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If YC's goal is to find the next Dropbox it makes sense that they fund ~3% of applicants. If their goal is to get more people starting startups it makes no sens

by staunch 13y ago

If YC's goal is to find the next Dropbox it makes sense that they fund ~3% of applicants. If their goal is to get more people starting startups it makes no sense. So this seems like a case where we should look at what they do, not what they say.

keithwarren 13y ago
I look at the alumni companies and I get the feeling the YC never needed a unicorn. There are lots of interesting companies in there that will generate plenty of cash operationally, not necessarily via exit.
- staunch 13y ago
  http://ycombinator.com/nums.html http://ycombinator.com/nums.html (out of date, they're even more skewed now)
  - jedc 13y ago
    check out my site, Seed-DB, for numbers on all accelerators worldwide: http://www.seed-db.com/accelerators http://www.seed-db.com/accelerators
timtamboy63 13y ago
Yeah, that confused me. Sam says he wants to help more people who wouldn't usually start startups, start startups, and he says that YC is the best way to do that. I very much doubt that people who aren't determined to start a startup would get into YC (he says so himself when he states that YC looks for determined founders).
- edmack 13y ago
  There are two separate parts to this: One is admitting people you deem most likely to succeed. The second is reaching out, enthusing and supporting people from a wide range of backgrounds so that they apply and know how to be successful. This is a good approach, the alternative is positive discrimination.