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I'm going to continue doing office hours with startups in future batches. And since office hours are the main way founders interact with me, YC should feel the
by pg 13y ago
I'm going to continue doing office hours with startups in future batches. And since office hours are the main way founders interact with me, YC should feel the same to companies we fund. It will feel a lot different to me though. Not so much because I'll have more time as more attention to spare. For years now YC has been the thing in the top of my mind. That has made it hard to write essays. Now I'll be able to focus most of my attention on writing again.
- brudgers 13y agoCongratulations. Succession is hard. Books in the pipeline?
- larrys 13y ago"Books in the pipeline?" An opinion column in a well respected publication has the ability to wield more influence. Books are hit or miss and ephemeral.
- bicknergseng 13y agoI think there are some dead guys who would argue with that ephemerality point.
- brudgers 13y agoOn Lisp and ANSI Common Lisp are still relevant in regard to their subject matter while the essays of Hackers and Painters can at times seem dated despite being more recent. That's not to say that Graham's essays haven't had more impact, it is possible they have. But even the essays when presented in book form seem to hold a greater claim upon us than a dozen or so links in an email or blog post. Then again I don't deny my bookishness.
- larrys 13y ago"Now I'll be able to focus most of my attention on writing again." Sounds to me as if you have bigger ambitions in that area than just writing essays.
- slewis 13y agoWill you still review all the preview/demo day pitches? For those who haven't witnessed this: pg stands there for an entire day (maybe longer now), watching every pitch, slicing and dicing like a samurai. It's super rapid-fire, and with one or two pieces of advice each presentation doubles in effectiveness.
- pg 13y agoProbably not. But though it's an impressive feat of standing, the stuff that comes up then is so basic (slow down, look at the audience, etc) that any YC partner could make those sorts of comments. I'll still talk about pitches individually with startups at office hours.
- slewis 13y agoHa, what I remember most is you modifying presentations based on the psychology of the audience (investors). For example, for Pebble you said, "put this joke in there: 'I bet you guys really want to check your phones right now but you can't because it would be rude... if you had one of these babies on your wrist you'd be able to see those precious emails'". OK maybe not the most world-changing example but there were 100 more of those. I'm sure Sam will be excellent at this too.
- adamzerner 13y agoSo is that the main motivation - so you have attention to spare for essays? Any other plans? EDIT: I know how you say that writing => other ideas. So I guess the question is whether 1) You have something else in mind currently 2) You're writing with the intent to come up with other ideas 3) You're writing, and if another idea happens to come up that you like, you'll pursue it, or 4) You want to write and not pursue other ideas
- pg 13y agoIt's not the only motivation. It really will be better for YC to have someone running it who is actually interested in running an organization. I have a whole bunch of ideas for essays I'd like to write, but I almost never pick a topic. The way I decide which one to write is that one starts to write itself in my head.
- adamzerner 13y agoCool, I look forward to reading them! Just a thought (I know you've got a huge "to-do list" in your head), I'd like to hear your opinions on effective altruism, and what you think the best ways to change the world are.
- larrys 13y ago"The way I decide which one to write is that one starts to write itself in my head." As someone who only comments in two places on the web (HN and at another place that I'd rather not mention) that is exactly how it works when I make comments. You read something you react you write. It's not an assignment. It's not a job. It's not required. You just do it because you are moved and/or inspired by something you read or observe.
- darkmighty 13y agoDo you think this will provide you with an opportunity to approach prospect and current yc startups in a less "adversarial" manner, for the lack of a better term?
- Typhon 13y ago