Re:Why YC
by pbreit on Thursday February 18, 2016 @02:07PM
(#11128353)
I can't help but think as quantity has gone up, quality has flattened. I was just browsing a list of the last few classes and don't see a (m)any obvious winners. I know it takes awhile but you'd think a few would stick out.
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It takes a long time to tell what companies break out, but we are pretty confident that quality has remained fixed or improved (on a % basis).
Re:Why YC
by BrooklynRage on Thursday February 18, 2016 @04:44PM
(#11129563)
Just out of curiosity, how does YC internally determine startup quality (before the rest of the world recognizes it)?
My understanding is that YC focuses on people more than ideas...e.g. the first version of JustinTV was a live stream of someone's life. Twitch was many years later.
Probably a blend of growth metrics, capital raised, and some qualitative stuff.
Hey, what about Dropbox and Airbnb!?!
:)
He was responding to the "last few classes". Those are from 2007 and 2009 respectively.
I think it was a joke that the huge successes are always referenced when this sort of critique comes up.
fwiw — and I say this as a cofounder in probably the least successful YC batch of all time — the stuff coming out of the program these these is years ahead of what it was then.
Least successful YC batch of all time? Harsh. Probably true, but harsh. Still miss you guys though <3
I never knew you did YC!
Cut them some slack, a lot of winners today wouldn't have looked like obvious winners when they first applied at YC.