[gunapologist99]

I love YC.

Even though I'd never apply and thus never get in because of my preconceived notions about YC's preconceived notions (too "old"?, proud Dad of a bunch of homeschooled kids, mostly solo founder (well, I've got kids who code!), building a social/chat app way outside of the Bay area echo chamber, and not toeing any particular political lines (hey, I'm a coder so I'm allowed to recursively nest parens -- don't tread on me), and even if I'm doxing myself a bit with this comment!), YC and PG (through his essays, Hackers and Painters, and his genuinely kind and sincere approach to everything, even with people who are on the opposite side of the political aisle, like me) have taught me so much about how to be a force for good in this strange and weird world.

PG seems to truly live out Jesus' wisdom and the Golden Rule. He wisely avoids getting dragged into political discussions, and the HN moderators wisely steer even very wild discussions away from flame wars. For my next act, I'd like to build a social app that scales up the same sort of non-partisan (or multi-partisan!) active, intelligent discourse that occurs here, even if there are, sadly, very few dang's in the world.

I would like to say a very, very warm and very sincere thank you to pg, dang, and the rest of the YC team who make it possible to still have a civil, mostly uncensored, and wide-ranging conversation, and has helped so many great startups get off the ground, both inside and outside of YC with things like the SAFE and the startup-school opened to all, proving to VC's how things can and should be done, and just pursuing the most interesting startups, period. If I truly thought I had a chance given my coloring so far outside the SF political lines, I'd apply in a heartbeat!

Much love from someone deep in the heart of Texas. Keep up the incredibly awesome work.

[jedwhite]

If you're making something people want, just have a go and apply. YC says it outright in their motto. That's really all that matters.

The application itself can help your own thinking about what you're building, so it's worth doing just for that.

Great products come from all sorts of unconventional backgrounds, precisely because the people who made them were from an unexpected background. Some of the best new ideas come from the need to solve a problem that mainstream products don't cover, or from an insight that someone in the mainstream would never have.

Airbnb's founders weren't conventional startup founders. They were struggling and needed to pay their rent.

Also, 1000% agree on the sentiment and thanks to YC for the community here. HN is one of the blessings of the current day web.

[jedwhite]

PS there is a section in this talk by Dalton Caldwell from YC on 'how to create luck' (in the context of applying to YC). It's really great on just this topic:

https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6t-how-to-apply-and-succ...

There's also a separate short talk on creating luck that has an interesting story about how Brex started, and also about how sometimes you need an "outsider's philosophy":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmEyx9TEkRw

These helped my thinking. The application is a helpful way to think about your startup even if you don't submit it. And once it's done, you might as well submit anyway :)

Good luck!

[gunapologist99]

This is awesome -- thank you Jed! Now I'm really seriously considering it!

[jedwhite]

Yeah, just do it! Good luck with applying, and with building your startup. If I can ever help with feedback, or anything else, just reach out (details on my profile here).

Also, check out YC Startup School. That's where the video was from. It really helped our startup, it has great resources, and a really friendly and encouraging community to get feedback on what you're building.

https://www.startupschool.org/

[me_me_mu_mu]

Good luck bro

[gunapologist99]

Not sure if you're joking, but I'll take it. ;) Need every bit of luck I can get!

[me_me_mu_mu]

Not joking. I’m also working on a social app, and I think it’s great when I hear other tinkerers speak about their passionate work.

[gunapologist99]

Excellent!! Very best of luck to you as well and perhaps we can meet one day!

[Dma54rhs]

PG has expressed on Twitter multiple times he loathes the HN culture and always angry Californians. Probably that is why he stopped posting here as well, at least under his name.

[ykevinator2]

No need to bring Jesus into it, he's not real, it's not 1870.