YC s11 Rejected Applicants: This is the real test.
I almost didn't get my Eagle Scout rank when I was in Boy Scouts. It wasn't a matter of it being too hard, I just thought it was easier to walk away from all of the years of work I had put into it and do other things. What was the point? It's just a stupid badge, right? Then I ran across an article from Mike Rowe, the creator of the show "Dirty Jobs", new face of Ford, etc. He's an Eagle Scout. When asked what he would say to Scouts about becoming Eagle, he said this:
http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/3/30/Mike_Rowe-Dirty_Jobs_Eagle_Letter.pdf
tl;dr Becoming an Eagle Scout is proof that you aren't a quitter. You get shit done and are a relentless pioneer.
If this bump in the road rattles you enough to close shop, you shouldn't be an entrepreneur. The most successful entrepreneurs have failed more times than they can count. Each "failure" teaches you something...how to build an unbelievably great company.
Want to be a great entrepreneur? Get shit done and be a relentless pioneer. That is the real test of entrepreneurship.
PS - I got my Eagle Scout rank.
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I question the value of telling someone they "shouldn't" be an entrepreneur. Even that they "aren't" an entrepreneur.
Closing shop doesn't have to be a permanent thing.
Didn't get accepted for this round of YC? Decide what that means for you, then continue to live your life.
Then at some point I decided I'd rather do something that other kids my age were also doing, so after much hand-wringing I quit Boy Scouts and joined the theater. I ended up being the lead in the school musical senior year, and I sung in choirs all through college. I did light opera. I joined a gospel choir and performed in baptist churches all across the state.
I also developed a deep belief that I could try totally new things that were outside my comfort zone, and excel at them.
I sometimes wonder whether I should've stayed and gotten the Eagle. Finishing things is certainly a weakness of mine. Maybe if I had spent those last two two years of high school hanging around with 13 year olds and building a bridge in the woods I'd be a better finisher. But I'd be a worse artist. And I'd be a more cautious person.
This is the second time I got rejected from YCombinator. And quitting is the furthest thing from my mind. But I'm glad I quit back then.
I noticed it on the home page too.
I've got nothing against YC, but I've seemed to go into "success is the best revenge" mode ha.
To be honest it's a good wake up call, I need to stop treating my start up as a lifestyle business.
Dropping out of university at the end of this term and i'm pushing forward with it.
Decisions been made.
The prototype has been developed, so I'm going to take it to market within the next few weeks. Then apply to YC again in the winter, with a bit more grounding and social proof.
It's not really the money I was hoping to receive it's the support/advice/mentorship, especially on legal matters. Most of the lawyers i've spoken to don't really have a clue about the SAAS model.
Maybe your idea isn't the "one". Maybe you can't pull off running a startup. Maybe you aren't in the right place at the time.
But I'm betting that the preceding paragraph is all false. And even if I'm wrong, at least you put your balls on the line and did something you believed in. The story of your startup will beat an infinite number of drunken frat stories any day.
Safety Net: You can always head back to college if things get ugly.
Then I dumped professional photography and became a programmer, and I am freer, better paid and happier than I would be otherwise. Quitting one thing let me find another that is better.
I guess, the real difference is that someone (Mike Rowe) tells you want to do: don't quit, it's better. But if you don't know what's better, then you don't know if you are quitting the wrong path to pursue a right path, or what. Decisions you make in absence of a judge are always uncertain. And who has the authority to judge me?
http://thypope.posterous.com/my-latest-y-combinator-applicat...
Tried to make them think. I believe they're in a loop of... self-indulgence, really. Since I think they do their best to stay the $#@! away from taking risks with any "unorthodox" ideas.
Listen, I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I wouldn't have invited you to an interview either (regardless of the BS jargon in the application). Here's why.
1. You are a single founder.
Doing a startup alone is sooooo hard. The only way they would consider having a solo founder is if you're a programmer. (see #2)
2. You're are not a programmer.
It's hard to explain. Being a programmer changes the way you think of ideas. You know what is possible, what is plausible and where that intersection between the two is. Your ideas may be fantastic, but I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't plausible. It's not your fault. You just need to learn how to code if you want to understand what I'm talking about. On top of that, a startup CEO typically plays 'engineer' for at least a year or two before moving up to a lofty management position (but YC looks for hackers - the kind of guys who never stop checking in code at their companies).
3. Your attitude sucks.
You got rejected from YC. Shit happens. It's irresponsible and immature to blame YC because they didn't decide to fund you. Entrepreneurs don't sit and complain when rejection happens - they work harder to ensure it won't happen again.
This is not meant to be a mean post against you. You can continue doing your thing your way, but I will almost guarantee that you will not succeed in running your startup.
Not meaning to brag, but I applied for another incubator as well, and got to the last stage. I was dumped there, but they did say I came across as technically strong and with relevant and solid experience. Among their tests was a programming test. I sent two e-mails explaining how I'm not a coder but how I'm not supposed to be one. And they passed me to the next stage.
Again, I think you proved the point I was trying to make with Y Combinator flawlessly. Not as an offence to you, though.
And yes, I understand that you weren't trying to bash me but to help me instead. Thanks for that.
I don't understand why/what you're protesting. If you want them to look beyond software startups, that would be very foolish of them as their area of expertise is software.
Okay, I didn't know that. I will remember it next time I have to deal with such people. Good to know.
What I think is obviously missing? Simple, Y Combinator's main page displaying a huge banner that says "we don't care about anything non-software, go away." It would have warned me right from the start. They never explicitly say it, they just heavily hint at it (e.g. they ask for your github ID, which you don't need unless you do some sort of coding) and I'm here to say quit hinting and just admit it out loud. But I believe that's also typical - what we hint at, it's actually an axiom. What we recommend, it's actually required. I believe that's not right. Simple as that. No hard feelings.
"Though we fund all types of startups, we're especially interested in web/mobile applications. We've been thinking about that problem longer than anyone else, and by now can visualize much of the space of possibilities."
This means that they are more comfortable investing in an area where they're the experts. If you're going to blindly apply to a VC without reading their "About" page, that is you being irresponsible, not a problem with the VC.
But yeah, I get it, you can't conceive them ever being wrong, for some reason. I have nothing against that, it's an opinion and it's as personal as a haircut.
Again, this is all posted on their website. Digging around on the internet would reveal even more information. You should have done this in the first place before applying to a VC.
1. You tried (legitimately) running a startup as a single founder.
2. You tried running a startup where a majority of the co-founders were not working on location.
I've been in both situations multiple times, learned the hard way.
I still believe I can do it "alone," i.e. with just that other guy. I'm just gonna go get the needed money elsewhere and forget about Y Combinator. That blog post or whatever you want to call it, is my opinion on them.
There are many things I have tackled in my life because I have the courage to stand up and do something others might not.
A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
"Always be prepared."
Best advice to live your life by (especially when running a startup).