8 ms·

Welcome new YC team members

196 points by sama 12y ago

TheMakeA 12y ago
Weren't Dalton, Alexis, and Qasar already part-time partners? Little confusing... Awesome nonetheless.
- yurisagalov 12y ago
  They're transitioning from part time to full time :)
  - deleted 12y ago
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- sama 12y ago
  added clarification.
  - TheMakeA 12y ago
    Great, thanks!
  - MaysonL 12y ago
    Need to add the new partners to the partners page...
AndrewKemendo 12y ago
So who is going to be the YC ambassador to the East coast now that Alexis is full time?
- alexis 12y ago
  I'll still be holding it down in Brooklyn when I'm not helping the batches in MV.
  - AndrewKemendo 12y ago
    Maybe you can expand to DC as well - or bring on one of us in the DC area as your proxy.
    - alexis 12y ago
      I come back for every home game I can when NFL is in season... That and I'm really excited to be a voice for Y Combinator (and startups) in D.C. -- in addition to just being an advocate for the open internet as a citizen.
Killswitch 12y ago
Congrats to Alexis! That dude not only created one of the greatest communities on the internet, but also does some amazing things. He's right up there with Elon Musk in my list of inspirational people.
- alexis 12y ago
  Thanks, killswitch. There's no reddit without Steve Huffman (now hipmunk CTO+cofounder) but I will gladly accept my spot on your list, albeit undeserved, so now I need to earn it!
  - whyleyc 12y ago
    "There's no reddit without Steve Huffman" Or Aaron Swartz of course.
gordonzhu 12y ago
Of the partners announced today, a lot of people know Alexis and Dalton, but my guess is that few know Qasar. I worked for him for over two years at Google. He was one of the product leads I respected the most because he was really good at product management and managing people. He'll definitely be missed. But the truth is that I've always thought of him as a coach. I've grown so much since my time as a fresh new grad and Qasar was a huge part of that. It's crazy to think about how many hours he spent listening to my problems and I'll always be thankful for that (it's funny to think that in retrospect he was just doing office hours). Of course he's good at what he does, but his genuine helpfulness and energy is what I've always respected and appreciated most about him. And it's that energy that finally gave me the confidence to quit and finally try out all the things I learned from him. The cycle continues...
- kreemn 12y ago
  Y Combinator is on a roll. I’m in engineering and worked with Qasar and he was no doubt one of the best product managers at Google. Actually sad to see him go.
  - amirhhz 12y ago
    What separates the best PMs from the rest, in your experience?
- shabih 12y ago
  Agree with this 100%. Qasar is one of the most dedicated and hardworking people I have ever known. I recall first meeting Qasar several years ago. We were introduced by a mutual friend and met at Google. Within a year of that meeting, Qasar put together a team, applied and successfully got into YC, and sold TalkBin to Google. While at Google Qasar was one if the sharpest Product Managers on the team. I joined his team within a few weeks after the TalkBin acquisition. As the team, product, and scope grew, Qasar focused on building excellent product, never compromising quality. As a result he quickly rose the ranks because of his unique ability to balance product and business objectives. All the while he took great care of the people on his team. It's truly sad to see him leave Google but he will be an incredible force of nature at YC. His passion and energy has always been on helping startups and founders succeed. He spent a tremendous amount of time mentoring and coaching his team at Google and will bring this same enthusiasm to YC. Above all else, Qasar is the quintessential example of someone that has more grit than anyone I know. He's a no bullshit kind of person that's always helping getting things done. YC is very fortunate to have him. Even if you are not in his batch, Qasar is someone you want to get to know.
SandersAK 12y ago
As someone who recently came through YC (W2014) - I can say that Alexis and Dalton have been two of the most helpful people within the YC community for us at Beacon. In particular, Dalton is someone that helped us when we got rejected after our first interview, stayed supportive, and always has actionable insight and advice. He's also just a legend. As to Alexis, I honestly don't understand how he does all the things he does - he's just going at like a million miles a minute. As high profile as he is, I actually think his value is underrated in the YC community.
- alexis 12y ago
  The secret is the cliche of having an amazing team around me who are awesome people + even harder-working than me. To wit: 2 years ago Kat was my right-hand and now she's a partner + runs outreach at YC.
  - gailees 12y ago
    YC is #STACKED
- 7cupsoftea 12y ago
  I wanted to quickly chime in here and second these thoughts. Dalton and Alexis have also been very helpful to 7 Cups of Tea. Dalton is always super fast to respond to emails. I've gone back and forth with him, asking lots of questions, and really drilling down to make sure I understand what he is suggesting. Without fail, he'll get back to me within a matter of hours and respond in-depth to my questions. I think his background in psychology and experience working with younger populations gives him very insightful perspectives. He is also very honest and supportive. Alexis is one of the people I most admire. The guy has real integrity. I think he understands what is truly important in life and lives in a manner that holds up these values. They are implicit in how he relates to others. He is also an amazing worker. I remember asking him for a consult on a Saturday morning. I was thinking we'd connect later on that next week. He got right back to me and called me on a Saturday morning. I apologized for bugging him and he said not to worry that if I'm working he is working. Then, to take things a step further, he connected me with Ashley Dawkins (his Outreach Director). She is also awesome, quick to respond, and very helpful. The last point I'll highlight is Alexis is really hopeful. Hope is pretty damn powerful and I think he gets that in manner that few people understand.
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suyash 12y ago
Can anyone explain how does YC's business model works? They seem to keep adding several more partners often. I would guess the current toll should be more than 50. Do these partners also invest their own money in YC or no?
- TheMakeA 12y ago
  Not sure where you got the number 50 from. There's a list of all of the full-time partners on the site[1], adding the ones today for 17, plus another handful of part-time partners (6 or so?). As far as I know, the partners help choose the startups to fund and advise them. I don't think they invest their own money (except maybe after Demo Day[2]), but choose how to invest YC's money at the start of each batch. [1] http://www.ycombinator.com/partners/ http://www.ycombinator.com/partners/ [2] http://blog.ycombinator.com/new-yc-partner-investment-policy http://blog.ycombinator.com/new-yc-partner-investment-policy
  - suyash 12y ago
    Got it, yeah 50 was just a total guess.
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adamfeldman 12y ago
What does the YC software team hack on? Internal tools other than HN?
- dang 12y ago
  Yes. As well as HN itself, of course. Edit: plus outward-facing tools like YC applications, Startup School registrations, and so on.
- sama 12y ago
  roughly: HN, internal tools, and (soon) external tools
  - sanswork 12y ago
    Any hints as to what we can expect in the last category?
icpmacdo 12y ago
Great job Alexis, although I thought you were already a partner :)
- alexis 12y ago
  Thanks. Nope - was Ambassador to the East! http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/01/reddit-cofounder-alexis-ohanian-to-join-y-combinator/ http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/01/reddit-cofounder-alexis-oha...
iancarroll 12y ago
Sorry, but I thought Dalton was already a partner? Did he join YC as another position and I'm mixing them up? edit: looks like he was part time, is he full time now?
- dalton 12y ago
  that is correct, I went from part-time partner to fulltime partner
habosa 12y ago
Do YC partners invest their own money into the batch, or do they just help to allocate a pool of YC money? "Partner" generally means that the person gets a share of the profits but I know the term is now used more loosely than that definition.
- sama 12y ago
  all YC partners get a share of the profits, and they help allocate the YC pool of money.
larrys 12y ago
Since HN is a site where one of the things that people learn through transparency is how different business models operate, it would be interesting to know (even roughly) how partners fit into the profits or payout from YC companies that succeed. In other words how profits are allocated.
jfornear 12y ago
Great adds for YC. I've worked for Dalton and can attest that he is one of the best product minds around — a real visionary. Psychology and systems thinking are some of the last uncommodotized tools in this industry and he has them.

196 points by sama 12y ago

TheMakeA 12y ago

Weren't Dalton, Alexis, and Qasar already part-time partners? Little confusing... Awesome nonetheless.

yurisagalov 12y ago
They're transitioning from part time to full time :)
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
sama 12y ago
added clarification.
- TheMakeA 12y ago
  Great, thanks!
- MaysonL 12y ago
  Need to add the new partners to the partners page...

AndrewKemendo 12y ago

So who is going to be the YC ambassador to the East coast now that Alexis is full time?

alexis 12y ago
I'll still be holding it down in Brooklyn when I'm not helping the batches in MV.
- AndrewKemendo 12y ago
  Maybe you can expand to DC as well - or bring on one of us in the DC area as your proxy.
  - alexis 12y ago
    I come back for every home game I can when NFL is in season... That and I'm really excited to be a voice for Y Combinator (and startups) in D.C. -- in addition to just being an advocate for the open internet as a citizen.

Killswitch 12y ago

Congrats to Alexis! That dude not only created one of the greatest communities on the internet, but also does some amazing things. He's right up there with Elon Musk in my list of inspirational people.

alexis 12y ago
Thanks, killswitch. There's no reddit without Steve Huffman (now hipmunk CTO+cofounder) but I will gladly accept my spot on your list, albeit undeserved, so now I need to earn it!
- whyleyc 12y ago
  "There's no reddit without Steve Huffman" Or Aaron Swartz of course.

gordonzhu 12y ago

Of the partners announced today, a lot of people know Alexis and Dalton, but my guess is that few know Qasar. I worked for him for over two years at Google. He was one of the product leads I respected the most because he was really good at product management and managing people. He'll definitely be missed. But the truth is that I've always thought of him as a coach. I've grown so much since my time as a fresh new grad and Qasar was a huge part of that. It's crazy to think about how many hours he spent listening to my problems and I'll always be thankful for that (it's funny to think that in retrospect he was just doing office hours). Of course he's good at what he does, but his genuine helpfulness and energy is what I've always respected and appreciated most about him. And it's that energy that finally gave me the confidence to quit and finally try out all the things I learned from him. The cycle continues...

kreemn 12y ago
Y Combinator is on a roll. I’m in engineering and worked with Qasar and he was no doubt one of the best product managers at Google. Actually sad to see him go.
- amirhhz 12y ago
  What separates the best PMs from the rest, in your experience?
shabih 12y ago
Agree with this 100%. Qasar is one of the most dedicated and hardworking people I have ever known. I recall first meeting Qasar several years ago. We were introduced by a mutual friend and met at Google. Within a year of that meeting, Qasar put together a team, applied and successfully got into YC, and sold TalkBin to Google. While at Google Qasar was one if the sharpest Product Managers on the team. I joined his team within a few weeks after the TalkBin acquisition. As the team, product, and scope grew, Qasar focused on building excellent product, never compromising quality. As a result he quickly rose the ranks because of his unique ability to balance product and business objectives. All the while he took great care of the people on his team. It's truly sad to see him leave Google but he will be an incredible force of nature at YC. His passion and energy has always been on helping startups and founders succeed. He spent a tremendous amount of time mentoring and coaching his team at Google and will bring this same enthusiasm to YC. Above all else, Qasar is the quintessential example of someone that has more grit than anyone I know. He's a no bullshit kind of person that's always helping getting things done. YC is very fortunate to have him. Even if you are not in his batch, Qasar is someone you want to get to know.

SandersAK 12y ago

As someone who recently came through YC (W2014) - I can say that Alexis and Dalton have been two of the most helpful people within the YC community for us at Beacon. In particular, Dalton is someone that helped us when we got rejected after our first interview, stayed supportive, and always has actionable insight and advice. He's also just a legend. As to Alexis, I honestly don't understand how he does all the things he does - he's just going at like a million miles a minute. As high profile as he is, I actually think his value is underrated in the YC community.

alexis 12y ago
The secret is the cliche of having an amazing team around me who are awesome people + even harder-working than me. To wit: 2 years ago Kat was my right-hand and now she's a partner + runs outreach at YC.
- gailees 12y ago
  YC is #STACKED
7cupsoftea 12y ago
I wanted to quickly chime in here and second these thoughts. Dalton and Alexis have also been very helpful to 7 Cups of Tea. Dalton is always super fast to respond to emails. I've gone back and forth with him, asking lots of questions, and really drilling down to make sure I understand what he is suggesting. Without fail, he'll get back to me within a matter of hours and respond in-depth to my questions. I think his background in psychology and experience working with younger populations gives him very insightful perspectives. He is also very honest and supportive. Alexis is one of the people I most admire. The guy has real integrity. I think he understands what is truly important in life and lives in a manner that holds up these values. They are implicit in how he relates to others. He is also an amazing worker. I remember asking him for a consult on a Saturday morning. I was thinking we'd connect later on that next week. He got right back to me and called me on a Saturday morning. I apologized for bugging him and he said not to worry that if I'm working he is working. Then, to take things a step further, he connected me with Ashley Dawkins (his Outreach Director). She is also awesome, quick to respond, and very helpful. The last point I'll highlight is Alexis is really hopeful. Hope is pretty damn powerful and I think he gets that in manner that few people understand.

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suyash 12y ago

Can anyone explain how does YC's business model works? They seem to keep adding several more partners often. I would guess the current toll should be more than 50. Do these partners also invest their own money in YC or no?

TheMakeA 12y ago
Not sure where you got the number 50 from. There's a list of all of the full-time partners on the site[1], adding the ones today for 17, plus another handful of part-time partners (6 or so?). As far as I know, the partners help choose the startups to fund and advise them. I don't think they invest their own money (except maybe after Demo Day[2]), but choose how to invest YC's money at the start of each batch. [1] http://www.ycombinator.com/partners/ http://www.ycombinator.com/partners/ [2] http://blog.ycombinator.com/new-yc-partner-investment-policy http://blog.ycombinator.com/new-yc-partner-investment-policy
- suyash 12y ago
  Got it, yeah 50 was just a total guess.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

adamfeldman 12y ago

What does the YC software team hack on? Internal tools other than HN?

dang 12y ago
Yes. As well as HN itself, of course. Edit: plus outward-facing tools like YC applications, Startup School registrations, and so on.
sama 12y ago
roughly: HN, internal tools, and (soon) external tools
- sanswork 12y ago
  Any hints as to what we can expect in the last category?

icpmacdo 12y ago

Great job Alexis, although I thought you were already a partner :)

alexis 12y ago
Thanks. Nope - was Ambassador to the East! http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/01/reddit-cofounder-alexis-ohanian-to-join-y-combinator/ http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/01/reddit-cofounder-alexis-oha...

iancarroll 12y ago

Sorry, but I thought Dalton was already a partner? Did he join YC as another position and I'm mixing them up? edit: looks like he was part time, is he full time now?

dalton 12y ago
that is correct, I went from part-time partner to fulltime partner

habosa 12y ago

Do YC partners invest their own money into the batch, or do they just help to allocate a pool of YC money? "Partner" generally means that the person gets a share of the profits but I know the term is now used more loosely than that definition.

sama 12y ago
all YC partners get a share of the profits, and they help allocate the YC pool of money.

larrys 12y ago

Since HN is a site where one of the things that people learn through transparency is how different business models operate, it would be interesting to know (even roughly) how partners fit into the profits or payout from YC companies that succeed. In other words how profits are allocated.

jfornear 12y ago

Great adds for YC. I've worked for Dalton and can attest that he is one of the best product minds around — a real visionary. Psychology and systems thinking are some of the last uncommodotized tools in this industry and he has them.