Paul Graham is Hurting the Children

This guy has not thought things through. Sure, hundreds of people apply to YC every cycle, but we only develop a relationship with the few we fund. In fact the thing I like least of all about YC is that it's effectively a machine for making hundreds of smart hackers dislike us, or at least feel somewhat hurt, every six months.

Also, like nearly everyone (including, fortunately, most imitators) he's stuck on this idea that we like to fund undergrads. In fact the median founder is around 25; it's harder to get funded as an undergrad than not.

As opposed to Random Big Company, who would otherwise be getting this $1million+ talent and paying them $50-60K?

'... Microsoft is shooting at you, and it's just cover fire so that they can move forward and you can't, because this is how the game is played ...' [0]

Why are readers worried about articles like this? More to the point why are you reading them at all? They lack irony, humour and certainly lack a coherent message. Here's mine. You don't read this site & pg's articles just to get funded do you? If you do your missing the point. You are going for the egg instead of the goose. [1] [2]

Don't play the game, move forward.

Reference

[0] Joel On Software, 'Fire And Motion'

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000339.html

[1] Khosla, Vinod, '... Khosla met staffer Andreas Bechtolsheim, a workstation designer and research scientist at the Stanford University network. Bechtolsheim had built a computer workstation and had begun licensing his creation to companies for $10,000. Khosla talked his new colleague into ceasing the licensing game in favor of manufacturing the workstations themselves. "I want the goose that laid the golden egg, and I don't want the golden egg," ...'

http://tinyurl.com/37hve4

[2] If you still don't get it, "It's the information", not the lottery of yc. Reading through pg's articles a clearer path is created in which you can avoid the ugly trolls and other unexpected obstacles, in the maze of twisty little passages creating startups.

PG, Since the piece was mostly tongue in cheek I agree, not much thought went into it. But it would only make sense that some of the team members not making the cut ended up on a team that did. Also, it is common knowledge and confirmed by large companies such as Google and Microsoft that they sometimes buy companies for the value of the team rather than the product. So in the general sense, the logic works.

After reading some threads in your news-YC section, I did find that some of the companies not making the grade were ticked off. But, this can be handled by setting expectations and delivering the rejection in the proper manner. We all know that we desire what we cant have. Put it this way. I am sure that a recruiter that had access to the list of contacts amassed through your funding contests could show a fine ROI on your investment. No doubt there is value in that network of contacts.

BTW the article is Titled: Paul Graham is Selling our children

Please, somebody think of the children!