pashle

A "change your password" feature.

Whoops! Guys, if you hover the mouse over the submission title and right click, click on "Bookmark This Link...". This will add it WITH the submission title, instead of the default "Y Combinator Startup News".

Yes. Like now as I'm writing this reply if I wanted to bookmark this page, it would read "Y Combinator: Add Comment". From where you're reading it would read "Y Combinator Startup News". It would be more convenient for me if it was instead the original discussion/submission title. Right now, I copy the title beforehand, and paste it in when bookmarking.

Damn fast feedback, excellent work.

Love to, but your email isn't on your profile. Perhaps leave your email here, our you can email me your email?

For the Jobs: how could he improve his marketing/negotiating skills?

For the Woz: how could he find a Jobs?

I agree that you should be friends before becoming cofounders. Cool idea. How could one find the hackers first, in order to let them know that there is such a event?

Arts Theme House:) Go Duke! Damn good points about hackers with more than just technical chops. Congrats on finding your cofounder, I'm guessing you've already got a live startup. If you want to link it, we'd love to check it out.

Good points, the article was quite narrowly focused. Where would you go to find cofounders?

As with menloparkbum, I agree that labs might be a long shot. I also agree that cofounders with design and marketing skills would be great to have. Where would you go to find them?

You're right, Steve met Woz because they lived in the same neighbourhood/street. I agree that labs might be a long shot. Where else do you think hackers might hang out?

The billionaire is Henry Ford. The version I was told was that he was on the stand, and that was his reply to one of the prosecutor's questions. Jobs also liked to call himself the "Henry Ford of Personal Computing".

I agree with pg's belief that college is the best place to find cofounders, so...

1. Where do hackers like to hang out on campus?

2. What languages do great hackers love using?

From what I've read, they got their first seed capital from an angel investor and friend Julian Weber, of about $15,000. He also happened to be a lawyer, so legal counsel was very accessible, if not free. This is somewhere in Paul's essays. Google around and you'll find more.

This memo is very enlightening!

I've just read a book where the author is a successful entrepreneur, but a greedy sod too. He stresses that ownership is not the important thing, but the ONLY thing that matters. Taking into account that he started up in the 70s and it wasn't a technology company, he got away with owning 100% of the company's equity - and still does today.

I've never heard of this happening: all the best technology companies (Google, Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, HP etc.) split the equity at the very beginning fairly evenly.

Is this even possible today to own a company outright with web startups, or is it even a good idea?

I agree, jamongkad! The best part about them, and a major reason why I submitted their post, is that they're from Sydney, Australia. I wanted to show all you non-US entrepreneurs that you don't have to startup in the US to be successful. These guys, and many others in the Aussie startup community, provide much inspiration to Aussie students like myself who hope to follow them into the industry. I hope they add some value and inspire you too!

The attitude to have a an exit strategy is pervasive here. It could be because it's been advocated in Paul's many essays. But ask yourselves, do you just want to start a web startup? Is it just about the web, or would you start any kind of startup/company (tech or not)?

A world with 100 new HPs every year? That would mean excellent and enlightened corporate leadership that provides meaning, freedom and security for those that associate and work for the company. A situation where the corporatocracy contributes to the well-being of society and the environment, and takes responsobility for it's wrong-doings.

I agree that Built to Last not all companies, for sure. Collins outlined that in his article. But a world with 100 new HPs every year? It will never happen. It would be too good to be true. You don't get much enlightened leadership anymore. It is a rare thing, unfortunately.

The article's purpose was not to say that Built to Flip is wrong, or that Built to Last was right. It was to educate us to build something that works, but also to inspire us to build something greater than ourselves.

Paul, if you don't know of anyone saying this kind of thing today, doesn't that mean we need it more than ever?

I think it's safe to assume that even though YC is dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs, in reality it's only internet entrepreneurs that get most (if not all) of the attention.

Many web startups are like "throw-away injection" devices, built for the sole purpose of commercialising and popularising that particular technology. If it is an excellent product, that contributes by adding value, and therefore imparts meaning to the user, than by all means it is OK to build such a thing to flip it.

But what about the OTHER entrepreneurs, startup guys/girls that don't just want to start web startups, but any kind of company? Web startups are such a small minority of of the entrepreneurial category. Whether 2000 or not, shouldn't this message seem relevant even today? Is there nothing sacred, nothing timeless, nothing that can transcend ourselves?

This one comes from Paul Graham, from 'How To Start A Startup':

"What you should do in college is work on your own projects. Hackers should do this even if they don't plan to start startups, because it's the only real way to learn how to program. In some cases you may collaborate with other students, and this is the best way to get to know good hackers. The project may even grow into a startup. But once again, I wouldn't aim too directly at either target. Don't force things; just work on stuff you like with people you like."

Granted, it's targeted towards a college student (which I am), there's an underlying principle that can be applied to most any case you might face. Just do projects with people you like. Too simple.

elias, THAT story is a keeper, and it's going in the vault!

This is for you, looking for your cofounder. It's a story about how the original two guys in a garage met each other. If you have a founder story, it's my hope that you also share it here, for all of us. From 'The HP Way', by David Packard:

"Largely because of (Fred) Terman's classes, the four of us - Hewlett, Porter, Oliver, and I (Packard) - became fast friends. It is not a coincidence that a few years later this group would become the management team of HP. Our (Bill and I) common interest in the outdoors first manifested itself in our junior year. There is no question that a shared love of the outdoors strengthened our friendship and helped build a mutual understanding and respect that is the core of their successful business relationship lasting more than a half century."

At the start of Dave's junior year as a Stanford electrical engineer, he demonstrated an interest in ham radios that caught Terman's eye. This led to his invitation to join Terman's graduate course on ham radios, which also included Bill and others, who were crucial to starting and building HP. And the rest, as they say, is history.

I hope this story (and the story you have to share) inspires you and the YC faithful, helping you with THE question: how do I find my cofounder?