16 ms·

YC Demo Day Session 1

120 points by TheMakeA 12y ago

napoleoncomplex 12y ago
I loved it when they started including non-profits, and I'm loving that they're including biotech/medical now. They (Gingko/Glowing Plant/Bikanta) sound insane and very risky, which is exactly the ideas the best incubator in the world should be funding. Casual observation, none of the above describe themselves as "X for Y".
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
  - bherms 12y ago
    Check out www.soothe.com Uber for massage. Currently in LA operating for a year, expanding across the country over the next few months.
  - napoleoncomplex 12y ago
    Sorry for the confusion, I meant from the 3 biotechs I mentioned. There's plenty of X for Y among the others, you're right.
- TheMakeA 12y ago
  Honest question: Is $120k really that big of a risk when you're already giving away money for free to non-profits?
  - napoleoncomplex 12y ago
    It isn't, but the abundance of funding cash everywhere hasn't really translated into more insane (technically) ideas being funded lately, YC or elsewhere. At least that's been my impression, and it feels like YC is changing that with their recent batches.
    - pinkyand 12y ago
      I don't know. Could it be that rich angels are already investing small amounts of money into crazy tech startups ,but nobody hears about that ?
pptr1 12y ago
I can't figure out the reason why some of these companies got selected into YC. I can see why Bikanta, Helion Energy, Ginkgo Bioworks, BitAccess, and ProductHunt might get in. However, some other companies look like run of the mill startup. I use non-YC companies on https://news.ycombinator.com/show https://news.ycombinator.com/show, ProductHunt, and AngelList for comparison. In comparison the quality signal of recent YC companies (the ones not mentioned above and some others) is not that high* compared to Non YC companies. I looked at the profile of the founders, their twitter and github pages and most importantly the product; nothing stands out so much. *I am not saying the YC companies are bad, I am just saying they seem to be of the same quality as what is out there. I would expect recent YC companies to have a higher quality signal than what is out there.
- soneca 12y ago
  Well, YC often brags about how they learned to select the right people. So there will be the difference. Also, you are over estimating your ability to detect the quality of a startup from public signals. I don't think it is that easy to identify which company will win on a specific sector based on profile of the founders, their twitter, github pages and the product. If YC companies were such an obvious choice for an acceleration, there would be a lot more of YCs around.
- justplay 12y ago
  100% true. I guess the top voted HN product/startup either don't choose YC or may be something like that. huh, can't say anything. YC claim that they put money on founder rather then product,i am sure they have seen something certainly.
- 6thSigma 12y ago
  It's important to keep in mind YC was judging these companies based on their long term goals, whereas we can only judge them based on their version 1.0.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
alexchamberlain 12y ago
>> Backpack is a company that arbitrages the cost of goods in different countries by using international travelers as a distribution network I don't understand this one - with a world focused on security and import taxes, how does this work out?
- ISL 12y ago
  Furthermore, it looks like the traveler takes on all the risk for damage/theft during transport. Even with the risks and paying all applicable duties, there should be some products where this idea can help to cap the maximum-possible regional differential pricing schemes; the invisible hand made visible.
- lazyant 12y ago
  I'm pretty sure bringing new goods with the intention of selling need to pay taxes in many/most countries, I wouldn't put my name/face as a testimonial on this site.
- benologist 12y ago
  Many airports only do spot checks on bags and they're specifically looking for their own citizens smuggling locally-expensive luxuries in by the suitcase. This will be a short-lived company because if you have a significant volume of stuff you don't declare you will either be taxed on the spot or arrested. If you have a discrete amount of stuff then you'd need eg, 5 or 6 people to fulfill an order for 10 iphones, and if 1 of them eats a $1000 customs bill the entire order approaches worthless.
  - alexchamberlain 12y ago
    It is encouraging illegal activity, though, correct?
    - benologist 12y ago
      Yes. The entire purpose is to save money by not paying taxes on items by illegally not declaring those items when you enter a country. It may break US exporting laws and embargos, or international laws too. It's almost certain the founders and everyone near them is going to end up arrested and probably imprisoned like any other smuggling organization.
vishalzone2002 12y ago
isnt theorem and greentoe very similar?
- excellentpants 12y ago
  It certainly looks that way. Perhaps YC is trying to hedge their "name-your-price" bets by accepting two businesses with this pricing model?
- ScottBurson 12y ago
  "Theorem"?? What an awful name for a retail business!
- jmarrapodi 12y ago
  Market pricing is coming to retail. YC is smart enough to realize this.
mind_heist 12y ago
- If there is a lot of risk involved in carrying stuff through backpack , does it offer a certain insurance policy for the travelers ? What if the product gets seized by customs ? or you are levied a large unexpected fine ? The service doesnt seem to offer any advice on these at all.
- benologist 12y ago
  A few things can happen. You can be charged the appropriate tax, which can be on-the-spot hundreds or thousands of dollars. This is not a fine, this is just the tax you are required to pay to enter the country with those items. This is generally the outcome when you have eg, a new laptop plus your old laptop. You can also be fined, arrested and imprisoned for smuggling. This is what you can expect if you have 4 laptops and 3 iphones in addition to your own and you didn't declare anything to customs. Foreigners have a higher chance of talking their way out of it as long as there's some plausible reason why you have so much "personal stuff". Chances are fantastic you'll go to prison if they find you work for a smuggling ring, like if your photo is on backpackbang.com as one of their mules.
  - mind_heist 12y ago
    Reading all of the other comments ; this sounds pretty illegal right - Why would YC back the start up in that case ?
    - benologist 12y ago
      If you don't travel a lot you probably just don't know. I've filled two passports. I've technically smuggled lots of stuff for myself including a computer I specifically flew to Chicago from Costa Rica to buy as it was cheaper. Edit: actually if you don't have yourself/friends/family in poor countries so you're aware of the local prices you could be completely unaware of this stuff and the tax/legal obligations for importing them.
      - mind_heist 12y ago
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
kyro 12y ago
YC is getting involved in some serious tech and markets. Long gone are the days of web apps. Deep insight, experience, and skill in today's heavyweight industries are what matter now. Really happy to see this change and very impressed with the first portion of this batch.
- bellerocky 12y ago
  Web apps and other software tech can scale really quickly. I'm not so sure fusion plants and fission batteries can scale as quickly.
- pinkyand 12y ago
  What does YC bring to tech heavy startups except connections to funding ? because most of the risk there is technology risk , not market risk, and YC is no tech expert at those subjects.
  - boomzilla 12y ago
    Connections to funding and talents. It's not easy to find a group of tens of thousand engineers, and which has very high opinion of YC.
  - jonnathanson 12y ago
    There is plenty of technology risk and market risk in hard-tech companies. A business with R&D cycles, long lead times, and heavy capex requirements is going to face a substantial amount of both types of risk.
Cakez0r 12y ago
I'd be interested in trying out MTailor if they had an Android client and will ship to England. Is an Android client in the works?
- rwitten 12y ago
  Yep - an Android app is in the works (probably 3-4 months out). We're happy to ship to England.
hyp0 12y ago
whoa, backpack is classic airb&b/uber-style YC: compelling demand + scary pushback. For bonus fireworks, do it for textbooks.
aganders3 12y ago
TicketLabs will have an uphill battle against TicketMaster, but man do I hope they succeed.
- Jemaclus 12y ago
  How do they combat the scalper problem? I don't see anything on the website... Any ideas?
  - aganders3 12y ago
    Not sure. Maybe tickets live only on your phone and are non-transferable?
- mind_heist 12y ago
  How is Ticketmaster Evil in the first place ? Do they pocket a lot of commission ?
  - aganders3 12y ago
    I can't speak to their overhead, but the fees certainly seem excessive and in some cases insulting (e.g. at-home ticket printing convenience fees). They have also been criticized, sued, and investigated for anti-trust practices. In fairness, I don't think any of these challenges have been successful (though some have been settled and the terms are not public).
    - mind_heist 12y ago
      Hmm .. Fair enough ! I do recollect paying more for being able to print at home (or) to get it on the mobile app. But what's evil on the side of the musicians . Do they get swindled like this too ?
      - aganders3 12y ago
        My (very limited) understanding of the lawsuits brought by musicians is that it stems from a desire (by the artist) to keep ticket prices low. TicketMaster has exclusive contracts with many venues, preventing artists from selling tickets directly to fans or through other ticketing services.
chvid 12y ago
I am the only who is thinking that we most be near the end of a cycle when the business ideas become more and more blantly illegal? I mean: Backpack - tax evasion. Unwind Me - the world's oldest profession. Here are two new ideas for the next round at ycombinator: Wind me up - natural herbs and mushrooms for expanding your mind brought to you in an anonymous brown package at the confort of your home. Not sure where you are? Don't worry - our iPhone app is location aware. Smackpack - having trouble with your neighbours? We send two guys to talk with them about the noise they made last night or collect any debt they may have incurred. Use our welldesigned iPhone app with in-app purchases and referral programmes.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- mind_heist 12y ago
  Well, I guess thats a pretty harsh take on unwind.me Has there been any reports of such things happening ..? using unwind me .. You could make a similar statement about AirBnb too.
  - chvid 12y ago
    I have no idea wrt. the concrete company. I was making a general / humorous comment. But don't be naive about the message industry - in the big tabloid newspapers which are by numbers the biggest newspapers - the section with message advertisement is huge. It takes a big industry with plenty of money to buy those ads. While you can probably get a kosher message at some of the places - sleeze is what creates the money. For an electronic version of these tabloid ads to be profitable and have airbnb-style growth they would have to tap into that market regardless of them starting off with a more polished front.
- joshmlewis 12y ago
  You named two out of the dozens of companies funded as your examples. Of the two you named you are assuming unwind.me is a cover for sexual services. Have any proof of this? No, you don't. It's quite disrespectful to people in that profession to assume doing their job will turn into offering sexual services. Come on. And what about tax evasion? You still pay taxes on the items that are bought. The point is getting access to items not normally available in other countries for international shipping. Again, any proof of tax evasion? I don't think so. Take your negative comments to Reddit or 4chan where you can mindlessly share mindless opinions with no merit. This isn't the place for that. If you want to have a productive discussion, offer some proof to back up your wild claims.
tabrischen 12y ago
Just ordered my glowing plant seeds today, really excited to see how it turns out.

120 points by TheMakeA 12y ago

I loved it when they started including non-profits, and I'm loving that they're including biotech/medical now. They (Gingko/Glowing Plant/Bikanta) sound insane and very risky, which is exactly the ideas the best incubator in the world should be funding. Casual observation, none of the above describe themselves as "X for Y".

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
- bherms 12y ago
  Check out www.soothe.com Uber for massage. Currently in LA operating for a year, expanding across the country over the next few months.
- napoleoncomplex 12y ago
  Sorry for the confusion, I meant from the 3 biotechs I mentioned. There's plenty of X for Y among the others, you're right.
TheMakeA 12y ago
Honest question: Is $120k really that big of a risk when you're already giving away money for free to non-profits?
- napoleoncomplex 12y ago
  It isn't, but the abundance of funding cash everywhere hasn't really translated into more insane (technically) ideas being funded lately, YC or elsewhere. At least that's been my impression, and it feels like YC is changing that with their recent batches.
  - pinkyand 12y ago
    I don't know. Could it be that rich angels are already investing small amounts of money into crazy tech startups ,but nobody hears about that ?

pptr1 12y ago

I can't figure out the reason why some of these companies got selected into YC. I can see why Bikanta, Helion Energy, Ginkgo Bioworks, BitAccess, and ProductHunt might get in. However, some other companies look like run of the mill startup. I use non-YC companies on https://news.ycombinator.com/show https://news.ycombinator.com/show, ProductHunt, and AngelList for comparison. In comparison the quality signal of recent YC companies (the ones not mentioned above and some others) is not that high* compared to Non YC companies. I looked at the profile of the founders, their twitter and github pages and most importantly the product; nothing stands out so much. *I am not saying the YC companies are bad, I am just saying they seem to be of the same quality as what is out there. I would expect recent YC companies to have a higher quality signal than what is out there.

soneca 12y ago
Well, YC often brags about how they learned to select the right people. So there will be the difference. Also, you are over estimating your ability to detect the quality of a startup from public signals. I don't think it is that easy to identify which company will win on a specific sector based on profile of the founders, their twitter, github pages and the product. If YC companies were such an obvious choice for an acceleration, there would be a lot more of YCs around.
justplay 12y ago
100% true. I guess the top voted HN product/startup either don't choose YC or may be something like that. huh, can't say anything. YC claim that they put money on founder rather then product,i am sure they have seen something certainly.
6thSigma 12y ago
It's important to keep in mind YC was judging these companies based on their long term goals, whereas we can only judge them based on their version 1.0.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]

alexchamberlain 12y ago

>> Backpack is a company that arbitrages the cost of goods in different countries by using international travelers as a distribution network I don't understand this one - with a world focused on security and import taxes, how does this work out?

ISL 12y ago
Furthermore, it looks like the traveler takes on all the risk for damage/theft during transport. Even with the risks and paying all applicable duties, there should be some products where this idea can help to cap the maximum-possible regional differential pricing schemes; the invisible hand made visible.
lazyant 12y ago
I'm pretty sure bringing new goods with the intention of selling need to pay taxes in many/most countries, I wouldn't put my name/face as a testimonial on this site.
benologist 12y ago
Many airports only do spot checks on bags and they're specifically looking for their own citizens smuggling locally-expensive luxuries in by the suitcase. This will be a short-lived company because if you have a significant volume of stuff you don't declare you will either be taxed on the spot or arrested. If you have a discrete amount of stuff then you'd need eg, 5 or 6 people to fulfill an order for 10 iphones, and if 1 of them eats a $1000 customs bill the entire order approaches worthless.
- alexchamberlain 12y ago
  It is encouraging illegal activity, though, correct?
  - benologist 12y ago
    Yes. The entire purpose is to save money by not paying taxes on items by illegally not declaring those items when you enter a country. It may break US exporting laws and embargos, or international laws too. It's almost certain the founders and everyone near them is going to end up arrested and probably imprisoned like any other smuggling organization.

vishalzone2002 12y ago

isnt theorem and greentoe very similar?

excellentpants 12y ago
It certainly looks that way. Perhaps YC is trying to hedge their "name-your-price" bets by accepting two businesses with this pricing model?
ScottBurson 12y ago
"Theorem"?? What an awful name for a retail business!
jmarrapodi 12y ago
Market pricing is coming to retail. YC is smart enough to realize this.

mind_heist 12y ago

- If there is a lot of risk involved in carrying stuff through backpack , does it offer a certain insurance policy for the travelers ? What if the product gets seized by customs ? or you are levied a large unexpected fine ? The service doesnt seem to offer any advice on these at all.

benologist 12y ago
A few things can happen. You can be charged the appropriate tax, which can be on-the-spot hundreds or thousands of dollars. This is not a fine, this is just the tax you are required to pay to enter the country with those items. This is generally the outcome when you have eg, a new laptop plus your old laptop. You can also be fined, arrested and imprisoned for smuggling. This is what you can expect if you have 4 laptops and 3 iphones in addition to your own and you didn't declare anything to customs. Foreigners have a higher chance of talking their way out of it as long as there's some plausible reason why you have so much "personal stuff". Chances are fantastic you'll go to prison if they find you work for a smuggling ring, like if your photo is on backpackbang.com as one of their mules.
- mind_heist 12y ago
  Reading all of the other comments ; this sounds pretty illegal right - Why would YC back the start up in that case ?
  - benologist 12y ago
    If you don't travel a lot you probably just don't know. I've filled two passports. I've technically smuggled lots of stuff for myself including a computer I specifically flew to Chicago from Costa Rica to buy as it was cheaper. Edit: actually if you don't have yourself/friends/family in poor countries so you're aware of the local prices you could be completely unaware of this stuff and the tax/legal obligations for importing them.
    - mind_heist 12y ago

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

kyro 12y ago

YC is getting involved in some serious tech and markets. Long gone are the days of web apps. Deep insight, experience, and skill in today's heavyweight industries are what matter now. Really happy to see this change and very impressed with the first portion of this batch.

bellerocky 12y ago
Web apps and other software tech can scale really quickly. I'm not so sure fusion plants and fission batteries can scale as quickly.
pinkyand 12y ago
What does YC bring to tech heavy startups except connections to funding ? because most of the risk there is technology risk , not market risk, and YC is no tech expert at those subjects.
- boomzilla 12y ago
  Connections to funding and talents. It's not easy to find a group of tens of thousand engineers, and which has very high opinion of YC.
- jonnathanson 12y ago
  There is plenty of technology risk and market risk in hard-tech companies. A business with R&D cycles, long lead times, and heavy capex requirements is going to face a substantial amount of both types of risk.

Cakez0r 12y ago

I'd be interested in trying out MTailor if they had an Android client and will ship to England. Is an Android client in the works?

rwitten 12y ago
Yep - an Android app is in the works (probably 3-4 months out). We're happy to ship to England.

hyp0 12y ago

whoa, backpack is classic airb&b/uber-style YC: compelling demand + scary pushback. For bonus fireworks, do it for textbooks.

aganders3 12y ago

TicketLabs will have an uphill battle against TicketMaster, but man do I hope they succeed.

Jemaclus 12y ago
How do they combat the scalper problem? I don't see anything on the website... Any ideas?
- aganders3 12y ago
  Not sure. Maybe tickets live only on your phone and are non-transferable?
mind_heist 12y ago
How is Ticketmaster Evil in the first place ? Do they pocket a lot of commission ?
- aganders3 12y ago
  I can't speak to their overhead, but the fees certainly seem excessive and in some cases insulting (e.g. at-home ticket printing convenience fees). They have also been criticized, sued, and investigated for anti-trust practices. In fairness, I don't think any of these challenges have been successful (though some have been settled and the terms are not public).
  - mind_heist 12y ago
    Hmm .. Fair enough ! I do recollect paying more for being able to print at home (or) to get it on the mobile app. But what's evil on the side of the musicians . Do they get swindled like this too ?
    - aganders3 12y ago
      My (very limited) understanding of the lawsuits brought by musicians is that it stems from a desire (by the artist) to keep ticket prices low. TicketMaster has exclusive contracts with many venues, preventing artists from selling tickets directly to fans or through other ticketing services.

chvid 12y ago

I am the only who is thinking that we most be near the end of a cycle when the business ideas become more and more blantly illegal? I mean: Backpack - tax evasion. Unwind Me - the world's oldest profession. Here are two new ideas for the next round at ycombinator: Wind me up - natural herbs and mushrooms for expanding your mind brought to you in an anonymous brown package at the confort of your home. Not sure where you are? Don't worry - our iPhone app is location aware. Smackpack - having trouble with your neighbours? We send two guys to talk with them about the noise they made last night or collect any debt they may have incurred. Use our welldesigned iPhone app with in-app purchases and referral programmes.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
mind_heist 12y ago
Well, I guess thats a pretty harsh take on unwind.me Has there been any reports of such things happening ..? using unwind me .. You could make a similar statement about AirBnb too.
- chvid 12y ago
  I have no idea wrt. the concrete company. I was making a general / humorous comment. But don't be naive about the message industry - in the big tabloid newspapers which are by numbers the biggest newspapers - the section with message advertisement is huge. It takes a big industry with plenty of money to buy those ads. While you can probably get a kosher message at some of the places - sleeze is what creates the money. For an electronic version of these tabloid ads to be profitable and have airbnb-style growth they would have to tap into that market regardless of them starting off with a more polished front.
joshmlewis 12y ago
You named two out of the dozens of companies funded as your examples. Of the two you named you are assuming unwind.me is a cover for sexual services. Have any proof of this? No, you don't. It's quite disrespectful to people in that profession to assume doing their job will turn into offering sexual services. Come on. And what about tax evasion? You still pay taxes on the items that are bought. The point is getting access to items not normally available in other countries for international shipping. Again, any proof of tax evasion? I don't think so. Take your negative comments to Reddit or 4chan where you can mindlessly share mindless opinions with no merit. This isn't the place for that. If you want to have a productive discussion, offer some proof to back up your wild claims.

tabrischen 12y ago

Just ordered my glowing plant seeds today, really excited to see how it turns out.