Nick Gonzalez from TechCrunch reports on the latest batch of companies from Y Combinator:
After Condé Nast, owner of Wired and other magazines/websites, acquired Y Combinator funded Reddit,
people took notice. This wasn’t just some quirky incubator where they
gave college students a few bucks to kick start their new companies
(although it is that, too - their standard deal is $5000 + $5000 per
founder, for 6%ish of the company) - real products were coming out of Y Combinator, and people started to notice.
Y Combinator funds startups twice per year, in batches. Funded
startups that have previously launched include Reddit, Kiko, Loopt,
ClickFacts, TextPayMe, Snipshot, Inkling, Flagr, Wufoo, YouOS,
PollGround, LikeBetter, Thinkature, JamGlue, Shoutfit, Scribd, Weebly,
Buxfer, and Octopart. Today, Y Combinator invited in TechCrunch and a
select group of investors and industry experts to view the current crop
of companies, just getting ready to launch. Michael Arrington and I
attended the sessions, and our notes on the new companies are below.
Many of the new companies are in private beta:
Zenter, Weebly, Virtualmin, Octopart, Tsumobi, Whitenoise, Buxfer, Writewith, Socialmoth, View3, Auctomatic, Snipshot, not to mention the ones who are still in stealth mode.
I think Paul Graham, the man behind Y Combinator, is going to be wildly successful with this portfolio, which is a testament to his incubator model. Taking entrepreneurs and giving them nice office space and administrative support is like taking tigers out of the wild, putting them in cages and feeding them ground beef. By not offering office space, he's kept his teams entrepreneurial, yet offers the essential mentorship and networking they need.
Some entrepreneurs have commented on the high cost of Paul's financing. While it is true that equity could be the most expensive form of financing, you also have to look at value. If I were a young entrepreneur, I would jump at the chance to be a part of Y Combinator, given Paul's experience and track record.
thanks for the link.
ReplyDeletejust in case you were wondering. we don't get office space. we usually eat dinner in mountain view once a week.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/socialmoth/sets/72157594561460322/
We do get a lot of support.
you are absolutely right about the value. it isn't about the money. it is about the connections and meeting insanely smart people.
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Paul, great photos, thanks for sharing. Socialmoth is a outrageously funny. I'm calling it the best of Craig's List, with less clicking and more social networking.
- Pat