Trying to recreate one aspect of Y Combinator
Could you quantify the most meaningful motivations that help you build your companies during the week between YC dinners at YC HQ? Specifically, what drives you regarding peer review?
Paul Graham has written that one of the more amazing aspects of YC is the peer conversations that occur during the weekly dinner. Per Mr Graham, companies often "show off" progress made since the last dinner. This mechanism of friendly competition and perhaps accountability seems to drive dedicated company building in a constructive way.
While I'm certain that office hours with YC staff is just as important, that is difficult to duplicate for obvious reasons.
But - assuming that the odds are correct and we don't get into YC - I'm very curious about replicating this aspect of peer review and accountability.
We're planning on getting together with a few other pre-revenue startups that are trying to figure out problem-solution and product-market fit in their space - which is kind of where we are as well.
For lack of a better description, we're trying to form an accountability group - to give us the drive to hit our weekly milestones, and discuss problems encountered for missing milestones. Perhaps, prospectively over time such a group, as they all become familiar with one another, could offer meaningful trouble-shooting with knowledge of intimate details that are time and phase aware of your company's state.
This is perhaps the one thing I'm most jealous of YC companies that are actively in the program. I'd love to somehow recreate this. Access to amazing mentorship is certainly a close second.
My initial guesses on things that matter:
1. Companies should be in similar phases for all participants to get equal value - using "lean" startup lexicon, an example might be companies that are trying to figure out "product-market" fit.
2. Meeting face to face on a regular basis.
3. Are YC companies "showing off" to each other in cliques - meaning... is there greater value in us keeping our peer-review/ accountability meetup to just a few companies? If it is indeed clique dependent, what would you say is the optimal number?
Are there other things that aren't as obvious or intuitive? Am I dead wrong on some of the assumptions?
I'm hoping to start experimenting - any insight would be extremely helpful. For some reason if we can't get in YC, then I'm hoping something like this can help us a bit.
Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
Subbu