
Y Combinator, Should You? - adamsmith
http://blogs.xobni.com/asmith/archives/15
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Leonidas
Y Combinator would be the ideal place to meet other people like yourself who
is passionate,have energy, and will provide you with feedback, which is a
really difficult thing to find. It's like having a constant adrenaline rush.

The chance, the opportunity to work on your passion and project FULL TIME, how
cool is that?

Great article adam

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sethjohn
"On average, Y Combinator will increase your expected outcome by at least 5x.
They usually take 2-10% of your stock in exchange. That's a great deal!"

That seems like an optimistic way to phrase the proposition. Sure, they
increase the outcome by 5x(+) for the 20%(+) of companies that eventually get
sold...as all VC funding hopes to do. Or, I suppose they can increase your
outcome by 5x compared to sitting at home...

YC sounds like it can be a fantastic deal, but it can't really be 5-20x better
than your other options.

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paul
Why can't it really be 5-20x better than your other options?

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sethjohn
If you have an idea and a management team that's good enough to make it with
the help of YC, it's hard to believe you couldn't get the funding and make the
connections that you need to succeed in another way.

I don't know a whole lot about the success of YC companies, but it looks like
Reddit is their big success so far. Reddit sold for a reported 65 million
(according to The Google), and they needed relatively little additional
funding after the seed money. So let's say YC retained 3% of the company, they
make 2 million which is a 100x return on their investment. Wow, I just did the
math now...that's pretty impressive.

Update: A new search on The Google (link) suggests that the purchase price may
have been much lower. Proponents of the "50-million my ass" school of thought
are suggesting 5 million is closer to the mark. At 5 million, YC gets a 10x
return on investment which is what all VC money is shooting for among
successful (non-broke) companies.

<http://reddit.com/user/bmatkin/>

Larger point, if you're in it to win it you should be able to pull it off with
or without YC. Sure YC connections and advice are tremendously valueable...but
5x to 20x better than the other smart VC/angel/seed money out there? No way!

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danielha
The reasons we are applying are simple:

1) Great people and minds to be around 2) Advice for the crucial first steps
3) Being able to work on our startup full-time without the worry of immediate
expenses

Sometimes people's extraneous reasons for being hesitant are unjustified for
their means. Good post. Thanks Adam.

