
Startups that launched at Y Combinator S16 Demo Day 1 - runesoerensen
https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/22/y-combinator-demo-day-summer-2016/
======
venning
Honest question: have the specific funding goals of YC changed to accommodate
more pedestrian "lifestyle" businesses? A number of these companies look like
they could make viable businesses turning out respectable multi-million-
dollar-a-year profits without ever being a target for a billion-dollar
acquisition.

(My understanding is that YC specifically targets opportunities that have
hundred-million- to billion-dollar potential, so perhaps my underlying
assumption is wrong here.)

Does this mean YC is hedging their bets, or are they amenable to funding "low"
potential companies now? That would seem to jive with their recent public
statements about wanting to expand, since not all viable businesses see huge
exits.

~~~
paul
Not at all. All of these companies have the potential to be worth billions of
dollars or else we would not have funded them. Of course it's not always easy
for people reading a short summary on a blog to see that potential, as you can
easily verify by reading the comments on early articles about uber or Twitter.

~~~
venning
Thank you for your response, Mr. Buchheit. I really appreciate it.

This is the answer I was looking for, one that explains your driving
intentions. I'm nothing like a venture capitalist or investor, so I appreciate
that I may not have any kind of good read on these companies' potentials.

All the best to each of them and to you.

~~~
a_small_island
Not a snark, but why do you address him as Mr. Buchheit and not Paul?

~~~
dang
I assume he's just trying to disambiguate, because for some reason the thread
got hung up on which Paul is which.

Let's discuss more important things now?

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aacook
Really dig Go Go Grandparent. About a month ago my 93 year old Grandpa was
hospitalized for pneumonia. His license was taken for 30 days (either by his
doctor's recommendation, or by mandate, I'm not sure) so he was house bound.

My Grandpa's daily routine starts by getting out of the house. After a couple
weeks being stuck in the house it was really starting to get to him.

He doesn't really like asking people for favors, so, he resorted to calling up
the local cab company and having the cab take him to the bank, grocery store,
and his 2nd bank.

Feels like Go Go Grandparent could exist for many other things besides rides,
like placing an order for groceries or submitting a prescription.

~~~
icebraining
+1, it's the most interesting of the lot. On the other hand, it seems to
assume proficiency with those automated voice menus, which my grandparents
can't use either. I wonder if "fully human" system would be profitable.

------
yfhsjjskc
Idea: a marketing/e-commerce company that takes existing unbranded consumer
products, invents generic startup names for them (Noun & Noun), and resells
each on its own simple, well-designed site with hipster aesthetic. Piggyback
on Amazon fulfillment. Get better margin by reusing the same tech and overhead
on each site. Employ low-paid "founders" who can tell a good story but don't
have any particular business skill to create some marketing material to try to
build buzz for "their" startup. The 2016 version of the dropshipping hustle.

------
ignasl
It seems startups are coming to consumer goods. It's likely that dollar
shaving club's success initiated a new trend. All that knowledge from previous
startups about lean development, marketing, growth hacking etc will be passed
together with contacts and influential backers. Even here we see Tampons!
(which I though is ridiculous first). Interesting how it will pan out. PG and
similar companies should be at least a little bit worried.

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ekianjo
> Those tiny seat-back screens cost airlines a fortune because of installation
> and the weight they add, and they make you feel trapped on the plane.
> Skylights has developed its own VR headsets and software so passenger can
> strap in and watch 2D and 3D movies on a giant virtual screen

How is a headset less heavy than a screen on a seat? On top of that, good luck
for the hostess when trying to serve you a drink or dinner and you are fully
absorbed somewhere else.

~~~
igf
Building in an interrupt "Hey, pay attention to the real world now" feature
would seem important. On the other hand, it'd still be awkward when you had to
climb over someone to go to the toilet or something.

I'd be interested to try inflight VR. It could be really good, or it could
just be a one-way ticket to airsickness.

What I'd really love would be a feature that lets me see the scenery currently
around me, as if I were flying in the air without the plane. You could just
use Google Maps data at first, but if someday they installed a few cameras on
the exterior...

~~~
ekianjo
> What I'd really love would be a feature that lets me see the scenery
> currently around me, as if I were flying in the air without the plane. You
> could just use Google Maps data at first, but if someday they installed a
> few cameras on the exterior...

Wouldn't that make you sick by itself though ? :)

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dschiptsov
Strange, almost no data-economy (collecting and selling user's data - the way
"social" is monetized) or data-science startups.

A thin layer of encryption over cloud storages is a clever idea! And this is
exactly how tech entrepreneurship should be - even if the project would fail
due to non-technical reasons, the technology being developed could be reused
and sold.

"Lifestyle startup" meme is crap.

~~~
joelg236
> Today’s startups were focused on consumer, developer tools, security,
> hardware, marketplaces, and non-profit. We’ll see a different set tomorrow
> concentrated around enterprise, B2B, biotech, edtech, and fintech

From the article

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ThomPete
If I was to invest in any of these it would be

[http://www.aptonomy.com/](http://www.aptonomy.com/)

I have often thought about this myself. There are som really interesting
problems to tackle (like drone clustering and continued surveillance and
tracking of intruders using a series of drones (as they run out of energy)

Their challenge is going to be legislative more than anything else but things
are working in their direction.

~~~
ohitsdom
Agreed, I too had this same idea! So many security guards are paid to patrol
parking lots. This could be cheaper and way more effective.

~~~
dragonwriter
Security guards are paid to patrol parking lots because experience has shown
that the presence of human security guards patrolling the parking lots reduces
crime, even compared to comprehensive and visible remote monitoring with
obvious (and advertised) cameras.

I'm not sure putting the cameras on drones changes the psychology that leads
to this effect.

~~~
ThomPete
Sure but there are many other situations for instance first responder which
allow for best allocation of human guards by being able to better monitor
where they should be.

~~~
dragonwriter
Oh, sure, and I don't mean to imply that security drones don't have plausible
value in some circumstances, I was just addressing the one specific and
significant aspect of the "security guards paid to patrol parking lots"
scenario...

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petra
Sixa, has an intriguing pitch:"your powerful computer on the cloud , fit for
virtual reality , with just 10ms latency".

Does anybody knows how does it work ? And is there a free 10ms in the VR
latency budget ?

~~~
nickpsecurity
I'm not sure but I did like one of their features: ensuring your proof-of-
concept will work for your client evaluating it as well as it does for you via
same box. Previously, I'd have recommended virtualization or simply mailing
them a demo appliance if profits justify it. The virtualization software
usually is a heavy install requiring admins that digs all into the system. The
second option costs a box per evaluator plus they have to put it together on
their end. There's also containers these days as evolution of virtualization
approach that similarly require configuration and training.

I think a simple solution for two people using the same desktop and
configuration with low-latency is a powerful alternative. I could see all
kinds of users wanting that combo of convenience and effectiveness for
$0.45/hr [assuming no hidden fees]. Potential for lots of growth.

------
NhanH
Simbi (the bartering marketplace) looks interesting. Wouldn't it be
functionally equivalent to building something that allows people to trade
their skill for money directly?

Also, does the user on Simbi pay ... taxes right now? It would be interesting
if they don't and Simbi becomes big, cause IRS is really the one government
agency you won't ever fight and win.

~~~
puranjay
I had the exact same idea which I just sat around on...more along the lines of
open requests ("I will do X in exchange for Y")

Oh well, good for them - they executed

~~~
ebalit
It looks a lot like LETS [1], those non-profit through which you can exchange
services with other members. There is often a social aspect in these systems
and the exchange rate is more related to efforts than to the economical value.

1 :
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_exchange_trading_system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_exchange_trading_system)

~~~
ojosilva
My wife ran a Time-based currency market in Madrid 6 years ago, it even got
the attention of the press.

It's a slightly different model from LETS since time is the currency and
different tasks are, therefore, all valued the same. I was the one to install
and maintain the software behind it (called Cyclos, project.cyclos.org).

I'm glad someone can turn that into a business, people really love to get help
from others and/or offer their own services. Although my feeling is that
there's considerable churn in both supply and demand.

~~~
ebalit
Turning it into a profitable business could increase this type of market by
investing in the software infrastructure and promoting this type of trade.

But I wonder how they plan to extract a part of the value that is traded on
this market. It's not really possible to take fees.

------
tomjen3
Cool. Really looking forward to that calorie counting thing. If that works and
can be hooked up to beeminder and corporate welfare programs, that could
potentially be a game changer in terms of obesity.

~~~
dreeves
Thanks for the implicit Beeminder plug! And funny Freudian slip there with
"corporate welfare" instead of "corporate wellness". :)

------
angryasian
[https://getexponent.com/](https://getexponent.com/)

Does anyone know definitively but doesn't react native have issues with
performance on android ?

~~~
ccheever
React Native on Android has gotten way better over the last year. In general,
Android phones just have worse performance than iPhones (even when they have
better specs -- I'm not totally sure why) regardless of whether you're dealing
with React Native or not.

Sometimes you might have to spend some time wrangling your code to get the
performance results you want, but that's usually the case in building
software.

Check out
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=st.li.listapp](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=st.li.listapp)
. It is built with Exponent/React Native and has pretty great performance. Got
featured in the Play Store.

~~~
misiti3780
was the ios app for list created with exponent also ?

~~~
jameside
The iOS app was made with UIKit. Exponent could be a good fit for companies in
similar positions who have just an app for just one platform (more often iOS)
and want to build an Android version but find it hard to hire that talent.

------
vowelless
> JustRide – Getaround for India

Just curious, is that image of a bridge in India?

~~~
robertnealan
That's actually from the Bay Bridge heading into San Francisco — tower on the
right is 1 Rincon (there's already a few more next to it going up now).
Curious if this was a case of "just throw up something that looks halfway
decent" or if they're intentionally trying to appeal with the US car culture?

------
thatfrenchguy
"Flex – The modern tampon"

You mean menstrual cups, that are worth like 20 bucks and you can keep for
more than a year ?

~~~
MatthewMcDonald
It's tough to give an in-depth description of a product with a short blurb. It
sounds like Flex is significantly different from a traditional menstrual cup:

[http://www.themacro.com/articles/2016/08/the-flex-
company/](http://www.themacro.com/articles/2016/08/the-flex-company/)

~~~
mkolodny
From the interview:

> ...they don’t like the fact that you have to rinse and reuse a menstrual
> cup. Plus, they’re difficult to insert and remove.

I guess that's how Flex is different from a menstrual cup. Not being a woman,
I can't say how important those things are. I'd guess that they're not worth
the extra $20/month, but maybe they are.

------
misiti3780
Exponent - ROR for React Native sounds really interesting - anyone using it ?

------
dawhizkid
startup era of 2009-2014 is long over.

~~~
1_listerine_pls
What do you mean?

~~~
dawhizkid
Startups thrived then because mobile technology was just getting big and
bigger tech companies were largely late to the party (including FB, GOOG)
giving startups a chance to hit it big (IG, SC, Messaging apps, etc.). Now
these giants are innovating as fast if not faster than most small startups and
the small guy barely stands a chance.

I can't think of a startup that started in the last 3 years that has really
"made it." Snapchat is 5 years old, Lyft 4, Uber 6, Airbnb 7+, Reddit 10+.

~~~
jedberg
As Paul said it takes longer than that to make it, but Twitch TV sold for
almost 1B less than 5 years after launch, and just turned 5 in June.

~~~
timr
Twitch is Justin.tv. It launched in 2007 (iirc), and pivoted to games in 2012.
The company changed its name a few years after that.

------
soufron
Wow, so many "lifestyle" BS.

------
elmar
I see DSC every on this thread, looks like the acquisition of Dollar Shave
Club is going to do to the Consumer packaged goods (CPG) the same Netscape IPO
did to internet companies.

------
jedc
How many startups presented off-the-record?

~~~
BinaryIdiot
None...I thought. Right? Do they do that?

~~~
argonaut
Yes, they have definitely done that in past demo days (meaning, reporters at
Demo Day can't write about these startups).

~~~
BinaryIdiot
Interesting I never knew they did that. Now I'm curious what compan(ies)
they've done that with, why and if they are still in a "stealth" mode.

~~~
argonaut
What I heard is that often the startup feels it isn't ready to launch yet, so
it wants to wait before doing a press blitz.

------
1_listerine_pls
Every idea you have will be done by a better prepared YC startup, eventually.
Makes me sad...

~~~
brandnewlow
Your sadness is based on incomplete information. Many YC companies flame out
every year far all sorts of reasons, even with all the advantages that come
from participating in the program. If you want to make your thing work badly
enough you can make it work, competition or no.

~~~
roasm
Right. There are still more "successful" companies that are _not_ YC than
those that are. While there are some advantages to YC, there are advantages to
other incubators, or other angels, or completely bootstrapping, etc.

------
wsgolfer
FYI, Venning, I don't believe parent is PG. It's a different Paul. PG's user
account is
[https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=pg](https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=pg)

~~~
venning
I know: [https://techcrunch.com/2016/01/08/y-c-switches-up-its-
manage...](https://techcrunch.com/2016/01/08/y-c-switches-up-its-management-
as-altman-shifts-focus/)

Edit: I didn't provide much context. He is Paul Buchheit, a (the?) managing
partner at YC Core.

~~~
runesoerensen
Yep Paul Buchheit runs YC Core. Here's a more in-depth article about the "new"
structure: [http://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-paul-buchheit-
ali-...](http://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-paul-buchheit-ali-roghawni-
on-revamped-y-combinator-2016-2)

I also enjoyed reading this interview:
[http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/blog/techflash/2016/03/y-...](http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/blog/techflash/2016/03/y-combinator-
latest-batch-was-a-record-but-bigger.html)

------
forgetsusername
A bit of a stretch to make claims like "growing 13% per week!" and "20%
margins!" on tiny businesses.

~~~
garry
You misunderstand. Most folks don't even do that. If you can't grow from small
numbers then it will be impossible to grow at large numbers. These stats are
table stakes.

