sama

20 ms·

271.
by sama 11y ago
It's easy to do a good job running an organization that's winning, and very hard to go a good job running an organization that isn't winning. Takeway: if the company isn't doing well, figure out whatever short-term thing
272.
by sama 11y ago
So far we have supported AI and basic income research. We plan to do one more group soon, and then potentially one other later this year. We'll share more about them as we get closer--we advise startups not to pre-hype what they&#x27
273.
by sama 11y ago
Yes, definitely. We do remind founders to sleep, eat well, and exercise, and we have recommended therapists available (and we tell founders this is one of things that it's good to spend money on), but it's definitely an intense p
274.
by sama 11y ago
We're hoping to announce in a month or two :)
275.
by sama 11y ago
The only universal job description of a CEO is to make sure the company wins. There are a lot of ways to do that. The one thing that doesn't work is trying to act in a way that isn't your natural style. If you can figure out wha
276.
by sama 11y ago
Yes and yes.
277.
by sama 11y ago
We fund companies with no traction/revenue all the time, though the bar is higher. A really compelling idea is more important to us than traction or revenue. We understand how quickly exponential growth happens.
278.
by sama 11y ago
Sure!
279.
by sama 11y ago
Small. In general, we just look for progress commensurate with resources. If you've raised more money and been working on the company for longer, we expect more progress than if you've just started.
280.
by sama 11y ago
Work at a large tech company or a fast-growing startup.
281.
by sama 11y ago
Security is one of the areas we're most interested in, but we leave it to founders to show us the most promising sub-areas. We don't care about technical certifications. I forget which company it was, but some large tech company
282.
by sama 11y ago
You can apply with just an idea, but we have a bias towards people that get stuff done. The best founders usually build something early.
283.
by sama 11y ago
When a) it's not working and b) you are out of ideas on how to make it work.
284.
by sama 11y ago
All YC partners, and yes.
285.
by sama 11y ago
How to communicate well. How to think for yourself (and especially, what problems are worth solving that others are ignoring). How to build stuff (and especially, how to get things done instead of just talking about getting things done). Ho
286.
by sama 11y ago
The thing we look for the most is a small number of users that are super, super engaged with the product. Most new social networks we see point to their top-level growth of new users. These usually eventually fade. What you want instead is
287.
by sama 11y ago
We don't really do internships, but we've funded more than 1000 startups and many of them do. I'd suggest applying to internships at YC startups!
288.
by sama 11y ago
Yes! It's harder to build a product that people love than it is to figure out how to monetize it, so we're happy to take the risk there.
289.
by sama 11y ago
We've funded many companies on their second (or later) application. Dropbox is a well-known example. We do look at progress since the last application, but mostly because we like effective people. Great founders get stuff done.
290.
by sama 11y ago
Yes, it's the same application. I'd recommend applying for both.
291.
by sama 11y ago
You can definitely apply alone, though we recommend having a cofounder. Startups are very hard, and very emotionally draining, and so it's really helpful to have someone else to share the workload with. That said, we fund solo founders
292.
I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA
429 points by sama 11y ago|725 comments
293.
by sama 11y ago
It's definitely had a big effect at late stages. Early stages may not have been mis-priced, or it just may take longer to filter down. We don't know yet.
294.
by sama 11y ago
Thanks but doing a lot of things is at best neutral; at worst it distracts you and you miss the next Airbnb (though on the inside at least, it feels like we say no to a LOT of thing we could do).
295.
by sama 11y ago
Thanks for your feedback, really appreciate it.
296.
by sama 11y ago
Thank you all. Hard to pick...
297.
by sama 11y ago
Anything goes.
298.
Ask HN: What should we fund at YC Research?
316 points by sama 11y ago|522 comments
299.
by sama 11y ago
Yep--I'd love it if we could fund some high-density housing work. I also think it's a (for me, other people prioritize different things) good way to live.
300.
by sama 11y ago
Yes--driving down the cost of housing is one of the things I think about the most. It seems so critical to the whole equation.

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