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Comment by andrewguenther | Hacker News Reader

I think part of it is that the incentives have changed. A lot of people don't see Google as "I've made it" they see it as "great, I can work anywhere I want after this." I think we're starting to see that in YC as well: "I'm in the YC network now." It isn't about the business you get in with, it's that you, as a founder, are now part of the YC network and the opportunities that opens for you as an individual rather than what it means for your business.

My read of the post wasn't that they so desperately needed YC's approval to think that their business could be a success, it's that they just wanted to be in YC.

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I think one of the brilliant things YC (and PG) have done is propagate “being a founder” as occupying an elite career/employment category beyond anything else. Like, there’s an under appreciated level of category building that YC is responsible for (and the success of their founders hasn’t hurt).

I don't understand this. Anyone can "be a founder." All you have to do is go down to the Department of Finance, file for a business and fictitious business name, and voila, you're a founder.

Or, does "founder" mean something different? Does it mean that you start a company AND bring a company to $100 million revenue minimum or something? If that's the case, that's kinda weird to me, but ok boomers, er, sorry, millenials. But, if it means that anyone is a founder by signing a piece of paper and paying $25 at the county office, then color me unimpressed.

So can anyone enlighten me about what the specific definition of a founder is? Is it something different, some other nuance or definition? I don't know, I'm confused. Someone, help a brother out.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3479042 popped up on HN a few years ago and explains the idea well.

The YC badge is part of what distinguishes "everyday small business owners" and "credible tech founders®". This is part of what YC is selling; a credential that identifies you as being a tech founder worthy of respect in the Bay Area.

(I don't personally put a ton of stock in this credential, but the reality is the tech world does.)

oh, so a "founder" is not a founder. A "founder" is only one that is blessed by YC, and nobody else is a founder of a company unless it is through YC?

If someone goes through some other incubator or program, it doesn't count? Like, you could get an MBA from Harvard, PhD is astrophysics from MIT, win the Nobel Prize at 18 years old, start a company and make $800 billion dollars, and you still won't be a "credible tech founder®"? I'm just trying to understand this here. YC is the only font of "credible tech founderhood®"?

I think if you have all those things your title becomes “living genius” — no one will care about the founder part.

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