

Founder Labs NYC  - 'Nights and Weekends' startups with mentoring - GBond
http://www.founderlabs.org/applynyc.html

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brd
I'm not sure I get it. Its somewhere between StartUp Weekend and YC but with a
steep price tag (in my opinion at least).

What exactly am I paying for?

For the opportunity to meet potential co founders? I'd say StartUp Weekend is
better for that since I can meet more people and I can do the vetting based on
my personality and preferences.

For the opportunity to get a startup idea? I feel like anyone who is serious
enough to pony up that kind of money probably has a few ideas already.

For the opportunity to meet investors? I would much rather have a founder of
my choosing and a prototype of my idea before I start doing that.

Plus this is a whopping 1 month of nights and weekend activity?

I'm not sure I'm willing to buy some mentor time for $800 but feel free to
convince me otherwise.

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mike_h
Met seriously world-class folks and had life-changing mentoring in the winter
session. Jessica from YC came by and talked with us one night. Many others in
the star-studded cast.

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inmygarage
Very interesting that you have to pay money to be in the program, considering
the vast majority of these types of programs give you money as a participant
(YC for example). What is the thinking behind that? I am curious whether it's
better to have people pay (then it's clearly an educational environment) or to
pay them (then it's a seed investment and performance-driven). Any thoughts
from alums on how the entrance fee affected the group of participants and the
general vibe?

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mike_h
My understanding:

The fee is nominal, calculated mainly to filter the applicant pool for
commitment. Since it's a nights-and-weekends program and wasn't as well-known
before, it was vulnerable to people approaching it more casually than they
would something fulltime like YC.

Their profile is growing though, and I imagine the formula will keep evolving
(Foodspotting, Spoondate are two alum projects with buzz right now, more still
building steam).

As for how it affected general vibe, no one in our session seemed to treat it
as something they had paid for with the fee, but more as something to
contribute to and earn by making success happen.

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thegoleffect
The fee also helps cover for the costs of food and the space. The fee was
small considering the value I got from just the first week.

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thegoleffect
I loved the program (second class). It is highly competitive for business
people though.

Helps if you get referrals from previous founders /nudge!

