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To YC or not to YC, that is the question.

4 points by Monti ↗ HN
Hello guys, Well, i have been working on my startup since last august, taking everything into consideration it has been going as planned. except the plan it self

We started with 30K dollars and it has ballooned to 150K.. all that aside here is the million dollar question.

The site will launch soon, money is sadly an issue but so far hasn't been a really big one yet, some people took a dive with me unexpectedly and i owe them lots of money, they truly believe in the idea so they feel they will get paid back *mind you, they are NOT VCs. I have always liked YC and the little money they fund companies with obviously wasn't what made me like them, every YC company I have seen gets tons of attention from the media and god knows how much that is worth. So, should I approach them, do they have different approaches to funding, because I frankly don't want their 2K that they give you, i just want their experience in this whole startup scene. I wounder if they would meet you to analyze the situation and maybe go from there? thanks

7 comments

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kyro
Not sure if you know, but they have 2 funding cycles every year. One during the summer, and the other during the winter, I believe. The application window for the last cycle closed a few weeks ago. If you wanted to approach them on terms outside of the usual funding cycle, I guess your best bet would be to email Paul directly.

My advice, as much as the experiences YC offers are valuable, if you've been working on a product and plan on launching it soon, I'd launch it. Sure, things might be more difficult, but generating buzz, etc., can all be done by you sans YC. It seems like some here tend to give too much attention to YC and its offerings, not realizing that most successful startups were never given a launch pad the likes of YC.

Monti
Thanks, I been thinking the same thing, maybe launch and revisit the possibility later.
cmm324
Launch and release updates often. Do some viral marketing and get in front of the face of the people you want to cover you. Don't go directly for TC, as you will spend too much time trying to get them to cover you, there are many other startup press out there will cover you with much less effort... some even let you submit your site to them :D

Chris

http://www.propertystampede.com

bigbang
IMO,your best bet is to approach angels or traditional VCs.
johns
Launch, listen for feedback, iterate, repeat. Do it yesterday.
tlrobinson
If you have the opportunity to do YC, do it. That said, it doesn't sound like you have that opportunity at the moment, since the application deadline was last month.
vlad
It sounds like you should launch and think about moving to Silicon Valley. YCombinator is in Boston this summer. But if you wanted to be a part of the experience you should go to Silicon Valley.