A “Y Combinator For Education Startups” | Hacker News Reader

A “Y Combinator For Education Startups”

techcrunch.com

58 pointsemmanuelory13 comments

Happy to read this news.

I personally won't be able to apply for my edutech startup with them, but am sure it would encourage a lot of other hackers who give this space a pass due to all the challenges specific to this domain.

Another HN user covered them pretty very well in this comment - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1879171

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  Education systems have huge budgets, but they are always run by such [REDACTED] 
  people that the money is never used as a lever to get what they need. 

  Education systems are quite happy to spend millions of dollars on consultancies 
  and studies, but because the focus is on risk avoidance they never actually 
  achieve anything.

  (And yes, there are a few exceptions. Having destroyed myself trying to 
  achieve anything in that sector I applaud all the more for those 
  who have managed it.)

  For anyone considering doing a company in this space, read all the 
  warnings you hear about doing enterprise software, and then take away the 
  fact the most enterprises are at least rational (if slow).
 
  Then also remove the fact that enterprises pay people well, 
  so they are usually a few decent people who you can deal with. 
  Then add in politics, the election cycle, unions, teachers, lectures, 
  "duty of care" considerations. If you are still considering that sector, 
  then good luck!!

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"Education systems have huge budgets, but they are always run by such second rate people that the money is never used as a lever to get what they need. "

I'd just add that frequently it's not so much "second rate people" as "good people working under some crazy-ass constraints with way too many stakeholders to satisfy".

I very much don't buy the notion that someone making 5X the money at bigcorp is automatically a higher grade of person -- they're probably at least as much of a screwup, if you've ever been on the inside of bigcorp to see it.

I agree that "second rate people" comment by the OP in the linked thread wasn't required at all. I personally don't agree with it. Rest of the stuff he mentioned is quite correct though.

After they launch we’re going to publish a blog post encouraging startups working on software for schools to apply to them instead of us. - PG

I don't think you can give any higher compliment than that.

I spoke to Geoff briefly about Imagine K12 and I'm super excited about the idea. One of the biggest challenges with education startups is attracting hackers - why do you think that is?

I know when I was working on a "Youtube for Teachers," we spoke to about a dozen teachers and were turned off by how long it would take to actually get anyone to adopt our technology in the classroom. The connections to charter schools that Imagine K12 will give its companies will go a long way towards alleviating some of those turnoffs, so hopefully hackers will apply.

Specialised startup accelerators seem to be the next logical step in startup evolution: mentors specialised in your field, sense of direction, capitalisation on specific related areas. I think we'll see more of those.

I wrote a master's thesis on seed accelerators, and this was exactly my conclusion:

http://blog.jedchristiansen.com/2009/09/21/copying-y-combina...

http://blog.jedchristiansen.com/2011/02/23/looking-back-1-5-...

As you said, it's the next logical extension. The "Ivy League" of seed accelerators has largely been established. But other programs can become top-tier programs in their niche quite easily.

I'd love to see an accelerator focused around computer security (with a way to support both non-commercial or pre-commercial efforts, and productization and companies), and/or the defense/government sales segment.

Healthcare might also be good; similarly regulated, with a lot of domain knowledge required. I think the drug discovery world is handled through academia, but medical devices and definitely software/systems are a weak area right now.

Exactly. There are a lot of niches that could use a specific startup accelerator. (One ideal example is anything where you have to manufacture "stuff"... thinking about the trials and travails of Wakemate.)

While I'm sure PG would argue that YC partners have the capability and expertise to succeed if any of these kinds of companies came to YC, they would likely be better served by an accelerator focused on these markets and issues.

Great news! Sounds like a good model (essentially, YC's again) and a good team, and off to a lean/substantive approach.

I happen to have 2 different education startup projects, one of which might be a good fit for Imagine K12. However, the logistics and economics of moving out to SF for 3 months are making me hesitant to apply yet. I live in Colorado, no longer the college student age/stereotype, etc. But the team and mission is exciting. (YC is awesome too, of course, but the living-in-SV-area-for-months thing has been a big negative for me with their program as well.)

I plan on analyzing some cost of living numbers, see if I can make the dollar part at least make sense. Whether I could do it for $500/month, or $1000/month, $2000/month, and what each level would get me. And it's not just the direct cost of living, I'm also a guy with a career, paying client gigs, etc. so there's a financial opportunity cost. Yes, yes, bootstrap myself, obviously, and I already am, but I also see the value in getting mentors and introductions and the biz dev connections into the education market. Cash infusion is almost an afterthought, and giving away 6-10% is so small at the seed stage that it is nothing to worry about.

I'm excited about this program. Hopefully it will bring a lot more smart entrepreneurs and developers into the edu-tech space. It's definitely an industry that's in need of good talent, innovation, and creative problem solving.

Quizlet.com (Alan Louie, one of this program's founders, is an advisor) is looking for a few great people to join the small team in SF. If you have an interest in edu-tech (or just working on a web product that's helping millions of students study already), please get in touch. Email phil@[thedomain] or http://quizlet.com/jobs/

How about a charter-school incubator? You probably have to be a teacher to apply. The incubator would provide you with a classroom, and help you recruit some students. If you succeed, then you get to start your own charter school.

I think the real advantage to a company such as this one is if they're able to leverage their clout for K12 education startups to get their products into public schools.

After talking with these guys, they are really serious and passionate about creating a positive change in education.

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