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The 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 t
by sama 11y ago
The 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 11y 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 11y ago> these perception problems Why should YC care about your perception problems?