

fbFund and Y Combinator - sanj
http://blog.luckycal.com/?p=11

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epi0Bauqu
I feel the same way about Y Combinator. People like me are self-excluded
because of our current life parameters/priorities, most notably family. I also
completely understand why it is set up the way it is, but nevertheless I have
a hunch that there are significant missed opportunities on both sides (i.e.,
good investments passed up and good startups less successful because of it).

Additionally, some of the structure seems more geared towards first time
entrepreneurs. In the case of a more experienced entrepreneur, it would seem
that a more relaxed structure might be acceptable (and in some cases even
appropriate). I don't need to get more material about the legal aspects of how
companies work, for example. But I'm sure I would benefit from focused
conversations about my product offerings.

~~~
pg
_I have a hunch that there are significant missed opportunities on both sides_

I don't think it could be any other way, though. The investment is only about
5% of what YC does. The other 95% is stuff that has to happen face-to-face.

We did once try letting a startup not move. By Demo Day they were way behind
the others, and they didn't survive much past it.

~~~
mattmaroon
I definitely agree having been through it. It wouldn't be worth doing very
much without the moving.

I don't see family as much of an excuse. Can you really not get away for three
months? It's not that long.

~~~
keven
I agree. To join YC in summer '07, I moved with my wife and a set of two-year-
old twins to Cambridge from Vancouver for four months.

We had great memories of Cambridge and thought it was worth it.

~~~
epi0Bauqu
Not all families can just pick up and move for four months without significant
consequences, e.g. the loss of spouse's job.

~~~
mattmaroon
But many families can get by with one of the parents being out of town for the
better part of three months.

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sanj
Hiya!

I've been reading HN for a long time. I'm happy to answer questions about the
f8 conference and the fbFund process.

I'll be on and off today, but will keep up with the conversation as best I
can.

~~~
zach
Thanks! This has a lot of interest to me as well since I'm also not prepared
to structure my life around a YC session.

I have some interest in a venture to build an app that would be specifically
used for promoting products. Half product, half consultancy. Are there any
fbFund recipients doing anything similar or unusual like that, or are they all
building straight-ahead apps?

~~~
sanj
Taking a look at the recipients,

<http://developers.facebook.com/fbFund.php?tab=recipients>

there are definitely some which are 'infrastructure' rather than "apps":

HotBerry: Frameworks and mechanics allowing users to generate own casual games
on Facebook (e.g., Pinball construction set). Watch Screencast

J2Play: A social gaming platform for pc, mobile, and web game developers.

 _However_ , the details announced about the _next_ iteration of the fund may
preclude these sorts of entrants. The issue is that while the finalists will
chosen by the fbFund committee, the winners will be chosen by Facebook's
users. I think it would be hard to "sell" a non-app to them, unless you had
compelling instances what the app could do.

~~~
indigoviolet
Finalists still get 25K or something, right?

~~~
sanj
Correct. But I imagine the bias will be towards apps that the users will be
interested in. You want a tight race.

~~~
indigoviolet
I suspect the bias will be more on finding apps that better their platform.
but we'll see..

