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YC: Requests for Startups

(www.ycombinator.com)
514 points sarimkx | 4 comments | 14 Feb 24 16:31 UTC | HN request time: 0.62s | source
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shrimpx ◴[14 Feb 24 21:24 UTC] No.39375623[source]▶
To those who think this list will help them get into YC, or lament "why didn't I get into YC when my idea was squarely on this list":

The YC application is a sales pitch, and you're not selling your idea, you're primarily selling your charisma and capacity to spin vision and sell. Second, you're selling your chemistry with your cofounders and stability of your relationship. Third, you're selling your capacity to build, at least some usable prototype, but this a low bar.

At no point are you actually selling the concrete idea, unless you're doing something extremely specific that seems valuable and you're one of the few who can build it. For the rest, the idea is a rhetorical vehicle to sell the other things.

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1. kilroy123 ◴[14 Feb 24 21:37 UTC] No.39375829[source]▶
From what I've heard, you also need to build up a lot of hype about yourself.
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2. plondon514 ◴[14 Feb 24 21:48 UTC] No.39375969[source]▶
I don’t think this is true at all. I did YC and neither I nor my cofounders had any hype surrounding us or our idea. Unless if by hype you mean a handful of paying users then sure, that won’t hurt :)
3. rogerkirkness ◴[14 Feb 24 21:55 UTC] No.39376076[source]▶
Not true for me. No social media other than HN and got in first try.
4. echelon ◴[14 Feb 24 23:32 UTC] No.39377088[source]▶
You need to be the right idea at the right time, and the right team to do the thing.

Gen AI two years ago was a toy that fit "somewhere" into the "creator economy", which seemed dead.

Now try and you'll get a completely different reception.