winning applicant was of a top 20 school graduate [1].) I am merely suggesting( and hoping) that this not something that shouldn't be emulated by everyone. Can we play G.H Hardy once in while and discover Ramanujams from social and economic ghettos? 1. https://www.airbnb.com/about/founders https://www.airbnb.com/about/founders
dominotw 13y ago
> His family moved to the US, to Detroit, when he was 7. This is not an example of someone who is from the third world or from a ghetto. Immigrant parents have strong work ethic which they instill in their kids ( I belong to the club, so I know). I am talking about girls from southside Chicago whose idea of 'achievement' is not getting pregnant by 15.
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- rmason 13y ago
  Detroit went from the best big city school system in 1950 to the worst today. http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/michigan/districts/detroit-public-schools http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/michigan/d... Anyone who doesn't think excelling in that environment isn't a highly significant achievement is sadly mistaken.
  - hughdbrown 13y ago
    Too many negatives. I think you mean, "Anyone who thinks excelling in that environment isn't a highly significant achievement is sadly mistaken." Even then, I'd go for something clearer like, "Excelling in that environment is a high achievement."
- prostoalex 13y ago
  You seem to have some axe to grind. Is there a story to it - like somebody asking this exact question, passing on such girl, and then regretting the decision?
- maverickmind 13y ago
  For the record people "from the ghetto" can have a strong work ethic. My grandmotheer had her first kid at 15,h ad five more, raised them all by herself while putting herself thought nursing school. All of them want to college and live nice middle to upper middle class lives. She retired at 65 as a well respected head nurse. If that isn't "work ethic" I don't know what is.
- dominotw 13y ago
  At some point I had 17 upvotes to my comment. Now I have zero. How is this possible? You could say yeah you had 17 ppl upvote you and 17 people downvote you, but the population who can downvote is a tiny minority compared to ppl who can upvote.
Rajiv_N 13y ago
Qasar's story is amazing and inspirational. Was he able to convey his story in his application to YC and is that the reason you selected him in? Or did someone at YC already know him to be able to truly appreciate his achievement? I have always found the YC application strange in that sense. So much emphasis is given to the question of the "most impressive achievement", but in order to convey any achievement with context, one needs to be quite verbose with their replies. Given that an application only has few seconds to impress, conveying anything is a challenge. Has YC given much thought to an essay type application? I am proud of where I am today. I grew up in Mumbai, India (not quite a village). We weren't rich. I still have scars on my right foot from an abscess caused from a piece of glass that had pierced my foot while playing soccer bare feet on concrete. We couldn't afford shoes. Luckily my father's business started picking up around the time I entered engineering school. The plan was for me to graduate with a bachelor's in structural engineering and then we could work together to grow the business further. At 20, I earned my bachelor's in structural engineering. Unfortunately my father had died in an accident at work when I was in my penultimate year of engineering. I managed to get enough resources together to be able to attend grad school in the US. I met my wife there. BTW, she has an amazing story too. We now have a startup (https://magtag.me https://magtag.me) that received angel investment recently. We feel like outsiders in the tech scene but our spirits are high and when we look back at our lives we feel nothing but pride. My life is an ongoing achievement. Would you have time to hear me out?
- lifeisstillgood 13y ago
  late reply: >> Given that an application only has few seconds to impress, conveying anything is a challenge. Your next paragraph took me a few seconds to read, and impresses a helluva lot. I would not worry about the form of the application process.
ecuzzillo 13y ago
Many people who do things professionally for many years have terrible blind spots endemic to their profession. It's obvious to those who pay attention that you are not like that, but it doesn't surprise me that many miss it.
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by pg 13y ago

dominotw 13y ago

I am not assuming that this is blind spot in YC selection process. After all YC is just another organization trying to reap the benefits our society's disproportionate investment in a minority of population at the top of socio economic ladder. (I might be totally off target on this but my impression of typical winning applicant was of a top 20 school graduate [1].) I am merely suggesting( and hoping) that this not something that shouldn't be emulated by everyone. Can we play G.H Hardy once in while and discover Ramanujams from social and economic ghettos? 1. https://www.airbnb.com/about/founders https://www.airbnb.com/about/founders

dominotw 13y ago

> His family moved to the US, to Detroit, when he was 7. This is not an example of someone who is from the third world or from a ghetto. Immigrant parents have strong work ethic which they instill in their kids ( I belong to the club, so I know). I am talking about girls from southside Chicago whose idea of 'achievement' is not getting pregnant by 15.

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rmason 13y ago
Detroit went from the best big city school system in 1950 to the worst today. http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/michigan/districts/detroit-public-schools http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/michigan/d... Anyone who doesn't think excelling in that environment isn't a highly significant achievement is sadly mistaken.
- hughdbrown 13y ago
  Too many negatives. I think you mean, "Anyone who thinks excelling in that environment isn't a highly significant achievement is sadly mistaken." Even then, I'd go for something clearer like, "Excelling in that environment is a high achievement."
prostoalex 13y ago
You seem to have some axe to grind. Is there a story to it - like somebody asking this exact question, passing on such girl, and then regretting the decision?
maverickmind 13y ago
For the record people "from the ghetto" can have a strong work ethic. My grandmotheer had her first kid at 15,h ad five more, raised them all by herself while putting herself thought nursing school. All of them want to college and live nice middle to upper middle class lives. She retired at 65 as a well respected head nurse. If that isn't "work ethic" I don't know what is.
dominotw 13y ago
At some point I had 17 upvotes to my comment. Now I have zero. How is this possible? You could say yeah you had 17 ppl upvote you and 17 people downvote you, but the population who can downvote is a tiny minority compared to ppl who can upvote.

Rajiv_N 13y ago

Qasar's story is amazing and inspirational. Was he able to convey his story in his application to YC and is that the reason you selected him in? Or did someone at YC already know him to be able to truly appreciate his achievement? I have always found the YC application strange in that sense. So much emphasis is given to the question of the "most impressive achievement", but in order to convey any achievement with context, one needs to be quite verbose with their replies. Given that an application only has few seconds to impress, conveying anything is a challenge. Has YC given much thought to an essay type application? I am proud of where I am today. I grew up in Mumbai, India (not quite a village). We weren't rich. I still have scars on my right foot from an abscess caused from a piece of glass that had pierced my foot while playing soccer bare feet on concrete. We couldn't afford shoes. Luckily my father's business started picking up around the time I entered engineering school. The plan was for me to graduate with a bachelor's in structural engineering and then we could work together to grow the business further. At 20, I earned my bachelor's in structural engineering. Unfortunately my father had died in an accident at work when I was in my penultimate year of engineering. I managed to get enough resources together to be able to attend grad school in the US. I met my wife there. BTW, she has an amazing story too. We now have a startup (https://magtag.me https://magtag.me) that received angel investment recently. We feel like outsiders in the tech scene but our spirits are high and when we look back at our lives we feel nothing but pride. My life is an ongoing achievement. Would you have time to hear me out?

lifeisstillgood 13y ago
late reply: >> Given that an application only has few seconds to impress, conveying anything is a challenge. Your next paragraph took me a few seconds to read, and impresses a helluva lot. I would not worry about the form of the application process.

ecuzzillo 13y ago

Many people who do things professionally for many years have terrible blind spots endemic to their profession. It's obvious to those who pay attention that you are not like that, but it doesn't surprise me that many miss it.

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