
Y Combinator may go fully remote for its next cohort - sahin-boydas
https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/15/y-combinator-may-go-fully-remote-for-its-next-cohort/
======
dang
It's probably not worth having a big thread about one use of the word "may",
especially since there is a flood of this kind of story right now. On HN,
there's no harm in waiting until a thing actually happens, and an announcement
of the possibility of a future announcement is off topic.

[https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...](https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=%22no%20harm%20in%20waiting%22&sort=byDate&type=comment)

[https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...](https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=%22announcement%20of%20an%20announcement%22&sort=byDate&type=comment)

(I don't have any information about this, having just read about it here like
everyone else.)

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cryptoz
Application deadline tomorrow 8pm PT btw.

I'll apply with phone-based weather forecasting (as I always do, ha), and in
the other ideas section I will add my ideas for remote work.

I wonder if there will be a surge of last-minute applications regarding new
ideas adjacent to the current crisis.

~~~
briandear
It’s funny how ideas related to the current crisis have been dismissed in the
past as “not very interesting.” Yet my little company that deals with online
mental health has exploded in the past weeks and with the visibility and
viability of “remote” getting more attention, the growth potential has become
a lot more interesting. We’ve had former customers resubscribing, and a deluge
of new customers. My weekend has been nonstop handling the rush. It’s almost
like being Slashdotted — yet these folks are handing us money.

Any new companies being thought up right now are likely going to be left
behind — the time to think of this stuff was years ago. But, unfortunately, VC
money often lacks foresight.

It is interesting though how vitamins can suddenly become painkillers in the
right environment.

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arkad
As a current Startup School, Europe-based participant [1], this raises an
interesting question: if the whole program can be run virtually in a remote-
only fashion, then perhaps it can be open for startups from anywhere in the
world?

[1] -
[https://www.startupschool.org/companies/scanrepeat](https://www.startupschool.org/companies/scanrepeat)

~~~
dang
YC has always been open to startups from anywhere. They've funded hundreds of
international startups, if not more than a thousand by now, and certainly well
over a thousand international founders.

YC-funded startups have never been required to stay in the US after the batch,
so it's easy to answer your question. (I've not got any inside information and
just found out about this by reading HN like everybody else.)

~~~
kijin
That doesn't answer the parent's question. The requirement to come to the US
even for a single hour, either before or during or after the batch, can be a
huge hurdle for some founders. That's why the "fully remote" part is
interesting. 99.9% remote is very different from 100% remote.

~~~
dang
I'm scratching my head trying to see how that doesn't answer the question. By
definition, a remote batch means people wouldn't need to come to SF for a
batch. There's never been any location requirement otherwise. What's left?

~~~
kijin
Well, the announcement hasn't been as clear as "By definition." They only said
that "some or all of the batch _may_ take place remotely over video."

If the coronavirus pandemic is under control in the U.S. by June, and YC
decides to run some of the later parts of the batch (such as Demo Day) offline
in SF, that could be a problem for foreign founders who might still be stuck
in their own countries or can't get a visa on time. The deadline is drawing
near. Without a firm assurance that there will be no location requirement
whatsoever at any time, a lot of foreign founders might decide not to take the
risk. But YC is not making themselves clear. As I said, there's a huge
difference between 99.9% remote and 100% remote.

Anyway, I just saw your more recent comment about over-interpreting the word
"may" and I fully agree with what you said there.

~~~
dang
Ah, I see now. That phrase is so obviously corporate boilerplate that there's
no story here.

I was being a typical reader and reacting to the headline.

------
sneak
I wonder how this will affect the level of candor at the famous dinner
discussions?

I imagine that the risk of being caught secretly recording them would be
higher in person than sitting at home on a video call.

~~~
TACIXAT
Either would likely run into wiretapping laws.

~~~
eganist
Laws establish consequences when discovered, but discovery is the challenge.
How can you mitigate the risk of someone recording with their phone? how can
you tell _who_ recorded it unless e.g. YC watermarks multicasts? What if that
recording is never published but is distributed privately to/for someone
else's advantage?

Hackers putting together some of the more notable firetalks/skytalks this year
had some adjacent conversations about creating possibly virtual-only
firetalks, and these concerns were all raised given the traditionally
ephemeral nature of in-person conversations at the events.

------
gajus
I am currently participating in another accelerator that is being conducted
remotely due the virus.

There are some benefits to the remote format. The most noticeable is that you
can network a lot more than you could in real life. Scheduling Zoom calls with
your peers is easy enough and you can quickly switch back to working
afterwards.

The greatest downside is that I came to SF just for this accelerator and (as
it became a remote event) I have been mostly just working from my bedroom.

It is definetely not as fun as meeting people in person though. Having video
calls VS working together, brainstorming and going for meals just doesn't
create the same relationships. Overall, the experience feels lonely and not
much different than participating in entrepreneur Slack community.

~~~
mritchie712
yeah, and YC has already built some stuff out thru startup school to make this
easier.

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gz5
The statement below is interesting (linked in the article) - it was posted on
March 10, presumably mainly as a COVID-19 reaction. Is that acceleration
surprising? Or maybe the acceleration is just for a few of the companies who
most directly are impacted (or impact) COVID-19, but YC needs to take a
portfolio approach?

>Over the last few days, a large number of investors have accelerated their
outreach to our current batch of founders. They are moving quickly to make
investment decisions, and we’re going to match their pace and accelerate our
schedule by one week. YC W20 online Demo Day will now be on March 16.

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didip
Considering the upcoming recession, is now even a good time to start a
company?

~~~
FanaHOVA
We did some research on this a while ago, and while it definitely won't be as
easy as in a bull market, there's plenty of good companies that were started
during market downturns. [0]

[0] [https://medium.com/@645ventures/3-things-founders-vcs-
should...](https://medium.com/@645ventures/3-things-founders-vcs-should-know-
about-building-billion-dollar-startups-during-market-fdabeb72044e)

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nerfhammer
it might not have a choice...

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mceoin
pioneer.app has been super fun in the limited time we have used it. Check it
out!

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api
Will they still require you to move to SF?

If not, and if it works out well, I can imagine this being a nail in the
coffin for the Bay Area bubble.

~~~
bruceb
Every year we hear this could be the end of Bay Area dominance. Hasn't
happened yet. No reason it will now.

~~~
thedance
The events we are currently experiencing represent a large quantity of
activation energy that could destabilize many metastable equilibria in our
lives. I've already arranged to work remotely through the end of 2020. I see
no reason to believe others won't do the same. Our offices and commutes were
already obviously bad for productivity and creativity, but we were all just
collectively ignoring it.

------
ingenieros
About time!

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profitmaximus
So no statements on the epidemic, no plans to support or donate for the cause,
just Silicon Valley rat race as usual?

~~~
TACIXAT
[https://blog.samaltman.com/funding-for-
covid-19-projects](https://blog.samaltman.com/funding-for-covid-19-projects)

~~~
profitmaximus
"Funding [word of the day] startups". Adaptive rat race, sure.

