
General Assembly Get Funding From Yuri Milner and Jeff Bezos - Ataub24
http://www.betabeat.com/2011/09/07/general-assembly-get-funding-from-yuri-milner-and-jeff-bezos/
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thinkcomp
When I saw the headline I wasn't sure if it meant that Yuri Milner and Jeff
Bezos were keeping the California legislature (which is called the General
Assembly) afloat, or if this was a clever name for a startup. It appears to be
a clever name for a startup.

Except that it isn't. Don't call your startup "Congress." Or "General
Assembly." Or "The White House." You're just asking for trouble.

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untog
No joke. I've attended a few events at GA, the first time I went I had a very
difficult time finding it because whenever I looked up 'General Assembly' on
Google Maps it sent me to the UN building.

Interestingly, now that I try it, it's no longer the case. Huge cheers to GA,
incidentally. It's a fantastic space- one day I intend to be there in a more
permanent capacity than weekend hackathons...

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cienrak
I wonder if startups accepted into GA will have a standing offer for funding
like YC folks?

This seems to be about education, so perhaps the dealflow is implicit via
goodwill from the funding.

As GA co-founder Brad Hargreaves wrote, " When we launched our first
certification program—Front-end Web Development—a few weeks ago, we received
over 100 applications for only fifteen available spots. Demand for this kind
of education has clearly outstripped supply. And we want to answer the call."

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dundas
Our startup is in GA, and I would say no. There is little vetting of business
model to get in GA. In fact, I would not even consider GA an incubator. They
don't take equity, nor do they offer advising. It's more like super cool
startup friendly paid office space.

The value we've gotten has been being around really smart startups working on
cool projects, and being able to share ideas.

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padrack
So there was no discussion with the startups at GA about the funding?

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gsiener
I can second this -- it's not an incubator or EIR at all.

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achompas
Does anyone know whether GA accepts single hackers as part of their space? I'd
like to find a desk away from home, and GA seems like the perfect place.

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gsiener
Yep, they certainly do.

