Possibly people were offended more by the plagiarism than the desire to fund startups in Europe. It is a bit much calling the thing Y Europe, for example. Seed funding doesn't require your name begin with Y.

Especially when the "Y" part of the name actually means something in context. Too bad ybother.com is gone. It could have make for a great name for a web 2.0 graveyard.

It also implies a collaboration with YC, which doesn't exist.

Regardless, I think it will be hard to fully replicate the YC model, because it's unlikely these firms will generate the following YC has. This following equates to attention, press, prestige and connections for all the new YC companies.

Without all that, all you have is an angel investor. And there's nothing new about that.

Really, when it comes down to it, this is just an enormous validation for what's happening here. After all, "imitation is the best form of flattery."

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

Really, these guys aren't claiming to be YCombinator II. They're just validating the model and wanting to do something similar in Europe. They clearly state on their page "This site is inspired by, but not affiliated with YCombinator."

The YCombinators should be flattered, and everyone who participates in YC can give themselves a pat on the back for being funded by the original YC-style firm. [Hm, that has a nice ring: "YC funding" vs "VC funding". I wonder if that was intentional.]

Edit: Oh, now I see that they only added the disclaimer after a post in this thread called them out on it...

You're right about the YC idea of small amounts for seed funding.

But copying the name, the index page slideshow, the application form: isn't that just out and out plaigarism?

If they're not claiming it's their work, I'd say it isn't plaigarism. (And they don't appear to be, as of comment time).

Though this graphic joke wasn't planned, we did notice early on that YC was VC with, ah, more masculine characteristics.

Ok, Odio, that's enough sucking up out of you.

I'm surprised you think that's sucking up. Was it that I was complimenting the YC business model? Please elaborate...

I'm not sure what motivation I would have to suck up, either. I'm not applying for funding, nor do I have any plans to.

However the point remains, without the YC's following (us), the company is just another angel investor / incubator. And that's already been done. These guys are trying to copy YC, but forgetting about its one biggest differentiating factor.

It's funny. Laugh. Probably he wasn't serious. :)

I'm going to be a little harsh here.

Most people don't care much about plagiarism, they just think YC is a much better deal than its clones. And it is all about perception. The current clones look lame even at a first glance. If another tech celebrity tries to do the same thing, it would be a different story. A track record of successful startups would help you, but if you are right about the major shift towards startups, there is no way on Earth to keep all that market for yourself.

I think that it's great there's something like Y in Europe for startups. Anything that helps to promote entrepreneurs are great. The 'issue' here is that YEurope, the "Y" implies that you're associated with YCombinator...which is kind of misleading. Secondly, the questions are exactly the same as the Y right down to the period. The program could have reworded it, took out irrelevant questions or add some more like TechStars did. Thirdly, the design of the site looks relatively similar to that of Y's with the huge sliding picture in the front.

If you want to use the questions right down to the period, might have been better if you emailed and asked the Y team if you could do that.

I know its weird and you're probably thinking, who cares if they copy right down to the period? Its giving entrepreneurs a chance. Yes, but at least give credit where credit is due.