

YC is One of Fast Company's 50 Most Innovative Companies  - BenS
http://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2012/y-combinator

======
pg
Congrats also to Bump, Reddit, Airbnb, Dropbox, and Disqus!

~~~
hack_edu
I'm really curious what Bump brings to the table, at all, let alone what makes
them worth the same breath as the rest of these companies.

It feels more like a trivial app put together on a hack weekend or Man Month
than actual innovation.

~~~
pg
Have you used it?

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daeken
That's a pretty poor response to a valid question. While the tone of the
question was harsher than I think was warranted, the question of "why is this
something I should care about?" is something that should be at the forefront
of every product developer and investor's mind.

~~~
pg
Not at all. Surely the obvious first step in talking to someone about an app
is to figure out how much they already know about it.

~~~
cperciva
While you may have intended your question as a question, that's not the
impression it gave. My first reading of it was as a rudely sarcastic dismissal
-- "obviously you don't know what you're talking about" -- and I was about to
downvote it on grounds of incivility until I noticed that you were the author
and realized that was probably not how you intended it to be read.

~~~
rooshdi
He was just asking an honest question and wanted to know if the person
actually used it, since that would probably provide a deeper explanation of
the utility of Bump than any personal opinion of his would. Let's not get too
uptight around here people.

~~~
cperciva
I know what he meant. My point was that what he meant isn't what it _sounded
like_ at first glance (yay mixed metaphors!) and that's probably why daeken
responded as he did.

~~~
rooshdi
Yea, don't sweat it. :)

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bishnu
The Occupy Movement is ranked #7. This article seems very linkbait-y.

~~~
gee_totes
Since when is the Occupy Movement a company?

To quote the article: _Occupy’s initial public offering, if you will, puts it
in very good company._

If I will? No, actually, I think I will not.

~~~
noahr
Occupy has lots of things in common with startups, which we talk specifically
about in the story. "Disruptive. Small-d democratic. Transparent. Tech savvy.
Design savvy. Local and global."

The IPO part is a joke, sorry the humor was lost on you.

------
benologist
This list seems like an odd mix of pandering, genuinely exciting companies,
and companies that did something interesting years ago and rank for still
existing.

~~~
noahr
Companies that have existed for years can still do innovative things. We've
highlighted those new efforts in the entries. Jawbone, for example, has been
around for ages but last year had a huge hit with the Jambox. In that entry
Farhad Manjoo also writes about the Up, which was flying off shelves until
they found a defect and pulled it.

~~~
corin_
Would you mind explaining Reddit's inclusion in the same way? Certainly the
write-up of Reddit in this piece doesn't seem to highlight anything new or
innovative (unless campaigning against SOPA counts).

Cheers

(I feel slightly bad for picking upon Reddit, they were just the first example
that came to mind when glancing at the list.)

~~~
noahr
The first thing to note is that Reddit was not on the main list of the 50 Most
Innovative. It was included in list of top 10 for Media, which is where we
recognize innovators in a more general way within different industries. The
main focus of Reddit's entry, after explaining the site to someone who might
never have heard of it before, were the "Ask Me Anything" Q&As. Those
interviews were far more social and newsworthy than most Q&As that appeared in
msm. Although the series didn't start last year, it began gaining traction and
became more newsworthy during 2011. Many innovations are slow to mature, or
even fail despite their unique approach. The Reddit entry recognized that
those Q&As have come into their own.

~~~
benologist
Here's a better example, and it does suck to single anyone out, especially one
that I use and like:

Dropbox - the only thing they've done recently was take small evolutionary
steps on the innovation they showed _5 years ago when they launched_.

There was so little to say about what _else_ they've done that you basically
just mention they're growing and making money. Which is great, but does growth
and revenue make them the 22nd most innovative company in the world?

~~~
noahr
I see your point. My question: Who in the cloud space is doing more innovative
work that is targeted to consumers?

~~~
benologist
Why are cloud and consumers criteria at all? That's why this list feels like
such an odd mix - there shouldn't _have_ to be anyone from the cloud, if they
don't make the cut weighed against _everything else in the entire world_ then
do a separate list on innovation in the cloud where they can be recognized for
their achievements without compromise.

~~~
noahr
Those aren't criteria, but the fact that they have designed so-called cloud
storage in a useful way that is accessible to the masses is why they were
included on the list. I also think that it _is_ important that a cloud company
be included in the list. So I wonder why you think there shouldn't have been
anyone from the cloud?

~~~
benologist
I don't think the cloud specifically should be excluded or even a factor in
and of itself, I think the most innovative companies in the world are by
definition the ones who _are_ innovating the most, cloud or otherwise.

Twitter belongs on the suspect list too, how can they still be one of the most
innovative companies in the world for a product largely unchanged in 5 years,
during which time a jaw bone was _printed_ and transplanted into a person?

This _is_ innovative: <http://news.discovery.com/tech/printed-
jawbone-120207.html>

This _was_ innovative: "It was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and
launched that July."

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wr1472
No mention of KhanAcademy under education?

~~~
noahr
Sal Khan is #7 on our Most Creative People In Business List from June:
[http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/2011/sal-
kha...](http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/2011/sal-khan-khan-
academy)

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andrewhillman
YC is pretty remarkable and it starts at the top with PG. I also feel YC
wouldn't be what it is today without HN as it extends the YC community just
enough to make a huge difference... setting itself apart from the other
accelerators. Congrats to all involved.

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digitalboss
My repost from FC.

Congrats and Thank you Paul - for helping out the passionate inventors push
their ideas to the next level - what Paul has done to the startup community in
the Bay Area, is what Jim Harbaugh did to the bay area for football :)

