Ask HN: Alternatives to Y Combinator?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=363066

by swilliams • 18 years ago

11 21 18 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I have an idea for a startup, and would love to submit it to the YC program. However, I also have a wife and an infant daughter and the move to either Cambridge or Mountain View would just be too much of a burden.

So, is there a similar program but without the move? Or perhaps a little closer to home (Phoenix, AZ)? Or should I pursue a more traditional seed/angel funding route? The biggest attraction of YC to me is the cumulative experience and knowledge of the founders, and I worry that I wouldn't get that with a standard VC path.

davidw2• 18 years ago

You could do cambridge / mountain view for the three months that you're required to be there, then leave - I don't think there's anything in the rules against that.

swilliams6• 18 years ago

We talked about that, and it would mean bad things all around for my family. Background: She's a PhD student and will graduate in May or August.

Option 1) She continues what she's doing right now, research and lab work, and occasionally pick up a shift at a "real" job. However, we wouldn't have health insurance, and that is crucial (pre-existing conditions and baby).

Option 2) She gets a full time job, with benefits. The downside is that we would then need full time daycare for the baby, which is something I am against. Yes, it would only be for a few months, but I think it would be too much for her, since she would essentially be a single mom.

Crazy Option 3) We pick up and move to Cambridge/Mountain View. This would keep the family together, but the logistics of figuring that out while starting a company make my head hurt just thinking about it.

Ultimately, a 3 month separation would be an incredible stressor on our marriage, and that is something I'm not willing to sacrifice.

davidw2• 18 years ago

All sounds rather familiar...

"research and lab work" - are you another tech guy with a biotech/chem girl? You have no information in your profile, BTW.

Alex3917• 18 years ago

So just wait a cycle. Also, it should be less difficult to get health insurance to cover pre-existing conditions in Massachusetts since the state offers health care. However, if you ever move back to wherever you were then you're probably screwed.

briancooley• 18 years ago

>However, we wouldn't have health insurance, and that is crucial (pre-existing conditions and baby).

If you have health insurance through your employer, then you can continue it for 18 months after terminating employment through COBRA, IIRC.

If you can't afford to continue health insurance coverage through COBRA, how does living in Phoenix change that versus living in Mountain View or Cambridge?

beaudeal• 18 years ago

My first piece of advice would be this: don't bank on YC funding. Sure, it would be great if you got accepted, but that shouldn't stop you from pursuing your idea. Especially if it is still just an idea - work on it at home, in your spare time, and then evaluate your options once you have done everything you possibly can do on your own.

If you decide that you need outside funding, and even Mountain View is too far, then your options for YC (or a similar program) become more limited. The next YC round will be in Cambridge, but there is TechStars in Boulder, Colorado which is obviously much closer, but may still be too far. The only other programs I have heard of are in the Philly / DC areas.

Like you said though, there are more traditional routes. A Google search for 'arizona angel network' brings up over 2m hits. My point is that, I'm sure there are options, you just need to look for them, and then evaluate.

First things first, though: start hacking!

swilliams6• 18 years ago

Thank you. That's pretty much what we've concluded: continue at my current job and hack at it on nights and weekends until a prototype is ready.

I hadn't heard of TechStars, and will check them out.

cperciva2• 18 years ago

So, is there a similar program but without the move? [...] The biggest attraction of YC to me is the cumulative experience and knowledge of the founders, and I worry that I wouldn't get that with a standard VC path.

How do you expect to get a "similar program" without moving? The cumulative experience and knowledge of YCers isn't something which can be conveyed remotely.

My google-fu is failing at the moment, but I remember seeing a comment from pg here a while ago to the extent that YC once tried funding a team remotely, but it didn't work due to the lack of frequent contact. Don't look at YC's move-across-the-country requirement as a roadblock they're putting up -- look at it as them trying to maximize the chance that the companies they fund will succeed.

(That said, I submitted a YC application in spite of not being able to move -- but I wasn't really expecting to be accepted, and if I had been accepted, it would have taken sitting down and trying to figure out exactly how YC could help a non-local startup before I would have accepted.)

swilliams6• 18 years ago

...pg here a while ago to the extent that YC once tried funding a team remotely, but it didn't work due to the lack of frequent contact

It's on the faq (http://ycombinator.com/faq.html). I understand the reasoning behind it completely, and agree that being local is the best way to go.

I may just end up submitting an application anyway, just to see if it would be accepted.

jaydub• 18 years ago

The cumulative experience and knowledge of YCers isn't something which can be conveyed remotely.

I would definitely agree with that. I think another reason might be simple "peer pressure." When everyone around you is working on a startup, and when you start to see some of those people succeed -- it lights a fire under you. (Or at least me)

I'm in a "live-and-learn" entrepreneurial program at my university. Everyone on the first two floors of my building is in the same program, working on their own ideas. It's pretty neat. One of the alums of this program founded Squarespace, another guy a floor above me runs Invisionfree/ZetaBoards. The immersive experience is what makes the program. My co-founder lives next door (about five feet away). I don't know that a YC-like experience can be had remotely.

sanj3• 18 years ago

I think this is the conversational fragment you're referring to:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=257260

cperciva2• 18 years ago

Right conversation, wrong fragment. Here's the comment I was remembering: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=257203

markessien• 18 years ago

You probably have a day job, right? Put aside a certain amount everymonth and hire people on elance to create your product for you. In a few months it will be done and you can test it on the market. It's risk free, and it's the sensible solution for someone with a wife and children.

pragmatic• 18 years ago

Why do you need seed/angel funding. Why don't you bootstrap it? Work on it in your spare time? And don't give me excuses about a young daughter. I did it with a young son while working full time. It's about desire, not location. Don't buy into the hype.

I'm not convinced YC is a good thing. What about the group think problem? Hey everybody let's build sites then [..magic..] profit!

If it's a good idea slow and steady will do just fine.

theklub• 18 years ago

Anyone mentioned Vencorps.com? If no one has I'd check it out.

swilliams6• 18 years ago

Can you provide some more info about them? I looked at the site, but there isn't a lot there beyond the signup-for-beta form.

It looks kind of like a social-media based VC thing, is that correct? Interesting idea, but how feasible is that model?

rsmerritt• 18 years ago

There is a new Y-Combinator style accelerator forming in Arizona called Tekcelerate (www.tekcelerate.com).

sanj3• 18 years ago

Consider the fbFund.

I'm happy to chat about it. I've written a little about it too: http://blog.luckycal.com/?p=11

swilliams6• 18 years ago

Is fbFund only for Facebook apps? That doesn't really fit what I'm thinking of.

sanj3• 18 years ago

Yes, it is.

Can you make it fit?

Ask HN: Alternatives to Y Combinator?

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