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Comment by BinaryIdiot | Hacker News Reader

Hey Sam,

Any comment regarding Jason Calacanis being banned from YC's upcoming demo day? Jason tweeted[1] his side but didn't know what the YC side of it was and was curious.

[1] https://twitter.com/Jason/status/710176806184349696

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To be clear, it has nothing to do with all the shit he talks about YC. Though that's annoying, it's fine.

We collect feedback from YC founders on investors (we have a giant database of this). If you mistreat founders, we don't invite you to Demo Day. This isn't permanent--if you stop mistreating founders we start inviting you again. Also, it's possible that our founders are wrong in their assessment of how a particular investor is treating them, but investors have enough advantages in the system and we unashamedly take the side of our founders.

EDIT: I also never think these things are black and white, and that all of us have good and bad parts. I've heard from plenty of founders that Jason has been very helpful to their companies.

Is it true that some VCs get first dibs on YC companies before demo day?

I can confirm this is true, because YC staff members have explained to me that they bring in a small group of investors to mentor -- and because founders have confirmed it.

This is something I talked about on This Week in Startups, and frankly I think it has something to do with my "ban."

This is not our experience. Actually, Jason is the most founder-friendly investor that I have ever worked with. He really cares about founders.

He was the very first investor that invested in us, and has become our biggest champion since our very early days.

Most investors look for traction and only decide to invest when you have traction. Jason sees the fire and the determination in us (first time founders), and decides to support us, and helps us grow as a person and as a company.

Some other investors just put in money and disappears. But Jason truly cares and whenever we need help, he's always there. He gives us frank feedback that we really need, he challenges us and pushes us to be better. He helps us with intros. He sends product feedback and recommendations without being asked.

I know dozens of other founders that Jason had invested in and I know that they all feel the same way I do about Jason.

The traction I saw in https://leadiq.io/ was NOT in the product as much as the founder... it was clear to me that you were a winner who knew how to execute at a high level -- even if the product was a little awkward and round around the edges when we met.

Truth is, we're all a little awkward at the start... Uber and Thumbtack were both a little awkward when I did those angels rounds too.

The job of an angel investor is to look at the promise of the startup -- not the problems.

Since Jason gets a lot of flak (not that he cares):

Jason was one of the first and most helpful investors in Rapportive (YCS10, acq LinkedIn). He believed in us when there was no obvious reason to.

Jason was one of the first investors I went back to for Superhuman. (He negotiated hard, but then so do I — that's just part of each side getting what they want.)

I'd work with Jason again in a heartbeat for my next company.

Superhuman?? what a brand!

Wait until you see the product -- it's AWESOME. I've been using it for two weeks and I'm addicted. I think this will be 100x bigger than Rapportive! excited for it!

Sam and Jason, this is something that should be done and resolved 1-on-1. The entire ecosystem collectively gets distracted when these happen. Imagine the cost of this (gazillion followers spending gazillion man-decades of brain cycles). Also this gets you and him to be distracted as well and compound it by NOT tweeting/snap chatting stuff that is net +ive.

Sam is wildly successful I'm wildly successful

We've disagreed twice in 10 years, but when we do it's like two huge bulls cracking heads -- it's ugly! :-)

Excluding Jason is perplexing to me. For context I've started 6 companies, one went public and was a unicorn. I've worked with Jason as an angel in my companies and I've been on a board with him. Jason has been an awesome throughout several years of doing business with him. I can't envision a scenario where he wouldn't be founder friendly and I'd love to have him as an investor in any future project I pursue. Any first time founder would be lucky to work with Jason.

... and I am soooooo excited for your latest startup Ric. You're going to change the world -- again!

much love, thanks for speaking at the Angel Summit earlier this month!

Does YC take Jason and other early-stage investors as direct competitors?

I actually believe it's fine for folks to incubator hop -- Sam does not.

Sam's Post: http://blog.ycombinator.com/getting-into-y-combinator

my post: http://calacanis.com/2016/01/26/incubator-hopping-should-you...

99% of the investors out there agree with my position -- the 1% that don't work at YCombinator. :-)

Banning someone for calling YC out is bad enough, but bad mouthing him afterwards and claiming that he mistreated founders (or YC founders saying that he did) is such a cheap shot.

There is absolutely no history of Jason being known for mistreating founders. The opposite is true. AngelForum, free Launch tickets for founders and so on. He wouldn't get in the deals he's getting in if it were any different.

As it currently stands I'd never enter YC as a founder. Your comment cries of hypocrisy and falseness.

Either you honestly think he's mistreating founders then ban him and tell it like it is (and back it up with proof) or you don't think he's mistreating founders and think the feedback is unsubstantiated (if it exists) then man up and do what's best for YC founders.

Jason is a bully. I've heard plenty of horror stories of people who have worked for him. I'm not surprised in the least and I'm extremely glad to see people standing up to him.

Care to share any specific ones?

In fact such statements deserve specific details or shutting up. Either way it's potentially slanderous.

I can't reply to your other comment as its nested too deeply, but I'm not posting to earn your respect. If you don't believe me that's fine, but equivocating anonymity with trolling is a strawman if I've ever seen one.

I'm specifically thinking of an incident where he yelled at a dev until she cried in the middle of the open office at Mahalo.

I'd respect you sniping at people more if you did it whilst showing your true identity at the same time. If you're going to attack online from a hidden identity then that's just trolling.

Just for what it's worth, as I know it isn't the same as working for someone - I interviewed for a position working directly for Jason and he was all class. I'm a designer and part of the interview process, as is often the case, was to complete a small design project. He flat out insisted on paying me for my time (nobody else in my career has ever even offered) and wouldn't take no for an answer, and was professional and courteous during both the interview and his eventual decline to hire me.

That might make sense; strongarm negotiating doesn't necessarily mean you treat everyone like crap, but when there is more VC money than there are companies to invest in might cause you to lose out on deals.

Like I said, it was just my 2 cents for what they are worth here when Jason is being called a bully to people. I don't expect my experience to be analogous in the VC world or anything.

And it's interesting because the difference between "valid negotiating tactic" and "being an asshole" is so context dependent.

There are plenty of situations where flat out lying is not just acceptable, but expected as a bargaining tactic, along with other behavior that would be unacceptable in other situations.

Just thinking about the different ways I buy things at flea markets, the grocery store, and an auto dealership shows 3 very different behaviors.

and i'll give a counterexample - Jason yelling down and belittling an entrepreneur and his team during prep for a conference presentation, for a totally unrelated reason and then cancelling their appearance because he was mad at something else. I have never seen anything like it.

Assholes are manipulative, it's how they get away with it.

The problem is silicon valley is self-reinforcing with positive feedback, nobody rocks the boat and speaks ill (the subject of Jason's abuse above would never come out and say it) of others.

It is 100x harder to give a negative public view of someone than it is to give a positive.

Investors have more power than most of your employees and they will freely speak about you, associate with you in good times, many will run away in bad.

You should run extensive due diligence across all of them, and with people who worked with them - not the type of Silicon Valley 'good friends' that involve spending 5 minutes in a conference hallway with someone 3 times a year, or having dinner twice a year.

I've seen Jason critique a lot of pitches. I have to say, it's hard for me to believe your description of the situation is giving the full story.

Yes, Jason probably had some brutally honest feedback about the presentation and how to make it better. But in my experience, his feedback is always spot on.

I've personally been on the receiving end of such feedback, and it can feel harsh at times. But this is one of Jason's greatest strengths: he has the ability to listen to a pitch once and then make it way stronger by improving a few key things. This is why almost all of the pitches at Launch are exceptional.

1. I always ask folks -- in private and group meetings -- "do you want the red or blue pill?"

2. Founders have asked for the brutal truth of the 'red pill 'every single time. No founder has ever asked for the blissful illusion of the blue pill. Not once!

3. I've coached 700 startups for TC50, LAUNCH Festival and the LAUNCH Incubator (27 and growing!)... never had a complaint. Not one. That includes Dropbox, Yammer, FitBit, CafeX, Clicker, Brilliant.org and hundreds more.

[ background: The person making these claims is close friends with my former partner on TC50 -- that partner was accused of some very nasty things. ]

When I was broke I would sometimes ask folks "hey can you should me how you would tackle this problem?"

It was then up to them to do the spec work or not.

However, when I was able to afford to pay folks, I was like "well, if I pay three people $500 or $1,000 to do a project and pick the winner as my eventually designer, that's a good use of $1,500!"

Thanks for taking the time to share this story. I'm far from perfect, but I work really hard every day to help as many people I can.... because so many people helped me get to the top of the mountain!

I worked directly for Jason for about 3 years, as a direct report. I never once saw him bully anyone. He expects and pushes people to be their best. Additionally he doesn't allow people to waste his time, or the time of others in his organizations. Both of these are admirable qualities.

Additionally after I left his employ, he was our first investor in a new venture, and relentlessly supported us along the way. Jason is the best possible investor you can have on your side.

I also worked directly for Jason for nearly 3 years and have nearly an identical story as Adam. The entire Launch organization was built around Jason giving back to founders. All of his actions during my time working for him reflected this mission.

It was a pleasure to watch you grow into an awesome CEO yourself!

Have you actually worked with him? I have for many years and he has been one of the most founder friendly and dedicated people I've ever met!

Jason is the only investor I've worked with that treated me simply as a founder, not a "female founder." This alone is a reason that new YC entrepreneurs should have access to working with him. He sets an example of how entrepreneurs should be treated.

Jason has seen me at my worst, when I was ready to throw in the towel and battling with my board and generally having a tough, tough time, and I left the meeting with hom feeling like a rockstar, that I COULD handle it, and could go on to succeed (which I am doing today).

He is such a founder advocate I would take $25k from Jason over $250k from a bigger VC, because when the going gets tough (and it will) Jason will ALWAYS have your back.

+100 on this!!!

You are one of 7 brand new accounts created since this thread was posted who have left comments praising Jason:

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=supergeek18

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=vincentc

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=Clectasteve

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=ericzli

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=rushtix

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=redtri

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=adamdill

Rather obvious what is going on here - and it is pathetic

Sam altman tweeted this thread to his 149,000 twitter followers some of which would have worked with Jason, and won't have HN accounts.

Before Sam edited his comment, his comment implied that Jason had bullied founders, changed offers and shared founders confidential information.

> We collect feedback from YC founders on investors (we have a giant database of this). If you mistreat founders, we don't invite you to Demo Day. This isn't permanent--if you stop mistreating founders (i.e. bullying them, changing offers, sharing their confidential info, etc etc etc) then we start inviting you again.

I talked to Sam about his original comments and he said they were not fair and he corrected them.

Sam and I are actually, and I know this is hard to believe, fond of each other. We started as Sequoia scouts together and have both had great success being startup advocates.

It's nice that the companies I work with took the time to uncloak/create accounts to defend me. It's touching actually.

> Rather obvious what is going on here - and it is pathetic

Because having people create fake accounts just to leave positive comments is far more likely than thousands of people being exposed to this thread via Sam and Jason's tweeter feeds?

I wouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions with no data to back up your assertions.

For what it's worth, while I've never worked with Jason, I have met him once (briefly) and I have talked to many who have worked with him. I've only heard positive things. Everything being posted here are anecdotes from either one side or another; I wouldn't trust someone's anecdote to determine someone's character.

The accounts actually don't look fake. I'm not really sure what's so obvious.

All but one of the accounts was created before Jason tweeted about it.

and i've been around here long enough to know that even when outsiders do link to threads you don't get 50%+ green comments without sockpuppets

> All but one of the accounts was created before Jason tweeted about it.

What about before Sam tweeted? What about any other outlets that linked to HN?

> and i've been around here long enough to know that even when outsiders do link to threads you don't get 50%+ green comments without sockpuppets

Sounds like, instead of relying on data, you already have your narrative set so it doesn't really matter what anyone says. Do you have data that shows this has happened in the past like you claim? If so, what are the correlations between those instances and this one? How do you control between fake accounts and accounts created due to an influx of traffic regarding a topic many are interested in?

I responded to a bunch of the comments and included the URLs of the startups who came to my defense -- which is very touching to me.

... and because you should check out how awesome their startups are!

This account, is over a year old. I created "vincentc" because I've trended to prefer first name instead, but didn't realize what an issue a new account would pose.

Anyways, what I said was true. I went through his incubator, and Jason has been nothing but supportive. Echoing what others have already said, he provides brutally honest feedback, which we all need. At no time was it ever mean-spirited or derogatory, or any of the other claims being made.

Jason has been nothing but encouraging and relentlessly supportive.

Yeah, I created a new account, WITH MY REAL NAME for this as I wanted to be super transparent. I didn't want to use a scrub account that I normally post under here. All of those except for one probably fall under the same situation.

It's not a case of malice, just transparency.

I saw the tweet and wanted to offer my POV. I created a new account because I couldn't remember the password to my old account (redtricycle) and was responding on the fly. redtri = founder of red tricycle(not fake/anon). Two sides to every story (at least!) and people are entitled to hear all ...

Or is it just support because we feel it is due

You've fought really hard to get RedTri through some very rough times... I respect that a lot. It's been awesome to work with you JB!

If you have kids, I suggest checking out their SF page: http://redtri.com/san-francisco-kids/

Seems pretty clear from the tweet. I've never applied to YC or don't know exactly how it works internally but it seems like they have a feedback form they give to founders to rate the investors that come to Demo day. Based on that they give a score to each investor and they have a threshold. If an investor falls below the threshold they are not invited to demo day. I think the system is a good one.

Jason's been a great supporter of our company/vision, and we couldn't be happier to have him as an investor. This tweet really summarizes the kind of person Jason is: https://twitter.com/Dan_Fennessy/status/705889049987325952

Jason's an investor in my company, http://dailydrip.com. we started out doing something entirely different. He told us from the beginning that he invests in founders. I got the chance to test that when a huge incumbent in our prior space released essentially our product at a better price, and we decided to pivot to dailydrip.

I was a bit worried about discussing it with him, honestly. I didn't need to be. He was extremely supportive, and our current business is doing fantastically; we're even more passionate about it. In addition, everyone I've met that ever had him as an investor seems to have the same experience: once he's in your court, he's ridiculously helpful.

Long story short, I maintain that getting into the launch incubator or getting Jason on your side as an investor is one of the best things an early stage startup can do. Have never met someone who had him as an investor who had a negative word to say.

thanks pal.... I love what daily drip is doing in education and, yeah, pivots are scary -- but it's better to pivot than die!

We are going to have massive success together... can't wait to high five in seven years (or less)!

If anybody has questions about what it's like to have Jason as an investor, feel free to message me. Jason was our first investor and I have ton of respect for him. Here's how Jason has been founder friendly for us: * He always has your back — he'll encourage you even when times are hard * He responds to your updates with thoughtful questions and suggestions * He's happy to make intros and use his network on your behalf

Most importantly he's an entrepreneur and investor — and he knows about the hard times entrepreneurs go through. He'll always encourage you and you always leave a meeting with Jason feeling more positive than you did beforehand. He doesn't believe he knows the answer to every question, but he'll give you his advice. It's hard to over-state how important this is.

Again, I'm happy to jump on the phone if any founders have questions about Jason. Message me.

thanks for the candid review....

I'm a 45 year old entrepreneur. Not famous, but have done 11 startups, built some cool things, made money, lost money. I say that to put context to the vast number of collaborators I've worked with in my career. (I'm sure many of you have the same experience.) My latest venture was lucky enough to get into Jason's Launch Incubator class 1. And I have to share that the experience of being able to work with Jason on a product development level, a business level, as an investor, and as a person who subscribes to radical candor, has been nothing short of amazing. He nurtured us, encouraged, was critical, shared everything, wrote checks, asked friends to write checks, so we could follow our mission of building software for the world. That's all great, but the best part is he cares. Truly cares about us, what we're doing and where we're going.

thanks Sonny! It's been a pleasure working with you as well... So nice to see so many founders give details of what it's like in the launchincubator.co

a suspicious number of people seem to have signed up just to comment here...

It's pretty weird.

Signed up to support Jason as he supported us. To be honest I hadn't even heard of this forum before.

I'd be glad to answer any questions people have about Jason as an investor and share my experience. He was involved in my second startup - the first was very successful, the second was a failure.

I had a great experience with Jason, even though the startup was shutdown. That shutdown was where Jason showed his true colors - he was always there, had great ideas, and was super supportive. When we did shut it down, the first phone call I got was from Jason, checking in. I still have the message in my voicemail.

After that, he continued to keep in touch and keep me "in the family". He had 100's of investments he could have been spending time on, but he never forgot. The idea that he is not founder-friendly boggles my mind. He's incredibly human.

I'm sure when you invest as much as he has, he has some things in the past he'd like to take back - hell, I know I do as an entrepreneur - but I can say he's on the list of people who I'd love to work with again and again.

Thanks Geoff... I'm very proud of the work we did together.

Failure we is the precursor of success, so make sure I'm your first phone call when you have your next idea!

You investors need to stop shit talking one another. Jason is super helpful to me, even though I've never got a penny in investment out of him. And Sam you've helped to build an ecosystem that is unmatched by any accelerators. I am looking at you guys for ideas to help my new venture, Angeloop, to add the same value to the companies that don't get into the program. We are bridging the communication gap that exists between startup and their investors so they can help each other scale. I'm hoping you guys can work through your issues because when you guys fight, it contributes to our fragile system further deteriorate.

not personally familiar with the YC process in the least here, but in our short tenure with him so far he has been a tremendous coach and evangelist for us. he's certainly tough, but also balanced. we are lucky to have him onboard.

If you ban Jason you are missing one of the most founder friendly investors out there. We were a part of Jason's latest incubator class and I have a close friend going through YC right now. Our experience with Jason was amazing and the access to top tier investors in a small setting with only 6 other companies on a weekly basis was an experience that can't easily be replicated. It definitely accelerated our business and once Jason is an investor he is on your side and will work tirelessly to give you the best opportunity possible to succeed.

Jason is our first investor in LeadIQ. We are very glad to have his help on our product and fund raising. I don't know enough about other incubators but my partner, Mei and me are very excited to be one of Jason's portfolio companies. Jason is a strong product person. He understands products and markets really well, and his feedback is always on point and help us to improve. I strongly suggest every founder to apply to his incubator if you have a very solid product.

Nothing but positives about Jason, I was in the last Launch class. I was away from my family for 4 months. Jason invited me to thanksgiving and when my family did arrive we had play dates with his family. Post Launch he could easily cut us loose and focus on the top 1% of his portfolio. He doesn't do that, he is incredibly loyal and helpful. Some people just don't like that he likes to win but he doesn't do it at the expense of others in my experience.

Nothing but positives from me as well. I've been involved in 2 incubator classes now (1st and 3rd) and you always know where you stand with Jason. He is a relentless champion of the companies he's involved with, and will always give feedback. He's an amazing investor, mentor and someone whom I've learned a lot from.

you've worked really hard with Morgan Spurlock to get http://www.clect.com/ to launch. Marketplaces are hard, but it's clear you're making massive progress.

well worth checking out their launch video https://angel.co/clect-collect-together/

Jason was one of the first people to put money into Chartbeat. I've now worked with him as an investor for seven years and he's been consistently supportive and founder friendly even when it hasn't been in his short term interest to do so. He's also got incredible product intuition. I'd recommend him to any founder looking to work with someone who gives a shit.

Long time stalker. First time feeling a desire to post. Jason is an investor in my team's company www.zeroslant.com. We went through the LAUNCH Incubator. We went through a pivot. He has been a tireless supporter - no matter what. I'm not sure what caused him to be banned but I hope all the YC companies have access to him as an advocate.

Jason has been nothing but supportive, helpful, and encouraging towards us personally, and our business. He has made himself extremely available, and has invested much of his time in doing this.

thanks pal... we are all in this together!

I've found Jason to be an extremely supportive, honest and loyal investor. He is very supportive of early stage founders and excels at leveling you up to the next stage.

The first time I saw Jason in person was at a Founder Institute session. He told is own story of struggle/success/failure/success. It was one of the most moving things I've ever witnessed. This guy has heart and has been in the trenches doing the work.

Love speaking at Adeo's FI... such an open program.

Candidness is a virtue. Jason delivers it in a manner that motivates. I spent 4 months away from my family for Launch. Jason invited me to Thanksgiving. Post launch his support is unwavering despite having at least two of the 14 companies already flying. I found him to be a gentleman.

Jason is one of the most honest and helpful people I've ever met. Super happy that we met him and have his support. Never experienced any sort of bullying, offer changing and confidentially info sharing...

Jason is one of the greatest investor. Without him, we would not have moved to the Bay Area, would not have made great progress in product and strategy over 3 months. He is honest and helpful.

thanks eric...

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