Adam @ Heroku: http://adam.blog.heroku.com/past/2008/3/26/y_combinator/
Joel
· 1 year ago
My two cents: PG speaks for us.
There are a lot of people who think like Paul Graham does, and I think there always have been/will be. I know that when I read his essays, I end up nodding my head for 20 or 30 minutes at a stretch. It's not that he's presenting radical new ideas...he's just providing a voice for ideas that a relatively small number of people have all the time.
I want to have my own company. I want to work on things that I think are innovative and ground breaking. I want to test my creativity and problem solving skills on a daily set of unsolvable problems. And I don't want to be made to feel that I'm wrong for doing it.
Outside of PG himself, I see YC founders as a group of people who are serious about doing something big. People like that are surrounded by people who just don't get it. When your life is dedicated to doing something incredible, it's hard to relate to people who just want to work 8 hours a day then go home and watch reality tv (not that there is anything wrong with that). It's good for anyone to find a community of people with similar motivations.
I hope to join your League of Extraordinary Gentlemen this summer. And if not, we'll be back in the winter.
ensignavenger
· 1 year ago
If your going home and watching reality TV instead of focusing on the more important aspects of life (IE, family, friends, and neighbors) you need to get your head out of the sand!
Justin D-Z
· 1 year ago
As long as YC facilitates more Herokus, it could make 100 *Lindsey* Grahams and I'd still be happy.
Matt Brezina
· 1 year ago
Adam, this is a really well written post. Who'd a thunk you could write killer software and killer prose.
At this point (2 years after starting a YC funded company) I can easily say that the YC network is the most valuable thing I've gained from the experience. And, I'm not talking about all the angels, VCs, and other valley dwellers, i'm talking about the other YC founders. It is so fantastic to have a group of smart entrepreneurs surrounding you as we each run this marathon.
James Lindenbaum
· 1 year ago
I couldn't agree more. I have my own post about YC in the works, but of course Adam, the ruthless pragmatist, beat me to it.
I'm reminded of the tale of the ugly duckling finally finding his fellow swans. People arrive at YC and look around and realize they aren't crazy for wanting to go their own way; they've just been hanging out with the wrong people and working in the wrong ecosystem.
This is proven over and over during the following months, as they witness how much shared culture they have with the high-profile tech entrepreneurs who come to speak, and how excited the investor community is to have access to smart founders.
Apply! Apply now! While you still can!
Mike
· 1 year ago
Well said guys. My experience the past 3 months has been nothing short of amazing.
-Mike
Peter Nixey
· 1 year ago
@Matt B - I completely agree. The YC alum network is phenomenal.
All Comments
There are a lot of people who think like Paul Graham does, and I think there always have been/will be. I know that when I read his essays, I end up nodding my head for 20 or 30 minutes at a stretch. It's not that he's presenting radical new ideas...he's just providing a voice for ideas that a relatively small number of people have all the time.
I want to have my own company. I want to work on things that I think are innovative and ground breaking. I want to test my creativity and problem solving skills on a daily set of unsolvable problems. And I don't want to be made to feel that I'm wrong for doing it.
Outside of PG himself, I see YC founders as a group of people who are serious about doing something big. People like that are surrounded by people who just don't get it. When your life is dedicated to doing something incredible, it's hard to relate to people who just want to work 8 hours a day then go home and watch reality tv (not that there is anything wrong with that). It's good for anyone to find a community of people with similar motivations.
I hope to join your League of Extraordinary Gentlemen this summer. And if not, we'll be back in the winter.
At this point (2 years after starting a YC funded company) I can easily say that the YC network is the most valuable thing I've gained from the experience. And, I'm not talking about all the angels, VCs, and other valley dwellers, i'm talking about the other YC founders. It is so fantastic to have a group of smart entrepreneurs surrounding you as we each run this marathon.
I'm reminded of the tale of the ugly duckling finally finding his fellow swans. People arrive at YC and look around and realize they aren't crazy for wanting to go their own way; they've just been hanging out with the wrong people and working in the wrong ecosystem.
This is proven over and over during the following months, as they witness how much shared culture they have with the high-profile tech entrepreneurs who come to speak, and how excited the investor community is to have access to smart founders.
Apply! Apply now! While you still can!
-Mike
@James - IE so doesn't belong in that list...