Comment by python_kiss | Hacker News Reader

Comment by python_kiss | Hacker News Reader

I think TechStars made three mistakes:

1. Low publicity.

2. Asked too many questions (i.e. what does it mean to be an entrepreneur?)

3. Deadline too soon.

They should've kept the deadline for applications at April 12th since by that time, all YC applicants will know if they have been accepted/rejected. The rejected ones could then apply at TechStars. This is not necessarily a bad thing since YC only picks 15 teams, while leaving a big pool of other great startup ideas and founders behind.

I have had phone conversations with numerous entrepreneurs on news.yc, and almost all of them plan on applying to TechStars while keeping YC as their first option.

TechStars could have, for marketing purposes, used aikido strategy and turn Y-Combinator's strength into weakness: since TechStars is new, they could've claimed that they place greater focus on the startups they fund as a way to prove their model superior to YC. A lot of people would've bought into that argument.

Having competition actually validates Y-Combinator's business model. While two similar programs may not be good for either parties, it is definitely good for the prospective founders.

It's great that support for young entrepreneurs is expanding. The entrepreneurial world is a brutal one and you want as many people on your side as possible.

Because I live in Colorado (but go to college in Austin), I'm surprised I hadn't heard about this before -- despite it launching about 4 months ago. Boulder is an awesome town, and you have the Rocky Mountains all around.

Regardless of the detrimental effect the attraction of nearby ski resorts could have on a startup (which also makes it a great place to live), I feel that Denver's/Boulder's weakness is that there aren't universities with better computer science programs. All the major startup hubs have excellent universities nearby whose talent they can feed off of:

Cambridge: MIT, Harvard Silicon Valley: Stanford, Berkeley Seattle: University of Washington Austin: University of Texas

(Darn -- After visiting PG's website, I realize I am re-iterating what he says this in his essay, "How To Be Silicon Valley.")

I can see this first-hand, attending the University of Texas. I've interviewed with many startups, and you can see how they're student quality is evident in the company's work.

I would imagine this is true even moreso in the better CS programs like MIT and Stanford, and double that with towns that have two great programs.

From their point of view, it makes sense that they don't position themselves as a second choice. Why would they want to defer to YC instead of at least having a crack at the applicants accepted to YC, perhaps offering them better terms?

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