A VC - Latest Comments in Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

myasmine — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:39:51 -0000

Another competitor is DreamIt Ventures from Philadephia - http://www.cheaprevolution..... They emulated YC's model except they actually end of getting more equity bc they take 4 to 5% post-funding.

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

Peter Christensen — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:29:49 -0000

Long response here:

http://www.pchristensen.com...

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

JamesPage — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:50:14 -0000

All this discussion leads me to think back to E. F. Schumacher book Small is Beautiful Schumacher was involved in helping Germany rebuild its economic powerhorse after the WWII. It is well worth a read if your interested in this area.

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

fredwilson — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:05:03 -0000

I like drop box.

I believe they raised VC money

Really nice service.

I think they nailed it

fred

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

Thomas — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:52:46 -0000

Yeah. Hmm... Y combinator and university focused startups are all age (and experience) biased. Not sure that's a great way to go...

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

kortina — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:37:45 -0000

Fred, how much have you looked at the program and what's your opinion of it?

My roommates are one of the groups, and according to them, dreamit looked at a lot of complaints about y-combinator and tried to fix them. They're definitely doing some cool stuff. For example, each group gives up a % of their company for a common pot that everyone has a stake in. So you're vested in all the other groups and it becomes a community / encourages collaboration. My roomies are now in the process of courting advisors--finance, legal, and strategy guys. All of the potential advisors have pretty solid CVs.

I was pretty impressed from everything I've heard about the program so far, given that it's in it's first year. I can't wait to see what comes out of it.

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

drewdeal — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:12:29 -0000

I have felt that YC is great for truly in the garage start up stories consisting of two single college students, which for me has put me out in the cold from pursuing them. Their requirements to move down to Silicon Valley and leave my other business concerns behind are too disruptive.

So that leaves me with hundreds of other sources to fund our bootstrapped to date efforts in make an amazing growth story from.

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

fredwilson — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:00:02 -0000

"the smartest consumer internet VC" is flattering but probably not accurate. Now I have another goal to achieve!

Thanks

fred

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

Bill B — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:04:26 -0000

This structure makes a lot of sense in a university setting. There are so many great ideas generated in universities that are simply never developed. Schools are realizing this, e.g., Columbia SEAS just created a new entrepreneurship minor. CU has been amazing at monetizing its patents, but has put out significantly more i-bankers then start-ups.

I've actually been tossing around the idea with other alums in the start-up space of a putting forward a proposal for a YC like fund at Columbia. Columbia has helped the start-up community in nyc, but has never really taken a lead...

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

Philippe Bradley — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 03:41:12 -0000

would YCombinator be successful with 'outposts' or franchises in other parts of the world?

possibly not, of course. perhaps PG is a key ingredient, a 'Dear Leader'

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

John Lynn — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 03:27:06 -0000

I'd love to hear your thoughts about http://www.youbethevc.com

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

Jeff Judge — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:17:30 -0000

speaking of ycombinator fred - take a look at getdropbox.com. i've been using their service for 8 hours and i'm absolutely blown away. these guys are solving a major pain point in file sharing and synchronization.

(i didn't read all the other comments, so someone may have already mentioned this)

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

Berislav Lopac — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:07:44 -0000

What do you mean can it become a movement -- it already has! Besides Y Combinator and TechStars, projects like these are popping up all over the map.

In the US there are Startup@PARC and the recent Amazon's AWS Startup Challenge; Europe has seen Y Europe in Vienna and Seedcamp in London, with more planned for the future. And of course there are related projects -- some admittedly more serious than others -- like Startup Weekend, You Be the VC and The Next Internet Millionaire.

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

jeremystein — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:58:43 -0000

i think thats is part of the reason why it appeals to a younger audience. this doesnt hold in some cases, but younger founders are better able to bear the risk of a startup. we don't have families to support, etc. if nothing materializes after 6mo of food and rent, it won't materially alter our lives.

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

salutor — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:11:31 -0000

If you look closely at the YCombinator system it really is focused on developers right out of college -- $5k for 3 months spent in either Boston or SF is just not a form of support that is remotely useful for someone with a family. The other aspects of the model -- mentoring and advice -- would be invaluable for a much wider group of entrepreneurs. The field is wide open for other applications of the same general idea.

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

thisgirlangie — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:21:40 -0000

There is also the Women 2.0 Business Plan Competition -- http://pitch.women2.org

Deadline to enter is April 15, 2008 -- prize includes a meeting with the iconic Esther Dyson!

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

John G — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:24:24 -0000

There is no question the YC people make a big difference here as well as the "incuvestor" infrastructure... There is no substitute for truly battle tested C level experienced angels as opposed to functional or mid level stock option millionaires...

BUT Im thinking it might be wise to review history and "idealab"... YC has the risk exposure and ROI calcs down better.. but the reality is when "quick" M & A and series A exits dry up because bubble or general economic factors push people again to start asking the "whats the business model" and "how do you make money" questions. They may hit a bit of a wall, hopefully one they can climb over by tweaking their model a bit

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

Jimmy Gambier — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:07:47 -0000

Seattle has it's own version at http://www.founderscoop.com/, started earlier this week by Andy Sack and Chris DeVore from Judy's Book. It's nice to see the model replicate itself here in the Pacific NW. From everything Tony Wright's told me about the Y Combinator experience, the network you are tapped into seems to be as valuable as the money you get.

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

Name — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:21:31 -0000

$25k is a bit low. Should be at least double.

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

fredwilson — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:54:03 -0000

Josh is a great person to be involved. He's a winner and he can pick winners

Fred

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

Dan T — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:36:32 -0000

A similar program http://www.dreamitventures.com was launched in Philadelphia last week in first class fashion. The kickoff party included the Mayor of Philadelphia and Josh Kopleman as the keynote speaker on Friday. The Saturday session was an orientation/introduction between the 12 teams that were selected from 200 applicants and their mentors/service providers/strategists. DreamIt lined up the top local entrepreneurs, startup lawyers, finance people and VC's in the area to help promote the concept and support the teams. This one looks very promising. About 100 people invested their Saturday to nurture the program and the startups. They are off to a great start and I am looking forward to helping them succeed in whatever way I can.

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

Nick Plante — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:07:57 -0000

I suppose you're right and that I misspoke, my apologies for that; I've never seen it mentioned that it worked against you. But the average age of people that have received funding is 25 (note that that's not average applicant age). I'd love to see some stats from their applicant pool at some point. Think it would be incredibly interesting to see what kind of diverse backgrounds are applying (and their success ratios, although those are obviously pendant on ideas and such as well).

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

howardlindzon — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:01:37 -0000

so good thanks - been talking to brad about techstars phoenix

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

Tony Wright — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:54:04 -0000

it doesn't work against you. There were a lot of founders in their 30s in the last batch. Two were approaching 40.

Re: Can The Y Combinator Idea Turn Into A Movement?

Skip @skipshoe Shuda — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:16:50 -0000

The Y-Combinator model is a unique combination of talents and perspectives. The Philadelphia version has just kicked off at www.DreamitVentures.com - bringing its own style to this new model.

I've always loved "bioanalogies" ... thanks. From a synapse...
- Skip