A lot of today's big tech companies looked like "fluff" in the beginning. I assume YC picked the companies based on more than what their current product offering is.
I think if you add the word "profitable" to the first sentence, the "a lot" changes to "some". But I will give you that "some" :)
Fluff was probably the wrong word.
When the perception you want to build around your incubator is about massive, life-improving, world-changing businesses (or at least that's my impression). There are some ideas I would consider leaving on the table for other investors and incubators.
- plush phones for toddlers / really loud speakers (kickstarter).
- Slack or Zapier acquisition targets.
- Chatroulette for phonecalls.
- The next Whisper / Secret / YikYak / Gossup / Babbly / Cloaq
- Yet another live streaming service.
- A meal subscription service which makes me buy an oven to join?
No offense intended to any founders or investors. If I'm wrong that's great!
I wonder if there are sector quotas, or at least sector tick boxes:
Social
Developing World
Middle Class US Consumer
B2B
...and so on.
Of the set, I think the Developing World group is the most interesting. The markets there are huge and largely untapped, and a hit really does have the potential to change the world.
The Middle Class US Consumer group seems the least interesting. Some of the hardware projects wouldn't be out of place in a Sharper Image catalogue.
I think "fluff" is the wrong word. However I find it extremely difficult to imagine some of these companies earning > $1bn, which is what VCs are looking for. If you're not gunning for > $1bn in valuation you're essentially killing your company by giving away equity to VCs.
Fluff was probably the wrong word.
When the perception you want to build around your incubator is about massive, life-improving, world-changing businesses (or at least that's my impression). There are some ideas I would consider leaving on the table for other investors and incubators.
- plush phones for toddlers / really loud speakers (kickstarter). - Slack or Zapier acquisition targets. - Chatroulette for phonecalls. - The next Whisper / Secret / YikYak / Gossup / Babbly / Cloaq - Yet another live streaming service. - A meal subscription service which makes me buy an oven to join?
No offense intended to any founders or investors. If I'm wrong that's great!