
Ask HN: Do some YC values need to be softened? - cliffcrosland
From what I understand, Homejoy was one of the fastest growing companies in YC history, and if I&#x27;m not mistaken, it closed down in part because it pursued too much international growth too early.<p>Additionally, it seems that the &quot;macro&quot; scandal at Zenefits may have been a result of taking the &quot;hack-the-system&quot; mindset too far.<p>In YC content, there is an influential essay emphasizing growth, and the YC application itself asks potential founders about moments when they&#x27;ve hacked a system to their advantage.<p>Are the YC values of &quot;startup = growth&quot; and &quot;hack-the-system&quot; taken too seriously or too far by founders? Are there healthy ways to soften the values to help founders avoid the pain Homejoy and Zenefits experienced?
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coralreef
HomeJoy closed down because it couldn't drum up repeat business from its
customers. At least according to this article:
[http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2015/07/23/what-
really...](http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2015/07/23/what-really-
killed-homejoy-it-couldnt-hold-onto-its-customers/#2343070114cc)

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manidoraisamy
Technically, macro was a crack. Not a hack. Hack should make things; Not break
things.

But, I think you are right. Hacks have gone through the hype cycle. When every
programmer wants to "hack" to be in the elite circle, they tend to push the
boundaries that are grey -> unethical -> unlawful. It's like those greedy
bankers - except that they want to look cool; instead of money.

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jtfairbank
YC provides an ethics statement and code of conduct to every startup they
fund, and is serious about following up on this.

The "startup = growth" and "hack-the-system" are good mantras inside or
outside YC, but are not a "YC value".

If anything, I'd say the #1 thing that YC values are their founders, and they
expect them to be smart, driven, and ethical.

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argonaut
What you are suggesting is that YC become more risk-averse (e.g. take less
risks on founders that might be too aggressive).

If YC ever fails, it will be because they stopped taking risks, not because
they took too many. For every 5 companies that rocket up and flame out
spectacularly, there'll be a company that rockets up and stays up.

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1123581321
PG wrote "Do Things that Don't Scale" less than a year after "Startup =
Growth."

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exolymph
The nature of the startup game is that the majority will go bust. It is what
it is.

