
Startup Culture vs the Art of Software - aristus
http://carlos.bueno.org/2007/03/startup-school-startup-culture.html
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pg
Comparing investors to record labels etc is a little harsh. They're notorious
for leaving bands with nothing. Whereas as rich as investors get from
startups, founders get richer. (Myspace is a famous exception precisely
because it's an exception.) Two YC startups have gotten bought so far, and the
founders made a lot more than we did.

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aristus
Si, a little harsh. You are not Lou Pearlman. I am trying to get at the effect
of fashion and the star-making network on how "talent" behaves and the art
advances.

It's a great time to start a startup. You can get going on the cheap, just as
a band can get their equipment from the pawn shop and start off at their
favorite bar. But to keep going, to scale and get that big prize you need to
embed yourself into the larger network of financiers & promoters.

At times you position YC as an alternative to the VC world, when it's really a
leg up into it. Is VC pressure to hire a CEO that different from replacing
Pete Best with Ringo?

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python_kiss
A similar argument was raised on another blog, to which Adam Siegel left an
appropriate reply. Have a look:

http://www.midasoracle.org/2007/02/22/are-nathan-kontny-and-adam-siegel-of-
inkling-markets-being-exploited-by-paul-grahams-y-combinator/

Like most other hackers, I am not applying to YC for the investment. 5000(1 +
n) is really not a large sum. In fact, I already have half that amount sitting
in my bank account (student fees, :p). Our reason for applying to YC is to
have the opportunity to create something larger than us (apologies for the
cliche). There is no better place to do it than through Y Combinator. YC works
at the same wavelength as its hackers; that is a considerable difference
between a VC and Y Combinator.

If you were an aspiring hip/hop musician, would you rather go to Shady Records
for a record label or Donald Trump?

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aristus
Sure, sure, it's a good gig, and more help than you get from a bank or Uncle
Ralph. I am not too worried about how the pie is cut, but more about the fact
that without involvement from the network, everyone says you have no chance at
all. That influences which projects we kids think about, what talents we
choose to develop, and so on. Just like the music biz.

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roovno
Thanks for sharing this nice article

