sama

14 ms·

151.
by sama 10y ago
Great! No, please just do that.
152.
by sama 10y ago
Honestly, that's a tough combination. We'd look for evidence that he or she could execute and make stuff happen.
153.
by sama 10y ago
Well, my biggest piece advice is not to do a startup unless you have a particular idea you really think needs to happen. But if you want an answer other than that: Start learning programming tonight. There are a lot of tools online, and it
154.
by sama 10y ago
For solo founders, I look for extra evidence that the person is really effective, ideally on this particular startup but if not then previously in their career. It's harder to be effective as a solo founder, so the burden of proof is h
155.
by sama 10y ago
We do try to talk about this but should talk about it more. It turns out that most people (and certainly most journalists) want to talk about/write about the success cases. I'll think about how to best do this.
156.
by sama 10y ago
Video first, then the questions about the founders, then the idea, then the traction/revenue, then everything else.
157.
by sama 10y ago
No.
158.
by sama 10y ago
We do still ask that, and it's still one of the questions I read first. It's on the individual section (each person has to fill it out after the submitter enters their email address).
159.
by sama 10y ago
Determination Effectiveness Clarity of vision Clarity of communication Intelligence Quality of the idea *Potential to be huge
160.
by sama 10y ago
We care that a company might eventually be huge. Usually that requires raising more money, but if it doesn't, that would be ok with us.
161.
by sama 10y ago
I think this trend is likely to continue for a very long time.
162.
by sama 10y ago
I don't think it increases or decreases. We've had companies get in after 5 rejections and sometimes do badly and sometimes do really well. The negative signal for us is you apply 5 times in a row without anything improving or ch
163.
I Am Sam Altman, President of YC Group. AMA
345 points by sama 10y ago|433 comments
164.
by sama 10y ago
Luck is a massive, massive factor in many ways, but I generally think you should make decisions as if it weren't a factor.
165.
by sama 10y ago
They're in their 20s but yeah--we have a good time!
166.
by sama 10y ago
I turned out to be a better investor than an entrepreneur (though somewhat to my surprise running YC is more about running a company than being an investor). I think I've learned a lot from working closely with entrepreneurs that run m
167.
by sama 10y ago
Congrats to everyone who made this happen. It's so cool!
168.
by sama 10y ago
Some HN commenters never cease to amaze with their negativity...
169.
Elon Musk on How to Build the Future(ycombinator.com)
1106 points by sama 10y ago|513 comments
170.
by sama 10y ago
I am definitely not charismatic. I am a pretty good investor.
171.
by sama 10y ago
Correct. However, we may offer something like 'financial aid' for future versions of the MOOC.
172.
by sama 10y ago
He normally still advises companies, but right now he's living in England for a year.
173.
by sama 10y ago
Yes, I have a lot of new ideas about how to improve if after teaching that class. I plan to talk in more detail about it near the end of this year.
174.
by sama 10y ago
Yes, it will be free.
175.
by sama 10y ago
One of the other groups is pursuing this (and electronic voting). I think that's the right long term solution!
176.
by sama 10y ago
I hope the two organizations will work together in more ways than this, but it's a good example.
177.
by sama 10y ago
I am contributing to both vote.org and voteplz.org, and probably two other get-out-the-vote non-profits. There are different approaches to this problem and I'm not sure which will work best, but unlike many for-profit startups it&#x27
178.
Ask HN: What should I ask Elon Musk for HTBTF?
48 points by sama 10y ago|82 comments
179.
Jessica Livingston: How to Build the Future(ycombinator.com)
290 points by sama 10y ago|84 comments
180.
by sama 10y ago
Actually it's surprisingly not stressful--one interesting thing I've learned is that, at least for myself, job stress and burnout comes from something not going that well (e.g. my old startup), not from being super busy. And to th

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