

Ask HN: Is $5k really worth 5%? - quellhorst

A good software developer contractor can gross 10k in a month. Is something like ycombinator worthwhile to give up 5% for $5,000 per founder?
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froo
Well, apart from the fact that you got your math wrong (its $5k + $5k per
founder) I'll give you a few other reasons why YC is worthwhile.

1) Introductions to prominent VC's/Angels if you want to obtain further
funding

2) As a result of the process of getting into YC, it can somewhat validate
your idea

3) Having to pull it off in 3 months can really light fires under people's
asses

4) PG seems like a genuine bloke who really wants to help people. The
mentoring aspect would be worthwhile.

5) Constant feedback. You'd be surrounded by a lot of other YC alums who are
very switched on people... Good things to be learned all round

I'm sure there are other reasons I failed to mention, but I think I covered
the basics.

EDIT - also, read PG's essay on the subject.

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

~~~
vaksel
Don't forget extra coverage. Many of YC sites getting covered by Techcrunch
would have never been able to get covered without being part of YC

~~~
froo
I guess there's always PG's Rice & Beans to look forward too! :)

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=525529>

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wmf
This has been answered before. YC isn't about the money; it's about the advice
and connections. If those things increase the probability of your company's
success by more than 5%, YC is a good deal. If you can do better on your own,
do it.

~~~
ABrandt
The support that YC provides is definitely more valuable than the money they
provide. With that being said, however, you can't discount the benefit of
having that extra cash. $5,000 for 5% equity essentially valuates your company
at $100,000. Ask yourself, would anybody outright pay that much for what you
have built? On top of that, YC also provides an additional $5000 to cover
living expenses. Thats a deal if I've ever seen one.

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apinstein
Your question is nonsense.

I'll assume for a moment that you are _presently_ a "good software developer
contractor" and you currently gross "$10k" a month.

Given that, $10k a month is your opportunity cost for doing something else,
for instance, doing a startup.

That fact has little to do with your question "is ycombinator worth 5% of my
biz for ~$15k"?

If you want to do a startup, then you'll be giving up your $10k a month to
build something that scales beyond your time. I recommend doing this, if you
have the risk-tolerance for doing a startup.

IFF you decide to do a startup, THEN you have to decide how to fund it.
YCombinator offers your team ~$20k for 5% of the company to kick off your
startup efforts. Plus, they offer you the "prestige and access" you'll get due
to YCombinator. The alternative is bootstrapping, or "normal" funding
channels.

From what I know about YCombinator, it's definitely an outstanding opportunity
if you can get your idea accepted. If you're young and inexperienced and
mobile, do it.

Alan

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jfno67
Many will point out the fact the introductions and the opportunity to work
with other startups are worth more than the money. I want to say the money is
worth it too.

We are self-financed and so we do contract to pay our living expenses. It is
working great for us, but often we will get sucked in client projects. Those
distractions have been costing a lot in term of growth. 5% for the intros and
money to just focus on your idea for 12 weeks is certainly worth it.

------
Dilpil
Making influential people into stake holders is always a good thing. It would
be worth it for $0, in fact, it might be worth paying Y Combinator to take
your stock.

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wheels
Sorting out $15k is the easiest part of an early phase startup. YC seems to
mostly focus on the harder parts.

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matthewking
I believe its more about the experience and opportunities that are opened up
to you than the money. You can earn $5k pretty easily but where does that get
you?

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smoody
It can push you from 'thinking about starting the company' to 'starting a
company.' If you're a 'thinking about starting a company' person, then it is
worth it just to force you to switch modes.

Also, the adage "it's better to have half of something than all of nothing"
has never let me down. I've always been very generous with stock and it has
always paid off -- for me anyway.

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MaysonL
If you and your company are good enough to be accepted by YC, then it probably
is, both for you and for YC. It's the classic win-win proposition. YC will
probably get a return on their money, and your company will be worth enough
more that your share, now 95% instead of 100%, will be worth quite a bit more
than it was before their investment.

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ivankirigin
If you sign on an adviser, you might give them a comparable percentage for
$0K. It's worth it in the right cases.

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grinich
Absolutely not.

But Demo Day is worth a lot more than 5%.

~~~
tptacek
... if you believe you're going to get funding, and if taking funding is what
you want to do.

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rms
<http://www.paulgraham.com/equity.html>

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donw
This depends on many factors, pretty much all of which can only be answered by
you. If you think that the YC route may be worthwhile, then you'd do well to
apply, and if not, bootstrap or go off on your own.

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developingchris
The money is not the draw. The chance to be mentored, and get money earlier
are to me. I would pay more than 5% of the current venture to benefit from
being mentored by these people for long to come.

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sjs382
The real question is whether $5k + $5k/founder AND startup school is worth 5%.

~~~
froo
AND 2x demo day AND YC alum network (tapping people on shoulders to try and
get introductions to others you need) AND instant coverage by many blogs AND
idea pre-validation if you try to pitch later.

... just saying. I'm applying next round and for me, the money is low on the
list of what I like about the YC prospect. It's a nice thing to have don't get
me wrong, but it's really one of the smaller pieces of the pie in my opinion.

------
anamax
mu.

The right question is something like "Is ycombinator worth the equity it will
cost my company?"

While other people have talked about what ycombinator is worth, the right
answer to that question also depends on the meaning of "my company".

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time_management
Is an elite college worth $150k?

~~~
siong1987
Yes. It is. The connections you get out of an elite college worth more than
that.

~~~
time_management
I disagree strongly that the connections are the source of the value, at least
for undergrad. You're assuming that everyone who goes to an elite college is
rubbing elbows with the wealthy. In reality, the people who are able to
utilize college in this way are those who are already from wealthy
backgrounds. Upper-crust kids don't go to Ivies looking to be "connections"
for middle-class strivers.

I think that an elite college degree is worth $150k for most people, but I
don't think it's the connections that add the value, so much as the prestige
of the degree, the recruiting opportunities, and the information learned
(mostly outside the classroom) about how the economy and society actually
work.

~~~
siong1987
"the recruiting opportunities, and the information learned (mostly outside the
classroom) about how the economy and society actually work"

The recruiting opportunities are part of the connections too. The information
that you learned outside of class is mostly from your connection outside the
class too.

This may not be a strong case for a local resident in US. For my case, I did
have a stronger connections(friendship) than in my country(Malaysia). I am
sure that I cannat achieve what I have done so far here if I decided not to
further my college in US.

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ftse
Yes.

