
Y Combinator Reaches Farther Beyond Silicon Valley - bananacurve
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-24/y-combinator-reaches-farther-beyond-silicon-valley.html
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sixQuarks
It says there are founders from 22 countries in the latest batch. How does
that work as far as visas go? Do founders simply need a tourist visa?

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_delirium
A handful of YC participants have mentioned they came on O-1 visas, which are
for "extraordinary ability". But for that one, you have to prove that you are
already a prominent person in your field to qualify (have published
influential papers, have won major awards, have been invited to selective
panels/membership bodies in your field, etc.).

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argonaut
Keep in mind this is a government agency that does the screening here. I knew
someone who was _not_ a "prominent person" in their field who got an O-1 visa
with the help of their VC investors / angel investors.

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jamesmcbennett
On official US Govt site, it says you need an award, e.g. nobel prize for O1.
But that is a complete exaggeration as many people have rather average
creditentials getting the O1. Having a good degree is enough for several
people. Everything in addition helps.

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argonaut
Plus if you think about it, if you're in YC, getting PG or Vinod Khosla or Ron
Conway (the YC VC people) to sign a letter talking about your "genius" will
probably go a long way.

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ableal
Anyone have a good link about what's up with the "Sponsored Content by
Taboola" at the bottom of so many pages nowadays?

To me, they seem to have come out of nowhere over the last six months or so.

P.S: their own words at [https://www.taboola.com/hear-our-
story](https://www.taboola.com/hear-our-story)

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PaulHoule
Unfortunately if they're showing sponsored content, all of those things suck.

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lquist
Seems like PG's Submarine essay
([http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html))
may be relevant here?

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pg
If you mean you think this article was the work of a PR firm, no, it wasn't.
The reporter emailed me after he saw a tweet of mine about how many different
countries the founders in the latest batch were from.

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kn0thing
Yep.

