

Ask PG: Increase in growth rate of YC applicants - smg

In your latest essay you mention that<p>"We take applications for funding every 6 months. Applications for the current funding cycle closed on October 17, well after the markets tanked, and even so we got a record number, up 40% from the same cycle a year before."<p>to indicate that enthusiasm for starting new startups has not dried up. I think the absolute number will not tell us the true picture about new startups. The more interesting number might be the difference in the application growth rates. Did the number of applicants grow more between Winter 06 and Winter 07 or between Winter 07 and Winter 08.<p>Thanks
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aneesh
PG: "Perhaps I should have added that 40% was more than applications usually
go up year to year." (<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=386730>)

So the growth rate seems to have increased.

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smg
thanks aneesh

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cperciva
Don't get your hopes up too much -- PG has said in the past that he doesn't
like to publish numbers because it leads to comparisons against YC clones.

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mechanical_fish
I looked at the title and thought "Wow, are they applying before they stop
_growing_? Is YC targeting middle-school students now?"

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SwellJoe
Gives new meaning to "early stage" funding.

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ojbyrne
I guess the question I have to ask -- is this just people with no job
prospects looking for a job? $1500 a month for 2 months is probably reasonably
attractive right now, even if you just walk away at the end of it. As
compared, to, oh, starving.

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smg
I am not looking for exact numbers. An indication of the change in growth
rates even whether the growth rate increased or decreased would be enough

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bigbang
I believe PG has published absolute numbers in the past. Giving the growth
rates would give the whole picture.

