

Startup School 2014 applications are open - katm
http://blog.ycombinator.com/startup-school-2014-applications-are-open

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cperciva
Polling the community: Should I attend?

I've watched videos of past events, and they seem to follow the TED model of
being amusing and inspirational but not particularly informative; I'm too
cynical to be interested in "inspirational". On the other hand, I get the
feeling that the hallway track might be good.

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arjunnarayan
I say don't attend. Startup school is good, but the delta over watching the
videos is not. In essence, the content is great, but there's nothing that the
in-person event offers over the content itself.

I attended Startup School NYC, but would have got the same out of sitting down
and watching the videos seriously. (The key is to actually do a serious
viewing session instead of half heartedly watching them over microwaved
lunches).

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crazypyro
I was under the impression that the networking aspect of Startup School is a
major draw for a lot of people. Did you not find this to be the case?

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timr
Networking at a startup event is pretty hit and miss. Conference networking is
that way in general, but there's even less coherence when the only thing
bringing together the attendees is an interest in running a business.

If you ask me, the primary reason to attend startup school is that you'll see
a lot of "famous" people who are just names to you, and you'll begin to
realize that they're human. That's a worthwhile experience if you've never
done it before, but I wouldn't go into the event with grander expectations.

~~~
guiambros
Couldn't agree more. I've attended the one in NYC last time. While I enjoyed
some of the talks (I had seen the others before), it wasn't much different
than watching the videos.

The hallway conversations and the networking was indeed vibrant and full of
energy, but no different than any other startup event, or sxsw, or meetups,
or...

I'd say that there are smaller and more focused events (Eyeo comes to mind,
even though not free and much longer), that are more rewarding. Anyway, I'd
probably go again if invited, mostly for FOMO (fear of missing out).

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pptr1
I think if your in the area or you know tons of people going; it might be
worth going. I would't go out of my way to attend.

I went to the one in NYC few years back and it was not a good experience for
me. I traveled from Boston and was super excited. Just a big let down.

PG was like a celebrity their. Impossible to get in anything with him. Same
with other famous founders. Basically everyone was just circling and try to
figure out who to talk to next. Was super awkward.

My takeaways from NYC:

1.) PG looks exactly like his pics and acts the same. It pretty hard to get to
talk to him (due to all the people clamoring for his attention).

2.) Some famous YC alum are stuck up. Never met anyone as stuck up as the non-
technical reddit co-founder.

3.) Justin Kan is the nicest person. Pure respect for him.

4.) In NYC at least hordes of MBA trolling looking for "technical cofounders".
Met a really rude person who actually introduced himself as having an MBA from
Harvard.

San Francisco might be different.

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leelin
> 2.) Some famous YC alum are stuck up. Never met anyone as stuck up as the
> non-technical reddit co-founder.

I highly disagree. The "non-technical reddit co-founder" is both humble and
awesome -- but if it's the same event I'm thinking, you might have
misinterpreted his joke about serving orange-colored kool aid at the event.

Also, June 2014 was the first NYC Startup School. You might be talking about
the "YC in NYC" event in September 2011. That was more of a talk by PG about
how NYC had overtaken Boston as a clear #2 startup hub, followed by what makes
a startup hub work (basically startup and investor density, which creates more
chance encounters). Other founders spoke, but those were hiring pitches, not
really the same kind of advice talks you get at startup school.

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pptr1
Ok thanks for clarifying the "YC in NYC". You are correct.

Though it is different event than the 2011 "YC in NYC". I hope you guys have
worked out the logistics so attendees who have really went out of their way to
be there can benefit in some way; different than just the talks which they can
watch online.

I hope more people get benefits out of it.

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jliechti1
The lineup looks pretty good so far: Ron Conway, Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn),
Danae Ringelmann (Indiegogo), Emmett Shear (Twitch).

Anyone know who else they might be bringing in? Does Zuckerberg do it every
year?

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jjling
Awesome. Application submitted. Anyone know what the typical acceptance rate
is for this?

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fizx
I've never seen a technical person rejected.

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mbreese
It depends on how much space they have. If they are doing it at De Anza
College again (and it looks like they are), then they'll have lots of space.
But even then, it was pretty packed. I didn't get in until last year, I
suspect because of the extra space - and I'm technical.

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goshx
Are there other networking events happening during the same weekend? If not,
maybe some locals could make them happen?

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pshin45
Shameless plug - If you're looking for other startup-related events to attend
the week of Startup School, sign up for Startup Digest's weekly events
digest[1].

It's a weekly email newsletter of startup events happening in San Francisco &
Silicon Valley, and _DISCLOSURE_ I am a volunteer "Events Curator" for it.

[1]
[https://www.startupdigest.com/digests](https://www.startupdigest.com/digests)
(search for "Silicon Valley-SF Bay Area")

