Y Combinator, will you marry me? | Hacker News Reader

Y Combinator, will you marry me?

mottis.posterous.com

4 pointsmotti_s8 comments

"Gone are the days when applying to Y Combinator was about filing an application form."

This made me smile ruefully as I plow through reading applications.

Actually very little has changed about the application process or what we look for.

This is good to hear. At least if we get rejected we'll know that the goalpost is still in the same general location, even if the competition makes it harder to reach.

How do you weigh references when reviewing an application?

Has there ever been an application that was accepted on the basis of a clever stunt or some other cunning?

Actually competition hasn't made it harder. We still accept about the same proportion of applicants as we always have.

References count for a lot if they're unequivocal and from people we respect, and hardly at all otherwise.

People try lots of stunts, but I don't think we've ever had our opinion influenced positively by one. Negatively, yes.

But by stopping what you were doing to click that link, didn't you kind of prove his point? That it's more than the application, it's about getting noticed.

But I didn't notice who wrote it.

Decided to wait for next round a few days ago, reading this makes me feel a little better :)

What´s next? Chalkdrawing on Pioneer Way? Airplane Banners? Telegrams? Microcopters flying into the Y Combinator offices? Big band? Self-invitation? Roses?

I´m curious for the next ideas. It might be just natural that a platform made by hackers for hackers shows examples of how people try to hack the system. The recent examples might not be the myth creators but the YC partners know better about funny application stories. They might just be afraid to share too many stories as they will create new “expectations of expectations” on side of the applicants.

Beyond the recommendation system and some metrics, I´m convinced that Y Combinator is always reaching out for new circles and creatives. Just because 6 degrees of separation (recommendation) can bite into your neck too.

(Read Levi Strauss on hot+cold societies and the meaning of artefacts and cultural institutions. This might sound farfetched but I think it´s worth reading in this context. )

This post wasn't intended to be a PR stunt, though I see how the last paragraph could make it seem like it was. I was merely making an observation and have just rephrased the last bit to make it clearer. That's what happens when you write something quickly and go back to your code...

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