
Ask HN: Non-US founders, are you reconsidering appling to YC due to Trump? - MrsPeaches
Having applied to HN in the past, I have decided against applying due to, both myself and SO, not wanting to live in the US under President Trump.<p>Is there anyone else who feels this way?
======
kejaed
As a Canadian working on a project that may or may not go for funding, the
current state of American politics hasn't dissuaded me from the idea of
applying to YC.

However, in late 2016 I was interviewing with Palantir, and the political
climate, combined with Thiel's involvement, let me to withdraw my candidacy
after 2 phone interviews prior to the on-site.

------
jackgolding
I moved to the other side of my country (Australia) for recently for work
because I felt I needed to make a short step before the leap to SF (most
friends recommended going to SF, talking to a few companies, flying back then
doing the visa process which costs a non-trivial amount). Trump
administration, rising house prices and a possible bubble bursting are keeping
me out of the states at the moment.

However I must say I felt like Melbourne would be a lot more startup adept
than it is. I feel like Sydney is quite a while in front, but all of Australia
lags behind Israel and London (outside the US anyway.)

------
aedron
I am reconsidering due to the invasive and discriminatory border control I
fear I might be subjected to on entry. This started before Trump, but seems to
be getting worse with the current administration.

~~~
Lordarminius
> ...invasive and discriminatory border control I fear I might be subjected to
> on entry ...

This too. Who needs this kind of aggravation? Seriously the bureaucratic
process around entering the US is extremely discouraging

------
Lordarminius
I was under the impression that as a YC applicant one is not required to live
in the US, just to incorporate there.

The uncertainty surrounding the entire adminstration and it's policies gives
pause for thought and has introduced a rogue element into the calculation (at
last for me) but only time will tell if many others feel this way and act on
these instincts

~~~
wayn3
you have to live in the US for the duration of your YC batch.

------
bsvalley
This will only make Trump happy since that's exactly what he wants. Do you
want to make trump happy and think about politics first or do you want to
focus on your business and compete? That's also a sign for investors...
they'll find out quickly you get easily distracted.

~~~
MrsPeaches
Being non-white (i.e. could be from a muslim country) it is more to do with
the fact that I might face problems coming in and out of the country.

Not to mention living in a country where being openly racist is not something
that would exclide you from being president.

~~~
bsvalley
For the first part - it'll be decided soon I guess.

For the second part, I still believe you're getting too distracted. The US is
a huge country with a lot of diversity. If you apply at YC and magically get
in, you'd have to come to the san francisco bay area. Here, it's pro Obama.
The large majority of California is Democrat. It is an extremely diverse
place. This is where tech startups do business so I'd see it as a distraction
if you don't get impacted by #1 and still believe the US is not a great place
to start a company coming from another country.

------
Kepler-31b
I'm unsure why YC doesn't open up a branch outside the US and offer a vessel
to US investors?

------
id122015
The president is just a non important piece in the game. They talk about The
Establishment.

