
What's a Y Combinator alternative to people who cannot afford to move to the YC area? - vinit

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righteousraven
'afford' is not necessarily a monetary term. Perhaps an ailing grandmother or
other responsibilities in the community make it too costly to move.

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vinit
This is correct. Afford can do with things other than a bank-account.

There is the argument that "is your startup not important enough to leave
everything else behind" ... but thats being a little too harsh.

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drop19
You might have to hack your own alternative -- and believe it or not there is
a lot of hope for you; I've had a lot of success here in Baltimore by making
things, telling everyone I know about them, and also letting everyone in my
network know that I want to start a company. Since starting to do that, I've
heard from three really smart, really capable people who I could potentially
start something with. So my advice is to do everything you can to put yourself
into the path of creative people as well as rich people in your area, and not
focus so much on conforming to YC's or anyone else's idea of what you need to
do to succeed.

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dpapathanasiou
New York Angels (<http://newyorkangels.com/)> has a similar application
(unlike YC, there's no deadline, and they'll accept an applicant at any time,
but they charge a fee).

I haven't gone through the process myself, but I saw their pitch at a NYC tech
panel a few months ago.

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rms
Their application is submitting a business plan and it costs $150. It just
seems that they're unlikely to fund the people they charge $150. Instead,
they'll fund organic referrals.

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dpapathanasiou
Well, if you attend enough tech events in NYC, you'll probably meet most of
the angels individually, and can forego the fee (that's one of the reasons I
haven't applied myself).

Investors are looking for deals, and it isn't too difficult to network into an
initial meeting.

The one nice thing about the application (like YC) is that it forces you to
define your project succinctly.

Also like YC, getting funded is no guarantee of success.

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samb
The alternative is to convince YC that proximity isn't the most important
thing. (It is _an_ important thing, I understand, but it's not the most
important thing.)

It'll take a very compelling story.

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pg
You can't convince us of that. Anyone who's been funded by YC knows that what
we do, we have to do in person.

We once tried funding a group that didn't move. When they flew in for demo
day, they looked like the plant that hadn't gotten the Miracle-Gro. The upside
of that rather expensive experiment was that it showed us how much YC helps
people.

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samb
do you think that a virtual YC environment could be designed to provide the
same rich experience that you get in person? or is it simply impossible? just
a point of curiosity on my part.

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rms
CRV Quickstart is great if you're a bit further along than the idea stage.

<http://www.crv.com/AboutCRV/QuickStart.html>

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budu3
My suggestion is to apply and then cross that bridge when you came to it. I am
sure if your team is good enough YC will be willing to make some allowances.

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dfranke
If you got accepted into the program, why would you not be able to afford it?
YC pays your moving expenses up front.

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jkush
Is that true? I didn't pick up on that fact. I just assumed that is was 5K +
5Kn.

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vegashacker
Check out #5 and #8 on this page: <http://ycombinator.com/s2007.html>

I think they will cover whatever you want initially (eg, moving expenses,
renting a place), but my interpretation is that that comes out of the 5+5n.

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jkush
Right - that's what I had assumed. From what was said in the thread above, it
sounded like moving costs were above and beyond, which I didn't think they
were.

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far33d
"Moving costs" for anyone inside the US is sure to be less than $1000.

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RyanGWU82
How can you say that with such certainty? I moved from Washington, DC to the
Bay Area last fall, and my costs were significantly higher than $1000. Even if
I cut all the corners, a hypothetical move to Boston would still cost me
thousands of dollars.

If I was doing YC for a summer, I wouldn't need to _move_. I could just fly
there with a couple of suitcases and a laptop, but I'd need some way to cover
my existing apartment rent. That's a pretty significant expense over 3 months.
And I suspect YC is not looking for companies who see the experience just
"doing YC for a summer."

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far33d
My point was all you need to do YC is a plane ticket and your bags, maybe buy
a bed and a desk when you get there.

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RyanGWU82
Fair enough. I probably took your comment a bit too literally. $1000 is not
enough to move cross-country, but it probably _is_ enough to relocate for
three months. :)

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far33d
Doesn't the answer to this depend on where you can afford to move?

