
Has Ycombinator ever funded a group that hasn't known each other long? For instance, a group that met at Startup School? - larrykubin

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Harj
one thing to remember is that much like doing a startup in general, there are
no hard and fast rules about getting YC funding.

YC had every reason not to invest in us - we weren't technical, we already had
angel money which complicated issuing new shares and we were based in the UK.
they still funded us.

YC funding is less about worrying about all the reasons you won't get funded
and concentrate on making as many reasons why they will fund you.

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pg
I know of cases where cofounders met at startup school, but we haven't funded
any. The most ad hoc group of founders we funded were a pair who knew one
another online but hadn't met. That didn't work out very well.

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JMiao
I would imagine such a situation to be dicey. Startups are forged around
shared passion, trust, and ability to work well together, not too different
from marriage. Using the marriage metaphor, I think going into business
together on a first impression puts you and your cofounders in a tight spot.

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RyanGWU82
It's not automatically dicey. My cofounders and I found each other
specifically for the purpose of starting this business. We're four months into
our venture now. We get along extremely well, our skills complement each other
nicely, and we have a lot of faith in each other and in our business. I can't
imagine having a working dynamic as strong as this one even with my close
long-term friends.

~~~
JMiao
I see what you're saying, but, to a certain extent, you won't be able to test
what your team is truly made of until you guys hit that first bump -- this is
when things become clearer, and I would imagine you wouldn't want to wake up
one morning wondering how you got in that bed in the first place.

Nonetheless, I'm happy to hear that you were able to find good cofounders!

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awt
I met my current co-founder at the first startup school. We've been working
together for over a year now. Our first (self-funded) startup hasn't really
taken off, but we managed to meet an angel investor in in the SF Bay Area with
similar ideas to our own and are now working on a new site - so don't give up
hope on getting funding.

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plusbryan
Though rare, it's also not unheard of for yc to fund single-person startups. I
applied as a single founder, with the stipulation that I would find someone
before the summer. It all worked out, but I'm also the kind of guy who gets
along with most anybody.

This was replicated in at least one other yc startup I know.

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danielha
The marriage metaphor, as JMiao put it, works well. When you're setting off to
start a family with someone, you don't want any adverse surprises. The same
goes with starting a company. And similarly, making foundation changes will be
expensive as hell, in time and money.

