
Ask YC: I have a serious GF, but still want to apply. Good Idea? - spoiledtechie
Hey all,<p>I have a serious Girl friend of 5 years and a full time job to take care of all my student loans.  $80,000.00 worth of loans.  I live over in Florida and wonder do you think if I have a great idea, that I should do this.<p>I would either have to keep my girl back at home for the summer or take her and our dogs with me.<p>Do you think its viable to do so?  To live on the $5,000.00 for the summer?
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noodle
you shouldn't be asking HN about this, you should be asking your GF about
this.

~~~
spoiledtechie
asked, shes okay if it can be afforded..... Don't know that I can.

If I were to quit, does that mean that I will be unemployed or do I receive a
check like employment from YC?

~~~
jwilliams
No - You'd be self-employed, with no income.... Yeah - I know - it's a
distinction that I wonder about every day.

YC hand out a cheque when you accept their offer. That's it until you secure
other funding or revenue.

Doing a startup is a (significant) lifestyle choice. So if your GF is on board
with that, and is happy a part of it, then just apply. If not, then you've got
some bigger issues to wrestle with.

~~~
paul7986
Just apply! If you get accepted go to your friends and family and ask if they
can provide a security blanket in case nothing becomes of your work at YC.
That would allow you to find employment if need be!

If you do get accepted stretch the resources as far as possible! Find
roommates and eat like a poor man(do not go out to eat)!

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vaksel
Based on your situation, I'd say no.

Why don't you do your startup now from home, grow it a little and see if its a
viable model, and then apply when you start getting some traction?

Because right now you are talking about uprooting your whole life over a 1-2%
chance of success.

~~~
ryanwaggoner
I guess it depends on how you define "success", but I think the chances of the
YC startups getting more out of it than they put in is higher than 1-2%. Even
if they end up folding the startup, just having been accepted into YC and
having the network probably changes your career path significantly.

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tsally
Well the financial math is simple, no $5k is not enough for you both.

The relationship math is simple as well. After five years of dating, you're
probably getting to the point where you are going to get married or break up.
If you think you are going to get married, why would you uproot your life with
a full time job when you are in debt?

YCombinator is not a silver bullet to start up success. Work on something from
home in your spare time. Find out more about your talent for this type of
thing.

~~~
spoiledtechie
Thank you.

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menloparkbum
Apply and decide after you've been accepted.

~~~
rksprst
If you're accepted via phone you have to respond right there. If he puts this
decision off until then, that gives him only 30 seconds to decide. I think
it's better to think this through beforehand.

~~~
agotterer
Yea, but he has to at least get to the interview first. If he isn't invited to
that process then there's nothing to even consider. Once invited to an
interview, its a good time to start considering any major decisions (and you
will have a few weeks). Up until that point, theres nothing to lose but a free
weekend in Cali.

~~~
rksprst
You're right in the sense that there's nothing to lose. But if he does get
accepted to the interview and decide not to do it, he took the spot from
another startup that would probably have accepted.

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rjurney
Startups are hard on partners, but if its serious and this is something
important to you then you should apply.

Trial by fire :D

I love my wife, and I know she loves me too. And part of the reason I know
that is because I was broke as hell on the second iteration of my first
startup when we met. I crashed at her apartment and ate her food while I built
my prototype.

She put up with it, she must love me :)

~~~
spoiledtechie
My girl is doing the same to me now. Living off me while she attends school.

~~~
rjurney
Well, then do the math. A formal budget, something most 20 somethings have
never done. Figure out what sacrifices you've got to make. Then sell the team
on them.

Add a fudge factor, cause shit happens.

An exercise in startup leadership :D

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kaiserama
If your idea truly is great you have absolutely nothing to lose by applying.
If your idea is accepted you still have the option of declining the funding,
requirements to move, etc... But if your idea is accepted then it obviously
has some merit and you'd at least have the YC stamp of approval and a slightly
better chance of succeeding than those who didn't get in.

At the end of the day, do what makes sense to you and your values. Good luck!

~~~
spoiledtechie
Thank you.

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ErrantX
It's simple math.

If you come to YC for the Summer will you:

a) finish up with a working product ready to take to the next level

b) at that point then be able to afford to move home _or_ ship the GF out

c) still be with the GF in the Autumn should you not go to YC

d) are unable to get the project off the ground from where you are

Yes? Then try it :)

(err and also: have you asked what the GF thinks? that seems the first port of
call... :))

~~~
spoiledtechie
My girl will undoubtedly stay with me.

But managing two households at once on $5,000.00 that YC offers is hard work.
I would be eating ramen all the way for the entire summer.

Whats the percent chance that your actually profitable after 3 months worth of
work.

~~~
ErrantX
TBH fairly small - but there is a difference between profitable and being able
to get hold of some capital (beyond the seed funding of YC). You might well
get to that stage (no - you should get to that stage :D).

Is there any reasons the GF cant come to the bay with you?

EDIT: cheeky but does the GF have any hacker skills to become a cofounder?

~~~
spoiledtechie
I wish she had the hacker skills. But she is still in school which makes it
EXTREMELY DIFFICULT.

~~~
froo
Having a look at your responses throughout this thread it seems like you're
looking for reasons to go rather than reasons not too.

Starting a startup is a huge commitment, potentially a lifelong one depending
on your idea.

If you're even slightly unsure (which you seem to be), you should perhaps
maybe think about it some more, or start it up from where you are.

I'm not trying to make you depressed or anything mate, but when things aren't
going according to plan and everything goes wrong (as things can do with
startups) you still have to be willing to give it 110%

So yeah, read some of the advice in this thread but really sit down, have a
LONG HARD think about it. If you're prepared to make sacrifices (which there
will inevitably be, it's your choice what they will be though) - then make a
decision.

~~~
spoiledtechie
thanks. Agreed.

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rokhayakebe
Man Up. (at the risk of being downvoted).

~~~
tptacek
What does that even mean?

~~~
froo
Other interoperable phrases could be

    
    
      "Toughen up Tinkerbelle"
      "Grow a pair, son"
      "Who wears the pants in your relationship?"
      "Just do it" (proudly swiped from Nike)

~~~
dgabriel
Or, for me, "Put on your big girl panties."

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dkokelley
You said your GF is in school right now. If that's so, how will she move with
you to SF? She won't be able to go to school (unless the school allows 100%
telecommuting or she decides to take a semester off).

Remember that the $5,000 +$5,000n is an investment in YOUR COMPANY, not a
paycheck. That money is meant to cover the founder's living expenses during
the YC round. I think you will have a hard time using that money to live off
of and support your GF.

If your GF can get a job and support herself (either while still going to
school or by taking a semester off) I would say go for it. But if the only way
is to send money back to FL then you are hurting your chances of succeeding,
and I would find another way.

~~~
dasil003
It's one thing to be fresh out of college with no debt and no
responsibilities. I could imagine finding a roommate, eating ramen and
stretching $5000 for 6 months or more.

However you sound a bit more like me. I'm 30, married, with $60,000 of student
loans and a car payment living in Mountain View. In case you don't know what
expenses are like out here, let's just say $5000 wouldn't even cover my loan
payments + rent for 2 months. You will not find a decent one-bedroom under
$1500. You can do better if you cram yourselves into an efficiency or get
roommates, but just FYI, I got a 30% raise to move out here and I've never
felt poorer. Given your situation, your runway will be shorter than most, but
if you are good, that may be the extra drive you need to get something up and
fundable in under 3 months. Me? I'm bootstrapping from someplace cheaper when
I leave my current startup. I see the YC model as more appropriate for those
with no experience, no connections and no responsibilities.

Good luck.

~~~
spoiledtechie
This clears a bit up for me as we are in pretty much the same situation. Thank
you. As for your last sentence,

I see the YC model as more appropriate for those with no experience, no
connections and no responsibilities.

I see that I have all three....

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jamiequint
I wouldn't bank on getting in if you have no co-founder. You should probably
worry about finding one of those first.

------
callmeed

      g = Girlfriend.find(:all).last
      a = YCapp.create(:term => 'Summer 09', :name => 'spoiledtechie')
      if a.accepted
        g.propose
        self.move('SF')
        g.move('SF') if g.fiancee
      end

~~~
spoiledtechie
g.propose is out of the question (for now).

if a.accepted self.move('SF') g.stay('FL') || g.move('parents') end

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bmatheny
Remember the underpants gnomes from South Park? Their plot was simple. 1.
Steal underpants, 2. ???, 3. Profit. Most YC people have something similar
going on: 1. Come up with great idea, 2. Get YC to fund it, 3. ???, 4. Profit,
5. Get a Girlfriend. You've already jumped to step 5, skip 1-4.

~~~
spoiledtechie
Found the girl early on in life. Way before college. lol. Now stuck with the
girl. Love her to bits though so can't let go and move without her.

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gregatragenet
I think for you the best solution would be to keep your day job and work
nights/weekends on your startup. With your big financial liabilities and GF
that has to stay in school in FL you can't make it work on a YC check and
uproot to silicon valley...

If you really wanna be in the silicon valley tech scene -- it's a good place
to network about your startup idea -- start applying for jobs out there.
You'll make way more money than you're making now and you can still work on
your idea nights/weekends. You'll probably find a co-founder and some advisers
out there and have a better chance of getting serious funding than you'd have
in Florida.

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unalone
We don't know all your details. You know your life better than we do.

Is she willing to find employment and pay some of the bills if she lives with
you? How fast do you have to pay off your loans? Have you looked to see how
good a living situation SF affords you? It's an expensive place.

I agree with menloparkbum: Apply either way. If you're accepted, then decide
further.

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anatoli
Just to clarify... one founder gets $10,000.00, two founders get $15,000.00,
three founders get $20,000.00. It's clearly stated in the FAQ... what hope is
there, if you can't even read the terms correctly.

~~~
utnick
not sure but i think he meant (10k) - (taxes) - (cost of moving to sf from
florida)

which is about 5k

~~~
spoiledtechie
yep.

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briansmith
Aren't YC companies expected to stay in the Valley even after the summer is
over?

~~~
ErrantX
No - but I imagine most do because that is where the investors are :)

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pclark
just out of interest - do many founders _bring_ their girlfriends with them?

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silencio
I wonder too. I'm considering applying - still working it out with the
cofounder as to our final decision about applying - and (as much as I'd like a
girlfriend) I have a boyfriend who'd support me no matter what but can't move
because he has a full time job where we are right now. Sorta complicated :(

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ia
if you have to ask...

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Allocator2008
TechStars, (www.techstars.org) pays $6,000 per founder, so that is at least a
thousand extra bucks there if you wanted to try that instead. There
application deadline is Saturday I think.

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Allocator2008
Not unless the dogs are willing to share their dog food with you, lol.

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sutro
Just think of all the girlfriends you'll be able to buy once you become rich
and famous in Silicon Valley!

~~~
tsally
Meaningful girlfriends? You mean zero?

~~~
tsally
It appears that whoever downvoted me misinterpreted my comment. To expand the
implication: you can buy zero meaningful girlfriends.

