sama

11 ms·

91.
by sama 10y ago
We have discussed trying a remote group through the YC batch. Although we're all varying degrees of skeptical, I think it's worth a try. As you point out, there are (some) good reasons that MV doesn't make sense, like your cu
92.
by sama 10y ago
You raise very good points. The future will either be great or terrible--I think an intermediate outcome is unlikely. I think it's a super exciting time to be alive, but I feel the shared sense of responsibility most others do to do e
93.
by sama 10y ago
I honestly think it's a valid comment. If I see something from someone I don't think has anything to teach me (though I try to be charitable in that determination), I just don't read it.
94.
by sama 10y ago
Thank you for telling me!
95.
by sama 10y ago
As a very rough guess I'd say around 6000. I expect we will interview around 450 in person and video interviews with more.
96.
by sama 10y ago
That's really a tough one. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this without a good answer. Sorry :(
97.
by sama 10y ago
I think it's good that different people try different approaches, but also good that we do what we're good at what we believe in. If it turns out it's better to offer part-time startup accelerators, then the market will speak
98.
by sama 10y ago
We all use different orders.
99.
by sama 10y ago
You should apply if you think the company will be worth ~7% more if you do YC that it would be worth if you do it on your own. If you could make a $10B company on your own, but doing YC could make it be a $20B company, then it would obvious
100.
by sama 10y ago
We do this in exceptional circumstances, but maybe only once per batch (as far as I know, we didn't do it at all last batch). I think YC adds far more than 7% of value to companies we fund. And I hate negotiating/conflict.
101.
by sama 10y ago
I think it's a consequence of technology but a real challenge for society. I think the right goal is probably to eliminate poverty--conceptually, I like the idea of a guaranteed floor but no ceiling. I'm very interested in basic
102.
by sama 10y ago
I think China is probably the second most interesting startup market to me in the world right now (after Silicon Valley).
103.
by sama 10y ago
I generally have very broad but very shallow knowledge. It's helpful because I can screen a lot of different kinds of companies very quickly. If I feel out of my depth I usually know a smart person I can ask to go deep. But one of th
104.
by sama 10y ago
We'd be delighted to fund an Indian company trying to build something for the entire world. My general criticism of non-US startups (this is very general and there are important exceptions) is that too many are building the <<US
105.
by sama 10y ago
The East Coast is not the first place I'd go to find more people who want to focus on solving larger problems. If anything, I think I'd probably go further west...
106.
by sama 10y ago
The decline has been pretty precipitous. I'm still fairly bullish myself and hold a lot of bitcoin. I think this is a far, far better time to go long bitcoin or start a bitcoin company than 2014, for many reasons including that the hy
107.
by sama 10y ago
The first thing I look at for people reapplying is still the video, but the second is what has changed since the last application. Alumni recommendations are useful if they're strong, but neutral or slightly negative if they're we
108.
by sama 10y ago
One of the most important life skills is to get good at taking rejection and failure and then picking yourself back up and continuing. If you are going to run a big company, far, far worse things will come your way than a YC rejection. Try
109.
by sama 10y ago
No particular shape, but in general we'd rather see it be overweight tech. If no one on the team is good or is willing to get good at sales and 'business', that's a problem.
110.
by sama 10y ago
Pick a different market.
111.
by sama 10y ago
1. No 2. Definitely not!
112.
by sama 10y ago
I'm supportive, obviously. I think in some ways diversity in tech is very bad (e.g. very many, or perhaps nearly all, of the CEOs of 'unicorns' are white men). I think YC has made good but not great progress here. I don&#x27
113.
by sama 10y ago
What's important to us is business defensibility. Sometimes the way to get that is with a user experience. Sometimes with technology. Often it's something else entirely. It really depends on the company.
114.
by sama 10y ago
We've funded several cannabis companies. Some YC partners are customers.
115.
by sama 10y ago
If there is data, I try to decide with data. If there is not data, I am very happy (probably too happy) to make the best guess I can.
116.
by sama 10y ago
An incomplete prototype is ok. Obviously more is better, but we've funded companies with no prototype at all. You have little to lose by applying.
117.
by sama 10y ago
Here are 5 out of ~200 that fit this category: Helion Oklo Rigetti OpenAI Gingko Bioworks
118.
by sama 10y ago
I think that's a great application of AI. It's a very crowded market at this point, so my biggest question would be "why will this one win?"
119.
by sama 10y ago
Many YC companies post job ads for engineers on HN. That's a great way to start. Nearly all are constrained in how quickly they can hire great engineers, so you can also probably just email the CEO directly. Our advice is: Hire slow
120.
by sama 10y ago
Yes! I love A Pattern Language.

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