[gist]

> after running YC for 10+ years they deserve a little break no?

With all due respect what is so special about running YC that means you deserve a sabbatical?

They are taking a sabbatical not because they deserve it but because they can afford to do so financially and have left their organization in what they feel are very capable hands.

It is actually atypical in most professions in the US (at least outside of teaching or academics) to be able to step away other than for a somewhat short vacation. And business? It moves to fast and the competition is most likely hard at work step away and someone else is there to take your place.

Hats off to them for creating an organization where they can do this but most people who are in either traditional businesses or professions (medicine, law as only two examples) can't do something like this.

Edit: Predictable downvotes. Everyone looks at this through a lens that says the commenter surely is showing disrespect or lack of knowledge for how special YC is.

Edit2: Noting that it has been edited for tone so...

[brudgers]

With Graham, taking a break (or 'hammock time' as Hickey might phrase it) appears to be a pattern if one can draw a pattern from two data points. After selling Viaweb and working a Yahoo for a bit, Graham wrote and painted and created a new dialect of Lisp for several years before the experiment that led to YCombinator (there may have been consulting and investing in there too, it wouldn't surprise me but since I've never seen anything directly stating there was, it would not surprise me if there wasn't)...and Graham's descriptions of why he did a startup includes not having to get 'a real job' so to speak.

When Graham turned over the public face of YC to Altman, I was like, huh? Since then, I've come to think that 'I'm going to take my money and learn to paint' is one diffs between Altman's and Graham's personalities...though in fairness Graham was well into his thirties when he made his first millions and Altman was just 29 when he became president of YC.

[sjg007]

It takes 3 points to confirm a pattern. :) Otherwise, it is nice and fortunate to be able to take time off (if you choose) to raise your kids, especially as a family. Especially when they are young and before school starts.

[Cyph0n]

> but most people

PG isn't "most people". He's a super successful guy, so I don't see why you are comparing him to everyone else.

And about him taking a sabbatical: he can do whatever the hell he wants because he can afford to. It's true that many of us can't, but that's just how life is my friend.

[27182818284]

>Edit: Predictable downvotes. Everyone looks at this through a lens that says the commenter surely is showing disrespect or lack of knowledge for how special YC is.

What makes you think they don't deserve a sabbatical?

More people in general should have longer vacations/sabbaticals in the US. The US is behind on this, and it is detrimental. The sabbatical itself has shrunk from historically being a year or more to just three weeks in some places here.

[gist]

> More people in general should have longer vacations/sabbaticals in the US. The US is behind on this, and it is detrimental. The sabbatical itself has shrunk from historically being a year or more to just three weeks in some places here.

Perhaps for those that are employees of a larger type organization where there are fill in alternatives this could be a good thing. But for people that are not employees (they own the business or the success of the business has a direct impact on their financial benefits) this is not as easy as it sounds. Or for key employees of a business that have direct relationships to the customers or the product quality of the company.

Why?

Competition. And other alternatives that a customer or a client could use.

Let's say you are an attorney or a consultant. You have clients that give you business. They deal with you because a) they like your work and b) you are there when they need you. c) you have developed a rapport with them.

So now a new problem arises. They contact you but you are away on sabbatical. So what do they do? They try someone else. And maybe they never return. Really.

Or take even the person who cuts your hair. You've been going to them loyally for 10 years. Now they go away for 6 months. During that 6 months you find another person and keep using them.

I was told once that (and don't know if it's true) by a starbucks manager that when they renovate a store they never close it down entirely which would make the renov work much easier. Why? They have found that if you interrupt peoples morning patterns the store will lose business people either brake the habit or they find alternatives.

[narrowrail]

>what is so special about running YC that means you deserve a sabbatical?

I missed where this was claimed to be "deserved"?

>It is actually atypical in most professions in the US (at least outside of teaching or academics) to be able to step away other than for a somewhat short vacations[...]but most people can't do something like this.

I'm trying to figure out how this is relevant? Would you elaborate? I don't care about disrespect, but ignorance (i.e. lack of of knowledge) and illogical claims are problematic for me. "Special"?

I missed the parent comment before it was "edited for tone," but your comment comes across with a bit of undue animosity.

[gist]

> I'm trying to figure out how this is relevant? Would you elaborate?

Well to restate my original comment was based on the use of the word "deserve" not the re-edited version. Apparently it was thought that that wasn't well put. And it's unclear to me why I was jumped on other than the obvious reason of this being HN. To your question the relevance of stating what is typical in other professions is because the vast majority of people can't simply take a sabbatical even if they have the money to do so. It's not unusual to make a comparison and the comparison once again had to use of the word 'deserve'. So many people 'deserve' was my point. However by the nature of what they do they simply can't just go away and come back and have everything be the same. Once again this has little to do with whether they can afford to do that or not. You don't want what you have created and worked for to be damaged and often by leaving it in the hands of others (w/o your oversight) that can happen. If you were an architect that was wealthy but had a various projects in play you are not going to go away like this. If you are an attorney with multiple cases in play you are not going to go away like this. If you own a small bodega you are not going to go away like this. If you are Tim Cook you are probably not either or Marissa Mayer (a few years ago). If you are a family practice doctor ditto. That's in addition to (in some businesses or professions) losing important clients that you have worked hard for many years. Or in a small business (or even medium business) where you have clients and customers that could easily leave for a competitor if you are not there personally to clean up and address any problems.

[narrowrail]

Ok, now I see. I am a mediocre programmer at best, and I live in a rural area. I often take 5 weeks off because I know how to save money (no gf or kids), and I've operated in the capacity of a contractor for 6 yrs. I do have Denver-based, fellow contractors that I can hand stuff off to, but I was always fearful of starting a family I could not support. I see this as a matter of choices.

[jey]

Surely he just means a break from YC. And running YC was a job that required always being "on-call" in the early days.

[gist]

"on call"? Plenty of businesses require the entrepreneur to be 'on call'.

[brudgers]

Plenty of businesses require non-entrepreneurs to be on call too.

[jboogie77]

you jelly?