Re:Tell HN: Ever think of applying to YC? Do it this weekend...
by dang on Friday April 19, 2024 @09:54PM
(#40093931)
> your job is not to find the winners but get rid of the losers
As I understand it, that's exactly backwards. The fatal mistake is not funding losers, it's missing winners. Certainly that's true of YC but it's well known among investors generally.
That's also consistent with YC's view that founders matter most. If Larry and Sergey cross your path and you decline to fund them because they're on an H1B or some other issue like that, that would be...really bad.
> Not saying you are wrong but let's just agree to disagree ;)
Ok :) - I read your comment as saying that founders are fungible and we can definitely agree to disagree about that.
If I have a thousand applications lying on my desk, my first task would be to remove everyone that has even the slightest issue. There is absolutely no way you would know who is going to be successful so your job is not to find the winners but get rid of the losers.
Unfortunately VCs have a power over startups. Any startups they touch will have higher chance to succeed. And when the winds are strong even the chickens can fly so it's not that you choose the right startups, its just that the startups YC chooses become right.
Not saying you are wrong but let's just agree to disagree ;)