Ask HN: I can't do YC. What are alternatives? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: I can't do YC. What are alternatives?

14 pointsdavidzee9 comments

I've just listened to a great interview with Paul Graham [0] and realized that I don't fit into YC: I am over 30. I've worked as a developer / consultant so my cost of living is high. And I've two kids so I am not as mobile when I was 19. So I want to startup and an idea, a co-founder and a working prototype are there. We do this currently at night and want to pursue this at daytime. I would love to do something like YC but I just can't. So what are the alternatives? Just look for some angels? But where?

[0]: http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2009/08/graham_on_start.html

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For one, you should probably tell where you're located, conditions vary quite a bit depending on location.

The reason why I think YC concentrates on younger people is twofold, for one they are not under enormous pressure to make money because they don't have a lot of responsibilities, thus reducing the burnrate (imho this is actually an asset for an older person!), second, you are not 'free' to move to wherever YC is because of your prior commitments.

Again, depending on your location I'd try to find out if there is a local 'club' of angel investors, possibly a local VC (you already have a working demo, you could consider pitching it).

One more option would be to mortgage your house and pool your savings but with the failure rate of startups being what it is I would be very careful before doing something dramatic like that.

Another big question is the quantity of money that you will need in order to get off the ground, and how long you expect to take before hitting break even.

Bootstrapping is a great idea. Check out sites such as http://www.elance.com, http://www.guru.com, and http://www.odesk.com to find a reliable programmer. Word of advice. You will find your biggest savings with programmers located in Asia and India, as opposed to the U.S. and Europe based companies. I saved 90% on my programming this way. Just make sure you explain exactly what you want done, what you expect, and check credentials and previous work.

When searching for Angels, you can checkout http://www.crunchbase.com to view what Angels and VCs are investing in your competitors, as well as to do research on the competition and companies and founders that you like and admire.

You can find some local Angels, VC and helpful entrepreneurs though http://www.meetup.com, and http://www.partnerup.com.

Lastly, share your ideas and get valuable feedback from people that can help you improve it, at sites such as http://www.ideaoffer.com, http://www.ideablob.com, and http://www.blubstorm.com. Just make sure to keep your ideas guarded and protect your intellectual investment in yourself and your startup. You can even get paid for lending your creative opinions to others on IdeaOffer. That extra cash can help you bootstrap your idea.

Hope I could be of some help to you. Good luck.

1) keep working on it at night until it becomes profitable enough that you can work on it in the daytime. bootstrapping is usually the best idea for people who have heavy responsibilities.

2) if you truly believe in your idea, you could take out a loan and use that to fund your project. depending on how much $ you need and what your savings and responsibilities look like, this isn't necessarily the best idea.

3) a more middle ground would be to transition to a freelance or part-time position that allows you to spend more time during the day working on your project while still providing you with an exterior source of income. could combine that with #2, as well.

4) look for a more local alternative to YC. they might not be as good, but they could provide you an alternative that doesn't require you to disrupt your responsibilities. there are quite a few (you would, naturally, need to figure out whats near you): seedcamp, techstars, launchbox, boostphase, founders co-op, capital factory, dreamit, hitforge.

5) search for a local VC or angel investor firm/group/etc. that might be willing to hear a pitch from you.

Thanks for the YC alternativs:

http://www.capitalfactory.com - Austin

http://www.dreamitventures.com - Philadelphia

http://www.founderscoop.com/ - Seattle

http://www.launchboxdigital.com/ - Washington, D.C

http://www.techstars.org/ - Boulder, Boston

http://www.seedcamp.com/ - London

http://www.hitforge.com/ - ???

http://www.boostphase.com/ - ???

I'm from Germany.

> I'm from Germany

That changes matters considerably.

have a look here:

http://de.dir.yahoo.com/Firmen/Finanzdienste/Business_to_Bus...

Thanks for the list. But most of them are classic VCs. Which we are not ready for yet. We are more looking for incubator / early stage help.

If you want I can call a contact on monday and ask them if they can recommend a party in Germany that matches your requirements better, drop me an email if you want me to do that (mail on my profile page).

http://www.seedcamp.com/ - London, with mini-camps around Europe

http://beta.yeurope.net/ - Austria

There is a huge opportunity here for middle-aged founded startups who would benefit from a YC experience. There is a similar predicament in the arts (at least in Canada). There are lots of programs for new or emerging artists as long as your're not over 24. All of the other YC-esque "camps" are similar to YC in this regard. New ones seem to appear quite often, so perhaps there will be one tailored to "us" in the near future.

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