landist

Interesting that it's $500k more than the fund Y Combinator recently announced. Do I sense a little "Y" envy? Either way, it's good that more capital and resources are being allocated to startup stage companies. Can't we all just get along?

Couple of thoughts:

1. Maybe a bit fluffy, but since most mainstream readers don't know about Y Combinator, the first cycle of articles are going to trend positive.

2. I think the Y Combinator ecosystem (the program, demo days, Hacker News) itself is going to prove as disruptive (if not more) as the companies they fund. A disruptive "Ivy League of Startup Schools" is starting to form that I believe will have huge ripple effects on our economy.

3. I agree, mainstream media doesn't understand how much hackers are our era's Robber Barons (or Industrial Statesmen, take your pick). Expect a handful of IPO's and at least one billionaire graduate within the next ten years. I expect Y Combinator graduates and their related companies will have billions of dollars of impact on our economy over this period of time.

4. The traditional University model of education is probably as much at risk by ignoring YC as is big Fortune 500 companies. "The average debt for graduating college seniors who borrow to finance their undergraduate degree is just under $20,000." vs. the avg. YC funded company probably gets funded to the order of $15k - $20k.

"In 2003, workers with bachelor's degrees earned a median of $49,900. Those who'd completed several years of college with no degree had median earnings of $35,700, while those with a high school diploma averaged $30,800."

Don't get me wrong, I understand that not every high school graduate can attend YC or some similar program. But I think our educational system needs to create some alternative tracks for education that are shorter in time frame, more entrepreneurial in nature, and more technically inclined. If we simply diverted 1% of college freshman into such programs, this would translated into over 20,000 individuals. Can you imagine the impact on society of 20k freshman attending some Y Combinator-esque hacker / entrepreneurial program every year?

http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/17/pf/college/college_costs/ind...

Good time for Weebly to issue a statement (press release, etc.) calling for all Geocities customers. It's a "Statue of Liberty" moment - "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe a free website" - Be Bold Weebly... call Yahoo out and get some free press.