5 ms·

As a Techstars graduate, to say "the 2nd best accelerator might as well be the worse" is an inconsiderate hyperbole. Especially if your only perspective is Y Co

by pxlpshr 12y ago

As a Techstars graduate, to say "the 2nd best accelerator might as well be the worse" is an inconsiderate hyperbole. Especially if your only perspective is Y Combinator. Relocating to SF is awesome if that fits your bill or your originating city has no idea what technology means. But for others, SF is not everything. That was the primary reason we opted for Techstars. We like Austin's cost of living, quality of life, seasonal climate, no state income tax, family & friends, and the list goes on.

MatthewB 12y ago
Exactly...unnecessary statement and makes the writer look amateur. There are plenty of great accelerators out there that aren't YC. Sure, YC is the "Harvard of Accelerators" but there are plenty of other great colleges out there with successful alumni.
rvcamo 12y ago
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It's a bold statement, but it's my personal opinion and I stand by it. You're free to disagree, but we would have never even considered another accelerator in our position.
- minimaxir 12y ago
  There's a difference between making a bold statement and making a statement based solely on confirmation bias.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- hkailahi 12y ago
  It makes you sound insecure. You don't have to rip other people's work to legitimize your own. That's just childish. I believe YC is the best as well, but I still respect what the others are doing.
- BinaryIdiot 12y ago
  > we would have never even considered another accelerator in our position. Judging by your blog entry your resources were extremely strained; are you saying if YCombinator wouldn't have accepted you that you wouldn't have pursued any other accelerators even if it would have helped or possibly saved your business if it got bad enough? Seems like a short-sighted statement in my opinion. What if you want to start another company in 3 years, don't get accepted to YCombinator and decide to apply elsewhere? They may read this and use it as a deciding factor.
  - rvcamo 12y ago
    1. No I would have delivered pizzas, done consulting, or tried to raise money from individual angels. I would have done whatever it took to keep the company alive, but I can promise we would have never even considered another accelerator. 2. I will never apply to another accelerator.
    - BinaryIdiot 12y ago
      Fair enough
  - tptacek 12y ago
    They may read this and use it as a deciding factor. Alternatively, they may have already graduated high school.
    - BinaryIdiot 12y ago
      > Alternatively, they may have already graduated high school. I personally wouldn't care but I've talked to a handful of VCs in my time that were very into their firm that would take any slight against them or their firm as some egregious, unrecoverable thing. Very unreasonable people at times hence my comment.
- pauleastlund 12y ago
  But... you've got no experience with any other accelerators on which to base that opinion. Uninformed and unrepentantly incendiary is not a great combination. I'm not saying you're wrong for feeling this way about YC. You aren't. Everyone has opinions they haven't bothered to verify with data, some of which might rub other people the right way. The trick is remembering that they're probably not worth sharing to a large audience, or stridently defending.
- pxlpshr 12y ago
  You are entitled to that opinion. I agree that Y Combinator is the best, especially for those that are really hungry to win and can make the most out of its unstructured program. YC gives you access to the best. However, I don't believe accelerators #2-10 are the worst in the world. Which I also think is a disingenuous statement. To others.. things like location, industry relevance, program structure, etc. is a better fit for them or their team. I have friends that have gone through YC and failed miserably. I friends that have gone through TS and have succeeded greatly, by YC standards. Does the market have too many accelerators that offer little-to-no value? Yes.
tptacek 12y ago
YC doesn't require you to relocate to SFBA. It requires you to be present for the very limited duration of the program. There are YC companies in Austin.

by pxlpshr 12y ago

MatthewB 12y ago

Exactly...unnecessary statement and makes the writer look amateur. There are plenty of great accelerators out there that aren't YC. Sure, YC is the "Harvard of Accelerators" but there are plenty of other great colleges out there with successful alumni.

rvcamo 12y ago

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It's a bold statement, but it's my personal opinion and I stand by it. You're free to disagree, but we would have never even considered another accelerator in our position.

minimaxir 12y ago
There's a difference between making a bold statement and making a statement based solely on confirmation bias.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
hkailahi 12y ago
It makes you sound insecure. You don't have to rip other people's work to legitimize your own. That's just childish. I believe YC is the best as well, but I still respect what the others are doing.
BinaryIdiot 12y ago
> we would have never even considered another accelerator in our position. Judging by your blog entry your resources were extremely strained; are you saying if YCombinator wouldn't have accepted you that you wouldn't have pursued any other accelerators even if it would have helped or possibly saved your business if it got bad enough? Seems like a short-sighted statement in my opinion. What if you want to start another company in 3 years, don't get accepted to YCombinator and decide to apply elsewhere? They may read this and use it as a deciding factor.
- rvcamo 12y ago
  1. No I would have delivered pizzas, done consulting, or tried to raise money from individual angels. I would have done whatever it took to keep the company alive, but I can promise we would have never even considered another accelerator. 2. I will never apply to another accelerator.
  - BinaryIdiot 12y ago
    Fair enough
- tptacek 12y ago
  They may read this and use it as a deciding factor. Alternatively, they may have already graduated high school.
  - BinaryIdiot 12y ago
    > Alternatively, they may have already graduated high school. I personally wouldn't care but I've talked to a handful of VCs in my time that were very into their firm that would take any slight against them or their firm as some egregious, unrecoverable thing. Very unreasonable people at times hence my comment.
pauleastlund 12y ago
But... you've got no experience with any other accelerators on which to base that opinion. Uninformed and unrepentantly incendiary is not a great combination. I'm not saying you're wrong for feeling this way about YC. You aren't. Everyone has opinions they haven't bothered to verify with data, some of which might rub other people the right way. The trick is remembering that they're probably not worth sharing to a large audience, or stridently defending.
pxlpshr 12y ago
You are entitled to that opinion. I agree that Y Combinator is the best, especially for those that are really hungry to win and can make the most out of its unstructured program. YC gives you access to the best. However, I don't believe accelerators #2-10 are the worst in the world. Which I also think is a disingenuous statement. To others.. things like location, industry relevance, program structure, etc. is a better fit for them or their team. I have friends that have gone through YC and failed miserably. I friends that have gone through TS and have succeeded greatly, by YC standards. Does the market have too many accelerators that offer little-to-no value? Yes.

tptacek 12y ago

YC doesn't require you to relocate to SFBA. It requires you to be present for the very limited duration of the program. There are YC companies in Austin.