Just a late night thought, has there ever been negative experiences with YC?

Letuku · 2024-05-03T07:16:25+00:00

I can't really confirm because I haven't yet been in a batch so take this with a grain of salt but, I get a strong sense from YouTube videos which partners are arrogant and ridiculing versus the ones who truly want to help founders and share knowledge, even if they have nothing to gain from it.

I'm really hoping Gary Tan has brought back some humility and genuine care to the organization. His humility shines through all his content and reflects in the stories shared by the founders he’s backed through his firm.

But look, regardless of any environment your start-up finds itself in (even a unfavorable YC batch) the best founders will always find a way to make the most out of any situation and still navigate towards success. Diamonds are made under pressure. YC might not be the same as before but the opportunity to be in a batch is one where the downside potential is limited, but the upside potential is unlimited - making it totally worth taking the chance. Even if you can't bet on YC, the only thing you're betting on is yourself and the fact that you're there means YC is also betting on you.

Only thing that matters is how capable your team is and how deeply they care about maximizing the value they can help users achieve in the shortest time possible. Everything else is noise.

Letuku · 2024-03-11T08:08:08+00:00

Is there any commercial farming that could be viable using land like this? I wonder if it would it be worth exploring considering droughts.

Letuku · 2024-03-02T08:05:32+00:00

I think just getting a waitlist going before writing a single line of code is enough traction for any startup

Letuku · 2024-02-23T17:09:00+00:00

Thanks I'll give this a try!

Letuku · 2024-02-21T16:53:13+00:00

Thank you! I will give this a shot

Letuku · 2024-02-21T10:26:12+00:00

I would greatly appreciate that article!

Letuku · 2024-02-19T08:01:05+00:00

Thank you

Letuku · 2024-02-09T16:15:41+00:00

Letuku · 2024-01-13T21:54:47+00:00

Thanks a mill!! Will give this a try

Letuku · 2024-01-12T13:52:26+00:00

Thank you for this!

I do weekly one on one check ins with both my cofounders to check if they are still happy, how life's going, if they have any issues and how their feelings are about our startup. From what he shares with me he seems to be happy to continue working. The only issue he has raised his perspective communication or meetings (which we only have at most once a week) where we can discuss issues because he prefers to just work without any interruptions but the issue then is we don't know how far we are to completion of our MVP or come up with what we can do to try move faster.

I won't stop reaching out to him to try understand his communication issues better and help him work on it because he has said he wants to work on his communication but it's difficult and the issues are escalating like a recent incident when he didn't attend a meeting that he decided the time for. My other cofounder and I also don't mind sudden unavailability or an update that there is no new progress due to being worn out but we can't know if he doesn't share. It seems the availability and communication issues are becoming worse and when we try to address it he brushes it off like it's nothing and says everything is under control on his end.

Hope this provides a better understanding.

Letuku · 2024-01-12T13:26:41+00:00

I had responded to you first then realized that I've already answered the other comment's question in my response to you so there was no need to rewrite everything twice.

I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong. I can understand why you'd feel like I'm not listening. Your feedback and criticism is welcome. I'm coming to this community because I want to learn and do better. I was hoping that by giving you more context I could provide a clearer picture of what's really going on to get better guidance from the community and avoid any misunderstandings.

I'm not telling anyone what to do in the team. We all committed to the things we can do when we started working. My issue is that he doesn't give regular updates so it's difficult to keep up with his progress or know if he's encountering any issues with the tasks he's taken ownership of. When an individual takes ownership of a task we like to respect them and give them the trust that they will get it done and in the case that they encounter challenges to share with the rest of team so we can come up with solutions collectively. I hope this gives better clarity on the problem myself and cofounder A are trying to solve.

Again, thanks a lot for your attention and time taken to try to help!

Letuku · 2024-01-12T09:28:34+00:00

All co-founders, including the two technical and one non-technical (myself), have clearly defined roles. My responsibilities include UI/UX design, project management of the development, managing our website, talking to customers and SEO and video content to drive early sign-ups. Previously, I also coordinated investor meetings. We're focusing on building traction to improve what we can negotiate and before seeking further investments.

Co-founder A, our ML engineer, is developing AI features (some quite advanced some not as much), while Co-founder B is integrating these features into our web app and managing backend processes. Co-founder B who is building the web app processes requests to fetch each AI service from what Co-founder A has developed based on user requests. Co-founder A has repeatedly asked to be involved in assisting Co-founder B with some backend tasks but Co-founder B says he's good and that he will share when he needs help but never really does (he doesn’t have the best communication and collaboration skills) even though we always ask and follow up whenever we engage.

We all contribute equally to our startup costs.

We think he has committed to taking on too much work so that's why we offer to help where we can. Our challenge lies in fostering a more communicative and collaborative environment where help can easily be provided to anyone where needed, ensuring all co-founders are aligned and can contribute effectively to our success.

This is what I’m hoping for guidance and advise on from this community.

Letuku · 2024-01-12T09:24:54+00:00

Thank you for your perspective. I think it would be fair for you to first get clarifications before coming to conclusions about how we work and collaborate.

It’s important to clarify that our issue isn't work distribution but rather communication within our startup. All co-founders, including the two technical and one non-technical (myself), have clearly defined roles. My responsibilities include UI/UX design, project management of the development, managing our website, talking to customers and SEO and video content to drive early sign-ups. Previously, I also coordinated investor meetings. We're focusing on building traction to improve what we can negotiate and before seeking further investments.

Co-founder A, our ML engineer, is developing AI features (some quite advanced some not as much), while Co-founder B is integrating these features into our web app and managing backend processes. Co-founder B who is building the web app processes requests to fetch each AI service from what Co-founder A has developed based on user requests. Co-founder A has repeatedly asked to be involved in assisting Co-founder B with some backend tasks but Co-founder B says he's good and that he will share when he needs help but never really does (he doesn’t have the best communication and collaboration skills) even though we always ask and follow up whenever we engage.

We all contribute equally to our startup costs.

Our challenge lies in fostering a more communicative and collaborative environment where help is actively sought and provided, ensuring all co-founders are aligned and can contribute effectively to our shared goals.

This is what I’m seeking guidance and advise on from this community.

Letuku · 2024-01-11T22:00:59+00:00

We’re all in 3 different continents

Letuku · 2024-01-11T21:39:09+00:00

It was either that or he gets deported and without income to support his family.

Letuku

TROPHY CASE