They only do by default. If one were significantly different, it could do better or worse than that, depending. So far none has though.

Here's an idea for being different:

-$5K to $10K goes much further in many other countries than it does in the valley and most entrepreneurs there don't have the option of moving to the valley because of visa restrictions. Potential investors there should consider this. This is one advantage some locations have over the valley.

Speaking from personal experience, the challenge for doing this in developing nations is that the hard part is being connected enough to a market to know if something can be built in three months that people will pay for. If you're in a developing nation intending to sell to America, you're probably not as close to your users as you need to be because products tend to change rapidly in the early stages of a startup and you need to be interacting directly with potential users and learning from them.

But the money does go 10 times as far, so the idea could have potential. $25K can roll a startup for a year or more on the cheap in Bangalore.

Good point. On the other hand countries like India and China are already at a point where there are successful startups serving local customers.

Also, a startup that's doing something like, say Reddit, may not need to be physically close to users to be successful.

Serving local customers is key, but even if you're Reddit, I think that ideally you are immersed in a community of people doing similar things. You need that feedback and energy.

reminds me of microloans. It's a growing trend in Africa. I believe there are websites that connect you to farmers in Africa and you actually make good ROI.

The difference is that I am talking about funding in amounts larger than what microloan sites like Kiva allow (Kiva's top loan amount is ~2K) but more importantly, provide mentoring like YC does. Therefore, it has to be done by experienced entrepreneurs who guide these new entrepreneurs closely.

Love this idea. There are already incubators and seed funds doing this in India and China. And I suspect the trend will accelerate.

Its not that so much as valley elitism - the idea that if you aren't there, then you're not serious and are unlikely to succeed.

But I agree with you. Also, don't investors back companies they understand? Doesn't this mean a variety of seed-stage programs will back different startups? Isn't this a good thing?

Considering the philosophy behind YCombinator, I really don't get all the hating on the clones that happens here every time one comes up.

Why you reading this as hate? It's a very similar model to YC - why wouldn't there be references and comparison?

I don't mean to say that your comment was particularly spiteful, but in every thread on a YC clone, and in the Techcrunch discussion in particular, there is much valley-hating. It gets old.