3 ms·

95% of the best founders are outside the US? Really? if that were the case we'd have seen a lot more publicly traded companies of the size of Yahoo, Microsoft,

95% of the best founders are outside the US? Really? if that were the case we'd have seen a lot more publicly traded companies of the size of Yahoo, Microsoft, Intel, eBay, etc. If it could have happened, it would have happened. We aren't even tapping the founder set we have in the US proportionally. I applaud the concept of adding diversity to the pool (even-gasp! people with accents--) but I have a sneaking suspicion this is really about finding cheaper labor for the us based companies in the end. What investors are really going to put money into companies in countries in Africa and Asia where property rights, IP, and other laws don't protect companies as well as the US? What about places that demand even more corporate taxes? Color me skeptical.

stingrae 12y ago
I think this statement is just a matter of probability. 95% of the worlds population isn't American.
- melindajb 12y ago
  except that many, many of those folks have no access to running water or even a basic education. China, Africa, India. Let's start there. Now let's remind ourselves that >50% of the US population, specifically women and people of color, have been systematically excluded from the US based system. I'm not saying that the USA is Best, by any means. A lot of people from outside the US work harder, longer and smarter. I welcome them to our community. But the facts remain that the USA is where this phenomenon was originated, born of a complex brew of culture, investment, corporate freedom, property rights, and so on. Many have tried and most have failed to recreate this. I predict this will be more of the same: white male and asian/southeast asian programmers. The idea that YC would choose african founders in africa after systematically excluding african founders in the US just seems impossible to imagine. If A US based African entrepreneur is scary, what's it going to be like when they go to Nairobi? The corruption in those countries is rampant. it's not as easy as it sounds. Again, don't misinterpret my comments as xenophobia or American exceptionalism. They aren't. I'm observing significant challenges. That doesn't mean no one should try, but we all shouldn't applaud this until we actually see it happening outside of predominantly white, western countries.
  - mikeg8 12y ago
    I think your points are pretty spot on and you don't seem to be exhibiting "exceptionalism". Just wanted to say.
  - stingrae 12y ago
    >The idea that YC would choose african founders in africa after systematically excluding african founders in the US is this true? I was unaware of this.
    - garry 12y ago
      This is absolutely factually untrue. I expect more from a fellow founder than this form of libel.
      - melindajb 12y ago
        Garry, If we're going to talk about expectations, I expect more from YC than the miserable record of admission to YC for women and minorities to date. The stats shown at the women's founders' conference were a perfect example. See the link below for deets if you haven't already. Until YC admits that the possibility of bias exists (I am charitably suggesting it's totally unconscious by the way)it will never be able to correct this problem. The longer the partners try to shout "there isn't a problem," the longer it will persist. I'm much nicer about this than other people, but it doesn't make me any less concerned. And I'm happy to discuss with you my experiences in any forum, public or private and to listen as well as talk. I'm not an anonymous troll, as you know. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/03/04/y-combinators-lady-problems-in-three-charts/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/03/04...
        empressplay 12y ago
        Yes, if there wasn't a problem with bias then why would there be a need for Startup Weekend for Women? Why would the only female-driven product from TCD be a manicure app? Every time I've pitched anything technical to men, you can see their eyes glaze over the minute I start getting into any detail. It's not that they don't understand, it's that they assume I _don't_ really know what I'm talking about, and the value of my speech is zero. I agree that these reactions aren't necessarily intentional, but they do happen, and until there is an acceptance that it does happen, technically-minded women will continue to be discouraged from launching technical startups.
jackgavigan 12y ago
US Population: 317,987,522 World Population: 7,164,066,667 Source: United States Census Bureau - http://www.census.gov/popclock/ http://www.census.gov/popclock/ By those estimates, the United States accounts for less than 4.44% of the world's population. Or, to put it another way, more than 95% of the world's population is outside the US. So, unless you believe that there is something special about people in the United States that makes them better founders than people from other countries, it's not a massive stretch of the imagination to conclude that there are 19x as many good founders outside the US as there are inside it.
- dlp211 12y ago
  Actually I would argue that it is a big stretch of the imagination that there are 19x as many good founders outside the US. The problem is by the opportunity provided of where people live, their status is society, and a variety of other factors such as available education, access to technology etc. For that reason the multiplier has to be much less.
- mikeg8 12y ago
  I totally agree with you from a statistical view-point but there are definitely cultural, social, educational differences between Americans and non-american that may give us the upper hand in founding companies (as evidence by the founders of many large tech companies). I definitely DO believe that that we have a larger relative portion of our population that poses more of the characteristics required to be a successful founder. See also PG's comment on founders with strong accents.
garry 12y ago
You are ascribing malice to an entity that has good intent. 45% of the world's market cap for public equities remains in the United States, and that's something that is a function of governance, rule of law, court systems, financial reporting, and measures against corruption. As a result, capital is more readily available in the United States. Founders, on the other hand, are from all over the world. They come to the United States to build their businesses. Some will return to their home markets. We want to make both of those things happen a lot more. It really is all aligned.

stingrae 12y ago

I think this statement is just a matter of probability. 95% of the worlds population isn't American.

melindajb 12y ago
except that many, many of those folks have no access to running water or even a basic education. China, Africa, India. Let's start there. Now let's remind ourselves that >50% of the US population, specifically women and people of color, have been systematically excluded from the US based system. I'm not saying that the USA is Best, by any means. A lot of people from outside the US work harder, longer and smarter. I welcome them to our community. But the facts remain that the USA is where this phenomenon was originated, born of a complex brew of culture, investment, corporate freedom, property rights, and so on. Many have tried and most have failed to recreate this. I predict this will be more of the same: white male and asian/southeast asian programmers. The idea that YC would choose african founders in africa after systematically excluding african founders in the US just seems impossible to imagine. If A US based African entrepreneur is scary, what's it going to be like when they go to Nairobi? The corruption in those countries is rampant. it's not as easy as it sounds. Again, don't misinterpret my comments as xenophobia or American exceptionalism. They aren't. I'm observing significant challenges. That doesn't mean no one should try, but we all shouldn't applaud this until we actually see it happening outside of predominantly white, western countries.
- mikeg8 12y ago
  I think your points are pretty spot on and you don't seem to be exhibiting "exceptionalism". Just wanted to say.
- stingrae 12y ago
  >The idea that YC would choose african founders in africa after systematically excluding african founders in the US is this true? I was unaware of this.
  - garry 12y ago
    This is absolutely factually untrue. I expect more from a fellow founder than this form of libel.
    - melindajb 12y ago
      Garry, If we're going to talk about expectations, I expect more from YC than the miserable record of admission to YC for women and minorities to date. The stats shown at the women's founders' conference were a perfect example. See the link below for deets if you haven't already. Until YC admits that the possibility of bias exists (I am charitably suggesting it's totally unconscious by the way)it will never be able to correct this problem. The longer the partners try to shout "there isn't a problem," the longer it will persist. I'm much nicer about this than other people, but it doesn't make me any less concerned. And I'm happy to discuss with you my experiences in any forum, public or private and to listen as well as talk. I'm not an anonymous troll, as you know. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/03/04/y-combinators-lady-problems-in-three-charts/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/03/04...
      - empressplay 12y ago
        Yes, if there wasn't a problem with bias then why would there be a need for Startup Weekend for Women? Why would the only female-driven product from TCD be a manicure app? Every time I've pitched anything technical to men, you can see their eyes glaze over the minute I start getting into any detail. It's not that they don't understand, it's that they assume I _don't_ really know what I'm talking about, and the value of my speech is zero. I agree that these reactions aren't necessarily intentional, but they do happen, and until there is an acceptance that it does happen, technically-minded women will continue to be discouraged from launching technical startups.

jackgavigan 12y ago

US Population: 317,987,522 World Population: 7,164,066,667 Source: United States Census Bureau - http://www.census.gov/popclock/ http://www.census.gov/popclock/ By those estimates, the United States accounts for less than 4.44% of the world's population. Or, to put it another way, more than 95% of the world's population is outside the US. So, unless you believe that there is something special about people in the United States that makes them better founders than people from other countries, it's not a massive stretch of the imagination to conclude that there are 19x as many good founders outside the US as there are inside it.

dlp211 12y ago
Actually I would argue that it is a big stretch of the imagination that there are 19x as many good founders outside the US. The problem is by the opportunity provided of where people live, their status is society, and a variety of other factors such as available education, access to technology etc. For that reason the multiplier has to be much less.
mikeg8 12y ago
I totally agree with you from a statistical view-point but there are definitely cultural, social, educational differences between Americans and non-american that may give us the upper hand in founding companies (as evidence by the founders of many large tech companies). I definitely DO believe that that we have a larger relative portion of our population that poses more of the characteristics required to be a successful founder. See also PG's comment on founders with strong accents.

garry 12y ago

You are ascribing malice to an entity that has good intent. 45% of the world's market cap for public equities remains in the United States, and that's something that is a function of governance, rule of law, court systems, financial reporting, and measures against corruption. As a result, capital is more readily available in the United States. Founders, on the other hand, are from all over the world. They come to the United States to build their businesses. Some will return to their home markets. We want to make both of those things happen a lot more. It really is all aligned.