mwseibel

14 ms·

121.
by mwseibel 10y ago
We consider every single application. There is no point in guessing what areas we are interested in. Assume we are interested in every industry and every type of product.
122.
by mwseibel 10y ago
both!
123.
by mwseibel 10y ago
Can you be more specific?
124.
by mwseibel 10y ago
Honestly, this is not how I think about YC. We don't spend a lot of time thinking about what is going to be "the rage". We are excited about funding great founders and some subset of what early stage founders are interested
125.
by mwseibel 10y ago
Short answer: yes. Longer answer: what business model do other products in your space use and why isn't that a good business model for you?
126.
by mwseibel 10y ago
Yes! Many companies get in on their second or third YC application. There is no penalty for applying more than once and in some cases it actually gives you an advantage.
127.
by mwseibel 10y ago
Luke is actually in the current YC batch. There will be a YC alum working with hardware companies in the next batch - announcement coming in the next month or so.
128.
by mwseibel 10y ago
It is not particularly important in and of itself. I would say though that if you have a product that people should buy (instead of using for free) the earlier you start charging the faster you will learn.
129.
by mwseibel 10y ago
Absolutely not!
130.
by mwseibel 10y ago
You can certainly get into YC pre-launch!
131.
by mwseibel 10y ago
There isn't a higher bar for international founders or companies working on a non-US market. The number one reason why companies don't apply to YC is cause they don't think they can get in. I think this applies double for in
132.
by mwseibel 10y ago
To be honest - it was impossible early on to see how Justin.tv (a guy wearing a camera on his head 24/7) or Airbnb (airbed rental) could turn into billion dollar companies. Often times we invest in great teams and just see what they c
133.
by mwseibel 10y ago
I'm really excited for the Startup School MOOC we are launching soon and excited about all the new software we are building to help the new YC batch and all the alumni. Most people don't realize how much of a software company YC
134.
by mwseibel 10y ago
I think that if you are bootstrapping cause you need to in order to pay the bills then that is totally fine. If you can work full-time on your startup and your are aren't - you should ask yourself why.
135.
by mwseibel 10y ago
I would say figure out what milestone in your business would convince you to go all in and strive for it. Your goal shouldn't be external validation. I know of no investor who is smart enough to tell with 100% accuracy whether you are
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by mwseibel 10y ago
Same here - thanks for the question :)
137.
by mwseibel 10y ago
The top 5 things I look for in an application are (in no particular order): 1) Can the team clearly communicate what they are working on? 2) Does the team have the technical talent to build and grow the v1 of their product? 3) Is the team
138.
by mwseibel 10y ago
Over 35% of the current batch is international (moved from outside of the US to participate in YC). Almost all of my startup friends from when I did YC came from outside of the Bay Area. One of the great things about YC (and why I'm
139.
by mwseibel 10y ago
At YC we don't have strongly held opinions on exactly how technology will develop over the next 10 years. We simply want to fund the strongest teams and help them accomplish their goals.
140.
by mwseibel 10y ago
While we prefer that a team have co-founders we regularly fund single founders. Also, we fund a wide range of companies from those who are just starting to those who are post-launch and have raised seed funding (and everything in between).
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by mwseibel 10y ago
(edited for tone) PG and Jessica are currently on sabbatical in the UK - after running YC for 10+ years they are taking a little break spend more time with their kids
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Michael Seibel, CEO of YC, is doing an AMA
243 points by mwseibel 10y ago|293 comments
143.
by mwseibel 10y ago
Wow - I'm not sure what you are basing that on but it can't be any knowledge of the current class.
144.
by mwseibel 10y ago
Well I was in the class of '07 and I can tell you that this is simply not true. Over the past 10 years YC has added many more mentors, there are many more alumni to help you and to seel to, their is significantly more experience behi
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by mwseibel 10y ago
as referenced in another comment: https://twitter.com/sama/status/821538708943880193 reply
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by mwseibel 10y ago
I'd like to know more about your experience - feel free to email me at michael@ycombinator.com
147.
by mwseibel 10y ago
In fact I sign all of YC visa recommendation letters so just want to give a +1 on this comment :)
148.
by mwseibel 10y ago
Do you mind elaborating on what that change of purpose? As a two-time alum and now a partner my goal is to preserve YC's goal of supporting early stage founders. How do you think our goal has changed and what thoughts do you have on
149.
by mwseibel 10y ago
I'm not sure I understand your point here. I'm currently working very hard with Adora (my co-group partner) to support the companies in our YC group. Advice, office hours, motivation, community build, and general availability.
150.
by mwseibel 10y ago
Unfortunately (I say unfortunately cause I wish this wasn't true), you are not correct. It is harder to get into YC now than it ever was before. While you are busy looking at the numerator (number of companies in the batch) - you are

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