sama

42 ms·

571.
by sama 12y ago
A prototype helps a lot. Traction helps too, but we tried not to get fooled by graphs. In fact, I always ask the other interviewers "would we fund this company if they had no traction at all?" To fund a company with nothing built
572.
by sama 12y ago
Yes. If you reapply with the same idea, the first thing we look at is progress since last time.
573.
by sama 12y ago
We don't have outside investors, so there isn't fee or carry. Our returns are very good (triple digit IRR) but still mostly unrealized.
574.
by sama 12y ago
Yes, though not if you live the lifestyle many engineers at startups choose to :)
575.
by sama 12y ago
Ideas look niche when the companies are starting out. As Peter Thiel says, you first want to dominate a small market. Most great companies were derided for focusing on a small niche when they first started. I think the average age has rise
576.
by sama 12y ago
The big problem is a 4 or 5 person founding team. That's a high bar to get over (but possible, one startup I really like in this batch has 5 founders). Be so good we can't ignore you.
577.
by sama 12y ago
I was going to work on my startup either way. I had a plan B investor that would have been not nearly as good.
578.
by sama 12y ago
That particular startup is building rockets, so no.
579.
by sama 12y ago
Talk to users, and tell us what you learn from them.
580.
by sama 12y ago
can you send me an email?
581.
by sama 12y ago
I think it's because startups have to make small changes to their idea several times per day. Very short cycle times do best with in-person interaction.
582.
by sama 12y ago
Make it clear in your application you're going to spend 100% of your time on this new business.
583.
by sama 12y ago
Yes, you do. We always ask how long the cofounders have known each other.
584.
by sama 12y ago
It's a personal choice for workers. If you're an engineer and you want a guaranteed $250k per year, go work for a financial firm. Nothing wrong with that decision. Everyone gets to make his or her own. Engineers at startups mak
585.
by sama 12y ago
One gets made for each batch. Apply!
586.
by sama 12y ago
I think I was the one to say that. Working in finance is an easier and more predictable way to make a lot of money, as long as you can deal with the deep existential angst the comes from adding no value to the world :)
587.
by sama 12y ago
It's out of our area of expertise, but again, if we can understand why it might be a $10B company, we'll fund it.
588.
by sama 12y ago
It does indeed only work for big sites. It's not the only model, but it was one that is proven and easy to understand.
589.
by sama 12y ago
I need to book a trip soon. Maybe in May.
590.
by sama 12y ago
You could, there's not much downside and you can reapply if you don't get it. But your chances sound significantly higher for the the next batch.
591.
by sama 12y ago
Blah blah something about herding cats blah blah.
592.
by sama 12y ago
It's a flat partnership--we all get the same economics (including me). If you want a salary, it trades off against your equity. Part-time partners get less equity and spend less time on YC.
593.
by sama 12y ago
Very little.
594.
by sama 12y ago
Yes, in general about 3 partners, sometimes many more. We are very rigorous about maintaining quality and compute lots of statistics on this.
595.
by sama 12y ago
No, but we help with immigration issues.
596.
by sama 12y ago
In general, I think fixed equity splits WITH VESTING are the way to go. Probably the optimal split is something like 51/49 (to prevent deadlocking) or 33.3/33.3/33.3 but anything near even is good enough.
597.
by sama 12y ago
The apparent cause is running out of money, but the real cause is failing to build something users love. It is usually apparent in the first 6 months, but not always. Another big cause is cofounder tension.
598.
by sama 12y ago
I still want to fund a lot of AI companies.
599.
by sama 12y ago
We really prefer at least two founders, but it's not a deal-breaker. We funded Drew Houston of Dropbox as a solo founder, but he got a cofounder before the batch started. A bad cofounder is far, far worse than no cofounder. I'd s
600.
by sama 12y ago
Sure. When I was running my startup, we got catastrophic news that the first big customer in the space (Boost Mobile) was signing a deal with a competitor instead of with us. This would have killed us. The competitor was a much larger and

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