I was amazed by how motivated I became by being involved in the "November Startup Sprint" back in the fall so I think a more formal program could potentially be pretty cool. I'd move away from being a "YC Reject" program to a "Hacker News Startup Co-op".
I would open it up after interviews so that those who got interviews but don't get accepted can participate.
Accomodate all groups who want to participate and don't mess with the financing at this point. The financing talk gives me kind of a "no" feeling.
Have your weekly dinners and get speakers.
Have a web site where YCR startups can promote their projects.
Schedule and hold a Demo Day. I bet you'd be able to get a few investors to drop by or else watch the videos that will go up on the YCR web site.
By banding together, I think everyone will have a really productive 3 months, get to know alot of like-minded individuals, and have a decent shot at attracting some investor interest.
I live in Ireland and wouldn't be able to participate but I think it's a great idea.
There was an article a month or two ago about the problems with tech accelerators gaining popularity.
I can't find the link but it basically said the accelerator bubble is going to happen when the secondary groups get the 'B' talent startups, and then the next groups get the 'C' talent...
While I have no idea about the quality of YC Reject groups, this does kinda have that same feel to it.
Talent and potential are very subjective metrics -- I'm not sure YC gets the best candidates. They only get the best as judged by the pool accessible to them, and by their selection criteria.
That said, yc reject groups probably will suffer from a smaller talent pool (since they are indeed option B), and from a lack of experienced people to make a reasonably good selection.
Even YC has always said that there were promising groups from those that did not make the cut. They've admitted that they aren't the best at picking winners. So you can't say that the A groups were better than the B groups. Many of the B groups (and even single co-founders) were just a victim of YC's rules and capacity.
I'd still settle for meeting up with a group of intelligent and determined entrepreneurs who I can bounce ideas off of and perhaps get a little advice.
A group of "B" talent or "C" talent startups get funded - so what?
The only people who lose out are the investors, who have plenty of chance to evaluate their investment before making a decision (I imagine), so they can only blame themselves for making a bad investment.
Theoretically, this makes complete sense. But in practice, math matters. If you believe that the number of promising startups is within the range of those that are accepted by top accelerators, then you are right. But if you believe that current accelerators serve a minor percentage of promising startups, then it means a large part of the market (ie. promising startups) is not being served.
I'm actually inclined to believe it's the latter considering the supply and demand. The demand for accelerators is extremely high and the supply of open spots is very low. I think current accelerators are just scratching the surface with respect to promising startups which is why we're seeing many more sprout up.
I've never been accepted into YC so this may be totally wrong, but ...
Don't lose sight of the real value in this for a group trying to create their own startup - the mentorship, fraternity, alumni network, initial amount of funding and then finally the demo day presentations which will result in a lot of visibility. Not to mention, at this point in time, the YC brand stamp. I know you have to start somewhere, but I don't think starting with investors is the right move. It won't be difficult to find people willing to invest, as you've already experienced (they came to you). You need to start by trying to provide the startups with the things they can't get on their own - mentorship, fraternity, etc. I have gone through my own adventures of pitching my ideas to VCs, while being completely uneducated about it and green, and I can say it's not difficult to get money from them - so you will be able to get it when its required. At least for me, the money is not really the appeal of YC.
Crazy stuff. Can you imagine the analog in other professions?
"I got rejected from Harvard Law School. So I got a couple of my fellow applicants together and decided to study law together for 3 years, sans professors. We all just got 6 figure offers from the big firms on Wall Street."
Maybe a better analogy: The Boston marathon fills up so quickly that a local running club director decided to just start his own marathon nearby for runners who didn't get into Boston.
I know it's been said over and over but why don't all these YC and now YC rejects just get on with it. Build their products, start their businesses and make some money. Why the obsession with being a YC'er and now a not-a-YC'er. Can't they see the whole thing is just a distraction from their already difficult task?! nikcub hit the nail on the head with his comment, it's just a shame YC doesn't lend itself to a plithy title such as "Boo Hoo" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boo.com).
Well having a support group and something structured like weekly meetups to drive the startup forward week to week seems like a good thing to me. I don't think it's so much a YC obsession but an obsession with giving a startup the best possible chance to succeed.
Y Combinator has shown that it adds significant value to the process. Seed funding, access to like-minded entrepreneurs as well as heavy-hitters in both the tech and VC world. Obviously Y Combinator has a brand name associated with it now but the whole incubator concept has proven it is worth it for at least some of the population interested in starting their own companies.
Bar Camps began as an alternative to O'Reilly's Foo Camp, for those who weren't invited. Now there are barcamps almost every weekend, in a dozen or more countries.
If nothing else, the rejects (always) have force of numbers on their side.
This is one of the crazy things I've come across - one moment there's a call for YC rejects to hang out together, next day there's cash for equity! Since this is an experiment maybe it would help to keep it simple in the original form and leave investment out of it till the end of summer?
At this point though, if we're taking PG & co's rankings of applications, the top 10% of YC applicants are still in the interview phase - if I were the OP I would want to wait until after the class gets announced, right?
For purposes of full disclosure, I was approached by an individual angel and I sat down with the investor for a meet and great. The selection process needs to be sorted out and the term sheets need to be agreed upon by all parties before it's finalized and a check is written.
The reason I posted this blog, is because I want to get candidate feedback. The money involved in YC is just a small (but helpful part) of what they do. Will teams that participate in this grassroots project want to give up 6% of their company? What are your thoughts?
The thing is, with YC you get except the 20 grand or whatever it is, the advice from pg and others, and the alumni network, which is both worth something.
With 40-50 groups now your time spent with him as a YC'er is significantly less. He's added staff, but scaling out his time is a big problem. Plus with the 40-50 groups - I can only imagine that the demo days are a complete circus. Will angels continue to invest their money in what essentially has become a meat market? If I were to invest my money on a high-risk venture I'd like to get a little T.L.C.
Yes and that's what makes the equity trade worth it. The money is too small to justify giving up 5-10% if it wasn't for the quality of advisors (and their reputation) that you'd be adding to your company.
Actually, I would like to get into the YCReject as a PRE-YC -- where I can get to a much better position with my plan, then apply to YC with the same plan, next session.
The money is only a small part of it. It's really there to make sure you can focus on your project and not worry about putting food on your plate or making rent. The money was put on the table, but I'd like to get feedback to know if it's something that interested teams would want in exchange for equity.
If YC Reject groups get similar funding, this might be a good way to empirically test whether either Y-Combinator succeeds at choosing more capable groups or Y-Combinator offers advantages over other accelerators.
I wish I could agree, but I do not. There are way too many variables. To even get close to making a valid test you'd need to run the same startups through different accelerators at exactly the same time.
My initial thought is to leave investment/equity out of the program and stick to the original vision. There are dozens of established incubator programs that have a reputation and history of performance.
Accepted applicants articulated their idea & company better than non-accepted applicatns as per YC scale.
If you aren't accepted by YC, shouldn't it be same as getting rejected from a VC?. In most cases VCs are investing in companies that are rejected by other VCs. How one perceives opportunities for an idea/investment, is very subjective. YC and YC Reject will not be same even though offer is similar ($12,000-20,000 for about 6% of the company).
I was going to try something similar a while back. Perhaps a different persons perspective on a similar idea will stimulate your mind: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=925134
[+] [-] dclaysmith|15 years ago|reply
I would open it up after interviews so that those who got interviews but don't get accepted can participate.
Accomodate all groups who want to participate and don't mess with the financing at this point. The financing talk gives me kind of a "no" feeling.
Have your weekly dinners and get speakers.
Have a web site where YCR startups can promote their projects.
Schedule and hold a Demo Day. I bet you'd be able to get a few investors to drop by or else watch the videos that will go up on the YCR web site.
By banding together, I think everyone will have a really productive 3 months, get to know alot of like-minded individuals, and have a decent shot at attracting some investor interest.
I live in Ireland and wouldn't be able to participate but I think it's a great idea.
[+] [-] ph0rque|15 years ago|reply
How about "Peer-to-peer Startups"?
[+] [-] phamilton|15 years ago|reply
I can't find the link but it basically said the accelerator bubble is going to happen when the secondary groups get the 'B' talent startups, and then the next groups get the 'C' talent...
While I have no idea about the quality of YC Reject groups, this does kinda have that same feel to it.
[+] [-] bad_user|15 years ago|reply
That said, yc reject groups probably will suffer from a smaller talent pool (since they are indeed option B), and from a lack of experienced people to make a reasonably good selection.
[+] [-] allanscu|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] entangld|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] brown9-2|15 years ago|reply
The only people who lose out are the investors, who have plenty of chance to evaluate their investment before making a decision (I imagine), so they can only blame themselves for making a bad investment.
[+] [-] marcomonteiro|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] freshfunk|15 years ago|reply
I'm actually inclined to believe it's the latter considering the supply and demand. The demand for accelerators is extremely high and the supply of open spots is very low. I think current accelerators are just scratching the surface with respect to promising startups which is why we're seeing many more sprout up.
[+] [-] entangld|15 years ago|reply
ReCombinated
[+] [-] lazerwalker|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nodesocket|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|15 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] Skywing|15 years ago|reply
Don't lose sight of the real value in this for a group trying to create their own startup - the mentorship, fraternity, alumni network, initial amount of funding and then finally the demo day presentations which will result in a lot of visibility. Not to mention, at this point in time, the YC brand stamp. I know you have to start somewhere, but I don't think starting with investors is the right move. It won't be difficult to find people willing to invest, as you've already experienced (they came to you). You need to start by trying to provide the startups with the things they can't get on their own - mentorship, fraternity, etc. I have gone through my own adventures of pitching my ideas to VCs, while being completely uneducated about it and green, and I can say it's not difficult to get money from them - so you will be able to get it when its required. At least for me, the money is not really the appeal of YC.
I think dclaysmith says it well here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2432040
[+] [-] phamilton|15 years ago|reply
"I got rejected from Harvard Law School. So I got a couple of my fellow applicants together and decided to study law together for 3 years, sans professors. We all just got 6 figure offers from the big firms on Wall Street."
[+] [-] davidw|15 years ago|reply
So I think the 'sans professors' thing is a bit unfair.
[+] [-] bhousel|15 years ago|reply
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--13469...
[+] [-] aaronrc|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] robryan|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ascendant|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nikcub|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] danohuiginn|15 years ago|reply
If nothing else, the rejects (always) have force of numbers on their side.
[+] [-] adsahay|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] allanscu|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kevinburke|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] adora|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] allanscu|15 years ago|reply
The reason I posted this blog, is because I want to get candidate feedback. The money involved in YC is just a small (but helpful part) of what they do. Will teams that participate in this grassroots project want to give up 6% of their company? What are your thoughts?
[+] [-] russ|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JCB_K|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] allanscu|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] marcomonteiro|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] davidw|15 years ago|reply
Also, on a lighter note, will there now be a ycrejectrejects project/site?
[+] [-] abbasmehdi|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] phlux|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jasonlbaptiste|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] allanscu|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mwhite|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kovar|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rrhoover|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] selvan|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] marcamillion|15 years ago|reply
Kudos to you for taking the initiative and doing what you need to do...and for siezing what could potentially be an amazing opportunity.
I hope it doesn't turn out to be a fad, and something sustainable can be built here.
[+] [-] marcamillion|15 years ago|reply
See more here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2431712
[+] [-] hotpockets|15 years ago|reply