3 ms·
No doubt a step in the direction of the Ivy League style of biased selection. Sure, you can say (and mean) that non related people still have a chance to get in
by soneca 12y ago
No doubt a step in the direction of the Ivy League style of biased selection. Sure, you can say (and mean) that non related people still have a chance to get in, but this action spoke louder than the words.
I not saying YC is elitist, because the since-the-beginning action of actually reading ALL applications, no matter from who, says a lot about the meaning to accept people with no connection at all to YC ecossystem.
But, said that, this announced action is a step on the opposite direction. I would appreciate another step in the direction of "we give a fair chance to not well connected people". Maybe some active recruiting actions on other places outside Silicon Valley.
As a double counter-example, 500startups do a lot of active recruiting outside USA. But, at least in Brazil, to have a real chance on getting in, you need the personal approval of a particular individual (Beddy Yang) to endorse your application. Having an application from Brazil, with no endorsement from this person, is as good as not applying at all.
So solve one problem, but creating another to the openness of the selection process.
- mildbow 12y agoWell. YC is elitist. At some point, just based on volume you have to be selective in a way that's perceived as being elitist. You have 5 applicants. They all look great/same. One of them has a reference you can trust. OF COURSE you weigh that. Why wouldn't you use a signal if you thought it might make a difference? The fix from the applicants side isn't to try to put that in your resume (it's just a nice to have, hardly worth the X years it will take out of you life). The fix is to differentiate yourself in terms of product and traction because that's the only way completely within your control. ps: I agree with the general gist of your comment though :)
- sama 12y agoThe great majority of people we fund have no connection to us whatsoever. YC partners do dozens of events every year in the US and dozens more in the rest of the world to reach out to people we don't have any connection to. A great idea, product, market, traction, etc. will always carry more weight than anything else. As much as there is any single secret to YC's success (other than not having a coworking space), being willing to talk to people with no connection to us is it. That said, we definitely take note of recommendations from YC founders about great people they've worked with, and we should be upfront about that. Also, we think announcing this will help YC companies recruit, and anything we can do to help YC companies we like to do.
- sparkzilla 12y agoHi Sam, I hope you will consider solving these perception problems by making a more transparent and open application process, that weighs the value of each attribute on the application. The question being, for example, how much more does a good idea carry weight than a personal connection? Or how much more does a good team carry more weight than a limited, but clear market focus? This is surely something that you do internally when making your choice, and I think there is no harm in expressing it externally. It will help you attract more of what you want, while giving potential applicants more information about what you want. Personally, I felt frustrated in my last YC application that other teams with seemingly lesser abilities and project scope were accepted over our application, and it would be good for all concerned to be able to provide better feedback than simply, "we make mistakes sometimes'.
- SamReidHughes 12y ago> these perception problems Why should YC care about your perception problems?
- fiatmoney 12y agoIronically, the Ivy League has been fantastically successful as an ongoing financial concern (see, eg, the growth of Harvard's endowment over time).