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by soared 2680 days ago
I would've expected yc's mission statement to shed some light on how they justified funding a bookie. Turns out yc has no ethical/moral/etc grounds in their mission or about us. Spend your money how you see fit, but I would've hoped you'd build some ethics into your business.

https://www.ycombinator.com/principles/

https://www.ycombinator.com/about/

(For context - I've worked closely with a number of large betting websites like mybookie.ag. 100% of my contact with them has been toxic. My employer explicitly does not fire clients but an exception was made after I recorded a call with them. Similar situations occurred freelancing.)
4 comments
shrikant 2680 days ago
YC funded a "crapware-bundling as a service" startup named InstallMonetizer. (And briefly had YCers defending this in comment threads on here)

They'll do anything that potentially makes them money.

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glennon 2680 days ago
YC states their lead ethical underpinning in the first line of their Founding Principles: "Startups are on balance a good thing." They go further in describing their goal to support and advise founders; and include phrasing about their philosophy of being "benevolent" to founders. Their Principles also describe prioritizing mission-driven endeavors over money. You or I may not share their ethics, but they have theirs.
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soared 2680 days ago
Those are not ethics.
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slap_shot 2680 days ago
What exactly is your qualm with them investing in this company?

If you have a problem with gambling, take that up with your legislators. But I wouldn't expect you to have an issue with gambling, since you, ya know... literally earned a living working with the incumbents.

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everdev 2680 days ago
> If you have a problem with gambling, take that up with your legislators

Legal != Ethical

It's perfectly reasonable for people to be upset about things that are legal. In fact, almost every new law originates under those conditions.

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soared 2680 days ago
My problem is not strictly with this company, I was just surprised to see that yc has not a single mention of ethics/morals/anything around what type of companies they'll invest in. Most big tech companies at a minimum put on a facade that they have ethics.

edited for clarity

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cvolzer3 2680 days ago
Out of curiosity, why do you view gambling as unethical and/or immoral?
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