

Y Combinator Is Boot Camp for Startups - twakefield
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/05/ff_ycombinator/all/1

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ericflo
Steven Levy put a ridiculous amount of time and effort into researching this
article, and I think it shows. He _really_ immersed himself into the whole
experience--for months! In some ways, it felt like he was a part of the class,
working alongside us as we worked to build our companies.

This kind of real journalism is something that I didn't think existed any
more, at least not in the tech world. But after watching him work, and seeing
his process, I think it's just a damn shame how rare his kind of journalism
is.

Didn't mean for this to turn into a puff comment, but I have to admit the
whole production was quite impressive.

~~~
drusenko
I couldn't speak any more highly of Steven Levy's writing as well. He wrote a
story for Newsweek during our batch: [http://www.newsweek.com/2007/05/20/meet-
the-next-billionaire...](http://www.newsweek.com/2007/05/20/meet-the-next-
billionaires.html)

The feeling was very similar. Having experienced all of the time he put into
it, how he listened to all of our seemingly pedestrian stories and masterfully
wove an eloquent story line out of mere tidbits -- it's a pretty awesome
experience.

He's one of the best writers around and one of the last bastions of true, old-
fashioned journalism in the tech world.

~~~
ddol
Glenn Chapman of AFP is another great old-school journalist who focuses on
tech. Well researched, concise, balanced - as good wire stories should be.

<http://google.com/news?q=author:Glenn+Chapman>

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staunch
Makes me wish someone was doing a YC documentary.

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rglover
As a YC hopeful, this article really helped me to understand what really goes
on during the three months. It's inspiring to hear stories about companies who
pivot right before Demo Day and actually receive help with their ideas from
PG. I'm just starting to learn about the difficulties of running a startup.
We're really lucky to have guys like PG out their who are truly interested in
innovation and not just the money. This article proves his dedication to the
industry and to all of the people who are working so hard to get to the top.
My day = motivated.

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stevenj
I know it's cliche, but what I got most from this article is that traction
matters most.

Growth is the lifeblood of the industry.

To get that, you have to make something people want.

Everything else is pretty insignificant.

Simple, but not easy.

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StavrosK
Heh, I'm the "Greece" in that article.

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mkeblx
For a relatively brief piece on YC I think it was very accurate, capturing the
significance of YC, the experience of the founders, and the general excited
feeling all around that imbues YC. Obviously it's for a more general audience
so probably contains nothing much new content-wise for HN readers but is
interesting to see it all put together.

This is something I'll email my dad, who when I mentioned I mentioned I
applied for an incubator asked "What do you need office space for?"

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k19snhhx
_The Viral Me_ is another long article profiling Y Combinator from December
2010.

[http://www.gq.com/news-politics/big-issues/201012/viral-
me-s...](http://www.gq.com/news-politics/big-issues/201012/viral-me-silicon-
valley-social-networking-devin-friedman?printable=true)

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dsaidov
Ummm needs to be corrected: LikeALittle: A slick iPad-based app for doctors
that collects all of a patient’s chart info in one place. The application has
gotten raves from the physicians who have tried it so far.

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timjahn
I'm all for promoting entrepreneurship but it'd be nice to highlight those who
actually make money and care about building businesses too, rather than
celebrating simply taking investor's money and spending it.

~~~
ridruejo
Plenty of YC companies make money. If you are referring specifically to the
ones in the article, many of them are in the initial stages of building the
company. Unless you are a consulting company it is not easy to make money from
day 0.

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marcin
I guess we will all agree that there is an outrageous error in the article. It
should not be 'Terminator itself', but 'Terminator himself' rather, shouldn't
it?

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erikb
Some part of me really thought that a "Y Combinator is so great" article can't
be more interesting to HN people then understanding Fourier Transformation or
discussing the development of ML research.

Maybe I'm just too naive. Thanks for that lesson.

~~~
rrrazdan
And people down voted you for this! Sigh!

~~~
erikb
Probably people expect that I say something bad about this article, where my
comment wasn't about the article at all.

But hey. That was the result I expected and I happily pay the price.

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ryanisinallofus
Please. Someone who has actually been to boot camp debunk this ridiculous
metaphor.

~~~
ryannielsen
Boot Camp : Military :: Y Combinator : Startups

a·nal·o·gy/əˈnaləjē/ Noun 1\. A comparison between two things, typically on
the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or
clarification.

Should the readers of Wired not be familiar with Y Combinator, the analogy
implied in the article's title should actually give them a good idea of what
YC is all about.

I don't think anyone (or at least many) will take the analogy literally and
expect to see photos of YC founders going through the rigors of military boot
camp. Instead, I bet most people who read that title will get the comparison
right off the bat: Y Combinator is a short, intensive, exhaustive program
focused on preparing new founders to be more successful in the business world.
Just as military boot camp is a short, intensive, exhaustive program focused
on preparing new recruits to be more successful on the battlefield.

