[JohnHarthorne]

Paul, you are right. I should not have used such a strong analogy. My intention was to draw a clear distinction. I wanted to be playfully controversial to highlight the point, but the implication was inappropriate and contributed to a degradation of the conversation from functional to name-calling.

You have accomplished a great deal and have contributed enormously to the startup ecosystem. Techstars and other programs that take equity are also a great benefit to the community, and I would be remiss to leave a lasting impression on the community that I felt Y-Combinator or Techstars are anything short of remarkable.

MassChallenge is a unique model with huge promise. Clearly, there is room in the ecosystem for multiple models to coexist. We are proud to enable the type of community that Y-Combinator pioneered without taking any equity from startups, and we are excited about the opportunity to contribute to the mounting startup renaissance and to shift the broader economic discourse from one of value capture back to one of value creation.

Sorry everyone for the coarse commentary. As noted previously, you are all invited to visit us in Boston any time. Our deadline to enter this year is April 11, and we would be honored to help you win.

http://www.masschallenge.org/enter