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Why YCombinator is a Waste of Time

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14,820 Reads | 161 Likes | 24 Comments | 7 Favorites

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Opinion piece on why venture capital is not necessary for a successful start in the software business

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04/05/2007
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Showing 1-20 of 24 comments

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kalendae about 1 year ago

You make the common sense point that if all one cares about is y combinator funding and nothing else, he won't be very successful. How does that translate to y combinator being a waste of time.

YComb Reject about 1 year ago

Would looking like your VC help? I am referring to this advice: http://smartstartup.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/...

Is this hot on the east coast too?

Anonymous over 2 years ago

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Anonymous over 2 years ago

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thechrispy over 2 years ago

I find it ironic that a post ranting against YC is being published and distributed on a site that started with YCombinator funding.

I'm not funded by YC myself, but I have lots of friends who are. Of them, I've seen more VC and angel funding going on than of any other group I can think of. Not every YC startup thrives, but they do a MUCH better job than average.

Money isn't everything, but when you live in Silicon Valey, it makes a big difference. Living here is expensive; hiring people is expensive; and everything else is expensive, too. Getting a round of funding can give you the time and resources to invest in making your product far better than if you had to maintain a day job or work with a smaller team.

Just my $0.02.

Dhruv over 2 years ago

Wonderful post. This has given me a fresh impetus to start focusing on my ideas, rather than worrying about VCs and Angels.
Thanks a ton.

Pageman over 2 years ago

it's good to see a different take on YCombinator :)

Blake Southwood over 2 years ago

I agree completely. I'm coding the algorithm engine for the challenge. If it makes money that's great. But when it works it will be way easier to write code and that's the whole point. It's also a really hard problem that that's what makes it sexy. No one believes it's possible.

To figure out how to make it work I had to design a completely new virgin model for a database that is faster then SQL and can search through billions of pieces of data with thousands of threads at once in less then a second. That was a fun problem. The journey is the reward. The money is just gravey. I agree that funding isn't the greenlight to proceed. The greenlight to proceed is courage and the desire to solve a tough problem to make gold medal software.

George over 2 years ago

I am not so sure that I agree with you. Think about people who just graduated from school. Financially, most of these people are in some sort of debt. If you are working on a master coding plan (assuming you devote most of your time to it), then how would you be able to pay the interest AND a portion of the principal?

While I agree that all you need is passion and knowledge, in some cases you are not able to produce quality software without some backing.

I am not so sure I like VC funding; however, I have come to LOVE angel funding. If you are looking to get funded, you have to go through VCs to find these Angel investors.

My .02

SteamStreet over 2 years ago

I agree as well. It's so easy to jump on the VC train, but that money comes with such a high pricetag. I've had too many of my friends be super excited about a new idea, then get money, only to have that idea completely homogenized by the investors. In the end, you have to keep in mind why you're starting the business... if it's to get rich, go find a VC. If it's to enjoy life and a fantastic experience, avoid it. I've done that with my new portfolio management site, SteamStreet (http://www.steamstreet.com), and I've had such a great experience. Every once in a while I have this urge to go get money, but each time I realize I'd be giving up exactly what I was looking for when I started the company - independence.

Anonymous over 2 years ago

Gotta agree here -- I applied for YC funding for my project, but even if they accept me I'm going to think long and hard. Building my idea on the side while I work a day job is the slow path to success; a three-month push with nothing else to worry about would be great, but realistically speaking, it's going to take more than 3 months before the idea is profitable, and I'm not sure I want venture capitalists hovering like vultures.

I think the telling question was "How much money would you accept at the end of the summer, if someone wanted to buy you out" -- or however it was phrased. I'm not in this for the money; I'm in this to create the kind of company that I want to work for. It doesn't do me any good if I work as hard as I can for three months, only to have a company buy me out and make me work in the sort of culture that I started the company in the first place to get away from.

But I'm doing it either way -- the YC acceptance will just determine whether I do it in 3 months after moving to Boston or in a year while I keep my day job.

somethingorange over 2 years ago

What you said makes sense. I have a reasonable opinion on this.

Whenever the founders leave their jobs and work on a start up idea, there is hard press effort in getting a sustainable amount of money, to direct all thoughts and efforts towards their working on the idea.

Its here, Paul plays a good role in providing the platform to achieve the above.

The seed money needed to release the beta release and continuously work on the feedback, helps in sticking to the road map the founders have developed.

ivans over 2 years ago

---
A person who has true passion for software and for creating ******* great software does not care about funding. He is going to go out there and start coding.
---

Very very (2 times very) well writen.

Dilpil over 2 years ago

"The problem was, his music was boring, and his band sounded like hundreds of other indie bands."

This would be more of a 'problem' if major labels weren't jumping to sign exactly that.

YC over 2 years ago

Create a product or service to solve pain(value) and tell the people who suffer it(market).
I put this article to my library:
http://www.tablane.net/yc/collections/business.htm

Only the hard working engineers who can bridge from ideas to products or services. VCs come in only when they imagine they can hit jackpot. More than half of them are wrong.

Anonymous over 2 years ago

sour, meet grapes.

giles bowkett over 2 years ago

omg your system **publishes** my address? OUCH.

giles bowkett over 2 years ago

I agree the web app community is tiny, but this here Internet ain't. If the Internet were a country, it would be the 11th largest in the world, between Japan and Mexico.

blats over 2 years ago

Agreed, if you are biting your nails for 2 weeks before the YC callbacks you are probably not coming from the right place. They have said that some of their best performers have been people who were not even sure if they wanted to do it. My project will continue with or without YC, and maybe be better for the 6 months of part time then the 3 months of crack out. Not sure if that means I would pass up an offer, but I would have to think about it.

anon-595802 over 2 years ago

You don't need capital! Just eat out of dumpsters! Honestly, people are so grandiose...

Showing 1-20 of 24 comments

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