YCombinator
Mark J. Macenka on "The Great Value of Avoided Mistakes" (Startup School)
On Saturday (March 24th, 2007) I attended YCombinator’s Startup School event at Stanford University. YCombinator, an innovative (and controversial) Venture Capital firm, works with carefully selected entrepreneurial startups over a summer session in Boston, and injects a small amount of money into these startups in exchange for 5% ownership of the company.
Mark J. Macenka, gave a great speech on The Great Value of Avoided Mistakes in startups. If you are interested in starting a company, or have already -- this list can be really beneficial to you.
Here is his advice:
- Don’t get too focused on control.. Many entrepreneurs get obsessed with keeping 51% of a company. Don’t get bogged down on dilution. Just get the money and get changing the world.
YCombinator Startup School: Paul Graham's why to not *not* start a startup.
Today I attended YCombinator’s Startup School event at Stanford University. YCombinator, an innovative (and controversial) Venture Capital firm, works with carefully selected entrepreneurial startups over a summer session in Boston, and injects a small amount of money into these startups in exchange for 5% ownership of the company.
Speaker: Paul Graham, Partner, Y Combinator; Founder, Viaweb
Title: Why to not not start a startup?
Paul gave an excellent presentation regarding the excuses that people tell themselves (whether valid or invalid) to not try a startup (or join one).
At YCombinator, Paul claims to have a 50% succeed rate with an expected 25% long term success rate. He also states that 100% of YCombinator graduates would not trade their experience for a desk job in a cubicle.
So why don’t people quit their jobs and get going with a startup?
- I’m too young
