
Dear Y Combinator, we bet you we can solve a problem of yours in 72 hours. - littlegiantcap
http://www.seedlauncher.com/blog/2012/04/03/dear-y-combinato-we-bet-you-one-interview-that-we-can-solve-a-nagging-problem-for-you-in-the-next-72-hours/
======
patio11
Life skill for you: putting a message into a bottle and then flinging it onto
the Internet _could_ get it read, but that isn't the way to bet.

Here's a hypothetical for you: how many people do you think have social
permission to contact a YC partner and say "X is awesome and deserves a look."
I'd ballpark that in the hundreds to low thousand range. Many of them are
accessible on the Internets and less overwhelmed with suitors than the YC
partners are. How about solving a meaningful problem for one of them and
having the next application say "We built a $WHATEVER for $SOMEONE which
increased their customer base by 10%, like they told you over email earlier."

P.S. This advice had wide application beyond YC and beyond "applications."
Indeed, part of me thinks that applications (in general) are a backup
filtering mechanism for people who haven't figured out a more effective way to
get what they want yet.

~~~
littlegiantcap
<http://b.qr.ae/Hktlyv>

This explains our dilemma. Frankly, we are a bunch of "nobodies" in the middle
of Iowa. We don't know any Y Combinator Alums, and even if we were to reach
out the best we could hope for is a lukewarm they seemed "nice". We have a lot
of drive and are trying to prove ourselves any way possible. That's what we're
trying to do with this post.

~~~
patio11
Step back from this conversation for a second and reread this, pretending it
was from someone you don't know. Does this person who wrote this post sound
like a winner who is going to make the next Dropbox? That's who YC wants in
their next class. Be the winner who is going to make the next Dropbox.

There is nothing wrong with making affirmative efforts to sound like a winner.
This is a skill which will take you far in life. I suggest working on it.

With specific reference to you being in Iowa: howdy! I live in a rice field in
Central Japan. I work that into speeches frequently, often as part of a self-
deprecating joke. I probably overuse self-deprecating jokes if I'm being
totally honest with myself, but when I use them, the idea is not to convey
"I'm not as competent as all you cool kids from the Valley who paid good money
to hear me talk today", it is close to _exactly the opposite_ of that.

You say you don't know any YCombinator alums. Is knowing YCombinator alums a
priority to you? Winners routinely achieve their priorities by taking the
basic, obvious steps for achieving them. There's a series of tubes between
central Iowa and every YCombinator alum. There's also planes which regularly
fly between Iowa and Silicon Valley. (I am totally serious.)

You may be inclined to state reasons why YC alums (or anybody else whose
cooperation would be valuable) would not want to talk to you. How about you
just don't state those reasons and instead wait to hear them from the horses'
mouths instead? Better still, how about instead coming with reasons why they
would of course want to talk to you, because you're building things that will
solve identifiable problems for them?

~~~
littlegiantcap
I just wanted to say you've brought up some good points and given us some
things to consider. That being said, I would think that someone who had the
guts to throw themselves out there and say let us prove that we're worth your
time is the kind of guy who could make the next Dropbox. This may seem like a
cheap stunt to a lot of the people on here, but we're just trying to prove
that we're more than our credentials and we're worth a shot.

~~~
larrys
"I would think that someone who had the guts to throw themselves out there and
say let us prove that we're worth your time"

The problem is what you are trying to do lacks creativity and originality. And
without that I would question whether you could in fact build the next
"dropbox".

~~~
sgrove
This made me chuckle. Dropbox was one of the least creative or original
startups I know. But it was born out an immediate unfulfilled need and a
subsequent deep fury, and then executed and refined insanely. Before and since
Dropbox there have been many, many attempts to fill this space, but their
execution has been phenomenal.

~~~
larrys
Dropbox's success is in their creativity in solving a problem. (the
execution). Here the issue is getting into YC (which by the way I question the
entire idea of thinking that is an end in itself - but that's a separate
issue). If that is the goal though, someone can put more effort into simply
saying "I'm good look at me and let me prove it". How they say that isn't
relevant either (putting up a billboard for example..)

Effort doesn't mean doing obvious things either. Simply doing the things that
anyone can think of don't count and show creative initiative. Part of the
problem is of course that newbies don't know what is "obvious" and tried
before in varying degrees.

------
jessedhillon
Even if PG gave you such a task, how would that demonstrate anything relevant?
You getting a task and a deadline is the _opposite_ of being entrepreneurial;
that's called having a job and a boss and showing that you are an adequate or
better employee.

Being entrepreneurial involves you

1) generating ideas,

2) using your intuition to pick a good one,

3) testing it out to see if your intuition is correct (iterate if not), and

4) then execute _that_ idea (and again, iterate as needed)

Or, in short: _discovering and exploiting an opportunity_

Edit: minor.

~~~
javajosh
Oh, I don't know. Having a team that can solve any arbitrary difficult problem
in three days could be quite useful in a startup. The (technical) execution of
a startup idea can be cast as a series of arbitrarily difficult problems,
after all.

~~~
EwanG
Arbitrary huh...

My two long term pet peeves for which I would be most happy to help lobby to
get them a hearing:

1) Faster than light travel 2) Create a robot that carries it's own power
supply, communication device, and webcams that would allow me to traipse up
and down any path in Rocky Mountain National Park in real time so that I can
take a hike for 20 minutes when I need a break without the requisite plane
travel and hotel bill

I suspect pg would be willing to pay for at least number 1 :-)

~~~
javajosh
Well, I'd settle for a teleportation device or ability that could take me
anywhere in the universe instantaneously, and far, far greater physical
durability (maybe in a Culture-level gel suit).

They better get cranking, because 72 hours is just not a lot of time to
develop either of these things.

------
vm
I love the creativity, though I have to admit, I'm a little confused.

YC already does a great job of releasing great startup ideas (see links below
in the off chance that you haven't read them already). And it seems like
everyone I met who got in was accepted because of the awesome things they
created. So if you're short on ideas, read the lists, and then get to work and
have something to show for it by application time! Whether or not you get in
will probably matter less and less once you're cranking away at a company
you're really into.

<http://paulgraham.com/ambitious.html>

<http://ycombinator.com/ideas.html>

~~~
littlegiantcap
Our team has been talking, and we've decided that even if we don't hear back
from anyone at Y Combinator we're doing a 72 hour hackathon sometime in the
next week using something on one of those list. :)

~~~
corkill
Yep just do it. Everyone can talk a good game. Solve something then come back
and show everyone.

------
harryh
I don't think that YC is trying to identify teams that can create the maximum
amount of value in 72 hours. They're looking for teams that will create the
maximum amount of value over thousands of hours (or more).

It's not at all clear that the former correlates with the latter.

~~~
proexploit
I think you're correct a long-term push is different from a 72 hour scramble
but they're only looking to "win" an interview, not a place in a starting
class. I think it's reasonable a team could be unsuccessful at filling out an
application (which previously required an idea) but still be extremely strong
candidates. I hope YC accepts, they don't stand to lose anything (save time)
and there's no obligation to accept similar copycat offers in the future. They
might also get a problem solved.

~~~
harryh
Ya, I'd tend to think it's at least worth pg sending them a challenge.

That being said, I don't think that what successful YC applicants are doing
should be characterized as "filling out an application." The application just
captures their past work in a form. It's the actual past work that matters,
not the simple transcription.

I think my larger point is that an awesome 72 hour hack session probably isn't
as good of an indicator of future success as a track record of successful
medium to long term work in the past.

~~~
dfc
Why would he limit the number of potential solutions to one? If they wanted to
try this it seems like it would better to put the challenge to everyone.

------
dkrich
"You're actions speak so loudly that I cannot hear what you say."

One of my favorite quotes of all time, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. If you are
really more than what comes across on paper, you should have things to show
that extend beyond what is on paper. Claiming you are smart and can execute
will get you nowhere. I'd venture to guess that everybody who applies believes
that they have that in spades.

But the larger question I have, and continue to have, is why people continue
to view entrepreneurship as an elite club to which you must be allowed
entrance. No offense to Y-Combinator or any other startup incubator, as I'm
sure the experience is fantastic. I just think anybody approaching this as
some kind of bridge that you must cross to achieve success is misguided.
Successful startups were born long before incubators and they were built by
people who knew how to execute and had the wherewithal to do so. The very fact
that you have to plead to make the case that you can execute shows in many
ways that you can't. An incubator should be viewed as one avenue to ramp up
traction and execution, not a permission slip to do so.

------
sachingulaya
I saw a similar post on nuclearphynance.com a few years ago. A young
unemployed developer offered to code forum members' models for free. He was
swimming in interview invitations because people admired the tenacity.

The biggest difference between what he did and what you're doing is that he
made it an open offer. If you chopped off "dear y combinator," and released
the challenge to HN members in general I think your post would have attracted
a much more positive response.

Also, I'm not sure if you guys have been paying attention but pg and paul have
been vocal about YC painpoints recently. Search their comments. The one I've
heard the most is "everyone is exhausted after demo day".

------
forgottenpaswrd
You speak desperation language.

This is like a woman that rejects you on a date and you take it too seriously:
" I will do whatever you wish to test my love". It does not work that way
because you are putting her in a high pedestal and yourself in a lower
status.(And you could be sorry for making commitments to people you don't
really know yet, "may you get what you wish for" is a curse on China).

Maybe it is not the point that you could do something in 72 hours, but what
you could do in 720 or 1000 or 3000. Sometimes you need to do marathon instead
of 50 meters. I believe PG wants people that won't abandon on the hard moments
of a startup, people that will "find a way" over difficult circumstances.

You don't need Y Combinator to success.

~~~
Steko
I guess one man's "desperation" is another's marketing/self-promotion.

Maybe nothing comes of this directly but many more people are already talking
about them then say 24 hours ago. In that it's already a huge success for a
promotion that has cost them all of 15 min.

~~~
noahc
I disagree. They could have gone and shot a bunch of dogs and posted pictures
on the internet. By your measurement 'many more people are already talking
about them...'. Is this example extreme? Sure, but the point is that the
measurement is not if people are talking about them, but if they get closer to
their goals.

How can they take advantage of this to help them? The first step is do a 72
hour hackathon on any problem and produce results. Then come back, and say,
"Show HN: We did the PG challenge anyway!"

~~~
littlegiantcap
We actually are doing that. We're in the process of looking at PG's list of
ambitious startups/Y Combinators list of ideas for startups. Even if they
don't get back to us over the next few days we're going to mull these over
then execute.

------
grokaholic
Rather than naysay your efforts, I prefer to support. pg has opened up YC to
people without ideas, so contrary to other comments here, I don't think you're
violating the spirit of YC to request an interview without an idea. But your
open-ended way of asking might give pg too much to think about. So that could
be a reason why he hasn't got back to you yet.

One idea: pg wants to invest in more entrepreneurs who don't have ideas yet,
and in some cases, perhaps even people without much history of success on
paper. Applicants like yourselves need ideas to build. Create a system that
makes it easy for YC's problems to be discovered by applicants, so applicants
can use these problems as product ideas. Another tip: think beyond YC's
problems to the problems of YC companies. The problems of YC companies are
also YC's problems.

Another idea. I read that YC has trouble scaling their demo days each year.
One article quoted a guy saying that the growing lunch line is actually one of
Demo Day's bigger problems. Make YC Demo Day food service better for guests.
Or instead, make it easier for YC to coordinate. I'm sure pg doesn't like
thinking about it.

------
davemel37
Question: Did you spend 72 hours straight doing everything you can to make
your application reflect who you really are and what you have to offer?

Want to solve a pain point? why not start with your own. Clearly, getting
noticed and recognized by YC Partners is a pain point for you and many others.

Almost 100 years ago Napolean Hill offered a solution. Spend a few weeks
researching your target, and approach them with a real value proposition, an
offer they can't refuse.

Or work on the problem of getting noticed by YC partners by hacking the
application process, identifying all the entry points to reach them, create a
platform for incubators to crowdsource out their problems and pain points to
their applicants, or just find a way to become friends with their mothers.

If there is a will, there is a way goes both ways. If you really had a burning
desire, you would have found a way, and if you haven't found a way, your will
isn't up to the task.

------
goronbjorn
> This is the second time we’ve applied to Y Combinator. Our dream has been,
> for a while, to get our startup off the ground

I don't mean to be crass, but

1) This seems to imply that doing Y Combinator entails success, which is
backwards.

2) What has the startup been doing since when it was last rejected? Why try to
showcase a random thing you can do in 72 hours instead of showcase how you can
build your startup in the months in between YC sessions?

~~~
littlegiantcap
1\. You're absolutely right, it dosen't guarantee success. However, getting
into Y Combinator would definitely help.

2\. This is actually our pivot. We've been together as a team for a year.
Also, the reason we haven't launched is because we've been waiting on the
crowdfunding law to pass.

We've been working and are continuing to work on seedlauncher.com, applying to
Y Combinator is a very small part of what we've been up to.

------
furyofantares
I will be surprised if YC even has any pain points that are well enough
understood to be concisely communicated to an external source and can be
solved in 72 hours. Usually the reason you have a pain point is either that
you don't understand the underlying problem yet, or the solving it will take
time. But I suppose that just means any pain points YC may be able to convey
are things where these guys are expected to fail, which I guess is the whole
spirit of the challenge.

------
ig1
You'd be better off building something awesome in 72 hours and using that to
show your awesomeness.

~~~
zeppelin_7
True that, build something amazing in 72 hours. You are not just idea
implementation and realization machines.

~~~
littlegiantcap
We'd be in for that too. We have tons of ideas waiting on deck so to speak.

~~~
apgwoz
Then go and build one of them in 72 hours, live blog it, and post it here. If
it's interesting, surely it'll get upvoted, and then at least _some_ of the YC
partners will take notice.

------
tstegart
Do it PG! Do it! I want to see a slam dunk! I want to see EPIC failure! I want
to see if they're all talk or can walk the walk. This is like the reality tv
episode of entrepreneurship. Just once, I want to watch and wait with baited
breath as the challenge is issued, the gauntlet is thrown down, the problem
put out and the solution successfully solved! Don't make it easy, make it
tougher than any problem one of your own companies can solve. Make it so tough
people will look around and wonder, can it be even done? Also, make them play
dramatic music at their office constantly for all 72 hours.

~~~
waterlesscloud
A reality show of this nature actually is a pretty good idea.

~~~
dgunn
Techstars created a reality show out of their program and I think it was
widely regarded as a pretty bad decision in hindsight...

~~~
tstegart
Right, but this won't be filmed, it will just be watched in our minds until
the moment of failure or triumph, at which point we will pepper the internet
with generally useless comments.

------
GuiA
Ambitious, risky, and likely to be ignored by YC, but I like the spirit :)

Would be fun to see them play this game with you though (I'm quite curious to
see how you guys work things out if they challenge you to send an iPhone to
Mars and back, for one example of many, many problems they could ask you to
solve that you couldn't really take care of in 72 hours).

~~~
vecter
Their offer is specifically for problems that YC itself faces.

 _Give us a problem, a painpoint, anything that annoys you in day to day life,
and we’ll hack it in 72 hours._

Sending a phone to Mars and back isn't one of them, and is missing the entire
spirit of the problem.

~~~
AndrewNCarr
_"Give us a problem, a painpoint, anything that annoys you in day to day life,
and we’ll hack it in 72 hours."_

Perhaps one of their painpoints is people begging for acceptance with the
argument "gosh, we really are worthy, honest!". Maybe they could solve that
one by coming up with a way to demonstrate their value beyond a plea for
compassion.

~~~
vecter
I didn't say I thought it was a good approach. I was just clarifying the GP's
misunderstanding.

------
moe
You know what works better?

Build something nice and polished ( _anything_ ) and show them that.

Big claims work better when you're not coming empty handed.

------
snikolov
I admire the hustle, but in this case, you are asking the people of YC to do
extra work to come up with something for you to solve. I think they are very
busy and unlikely to do that.

------
jasonhitchcock
Hey guys, the list of problems to solve is up:
<http://paulgraham.com/ambitious.html>

------
robryan
You guys should post about your startup here while you have some attention.
Sounds interesting (I am assuming you are applying with the seed launcher
idea?).

Without being an expert in startup financing I'd imagine there would be some
fairly significant regulation challenges in the idea? Anyone successfully
using the platform currently?

It is also interesting that your idea itself if it comes off might be solving
a YC problem (How best to connect pitching startups with the right investors
and generate the best valuations).

~~~
littlegiantcap
Seedlauncher.com is a crowdfunding for equity site that is based around
investing in small businesses within your own local community. With
crowdfunding becoming legal we're creating a platform to enable both
accredited and unaccredited investors to become part owners in their local
businesses.

~~~
MortenK
Maybe distill that into: Seedlauncher is crowdfunding for small, local
businesses.

That actually sounds like a really good idea. Why not just do this without
waiting for yc?

~~~
littlegiantcap
We are doing it. We've been working hard for months. We're just waiting for
the SEC to write the regulations for crowdfunding following the passage of the
JOBS act.

~~~
lrvick
If it existed today, I would almost certainly be using it. This needs to
exist, and with the JOBS act passing it will. The race is on to see who gets a
user base first, or before someone like angelist does it with their existing
user base.

If I were in your shoes I would spend 72 hours getting a full profiling system
up and online with the vision, get THAT on hackernews, and start building a
user base. By the time you actually finish the integration of backends to
allow for micropayments, tracking users, and equity allotments, you already
have users and are that much further ahead of anyone else working on something
similar when you turn those features on.

YC is awesome, but they only are one of many options available to you. From
where I sit, there is nothing about this project that _needs_ a lot of funding
to get a prototype built, an a prototype will be what you need to prove you
guys have the chops to take this all the way. The prototype just needs a few
weekends of time, infrastructure knowledge and programming skill. The only
thing I really see you needing some cash for early, is legal counsel to build
solid terms of service and investment agreements carefully written to make
sure you are fully protected and acting within the JOBS act.

Feel free to contact me if you want to discuss this further.

------
lachyg
Database connection error... Cached:

[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?ix=acb&sour...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?ix=acb&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=cache%3Awww.seedlauncher.com%2Fblog%2F2012%2F04%2F03%2Fdear-
y-combinato-we-bet-you-one-interview-that-we-can-solve-a-nagging-problem-for-
you-in-the-next-72-hours%2F)

~~~
j45
Thanks for the link, didn't expect to see an error

------
patrickod
They should solve their hosting issues first. Google's cached version for
those looking for a copy <http://bit.ly/HM9HHg>

------
jack-r-abbit
I've got a problem for you to solve. This is not a complete sentence. Solve
that. ;)

 _In the spirit of showing you that we can thrive at Y Combinator, and that we
are more than who we are on paper._

~~~
dfc
Awesome, free grammar advice from someone who writes:

"I have got a problem"

Thanks for the LOLz...

~~~
jack-r-abbit
I've got something for you to read. <http://bit.ly/HcYIJS>

Edit: Also, while I stand by the correctness of my first statement, me being
right or wrong wouldn't make that fragmented sentence a complete one. However,
unlike the OP, my comment was not intended to catch the attention of Y
Combinator to get an interview with the hopes of getting my start-up kick
started. So I would tend to give posts like mine a little more leeway than a
challenge like the OP. Perhaps grammatical errors like that resulted in the
rejections.

~~~
dfc
While admittedly childish on my part; the use of formal grammar brings up an
interesting question. In a potst somewhere on HN I read that yc uses some sort
of bayesian filter on applications. The details and my recollection are a
little murky about the process.

It would be interesting to know if there was a correlation (+/-) between
formal, colloquial or improper grammar and the success of applications.

~~~
jack-r-abbit
That _would_ be interesting. As imperfect as my grammar and spelling are, I
know that when I have a stack of resumes on my desk to review, the first pass
weeds out the ones with grammar/spelling mistakes. Applying for a job is too
important of a task to make avoidable mistakes like that. If you have not
taken the time to make your resume perfect then you are likely to do sloppy
work in your day to day activities. I would apply the same filter to a YC
application. If I ever find myself working up an application for YC, I would
spend the time and money needed to make sure every bit of that was correct.
Now whether it should be formal or informal or what have you would be a big
mystery. I would tend to lean toward formal in something like that. But
perhaps not so formal that I come off has a robot. You can't trust robots.

------
aestetix
I think it's really funny that all the comments telling people they won't get
noticed are actually boosting it to the top where they are very likely to get
noticed.

Humanity ftw!

------
motti_s
I have an idea. Within 72 hours you have to hack into the Y Combinator servers
and mark your application as "invite to interview". Do that and you get an
interview :)

Disclaimer: if you're not sure what :) means, please google it before
proceeding with the above suggestion.

Anyway I'm just joking. Your post is a nice way to get noticed. Good luck with
your application!

~~~
saraid216
Have you ever tried googling for an emoticon...?

~~~
robryan
[http://insidesearch.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/search-
quality-h...](http://insidesearch.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/search-quality-
highlights-50-changes.html)

Based on the second item of that list, might soon get some emoticon love on
Google search.

------
alaskamiller
Maybe you can try building a search engine for Hacker News.

~~~
chucknthem
That already exists, scroll down.

------
aaronblohowiak
> Our dream has, for a while, to get our startup off the ground

English..

~~~
rubergly
I was going to point this out for them. It's particularly harmful because it's
in the second sentence...

~~~
littlegiantcap
Oops I accidentally a word there. Fixed :)

------
Skywing
Yes, but relating to and understanding the problem that you are trying to
solve is the difficult part. You may create a solution to the problem, but any
programmer can do that. I always viewed YC as being difficult to get into
because you had to do this part prior to applying. If PG does give these guys
something to make, then maybe that'd be a good answer to the question on the
application that asks what your greatest hack ever was - it'd be turning the
tables on PG and getting him to give you something to solve! Clever. :)

------
JohnnyFlash
If you an idea or expertise to do something like this I don't know why you
need to wait for Y Combinator to pick you up before you get started.

Making something profitable from day 1 is difficult but profitable from day 30
is less so. Yes the profit may just about buy your team a round of coffee's
but at least you got off your mark. Your ball is rolling.

Waiting for seed funding before building your product seems somewhat counter-
intuitive to me.

~~~
littlegiantcap
We aren't waiting for seed funding. We pivoted to seedlauncher back in
December, and have been working on it since. We're prelaunch while we wait for
the SEC to write the regulations surrounding crowdfunding so we can operate.

------
dfc
He gave a couple at the pycon conference. Why don't you pretend they responded
with killing email and come up with the better solution for task inbox...

------
j45
Being able to ship a proof of concept (a precursor to an MVP) is a pretty core
skill that will happen many times in that thousands of hours.

Other fun questions in the perpetual proof of concept game:

Will it work this way? Will it work that way?

I don't know. How long will it take? Can we quickly try it out somehow to see
if it gets us what we need? Who can jump on this?

------
davemel37
I would venture to say the application process worked like clock-work. YC is
looking for people to mentor, educate, and smooth out the bumpy road ahead
for, to discover modest people, who acknowledge their weaknesses and are
willing to humble themselves and learn from everyone around them.

~~~
littlegiantcap
Ouch. We never said, or even meant to imply we were somehow better than the
awesome people at Y Combinator, or frankly better than anyone else. All we're
trying to do here is show that we're worth a second look and maybe a
conversation.

------
littlegiantcap
Just in case anyone is curious about what we're working on I thought I'd give
a quick description. Seedlauncher.com is a crowdfunding for equity site that
focuses on investing in small businesses within your own community. If anyone
has any questions I'd be more than happy to answer them.

------
marknutter
Here's a crazy idea: start working on your startup now and try to gain
traction. Apply for YCombinator again next season and show them that you've
actually hit on something that's becoming popular. This is actually how a lot
of the most successful Y-Combinator alums got in themselves.

------
shin_lao
The arrogance and desperation...

If you can solve a problem in 72 hours, it's not a very difficult problem.

Building a company takes years.

------
Fando
Cool bold approach. Props. I'd like to see YC respond with a challenge.
Everyone should stop being so skeptical. Maybe the guys are incredible
geniuses. In fact I think they are being modest by throwing in that third 24
hour period. I bet they could do any challenge in 48 ;)

------
K2h
Not getting picked should not necessarily reflect poorly on you... But if you
try much harder you will just show that they were correct to avoid you. You do
have spirit though, so do something useful with it instead of ranting about
not being picked at the dance.

------
msbii
Finding good solution to a given problem is what most of the engineers do day-
to-day at work.

Real entrepreneurs identify opportunities (problems) and provide solution.
Remember, a problem well stated is a problem half solved.

------
danielpal
Why don't you just build something other people want? Don't focus too much on
what YC partners want, focus on what other people want(conversely if you do
that YC partners will want you, not vice-versa).

~~~
Vaismania
The problem with "building something for others" rather than solving your own
problems is you may not be passionate/persistent enough to survive the low's
to get to the next milestone

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rman666
If you'd rather not leave the Midwest, consider Chicago. They have a great
entrepreneurial community at: <http://www.builtinchicago.org/>

------
acoyfellow
If you are so talented and innovative, do you really need YC? Just because one
road closed down, doesn't mean you can't reach the destination.

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akennberg
Start here: <http://www.paulgraham.com/ambitious.html>

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mad44
Any problem, I don't think so.

A problem, sure... I am sure there exists a problem of YC that you can solve
in 72 hours.

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cseric
make it a competition and the best team wins the interview.

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cottonseed
Why don't you spend the 72 hours prototyping your startup?

~~~
littlegiantcap
So Seedlauncher.com is a crowdfunding for equity site focused on investing in
small businesses within your local community. So, we're pre-launch because
we're waiting for the SEC to write the regulations regarding crowdfunding.
We'd open up our site to a closed beta, but we don't want to jump the gun and
fade into obscurity by launching 4 or 5 months before we can actually operate
legally.

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playhard
can you guys do this? <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3795607>

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baseh
hey guys getting database error on your blogs.

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ojr
I wouldn't use it equity is valuable

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skimmer
Ballsy. I like it.

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jasonhitchcock
Apply to StartEngine.com

