Every Y Combinator startup is now being offered a $150K convertible note by the Start Fund. Admittance to Y Combinator is based solely on the idea and an in-person interview according the to application.
It took the commercial software industry 35+ years to figure it out, but I'm glad to see somebody FINALLY gets it. Profitable ideas - the only ones that matter - are difficult to come up with and do have significant value. See my previous post
The only problem with this take on it is that Paul Graham has stated that he cares much more about the team than the idea when admitting people to Y Combinator. PG and company are not concerned if people change their ideas over the course of the program. So the filter is for people rather than ideas. I agree with you to some extent, but this doesn't really support your position.
ReplyDeleteAlso, to your earlier post, the idea of a fountain of youth has no value. Being able to create one does have value. That's execution.
Greg
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. But, Paul Graham isn't administering programming tests before admitting people to Y Combinator. What he's looking for is a marketable, breakthrough idea first. That's what's going to get you a meeting with him. Then he's looking for a competent, passionate, driven team that isn't going to give up on his investment. That's secondary. Otherwise, Y Combinator would simply be looking to invest in smart, motivated people with no ideas and have confidence that they'd be able to come up with a breakthrough, marketable one. It doesn't work like that, because breakthrough, marketable ideas are few and far between.
Additionally, when I say "idea" I'm talking about a problem to solve along with its solution. Simply put, if you don't have the solution, you don't have an idea. Execution is the "implementation" of the idea/solution. From an engineering standpoint, anyone can do that. That's the entire business model of IT consulting companies, implementing the ideas of others. And, consulting companies are a dime a dozen because it's not rocket science. It's a small piece of the puzzle, and they are compensated accordingly.
Well now you can apply to Y combinator without needing an idea. i.e. 150 k is for the team's potential
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