Definitely not true! How did you get that impression?
I wouldn't be here if it were—my cofounder Scott and I made it to YC from way outside elite circles, US or otherwise. It's really important not to go for these demoralizing assumptions, lest they become self-fulfilling prophesies.
Here's some better information: if you can build, can make something people want, and are willing to be coached in the way that YC coaches founders, you have as good a chance as anyone at getting funded by YC. (And certainly a far better chance at not being overlooked for prejudicial reasons such as 'not from elite university'.)
You may not be wrong in general—it's clear that class divides are increasingly organized around educational divides—but IMO this is less true of YC than society at large and it's a big part of YC's business for it to remain so.
Edit: while I'm at it, something I wish more people would know is that if you apply to YC and get rejected, you should keep applying. Most YC startups didn't get in on their first try. If you do apply more than once, the key thing is to demonstrate progress since your previous application.
So: don't give up, and definitely don't give up before you start!
I would like to debate you on your assumptions. A class divide is bigger and worse than any other divide. Because there is no push (like DEI) we make innate assumptions about a person depending on their class; hence most of YC fits a certain "personality" which commentators in here are complaining about.
While I am past that complaining stage, it's worthwhile for the VC industry to take a look at that class divide.
> something I wish more people would know is that if you apply to YC and get rejected, you should keep applying. Most YC startups didn't get in on their first try. If you do apply more than once, the key thing is to demonstrate progress since your previous application.
Again, you are right from your perspective but my opinion based on my experience and fellow founders is that if you fail the first time, founders should just move on. Startup founders have this Hollywoodesqe mentality of what a startup is with all the glamour and almost all of them waste time pitching to YC/VC and think they are failure if they don't get accepted.
There needs to be a revamp of startup financing and I think something like startup school is in the right direction.
Or apply with something they are looking to fund. Then change your idea to what you really want to do when you get in.
(This is what Tiktok told me to do)
I'm in Boston, but guessing 13 speakers is a long time to be in an event space with a lot of students bused in from various schools. (1-on-1 or few-on-few can be better in-person, but remote works a lot better for talks.)
Also, Covid is going around the schools right now, and not everyone would let having Covid preclude a networking opportunity like this. Which would be a reason in favor of streaming (i.e., lower the incentive to make a lot of people sick). And also a reason some people would opt to watch the stream.
It’s worth noting that the main online “startup school” course doesn’t have this limitation, neither does the core YC program. I’m guessing this specific event is just very targeted at a particular market - Boston area student startup founders. Talks that are very targeted towards student founders, trying to make connections between similar age/location entrepreneurs, trying to build ties to YC within a close knit group so that they’re all more likely to apply to YC later, etc.
With that being said, I have zero association with YC, I could be wrong about any/all of that. But to me it just looks like a single event that’s trying to be really specific and focused with their market. It’s very common for meetups to have a very specific target market. It IS more uncommon to outright ban ppl outside the target market, but YC is so popular that if they didn’t, they’d probably get a tonne of non-student, non-Boston-area ppl attending a meetup whose content is focused on Boston area students.
YC teaches people how to run startups. There are other ways to learn how to do a startup.
But I do suggest watching some of their videos or reading some on their articles. Their approach and attitude helped me realize I'd rather join an early stage startup than run one.
'We’re conducting in-person interviews for the Summer 2024 batch for current undergraduate or graduate students at universities in the northeastern US.'
Why are recent BA/BS, MS, and PhD graduates excluded?
Looks like it's a special opportunity for students to interview early and not excluding non-students from interviewing through the normal process. Maybe they are concerned the interviews may be overrun with professional founders and they only have 1 day?
College outreach has been part of YC's recruiting efforts for years. It doesn't mean others are excluded. Certainly everyone who wants to should apply for Startup School!
Would be of great service if YC were more upfront about its biases to applicants. The narrative that YC is an accessible path for anyone seems to contradict the actions taken.
Where is the outreach to those outside of elite academic and professional circles?
Readit News
I wouldn't be here if it were—my cofounder Scott and I made it to YC from way outside elite circles, US or otherwise. It's really important not to go for these demoralizing assumptions, lest they become self-fulfilling prophesies.
Here's some better information: if you can build, can make something people want, and are willing to be coached in the way that YC coaches founders, you have as good a chance as anyone at getting funded by YC. (And certainly a far better chance at not being overlooked for prejudicial reasons such as 'not from elite university'.)
You may not be wrong in general—it's clear that class divides are increasingly organized around educational divides—but IMO this is less true of YC than society at large and it's a big part of YC's business for it to remain so.
Edit: while I'm at it, something I wish more people would know is that if you apply to YC and get rejected, you should keep applying. Most YC startups didn't get in on their first try. If you do apply more than once, the key thing is to demonstrate progress since your previous application.
So: don't give up, and definitely don't give up before you start!
Probably from Paul Graham: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39756865
While I am past that complaining stage, it's worthwhile for the VC industry to take a look at that class divide.
> something I wish more people would know is that if you apply to YC and get rejected, you should keep applying. Most YC startups didn't get in on their first try. If you do apply more than once, the key thing is to demonstrate progress since your previous application.
Again, you are right from your perspective but my opinion based on my experience and fellow founders is that if you fail the first time, founders should just move on. Startup founders have this Hollywoodesqe mentality of what a startup is with all the glamour and almost all of them waste time pitching to YC/VC and think they are failure if they don't get accepted.
There needs to be a revamp of startup financing and I think something like startup school is in the right direction.
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Just as a starting point, there's the ~quarterly immigration attorney AMA.
https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=proberts
Are there collected statistics that showcase this?
I'm in Boston, but guessing 13 speakers is a long time to be in an event space with a lot of students bused in from various schools. (1-on-1 or few-on-few can be better in-person, but remote works a lot better for talks.)
Also, Covid is going around the schools right now, and not everyone would let having Covid preclude a networking opportunity like this. Which would be a reason in favor of streaming (i.e., lower the incentive to make a lot of people sick). And also a reason some people would opt to watch the stream.
Will they be doing that “roll call” song too? https://www.tiktok.com/@theoffice/video/7254560650909928750?...
With that being said, I have zero association with YC, I could be wrong about any/all of that. But to me it just looks like a single event that’s trying to be really specific and focused with their market. It’s very common for meetups to have a very specific target market. It IS more uncommon to outright ban ppl outside the target market, but YC is so popular that if they didn’t, they’d probably get a tonne of non-student, non-Boston-area ppl attending a meetup whose content is focused on Boston area students.
YC teaches people how to run startups. There are other ways to learn how to do a startup.
But I do suggest watching some of their videos or reading some on their articles. Their approach and attitude helped me realize I'd rather join an early stage startup than run one.
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Why are recent BA/BS, MS, and PhD graduates excluded?
Where is the outreach to those outside of elite academic and professional circles?
I'm in Boston.
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